Intercultural Management

USF Course Code: MAN 4600

Prerequisite: open to all language levels; taught in English.

Students: foreign students from the academic program ISA. 

Contact hours: 45 

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I. Course Objective: 
This course is designed to help students understand different values and behaviors in our increasingly multicultural workplace. Throughout the course, theories related to intercultural management will be analyzed and applied to assignments and case studies. Learning the real impact of culture, along with effective management techniques in an international business environment, will prove to be an asset for students in their future business and academic endeavors.

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II. Learning Outcomes: 
-Understanding the importance of culture in the behavior of individuals, in societies and in cross-cultural interactions.
- Recognition and acceptance of cultural differences and learning how to cope with these differences in a business context through cases studies and mock situations in which students will have to apply the theory to the practice.
-Understanding that there isn´t “one best way” of managing and organizing.
-Better knowledge of our own culture by understanding cultural differences in general.
-Understanding the different values and behaviors in a multicultural workplace by studying the Universal Dilemmas and developing strategies to cope with them.
-Learning the real impact of culture in a business context through cases and learn how to anticipate potential conflicts.
-Being aware of all the interacting spheres of culture in a cross-cultural business situation and how to identify the most relevant one.
-Learning of how to arrange business meetings across cultures.
-Developing capacity to analyze cultures from various perspectives in order to develop the best strategy during negotiations and knowing how to conduct them. 

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III. Course Content (order of content may be modified): 

PART ONE: VALUES AND BEHAVIOURS IN THE MULTICULTURAL WORKPLACE

UNIT 1 – CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT    
-    Introduction to international management.
-    Understanding cultural differences.
-    Culture shock and reverse culture shock. Consequences and advices.
-    General view of Universal Dilemmas. Some strategies to reconcile dilemmas.
-    International and transnational corporations.
-    Interacting spheres of culture. 
-    Going global. Different theories and perspectives.
-    General view of economic, political-legal and technological environment.

UNIT 2 - CULTURAL DIMENSION OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
-    The meaning of culture.
-    Elements of culture and variations of culture. 
-    Stereotypes. Getting beyond stereotypes.
-    Relationships and rules.
-    The group and the individual.
-    Time and space.
-    Verbal and non-verbal communication.
-    Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Model.
-    Trompenaars’ key dimensions of culture.
-    Other cultural assumptions: Hall, Schein, Adler, Kluckholn and Strodtbeck.

UNIT 3 - ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND THE “INTERNATIONAL” MANAGER
-    Competencies for managing internationally.
-    Multiple identities.
-    Suggestions for managing differences.
-    National cultures and corporate cultures.
o    The family culture.
o    The Eiffel Tower culture.
o    The guided missile culture.
o    The incubator culture.
-    Observing artifacts and behavior. Formal vs Informal systems.
o    Architecture, greeting rituals, form of address and dress codes.
-    Women in management.
-    Global strategies according to cultural clusters. Examples.

PART TWO: INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE

UNIT 4 - MEETINGS ACROSS CULTURES
-    Cross-cultural meetings.        
o    Formal or informal.

-    Making arrangements and preparing for the meeting.
o    Who attends?
o    Follow-up.
o    The agenda.
o    The venue.
o    The arrival.
o    Punctuality.
o    Introductions and greetings. The rule of the card game.
o    Conversational Taboos.

-    Interpreters: Keys to success.
o    Team players.
o    Inside information.
o    Tips on hiring interpreters.
-    Guidelines for successful meetings. Checklist: Preparing for a visit.
        
UNIT 5 - CONDUCTING A NEGOTIATION AND DECISION MAKING PROCESS.
-    Cross-cultural negotiations.
-    Win/win? Or win/ lose?
-    The concept of “face”. 
-    Conflicts resolution.
-    Differences in Decision-making.
-    Contracts and cultural variables.
-    Distinguishing “Yes” from “I understand”
-    Planning to win. 
o    Understanding Zero-Sum game.
o    Win enough and lose enough.
-    Negotiation Legal tactics and bargaining rituals. 
-    Ethical challenges. Global Bribery and Corruption.
-    Illegal tactics.
-    Closing the deal. Who makes the decision?
-    Knowing when to say “No”

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IV. Bibliography: 
Along with selections from primary texts, students will be provided selections from other sources including:

