Center for Management Communication. BUCO 260: Business Communication across Cultures (2 units)

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1 Center for Management Communication BUCO 260: Business Communication across Cultures (2 units) Professor: Jolanta Aritz Office: ACC 215D Office Hours: T and TH 10am to 11am and by appointment aritz@marshall.usc.edu Telephone: COURSE DESCRIPTION BUCO 260: Business Communication across Cultures is designed to help business students develop key communication competencies necessary to analyze and interpret cultural diversity in business and to successfully interact and compete in an increasingly global marketplace. BUO 260 is especially beneficial to students who are planning to participate or just returned from short international trips, summer internships abroad, and semester long study abroad offered by the Marshall School of Business. BUCO 260 recognizes the complexity of the increasingly global world with rapidly growing economies in Asia-Pacific, Latin-America, and Europe. More specifically, by focusing on intercultural competencies it introduces issues that have moved to the forefront of a new global marketplace - contrasting cultural orientations, culture shock, differing communication patterns, and varying business and social customs. The course builds on students previous international experiences, introduces them to intercultural communication theory, develops practical skills and abilities, and strengthens personal competencies to help students forge global perspective. LEARNING OBJECTIVES The overall objective of this course is to develop students intercultural communication competencies by introducing intercultural communication theory and integrating it with practice. Students will learn more about the corporate culture of foreign companies in key geographic areas (including companies they visited during their LINC or GLP trips), discuss and solve intercultural communication case studies, participate in simulated ELC activities and class exercises. BUCO 260 develops key communication competencies central to understanding how businesses work across cultures. Three key groups of intercultural communication competencies will be the focus of this course: knowledge (needed to live and work in a diverse world); skills (communication and performance), and personal attributes (traits).

2 These three groups on intercultural communication competencies are incorporated in the learning objectives of the course listed below: 1. Knowledge (needed to live and work in a diverse world). The students enrolled in BUCO 260 will learn what is needed to: Recognize individual, interpersonal, organizational, and cultural layers of intercultural communication. Develop a reflexive attitude for addressing global business communication challenges by integrating the four layers of intercultural communication. Gain an ethical orientation towards intercultural business communication by understanding these relationships. 2. Skills (communication and performance). The students enrolled in BUCO 260 will: Build practical skills by conducting research, working on case studies involving intercultural business communication issues, participating in the experiential learning activities and class exercises. Learn to analyze and interpret intercultural business situations and contexts. Augment their international experiences at Marshall by being able to analyze and interpret these experiences. 3. Personal attributes. The students enrolled in BUCO 260 will develop the following personal traits: Being mindful of others The ability to understand another s perspective and negotiate meaning through dialogue with people from host culture. Flexibility - The ability to respond and adapt to new and changing situations. Respect - An appreciation for those who are different from one's self. REQUIRED TEXTS AND READINGS Tuleja, E.A. (2005). Intercultural Communication for Business. Managerial Communication Series (ed. O Rouke, J.S., IV). Thompson: Southwestern. SUGGESTED READINGS Oetzel. J.G. (2009). Intercultural Communication: A Layered Approach. New York: Pearson Education. Inc. McGregor, James One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China. Wall Street Journal Book: Free Press.

3 Murphy, Byrne, J Le Deal: How a Young American, in Business, in Love, and in Over His Head, Kick-Started a Multibillion Dollar Industry in Europe. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. Storti, Craig The Art of Crossing Cultures. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, Boston/London. Storti, Craig Speaking of India: Bridging the Communication Gap When Working With Indians. Intercultural Press, Boston, MA. Storti, Craig The Art of Coming Home. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Hall, Edward The Hidden Dimension. Anchor books: New York, NY. Cultural detective package (TBA in class). Assigned select readings. EXPECTATIONS, EVALUATION AND GRADING Expectations: Attendance, active participation, and a positive attitude are required for successful completion of this course. Must be present to win is true of skill building and most other things in life. Many sessions involve group activities, and I plan and organize them assuming all students will be present. Please notify me as far in advance as possible if you are unable to attend any class or exercise so that I may adjust the activities as necessary. Evaluation: At the end of the course students will receive a letter grade based on their performance. The graded components of the course include: Assignments Percentage of Points course grade Participation 10% 100 Cultural communication problem presentation 5% 50 (Individual presentation and analysis of cross-cultural communication situation) Outsourced blog 5% 50 Chapter or assigned reading presentation 15% 150 Culture Debrief assignment 20% 200 (Choosing one book from the provided list and preparing a debrief. Includes individual (10%) and group component (10%)). A cultural business construct analysis 25% 250 (Group project that analyses culture using the tools

