Cross-Cultural Management Practices MGT 3640 YOL Spring 2012

Cross-Cultural Management Practices MGT 3640 YOL Spring 2012 Thursdays 18:00 20:50pm in N 621 INSTRUCTOR OFFICE HOURS COURSE MATERIALS Required Textbook: Anja-Lina Wamser anjalina.wamser@uleth.ca By appointment Understanding cross-cultural management, 2008, Browaeys, M., & Price, R., Harlow, UK: Prentice Hall, ISBN 978-0-273-70336-5 (Order through bookstore.uleth.ca) All lecture slides, class handouts, and online sessions for students available on Moodle. Please check regularly. PREREQUISITES/ CO-REQUISITES/EQUIVALENTS Third-year standing (a minimum of 60.0 credit hours) COURSE DESCRIPTION Calendar Description: An overview of comparative organizational behaviour, cross-cultural management practices, and an examination of how culture is expressed within the work environment here and abroad. Overview of Course Content, Focus and Approach: This course is an overview of managing different cultures in particular, people problems that invariably arise in international business relationships. Failure to understand and manage the differences in attitudes, values, and Cross-cultural Management Practices Spring 2012 1

behaviours of those with whom managers interact in international business transactions consistently has been shown to be a major source of difficulties. The course addresses such issues as cross-cultural communication and cultural sensitivity, culture shock, international business practices, and various national as well as regional culture-specific approaches to management. A variety of approaches are used in this course. Although the course includes lectures and online sessions, it relies heavily on discussions and class exercises. Thus, student participation in class is important. This course will be taught using a combination of classroom and online learning. Students must have access to appropriate computer technology & the Internet. COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES The major objectives of the course are: To expand awareness of and sensitivity to cross-cultural issues To develop skills to meet the challenges of doing business internationally To gain a solid background and understanding of other nations management practices METHOD OF ASSESSMENT ASSIGNMENT VALUE DUE DATE Mid-term Exam 25% 1 March Cross-cultural Group Paper 20% 12 April Cross-cultural Group Presentation 10% 12 April 3 Online Session Quizzes 15% See class schedule Take-Home Final Exam 30% April 24 30 Total 100% PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS 1. Exams This course includes a mid-term and a take-home final exam. The duration of the mid-term will be approximately 120 minutes. The exam will cover all materials covered up to that date. Questions will be in multiple choice, short-answer and/or essay format. Answers should be well written, organized, and thoughtful and demonstrate a solid understanding of course material. The final take-home exam will be cumulative in scope (all readings, presentations, class-notes, discussions, guest speakers, exercises, and videos covered), and include open-ended questions (short answer and/or essay questions). Answers should be well written, organized, thoughtful, concise, and demonstrate a solid understanding and application of course material. 2. Cross-cultural Group Paper and Presentations For this assignment and presentation, you are asked to view, in groups of four to five students, one movie/film/video from the list provided and present an analysis of the various cross-cultural issues in the film using the textbook and other additional researched material. Projects can focus on one country/culture, one region, or be comparative. Every group needs to pick a different movie the allocation will be done in class. As soon as you have formed a group and chosen a movie, submit the Cross-cultural Management Practices Spring 2012 2

group details (through E-Mail: anjalina.wamser@uleth.ca) including the name of the group leader and members as well as the name of the movie you have chosen. Movie List Bend it like Beckham Seven Years in Tibet Lost in Translation Brokedown Palace Gung Ho The Last Samurai My Big Fat Greek Wedding Outsourced The Kingdom Spanglish Rabbit-proof Fence The White Masai The Namesake Dances with Wolves Gran Torino Syriana Own selection, with instructor s approval The purpose of this assignment and presentation is to examine cross-cultural issues in one specific film and to apply theoretical cross-cultural concepts to real world (fictional) situations, using theme concepts studied in this course. To meet this objective, you are expected to make a critical review of the already existing literature on the issue of interest. The presentation should be well organized, creative and indicate a solid knowledge base of course material. The presentation should be approximately 15 minutes in length + 5 minutes for questions. Your final report should be 6-11 pages long, including references (at least 7 apart from the textbook) and appendices (1" margins on all sides; 12-point font; 1.5-spaced lines). Prepare your submission using the APA guidelines. Your final paper must have a cover sheet (i.e., title page) that includes the title of your paper and appropriate identifying information: course number, date, each group member s name and ID. A soft copy of your group assignment and the PowerPoint Presentation slides are due before class and can be submitted to my e-mail (anjalina.wamser@uleth.ca). Peer Group Evaluation Strictly confidential peer-group evaluation will be involved in each group assignment grading when deemed necessary if you feel all group members should receive the same grade, there is no need for a peer evaluation. In case you feel another group member does not deserve the same grade as you, evidence of why needs to be provided (meeting logs signed by all group members that were present, e-mails, pieces of work etc.) and submitted with your peer evaluation sheet. I will use team member assessments as one important piece of information in determining your overall score. No evidence = no grade change. A signed, completed peerevaluation form (hard copy, see APPENDIX I) is due on the day you are handing in your group work. Cross-cultural Management Practices Spring 2012 3

