BUS360: CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT

FALL 2012

INSTRUCTOR:	Dr. Mark Meckler	OFFICE HOURS:
OFFICE:	Franz 407	MONDAY:
OFFICE PHONE	503/943-7467	TUESDAY:	11:00 – 12:30 p.m.
CELL PHONE	Given in Class	WEDNESDAY:	After 1pm by appointment
FAX:	503/943-8041	THURSDAY:	2:30 - 6:00 p.m.
EMAIL:	Meckler@up.edu	FRIDAY:
CLASSROOM	Franz 231
TIME	T 12:55 - 2:20 p.m. Th 12:55 - 2:20 p.m.

Course Description: This course is designed for students who wish to prepare themselves for working overseas or for working with people from other cultures. Students who master the course material will not have to worry about being viewed as an “Ugly American” or “Ugly _____.” The content and skills taught in this course are very important given today’s global economy and diverse work force. Since successful interculturalists are self-aware, the course begins with a focus on understanding one’s own culture. The second module of the course is geared toward understanding other cultures. You’ll be able to decode cultural behavior once you’ve learned about cultural dimensions and cross-cultural communication styles. The third part of the course will develop your cross-cultural skills in areas like communication, negotiation, motivation and leadership. In the final weeks, you’ll read about and interview expatriates to see what it’s like to live abroad and select employees to work internationally. Throughout the course, you’ll observe differences in how business is done in various countries.

Learning Goals Addressed in this Course:

X	Communication Competencies - This is a central theme in the course. Students will learn a variety of interpersonal communication approaches to help managers develop cross cultural interpersonal and group skills. Students will practice communication style skills in a variety of exercises and case discussions. There are chapters on intercultural communication exercises and role plays.
X	Problem Recognition, Prioritization, and Decision Making Competencies - Students will develop these skills in applying course concepts to the analysis and solution of cross cultural management case studies and problem situations.
X	Ethics and Social Responsibility Competencies - The core perspective of the course is a model of value driven leadership. Students will reflect on their own cultural values and learn to perceive and understand the cultural values of others.
X	Leadership, Team and Personal Competencies – Chapter on groups and teamwork, team project, and periodic team evaluations. Chapter on groups and teamwork, team project, and periodic team evaluations
	Business Knowledge Competencies - Students will develop a conceptual understanding of the broader integrative skills and perspectives required of managers.

Course Objectives:

· Gain a greater understanding of management practices and norms in different cultures and countries

· Understand differences in motivation and values across cultures and subcultures.

· Become more culturally sensitive in business communication and in organizational policy design and implementation.

· Develop cross-cultural skills to be more effective when dealing with and managing people from other cultures

· Understand what it’s like to be an expatriate so you can be one or manage them well

Texts:

1. Francesco and Gold, International Organizational Behavior, (1^st edition)

Class Format:

The methodology includes a mix of lectures, experiential exercises, group projects, and skill-building exercises. The most effective method for teaching skills and cross-cultural sensitivity is via experiential exercises. This means that we will turn the classroom into a laboratory and create conditions for understanding concepts through experience as well as readings. We will use role plays, exercises, and simulations so that you can pull out your own learning points from these experiences. This type of course requires students to take responsibility for their own learning. In order for an experiential course to be successful, students must do all the reading and homework preparation and participate actively in the classroom.

Please do not underestimate the importance of participation in this course. It is an important opportunity to practice your communication skills and demonstrate your knowledge and awareness of the issues. You have to learn to speak up and/or communicate with people from different cultures at some point in your career; you may as well do it here among friends. If you find it difficult to participate in class, please come see me in the beginning of the course so we have time to remedy the situation. Class contributions may consist of:

1. Comments on Readings and Case Studies:

Statement of a problem or issue related to the readings

Observations of how readings, etc. apply to specific situations

Application of readings to one’s personal experience or circumstance

Questions about the readings

Making connections between various readings

2. Active participation in simulations and related exercises

Attendance

Because this course is designed around value-added activities in the classroom, regular attendance is essential. You are an important ingredient in the class community we will form. Please call me before class if you cannot attend due to unavoidable reasons just as you would notify your boss.

Assignments and Grading System:

Students will be graded on the following:

1. Analysis of one’s own culture.

The purpose of this group assignment is to ensure that students understand the values of their own culture (subculture) and what it means to be Venezuelan, American, Thai, German, Columbian, Dutch, Nigerian, etc. This is primarily an assignment about your culture’s values not your personal/individual values. Try to locate the foremost authorities or reference material on your culture to help you with this, and perhaps interview a few people of different ages to get some variance in perspective rather than just working from you own intuition.

The assignment has five parts: (1) the culture’s key “operant” values accompanied by (2) behavioral examples and; (3) a link to one or more theoretic cultural dimensions/orientations; (4) The “espoused” values of the culture that are not really operant; and (5) a one page summary explanation of the internal logic of this culture.

