Cross Cultural Management in the European Union (BPU option)

MGT 327: Cross Cultural Management in the European Union

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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 the European Union.

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.
During this course, we will look at the history, evolution and current challenges facing the European Union, with an emphasis cultural, political and business related issues. It focuses on the economic and political rationale for closer integration, on the difficulties of reconciling sharply different cultural, legal and political traditions, on the stresses caused by immigration and enlargement, and on the recent challenges presented by the global economic and financial crisis. The course will include visits to leading European companies and international organizations in which different aspects of the topic will emerge through presentations and conversations with company executives. In this way, the students will be able to see the practical relevance of the concepts covered in class.
Through practical case-studies, team projects and visits to leading European companies and organizations, the students will be exposed to the actual implementation of the topics covered in class. Students will learn about the European Union both through professional and cultural visits. Experiences from these visits will then be discussed during our "Introduction to the EU" sessions.

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 Europe
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
Understand how to use the Cultural Orientation Indicator, and the concepts of hierarchy, power-distance, space, time, and other orientations to understand their own cultural preferences, and to identify key cultural gaps with others

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.

Recommended Readings:

“Cultural Intelligence: Living and Working Globally”, by David Thomas and Kerr Inkson, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009
“Managing Across Cultures: The 7 Keys to Doing Business with a Global Mindset” by Charlene Solomon and Michael S. Schell, McGraw Hill, 2009
“Understanding the European Union”, by John McCormick, Palgrave Macmillan, 5th Ed., 2011

Supplementary Readings:

Additional readings will be assigned by the professor. These readings are designed to acquaint students with core paradigms in Europe, 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

Term Project:

Working in multi-cultural teams, students will develop a training manual for business executives preparing for expatriate assignments in European countries: The training manual will be based on cross-cultural concepts discussed in class in tailored to the communication environment of Spain and other European countries. 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 European 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 to the EU 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.
Our courses are designed to be 300-level courses, adequate for undergraduate students, upper division level (The courses are designed to be specific and in-depth, and would usually be taken in the last two years of a traditional four year degree program). Each of the courses is worth 3.0 U.S. semester credit hours (6.0 ECTS and Australian credits). Each 3.0 credit course will include 48 academic hours, composed of in-class instruction and technical visits to local companies and organizations.

Host University:

Global Summit Barcelona: IQS School of Management is a century-old university center, founded by the Jesuits, with great tradition and prestige in the industrial and business world. IQS is a founding member of the Ramon Llull University. The IQS School of Management is recognized as one of the best undergraduate schools for Business Administration in Spain, and stands out for its specific Masters' programs, and for the integral education of its graduates and their capacity to manage industrial and technological organizations. It has been recognized by the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, USA) for its undergraduate, masters, and doctorate programs in Business Administration.
Global Summit Prague: University of New York in Prague (UNYP) in cooperation with State University of New York/Empire State College is an accredited private higher education institution in Prague. Since 1998, UNYP has been offering English-language higher education in Central Europe, with a focus on Business Administration, Communications, Finance, IT Management, Marketing, International Economic Relations, and more. UNYP is the largest and leading English language higher education institution in the Czech Republic. UNYP offers accredited Bachelor's, Master's, MBA, and PhD programs in English as an officially recognized higher education institution in the Czech Republic, and in partnership with prestigious international universities in the United States and Europe.

Academic Integrity:

Both IQS and UNYP place 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.

Language:

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

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 the European Union

Students will visit European 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 the EU". Topics to discuss may include: Regional differences within Europe, Immigration, History of the European Union and the Eurozone, Key European Institutions, and the ongoing economic and political crises in Europe

Upon the completion of this course students will be able to:

Understand the main issues surrounding the ongoing political and economic crisis in Europe
Appreciate the regional differences and tensions within the European Union (EU) in terms of culture and perspectives on role and future of the EU.
Develop an understanding for the complexity and purpose of the various EU institutions.
Understand the history of conflict in Europe that led to the creation of the European Union, and the role that the EU plays in maintaining and promoting peace.
Be familiar with the various stages of economic and political integration that has taken place within the European Union.
Understand the challenges (and benefits) of the Euro currency union
Witness firsthand how the current ongoing crisis in Europe appears different to the citizens of the countries we will visit: Spain, France, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary

Notes

This course is only available for students taking the BPU option of the Global Summit Europe program
Course Code: MGT 327
Credits: 3
Hours: 48 academic hours
Location: Barcelona, Prague, Travel Europe

Host Universities:

Global Summit Barcelona: IQS School of Management, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona
Global Summit Prague: University of New York in Prague (UNYP)

Note: course offerings are subject to change.