Late assignments will be penalized 10% for each calendar day they are late. Papers will not be accepted 5 calendar days past the due date. 3. Online Session Quizzes There are 3 online sessions for this class (see topic outline and schedule on p. 6). This means there will be no lectures held in class on the dates specified and that you will be able to view the online session as many times as you wish and from where you wish. You need to have access to a computer and the Internet to view the PowerPoint slides with audio comments. For each online session, you will have to answer a set of questions relating to the content of the PowerPoint presentation you watched. These quizzes will either be held in class at the beginning of the next class or are to be done online. When they are done online, the answers to the questions are due before the next class starts (before 6 pm). This means that you need to have viewed the online sessions sometime before the next class starts to be able to answer the questions in the quizzes. An email will be sent to your uleth email address to sign up for access through Acrobat Connect Pro. The links to view the online PowerPoint presentations with audio will be posted on BlackBoard in the respective folders. GRADING SCHEME Percent Mark Letter Grade Grade Points Percent Mark Letter Grade Grade Points 95.00-100.00 A+ 4.0 90.00-94.99 A 4.0 86.00-89.99 A- 3.7 82.00-85.99 B+ 3.3 78.00-81.99 B 3.0 74.00-77.99 B- 2.7 70.00-73.99 C+ 2.3 66.00-69.99 C 2.0 62.00-65.99 C- 1.7 58.00-61.99 D+ 1.3 50.00-57.99 D 1.0 0.00-49.99 F 0 COURSE POLICIES 1. Prerequisites. It is the responsibility of students to check the prerequisites for courses before registration. If students are found to be registered in a course for which they do not have the prerequisites, and they have not received prior permission from the appropriate program chair, they can be de-registered. If this occurs after the drop/add date, tuition will not be refunded. 2. Examinations. Alternative arrangements for writing a missed exam may be made at the discretion of the instructor. Deferrals may only be granted in extenuating circumstances such as extreme illness or other serious circumstances beyond the student s control. Work commitments, holidays or traffic are not considered legitimate reasons for missing an exam. Students who fail to write final exams must provide satisfactory evidence of illness or extenuating circumstances AND must have the approval of the Dean for a makeup exam. For missed exams, a grade of F (0 marks) will be given. Deferred final exams can only be written at times set by the school and instructor. Please note that if a final exam deferral is granted, the date will be set by the instructor and department. Students who fail to write final exams Cross-cultural Management Practices Spring 2012 4

must provide satisfactory evidence of illness or extenuating circumstances AND must have the approval of the Dean for a makeup exam. For missed exams, a grade of F (0 marks) will be given. 3. Exam policies: For security reasons, students may not leave the examination site during the first thirty (30) minutes nor enter after the first thirty (30) minutes. Data or internet-enabled phones (i.e. Blackberry, I-Phone etc.), laptops or other electronic devices may not be used during examinations without prior approval of the instructor. Students, who are found to have an electronic device on their person or desk during an examination, could be in breach of the electronic devices policy, which could result in a 0 grade on the exam. Please see additional examination policies in the 2011/2012 University Calendar, page 86. 4. Academic Dishonesty. In cases of academic misconduct, you will receive an F on the assignment and/or you will receive an F in the course. Students can find further information in the 2011-2012 Calendar. Ethical Conduct: The University s policies are described in the calendar and all students are expected to read and comply with them. Special care should be taken to understand and avoid the Academic Offenses of Plagiarism and Cheating listed in the Student Discipline Policy. Students will respect the basic standards of intellectual integrity, including, but not limited to, refraining from plagiarism, cheating or copying someone else s work. In addition, students are expected to take an active role in encouraging other members of the academic community to refrain from academic dishonesty, and are asked to advise the instructor if they are aware of any such violations. This provision applies to any work submitted as a group project. Plagiarism: to steal and pass off the ideas and words of another as one s own (Webster s). Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will automatically result in a zero grade for the submission. Any student caught plagiarizing may also be subject to additional University sanctions. For the current university policy on Cheating and Plagiarism, please consult University of Lethbridge calendar. The University of Lethbridge subscribes to a plagiarism detection service. Students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form for plagiarism checking. CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS Class attendance is an important part of the learning process. Although it is not mandatory, I strongly encourage you to attend classes regularly and read the assigned readings before coming to class. Come to the class prepared to have lively discussions this means you have read the assigned material for class. Participate fully in class activities as your participation is essential to the success of the class. Please note that talking is not the same as participating. Participating professionally is expected behaviour. Points may be deducted however for unprofessional behaviour (up to 5% of your final grade). Unprofessional behaviour includes undesirable behaviours, such as arriving late to classes or leaving classes early, holding side conversations, reading other material or doing other things during class (e.g. checking facebook, clipping your nails etc.), as well as sleeping or inappropriately inconveniencing others. If you know you are going to be late or have to leave early please let me know in advance to minimize class disruptions. Electronic rudeness has become a classroom problem to be managed. All cell phones must be inactivated while in class. A ringing cell phone interrupts class every time, and is also a strong breach of etiquette. Laptop computers can be used in class only to take class notes. No surfing the Net in class, or doing work for other courses, please! Thanks in advance for being courteous. Cross-cultural Management Practices Spring 2012 5