Identify the culture or subculture you are describing at the top of the 1^st page. The first two parts should be written in an easy to read format (like the example shown below). Rank the values from most central and immovable to less central and somewhat more flexible. Ask yourself, during an event when the values are in conflict, which one would win out? For example, what would the general population choose if there was a conflict between friendship-loyalty and obeying the law? Are some values absolute (Kantian deontological) while others are more flexible depending upon the situation (Bentham/Mill utilitarian)? Provide at least one good behavioral example for each value.

- Cover at least 10 key operant values for your culture in an attempt to help someone from the outside understand as much of the work and work related behavior in the culture as possible. (50%)

- Cover at least five values that are espoused, but are not really operant; or that are espoused as highly important but operate with less importance. (20%)

- Make sure you have accurately distinguished between a value and a behavior or norm that manifests the value.

- After the list, write an explanation for the internal logic of this culture, using paragraph format to answer (at least) these questions. (10%)

o Why are these values so important? How certain are you that you got this right?

o What occurred in the history of this culture (its political history, economic history, demographic composition, geography, etc.) that made these values acquire more significance than others?

o Why are some values espoused as important and at the same time not really operant in the everyday behaviors of the social actors? Explain this in terms of the ones from your list above.

- Finally, reflect carefully and report on how are you and your personal values different from your culture and your culture’s values. (1pg minimum for this section) (20%).

In addition to the submitted assignments, students will also be graded on in-class contribution to the learning environment, making presentations as requested, contribution to group projects, and mastery of the readings.

Presentations:

Each student will make at least one presentation each term, finding a current event and linking it tightly to the current chapter, case or reading that we are doing that particular week in class. Presentations are 7 minutes maximum, and may include as many as 5 multimedia slides.

1. The criteria for in-class contribution to the learning environment is quality input (rather than quantity), consistent contribution to class discussions, thorough preparation, analytical insight, facilitation of other students’ ideas, building on the thinking of others and integrating that thinking into your own contributions. I expect students to share their views and experiences for the benefit of the class. I am looking for evidence of good critical thinking on your part: getting to the nub of a chapter, asking thought-provoking questions, coming up with learning points from our experiences in class, and sharing what you have learned about yourself and others during the exercises. Another aspect of participation is how well you help your learning group accomplish the tasks and exercises assigned both during and outside class. Merely coming to class is not sufficient; attendance is a first step but you must also participate actively.

2. Students will evaluate the contribution of their group members to group projects. A person who has not contributed to a group project will not receive the same grade as the other group members. Your team members will grade your contribution to group projects.

Tests

There will be a Midterm Exam and a Final Exam to test your knowledge and skills of decoding cultural behavior.

Case Questions and write-ups:

When a Case Study has been assigned, students must answer the questions about the case for the day (see schedule of events portion of this syllabus) and submit them via email not later than 9:00 AM the day of class. Your write up may be no longer than two pages, 12point font, single spaced, with 1” margins. Cases are graded on a 1-10 scale, with a 7 being the “expected minimum” quality write-up, that usually translates to a C+/B- on the curve at the end of the term. For some cases, specific Discussion Question are assigned. When there are no pre-assigned discussion questions posted for the case, or each student should:

1. (Minimal Requirement) state what you believe to be the main issues facing the firm or the managers, which of these you think is the most critical issue (or must be dealt with first), and why. (6 rating)

2. (Ok) state the main issues and also the facts most relevant to the issue you think is most important. Try to sort out the facts on multiple levels of analysis, (the department, the firm, the industry, the economy). Make an effort to withhold judgment and just state the facts and relationships in an orderly way. (7-8 rating)

3. (Good) in addition to the above, apply the theoretical readings from this class to the critical issue, helping us to make sense of the facts, and the situation. (8-9 rating)

4. (Great) additionally, proscribe future action about what you think is the most critical issue by using a theoretical basis established from course readings, and the facts presented in the case. (9-10 rating)

5. (Also Great) during in class discussion is a unifying or summary statement of what others in the class seem to be saying, then moving the class forward to the next issue that needs to be considered.

All students will be required to prepare to present their views on each case during class. Student performance in class accounts for a large part of the final grade. In order to be prepared for class, students should be prepared to discuss each of the pre-assigned questions about the case (see course schedule), and if there were no discussion questions assigned, then be prepared to discuss issues from the list above on case write-ups.

Grading of Written Assignments. Good, concise writing is a skill all managers need to have. Please consult the writing assistants in Buckley #315 if you want or need to improve your writing. The Writing Assistant Program is a free service provided by the University; please get in the habit of having other people look at your writing. Points will be subtracted for poorly written work. All papers should be typed and double-spaced. Make sure you have another copy on diskette in case my dog eats your paper.

Grading Guidelines for Student Papers (sample)

"A" (Excellent)-This is an excellent paper. The content is thoughtful, perceptive and original. The style is superior, and the mechanics are close to flawless. The paper is comprehensive and demonstrates a good grasp of the concepts discussed in class and in your textbook. The analysis is outstanding and the insights developed are exceptional.