4 learned in class) Includes individual (10%) and group component (15%)). Final Exam 20% 200 Total 100% 1,000 Complete instructions for each assignment will be posted on Blackboard. Final grades represent how you perform in the class relative to other students. Your grade will not be based on a mandated target, but on your performance. Historically, the average grade for a Marshall elective course is a 3.2. COURSE SIGNIFICANCE AND RELEVANCE The changes in the global market have brought forward the key competency of future global business leaders: the ability to move between cultures and translate information across cultures. BUCO 260 develops these intercultural business competencies and teaches students skills that are essential in communicating information across cultural borders by ways of analyzing, interpreting, translating and successfully transferring that information. BUCO 260 creates the foundation and deeper knowledge of the global business context upon which specific skills and strengths are built. The course may be taken prior to the upper division BUCO 460: International Business Communication course, which focuses on organizational communication skills needed for working in international or global business settings. This elective builds foundation to prepare students for upper division classes with global emphasis, MOR 470 Global Leadership and MOR 492 Global Strategy, and their more localized focus on leadership in MOR 470 and strategy in MOR 492. BUCO 260 will especially benefit business students who are planning to participate in or just returned from the international trips organized by Marshall Undergraduate International Business Programs, summer internships abroad, and/or are planning to participate in a semester long study abroad offered by the Marshall School of Business. ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND UNIVERSITY POLICIES Attendance. Your attendance and punctuality are necessary. Class discussions and course assignments require your presence and participation in class. In cases of compelling personal reasons (death in the family, hospitalization, etc.), absences may be excused. You must present documentation of some kind in order to excuse an absence. You will be marked absent for the day if you are more than ten minutes late for the class, or if you leave before the class is over without proper notification. Assignments. All assignments for this course must be completed on time and turned in at the beginning of the class period. If you are unable to attend class on the day a written assignment is due, make arrangements for it to be delivered to the classroom or to my

5 mailbox before the class. All late assignments will receive a grade penalty. Late or not, however, you are expected to complete all assignments to pass this course. Retention of "Graded" Work. Final exams and all other graded work which affected the course grade will be retained for one year after the end of the course if the graded work has not been returned to the student; i.e., if I returned a graded paper to you, it is your responsibility to file it, not mine. Academic Integrity Academic Standards: Academic integrity is a critical value of the University Community. Integrity violations destroy the fabric of a learning community and the spirit of inquiry that is vital to the effectiveness of the University. This course is subject to the Marshall School of Business Academic Standards and USC Academic Integrity Standards, as detailed in SCampus. Please refer to and become familiar with these standards. I will work with you to maintain an atmosphere conducive to personal integrity, intellectual honesty, and ethical behavior. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the unacknowledged and inappropriate use of the ideas or wording of another writer and can result in severe penalties including an F in the course. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to carefully document your sources, even when you are only making use of data or ideas rather than an actual quotation. To avoid having your writing marked by illegitimate assistance, ask yourself whether you would be able, on your own and without further assistance, to revise and improve the writing in question. If the answer is No ---if you would not be able to maintain the same conceptual and stylistic quality without outside assistance then you should not submit the writing as your own work. Students with Disabilities Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. You can obtain a letter of verification for approved accommodations from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 AM 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) Emergency Preparedness/Course Continuity In case of a declared emergency if travel to campus is not feasible, USC executive leadership will announce an electronic way for instructors to teach students in their residence halls or homes using a combination of Blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technologies. Please activate your course in Blackboard with access to the course syllabus. Whether or not you use Blackboard regularly, these preparations will be crucial in an emergency. USC's Blackboard learning management system and support information is available at blackboard.usc.edu.

6 Class Activity Assignments & Due Dates Week 1 8/28 Week 2 9/4 Week 3 9/11 INTRODUCTION Discusses course syllabus, requirements, and course policies. Oral introductions. AN OVERVIEW OF CULTURE Discusses culture, stereotypes, prototypes, and applications in the global marketplace. CULTURAL DIMENSIONS In-class video: International Business Practices: Hidden Dimensions Case study : LaJolla Software, Inc. Readings: Tuleja, E.A. Ch.1 Due: In-class student reports on a cultural communication problem. Due: In-class student reports on a cultural communication problem (continued). Week 4 9/18 Week 5 9/25 Week 6 10/2 Week 7 10/9 CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION Introduce Culture Debrief assignment; form groups; choose countries of analysis. CULTURE AND IDENTITY ELC ACTIVITY: ECOTONOS Cultural Detective. Business culture analysis using a culture lens. Readings: Tuleja, E.A. Ch.2 AsAssessing your direct and indirect communication style (in-class activity). Assessing your mindfulness (in-class activity). Bring prompt posted on Blackboard. Readings: Tuleja, E.A. Ch.3 Location: JKP ELC 301A Week 8 10/16 Week 9 10/23 Student presentations In-class video: Outsourced Due: Culture Debrief assignment Due: Outsourced blog posted by the end of the week (midnight on Sunday). Week 10 Video debrief: an analysis of Outsourced. 10/30 CULTURE AND POWER Week 11 11/6 CULTURE AND POWER (continued) Week 12 11/13 APPLICATIONS FOR INTERCULTURAL COMMUNCIATION Case study: The Walt Disney Company Readings: Tuleja, E.A. Ch.4 Reading: Kopnina, H The world according to Vogue: The role of culture(s) in international fashion magazines. Dialectical Anthropology, 31, Readings: Tuleja, E.A. Ch.5 Week 13 11/20 Week 14 11/27 Week 15 12/4 Group meetings with professor Group presentations Final class meeting: group presentations. Due: Cultural business construct/or country analysis. Due: Cultural business construct/or country analysis.

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