CLASS SCHEDULE Below is merely a tentative outline. Depending on how coverage of various issues progresses, we may spend more time on certain topics and less time on others. Classes highlighted below are online sessions. Attendance is mandatory for 12 April 2012 and will be taken with a sign-in sheet. CLASS DATE TOPIC 01 12 Jan 2012 Introduction & Course Overview PART 1 Culture and Management Reading: Chapter 1 Determinants of Culture (pp. 9) 02 19 Jan 2012 Reading: Chapter 2 Dimensions of Culture in Business (pp. 19) 03 26 Jan 2012 Readings: Chapter 3 Western Business Cultures (pp. 38) Chapter 4 Business Cultures in the East (pp.58) SUBMIT GROUP DETAILS 04 02 Feb 2012 Reading: Chapter 5 Cultural Dimensions and Dilemmas (pp. 80) Chapter 6 Culture and Styles of Management 05 09 Feb 2012 PART 2 Culture and Organizations Reading: Chapter 7 Culture and Corporate Structures (pp. 134) 06 16 Feb 2012 Reading: Chapter 8 Culture and Leadership (pp. 147) 07 01 Mar 2012 MID-TERM EXAM 08 08 Mar 2012 Reading: Chapter 9 Culture and Strategy (pp. 168) 09 15 Mar 2012 Reading: Chapter 11 Culture and Marketing (pp. 196) Chapter 12 Cultural Diversity in Organizations (pp. 211) 10 22 Mar 2012 PART 3 Culture and Communication Reading: Chapter 13 Business Communication in and between Cultures (pp. 239) Chapter 14 Barriers to intercultural Communication (pp. 255) 11 29 Mar 2012 Reading: Chapter 15 Negotiating internationally (pp. 273) Chapter 16 Working with international Teams (pp. 286) 12 05 Apr 2012 Reading: Chapter 17 Conflicts and cultural Differences (pp. 300) 13 12 Apr 2012 Cross-cultural Group Papers due & Presentations* 14 24 30 April 2012 Final take-home Exam due I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE MARKING SCHEME OR THE CLASS SCHEDULE DURING THE TERM. * Attendance mandatory Cross-cultural Management Practices Spring 2012 6

Appendix I Peer Evaluation Sheet (highly confidential) Your Name Course # MGT Assessing your fellow team members should be taken seriously, as it is your input into how well your team members performed during your team assignment in this course. You can reward those members, who did an outstanding job. Also, you can let your instructor know about members who did less than they should have when performing team assignments. Some points you might want to keep in mind are as follows: 1. The individual s attendance at group meetings 2. Their flexibility when scheduling group meetings 3. Their preparedness at group meetings 4. Their contribution at meetings (e.g., quality of discussion, ideas) 5. Taking an active part in outside research (e.g., library searches) 6. Overall contribution towards team assignment Your score on this term paper project is a multiplicative function of your team project score and the participation factor score that your team members provide see the details below on how to come up with your final score. List all team members in the NAME column by last name, followed by the first name. Include yourself in the list, but you don t have to rate yourself. Leave the space beside your name blank. Scores can range from 0.0 (no contribution at all on this project) to 1.1. The sum of the scores for all team members cannot exceed the number of members in your team minus 1.0 (i.e., yourself). For example, if you have a 5-person team, you can allocate any points among your four team members up to a maximum of 4 (i.e., 5-1). However, if everyone contributed equally, you would assign each team member one point. THIS COMPLETED, SIGNED SHEET (HARD COPY) IS DUE AT THE END OF PRESENTATION. Now, assume that you are in a 5-person team, and you received from your team members the following scores: 1.1, 1.1, 1.0, and 1.1. Then your peer rating score would be (1.1 + 1.1 + 1.0 + 1.1)/4 = 4.3/4 = 1.075. I will take that score and multiply it by the team project score to get a final score for you. For example, if the team project score is 75%, then your final score would be 1.075 X 75 = 80.625. Finally, note that an overall team score cannot be greater than 100%. # NAME (LAST NAME, FIRST NAME) PARTICIPATION SCORE 1 2 3 4 5 Total* (# Team Members minus 1.0) * I reserve the right to correct any errors in this document at any time. Note. If you assigned a team member a very low score, you need to be able to back up your marking with written evidence (logs of meetings, e-mails etc.) that you attach to this sheet. Signature Date Cross-cultural Management Practices Spring 2012 7