-Adler, Nancy, International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. International Thomson Publishing, Cincinatti, Ohio, 1997.
-Davidson, Marilyn, Women in Management Worldwide. Ashgate. 2004.
-Harris, Philip, Managing Cultural Differences. Butterworth-Heinemann. 1999.
-Hofstede, G. Cultures´ Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Sage Publications. 1984. 
-Hofstede, Geert, Cultures and Organizations. Intercultural Cooperation and its Importance for Survival. McGraw-Hill Professional 
-Lewis, R. When Cultures Collide. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. 2001.
-Luthans, Fred, International Management: Culture, Strategy and Behavior 7th Ed. Irwin Professional Pub. 2008.
-Mead, Richard, International Management: Cross-Cultural Dimensions. Blackwell Publishing. 2005.
-Mole, K. Mind your Manners. Managing Business Culture in the new global Europe. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. 2003. 
-Morrison, A. M. The New Leaders – Guidelines on Leadership Diversity in America. Jossey-Bass. 1992.
-Rosen, R. Global Literacies: Lessons on Business Leadership and National Cultures. Simon and Schuster. 2000.
-Schneider, Susan C., Managing Across Cultures. Pearson Education. 2003.
-Trompenaar, Fons, Riding the Waves of Culture.  Nichol as Brealey Publishing. 2002.
-Trompenaars, F. 21 Leaders for the 21st Century. Capstone. 2001

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V.I. How to succeed in this course? 
Study for this course every day. We will be covering a lot of material and moving quickly. Become an active learner. Participation and meaningful interaction with the professor and peers is as essential to the course as much as writing the assigned paper and taking the exam. 

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VI. Grading scale:

La calificación final del curso utilizará la siguiente escala/ Final grades will be calculated according to the following scale:
94 - 100 A
90-93 A -
87 -89 B +
84 - 86 B
80 - 83 B -
77 - 79 C+
74 - 76 C 
70 - 73 C-
67 -69 D+
64 -66 D
60 -63 D-
0-59 F

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VII. Course Policies

VII.I. Attendance: 
Class attendance is mandatory and is taken every class day and it is reflected in the course attendance sheet.
An 85% attendance rate is required for the successful completion of the course. Perfect attendance will be taken positively into account in the participation section. 
If a student exceeds this limit, 1 point will be taken off of the final grade (Spanish grade). Reaching a 20% of unexcused absences means that the transcript for this subject will show “not attended course”. 
Excused absences: Medical Certificates that will be considered only if issued by a physician (not notes from the family explaining the student’s absence). The certificates must include the exact dates for which a student should be excused for having missed classes. Courses cannot be audited, so attendance is possible only for students enrolled in a specific class. 
Punctuality: Students are expected to arrive on time to class and to return directly to class after class breaks. Arriving 10 minutes late (or more) and/or early class departures are considered unexcused absences and will be taken into account as half an absence. 

Attending class is not only the presence in the classroom. The professor will encourage active participation in the course and it will be taken into account as part of the evaluation.  

Auditors: Courses cannot be taken as auditors, thus attendance is possible only for students enrolled in a specific class.

VII.II. Conduct in class.
Students who actively participate in classroom activities and who maintain a professional and respectful attitude will be evaluated positively. Students must not eat or use laptops during the class (unless specifically authorized by the teacher).  

VII.III. Late work. 
One half point will be taken off (from the learning activities grade) for homework that is submitted late repeatedly. Late assignments will be corrected but will not be graded. 
Missing a class does not release the student from completing the homework assigned or studying the topics covered in class that day. 

VII.IV. Make-up exams:
If a student cannot be present for an examination for a valid reason (see V.II.) and approved by the teacher and academic direction, a make-up exam will be given. 

VII.V. Quizzes retention:
After quizzes are graded, the professor will review the examination with the class and collect all exams. The quizzes will be retained for one semester following the current one, and then they will be destroyed. 

VII.VI. Academic Honesty:
Students are expected to act in accordance with their university standards of conduct concerning plagiarism and academic dishonesty. 

VII.VII. Special accommodations: 
Students with special needs who require reasonable accommodations, special assistance or specific aid in this course (either for properly making-up classes, taking exams, etc.) should direct their request to Academic Coordination during the first days of the course in the case that they did not report it when submitting the Health Form. 

Teaching staff is required to report any disclosures harassment or violence of any kind.