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HA HU48 - Management and Culture of International Business

Faculty
RS Hubbard, University of Southern California

Course Coordinator
ISUP Secretariat

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Some work experience and some international experience is preferred.

Course content, structure and teaching

Management and Culture of International Business is an experientially-based course for students who are interested in living or working in another country or doing business with people from other countries. In this course students will learn the intercultural business strategies, cultural and organizational communication skills needed to be successful in international or global settings. The course focuses on international business, intercultural communication, managing culture shock, intercultural business etiquette, negotiating in an intercultural setting, and repatriation.

The course is divided into the following three broad areas:

  1. Operating in an International Environment (Preparation for doing business or working in another country - with special attention to North American firms)
  2. Communicating with International Clients (Practical experience of interacting with clients in another country)
  3. Developing products and Services for International clients (Application of concepts to the global business environment)
Learning Objectives

Upon a successful completion of this course, students should be able to meet the following five objectives:

  1. Know the different aspects of doing business internationally or interculturally - marketing, business partners, import/export, foreign direct investment.
  2. Identify cultural differences and develop the ones that lead to positive professional and social relationships with people from other countries.
  3. Define the specific elements of a "foreign" society that could lead to culture shock, and manage them in ways that ensure positive completion of foreign professional activities.
  4. Apply the knowledge gained from this course to improve individual and organizational professional opportunities.
Teaching methods

We will use a variety of learning methodologies, including lectures, reports on various organizations, regional/country studies, visual aids, experiential activities, simulations, case studies, self-assessment, and feedback.

One of the main features of the course is the following Intercultural Communication Simulation:

This exercise provides an opportunity for students to explore cultural issues as they relate to marketing products and services in other countries.

The objectives of the exercise are to:

  • Recognize the "worldview" of another culture.
  • Respond appropriately to the traits and mannerisms of a "foreign" culture.
  • Develop communication strategies to achieve successful intercultural relationships.

The parties must resolve the following issues during the negoriation:

  • Differences among people from "high-context" and "low-context" cultures.
  • Non-verbal communication and culture.
  • Cultural impact in products and services.

The exercise and the debriefing that follows will examine the following issues:

  1. Impact of the different business and cultural issues among the parties.
  2. Impact of culture on advertising campaigns.
  3. Impact of non-verbal communication on products and services.

Participants will not be asked to play cultural archetypes in the exercise but they will be expected to understand the number of ways in which the different cultural orientations would make the interaction more intense and difficult.

Examination

Mandatory mid-term feedback assignment: In order to sit for the final exam or submit a final project, each student must have given one short presentation on a specific topic of intercultural management or the business culture of a specific country, based on at least two academic sources.

Final exam: Project/home assignment (written individually), 10 A4 pages.

Exam aids: Country reports, websites of selected organizations, course textbook.

Re-take exam: Project home assignment (written individually), 10 A4 pages.

Recommended literature

Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace by Iris Varner and Linda Beamer (McGraw-Hill Publishers, 2005 – pp.399)

Various articles International Business


Last updated by ISUP Secretariat 29/01/2010