"B" (Good)-This is a good paper. Its original, complex ideas are well developed, well organized and compellingly defended. It does not contain any major distracting errors in mechanics and usage. However, it lacks the distinctive style and/or content necessary to set it above other papers. In particular, it does a reasonably good job of analysis but not exceptional. There is an easily recognized and well-connected link between the paper’s topic and the content being studied in the classroom.

"C" (Satisfactory)-This is an average paper. It is a competent effort that is generally clear and coherent, but it contains errors in organization and/or mechanics. It carries out the assignment in a routine manner, but the writing is not vigorous nor the ideas fresh. The paper does an adequate job of analysis and there is some connection between the topic covered and the content being studied in the classroom.

"D" (Poor)-This is a poor paper. It is intelligible but weak; it addresses the assignment but does not state or support a commitment to the topic. It contains frequent grammatical errors, making the paper difficult to read. Its content shows minimal effort. The paper does a poor job of analysis and there is little connection between the paper’s topic and the content being studied in the classroom.

"F" (Fail) -This paper is unintelligible. It is incoherent, illogical, factually inaccurate, and logically inconsistent.

Grading Scale (Sample)

A = 93-100 C+ = 77-79 D- = 60-62

A- = 90-92 C = 73-76 F <60

B+ = 87-89 C- = 70-72

B = 83-86 D+ = 67-69

B- = 80-82 D = 63-66

Grading Scheme:

Grading Points	Point Value
Analysis of Personal Culture	30
Midterm Exam	20
Case Studies and Readings Reflections	20
Final Exam	20
In Class Performance	10

General Information

Please notify your instructor if you have a learning disability or require special assistance with this course. Confidential personal and learning assistance counseling are made available to students through the Division of Student Services.

University and School of Business Policy on Cheating: I want to be sure you get your money's worth out of this course and that you will be able to put what you have learned into practice; that can only happen if you do the work yourself.

“Because of the University’s commitment to academic integrity, cheating on course work or on examinations will result in penalties that may include a grade of “F” for the specific exam or course work or a grade of “F” for the course. Any incident of cheating will be reported to the dean of the college in which the course is offered and to the dean of the college or school in which the student is currently enrolled” (University of Portland Bulletin). Students in the School of Business Administration who are turned in for an initial case of cheating will be put on probation. A second cheating incident will lead to dismissal from the School of Business. Note: Plagiarism is considered to be a form of cheating. It consists of taking the ideas, writings, etc. from another and passing them off as one’s own (Webster’s New World Dictionary).

Course Calendar:

Week	Date	Topic	Assignments to Complete Before Class*
1	8/28 & 30	Globalization and Business	Introduction Ch1 and Case Study: Culture Clash in the Entertainment Industry
2	9/4 & 6	Culture and Management Dimensions & Orientations	Introduction and Ch 2 Reading 1: Hofstede
3	9/11 & 13	Culture and Management Dimensions & Orientations	Case Study: The Careless Collaborators Reading 2: Trompaanars
4	9/18 & 20	X-Cultural Communication	CH4 and Case Study West Indies Yacht Club Resort
5	9/25 & 27	Cross Cultural Ethics	Ch 3 Reading 4: Distributive Fairness
6	10/2 & 4	Self-Leadership and Leading Others	Ch 9 Reading: Levels of Leadership Case Study: Conscience or Competitive Edge?
7	10/9 &11	MIDTERM EXAM Due: Analysis of Personal Culture	See Exam Study Guide, Go over all chapters and case Studies
8	10/16 &18	FALL BREAK, NO CLASS
9	10/23 & 25	Motivating individuals, groups and teams in a diverse environment	Ch 6 and Ch 7 Case Study: Managing a Diverse Workforce in Indonesia
10	10/30 & 11/1	Decision Making and Decision Biases	Decision Biases Chapter from Brest and Krieger (2010) Reading: Kahneman 2011, Don’t Blink! The Hazards of Confidence - NYTimes
11	11/6 &8	Negotiation and Conflict Resolution	Ch 5 Reading 3: Negotiating with Romans Case Study: Google and the Government of China
	11/10	Simulation Saturday	Discerning Cross Cultural Differences and Meanings
12	11/13 & 15	Organizational Culture Anti-Discrimination and Civil Rights Laws	CH 8. Handouts: Title VII of Civil Rights Act, 1964, and Employment Interviews Read up on Civil rights around the world. Bring in a summary. Case Study: In class film (Thursday): Gung Ho (DQs due following Tuesday)
13	11/20 &22	International Human Resource Management Thanksgiving Break Thursday	Ch 10 Submit Gung Ho discussion questions on Tuesday.
14	11/27	Ex-patriot Living and Working Review for Exam 2 on Thursday	Reading: Osland, Joyce S. THE JOURNEY INWARD: EXPATRIATE HERO TALES AND PARADOXES. DQs Due on TUESDAY 27th! Case Study: Yutaka Nakamura: A Foreigner in His Native Land
15	12/4	EXAM 2
			*Thursdays are case study discussion question (DQ) days unless otherwise noted