Course - Cross Cultural Management

MGT 311: Cross Cultural Management

Purpose:

This course is designed for undergraduate students with a focus on managing teams across cultures. It is open to students of all majors looking for an understanding of the principles of cross cultural management, with specific emphasis placed on Brazil.

Introduction:

In a globalized world characterized by the integration of business and markets, the increasing flow of people and capital around the world, the ability to work, manage and to communicate in culturally diverse settings has become a key pre-requisite for college graduates of all majors and fields of personal and professional interests.

Course Description:

This course provides an intellectual and experiential forum for developing the interpersonal-intercultural communication and interaction skills necessary for international managers. While learning to identify cultural aspects of verbal and nonverbal behavior of persons from different cultures and themselves, students come to recognize cultural differences that can cause difficulties in management situations. Participants will acquire detailed expertise in dealing with a wide variety of cultural situations, challenges and paradigms, thus learning practical skills that will be useful for their own personal and professional development on an international level.

Other important topics include working effectively in multi-cultural teams, cross-cultural negotiations and international careers. Set in a multi-cultural setting, the course puts a strong emphasis on practical applications that will be enhanced through exercises and case studies.

Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Exhibit a high degree of cultural intelligence and cross-cultural communication skills applicable to the real world of business and travel
Acquire a sharper understand of their own culture and how it impacts their behavior in a multicultural setting
Interpret behavior, attitudes and communication styles of people from different cultures correctly
Become familiarized with the key cultural characteristics of the main countries in Latin and South America with a special focus on Brazil
Use a repertoire of behavioral skills appropriate for different intercultural situations
Deal with ambiguity in an ever-changing and unpredictable context that results from the globalization of business and people
Exhibit a high degree of effectiveness when working in culturally diverse groups

Students:

All majors are welcome! UNDERGRADUATE or GRADUATE level students are welcome to apply.

Prerequisites:

This course assumes that students have a desire to work with people across cultures. It is not required, however, for students to take any prerequisite courses before taking this class.

Course Requirements:

The course requires active student participation. Students are expected to read the assigned textbook chapters, cases and articles before every class. There will be a midterm exam, a final exam, case studies and a team project. Students are required to attend professional visits.

Teaching Procedures and Methodology:

Teaching methods used in this course include lectures, case discussions, group assignments and professional visits. Learning in this course requires the student’s constructive participation and active involvement in both class discussions and small group discussions. Small group discussions, in particular, are a key mechanism for facilitating learning from other team members. Thus, it is essential to attend all group activities inside and outside classes. The professional visits will expose the participants to different aspects of the class and will highlight the practical relevance of the concepts learned. The visits will be accompanied by individual or group assignments.

Readings:

“Cultural Intelligence: Living and Working Globally”, by David Thomas and Kerr Inkson, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009

Supplementary Readings:

Additional readings will be assigned by the professor. Weekly required readings average approximately 175 pages. These readings are designed to acquaint students with core paradigms in Brazil, as well as some of the most well known or well done empirical studies. Additional recommended readings and websites each weak will supplement the required readings, and may include:
“Headhunting Goes Cross-Cultural” by Joseph Daniel McCool, Business Week, 06/05/2008
"Five Global Leadership Forces”, by Marshall Goldsmith, Bloomberg Business Week, 10/2009
“Managing Differences: The Central Challenge of Global Strategy”, by Pankaj Ghemawat, Harvard Business Review, 03/2007
"Managing Multicultural Teams" by Jeanne Brett, Kristin Behfar and Mary C. Ker, Harvard Business Review, 11/2006
"Facial Expressions Not Universally Understood”. By Robert Preidt, Executive Health, 08/2009
“Short-term Overseas Assignments”, by Bronwyn Fryer, Harvard Business Online, 07/2009

Recommended Additional Readings:

“Brazil - Culture Smart! The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture”, Sandra Branco and Rob Williams, Kuperard; Reprinted edition edition (September 5, 2006).
“The New Brazil”, Professor Riordan Roett, Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (Director of the Western Hemisphere Studies and Latin American Studies Programs). Brookings Institutional Press; 1st edition (August 2, 2010).
"Brazil on the Rise, The Story of a Country Transformed", Larry Rohter. Palgrave Macmillan (February 28, 2012).

Team Project:

Working in multi-cultural teams, students will develop a training manual for business executives preparing for expatriate assignments in Latin and South American countries: The training manual will be based on cross-cultural concepts discussed in class in tailored to the communication environment of Brazil and other emerging markets in the region. The objective is that groups produce a manual that could find practical applications in the real world of business and communication. The project report should be between 5 and 7 pages in length, including a description of the proposed practical training sessions and exercises in part 2. (Font: Arial, 12; Line Spacing: 1.5).

Academic Hours

Depending upon the session selected, this course will include 48 academic hours, the equivalent of 3.0 credits. Students should expect to be in class in the morning, and to have professional visits to leading Brazilian and international companies in the afternoons. Class schedules are posted online.

Components of Final Grade:
    Midterm exam 20%
    Final exam 30%
    Team project 20%
    Participation 10%
Introduction Brazil 20%

Grading Scale:
    A 93 - 100%
    A- 90 - 92.9%
    B+ 87 - 89.9%
    B 83 - 86.9%
    B- 80 - 82.9%
    C+ 77 - 79.9%
    C 73 - 76.9%
    C- 70 - 72.9%
    D+ 67 - 69.9%
    D 63 - 66.9%
    D- 60 - 62.9%
    F Below 60%

Useful Websites:

Credit Transfer:

Courses are designed in order to facilitate the acceptance of credits by U.S. based and international universities. Students that successfully complete our courses should be able to transfer academic credits from our host university (ESPM) to their home university.

Host University:

Founded in 1961, ESPM (Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing) established itself as a center of excellence in the teaching of administration, marketing, international relations and communications. It is among the elite few in Brazil to receive the highest grade in evaluation by MEC (the Brazilian Ministry of Education). ESPM has four campuses in Brazil: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre and in Brasilia. Today, the school has approximately 10,000 students across various campuses, studying a variety of subjects at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In total there are approximately 600 professors. Among their international partnerships, ESPM has institutional agreements with McGill University in Canada; University of California, Riverside and with Babson University in the USA; the Universidad Nebrija in Madrid Spain, among others.

Language:

This courses is taught 100% in English.
English proficiency is required.

Academic Integrity:

ESPM places a high value on the integrity, good conduct and academic honesty of all students. Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic integrity at all times. Any instance of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will result in a grade of F for the course.

Course Content:

All of our courses are designed with a modular format. Students should expect to cover at least 80% of the content per module, depending upon the Session selected.

Module 1

Introduction to cross-cultural communication
The globalization of business and people in the 21st century
Understanding culture and cultural differences
Components of cultural intelligence
Key cultural values and concepts
How culture affects behavior
Switching off cultural cruise control
Class Discussion: Examining our cultures, norms and behaviors
Cultural differences between Latin America and other countries

Module 2

Developing cultural intelligence: Stages, process and supporting activities
National and global cultures explored
Decision-making models across cultures
Goals, motivation and ethics in decision-making
Cross-cultural communication failures
The cross-cultural communication process
Verbal language, codes and conventions
Non-verbal communication
Negotiating styles in Europe, Latin America and Asia
Focus: Cultural characteristics of Latin American countries

Module 3

Raising your cultural intelligence: knowledge, mindfulness and behavior
Leadership across cultures: styles, expectations and examples
Culturally intelligent leadership
Working in multi-cultural teams: concepts, processes and performance
Culturally intelligent team management: skills and strategies
Creating cultural competence: the international experience
Workshop: Negotiations and team management training
Focus: Cultural characteristics of Brazil

Module 4

Toolbox for understanding and solving ethical dilemmas of international executives
Managing international careers: challenges and opportunities for the 21st century
Putting it all together: knowledge, mindfulness and behavioral skills
Workshop: Individual cross-cultural management skills inventory and scorecards
Team projects: findings and discussion
Case study: becoming a global manager

Module - Introduction to Brazil

With a focus on cultural issues, students will visit Brazilian companies and organizations and will engage in cultural visits. These visits will be integrated back into the classroom during our daily "debrief" sessions called "Introduction to Brazil".

Course Code: MGT 311
Credits: 3
Hours: 48 academic hours
Host University: ESPM
Location: Brazil

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Note: course offerings are subject to change.