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Faculty
Kinga Konczey, Corvinus University of Budapest

Course Coordinator
ISUP Secretariat

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Students must have some Management (Organisational Behaviour, Human Resource Management) background.
Closed for CBS students studying BSc. BLC.

Course content, structure and teaching

The course aims to prepare students as global citizens with the intercultural tools necessary to manage or work in business, government, and nongovernmental organizations anywhere in the world. The course aims to help students develop cross-cultural skills and competencies. Topics covered include coping with challenges in a multi-cultural environment; communicating and interacting across cultures; international decision making and problem solving skills; cross-cultural negotiations; conflict resolution; ethical dilemmas in cross-cultural environments.

Hence the course is designed to provide students with an understanding of different cultures and the role of cultural differences and country images in everyday communication and in business settings. It also helps students appreciate the issues, problems, and challenges inherent in cultural differences.

Course content:

• Understanding and describing culture, the culture metaphors;
• Culture shock – how to deal with it;
• Verbal and nonverbal communication across cultures;
• Persuasion and audience analysis in different cultures;
• Time and space perception across cultures;
• Cross cultural problem solving, decision making, ethical dilemmas;
• Business and social customs (humour, taboos, bribery, etc)
• Negotiating across cultures;
• Dealing with difficult situations across cultures

The course's development of personal competences

• Understand the role of cultural differences in communication and management strategies
• Identify country stereotypes and images
• Develop decision-making and analytical skills through the use of real cases and exercises
• Develop cultural understanding and tolerance
• Develop skills and compentencies in how to work effectively as part of a team, and build a cooperative atmosphere among team members of varied cultures.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course students should be able to:

• Understand the cross-cultural and international aspects of management based on direct cross-cultural interaction experiences through in-class simulations;
• Develop effective problem solving and communication strategies in cross cultural settings.

In particular students will:

• Have an improved awareness of their own and others' culture;
• Understand what culture shock is and how it can be dealt with;
• Strengthen their intercultural communication skills and learn how to apply specific management tasks, like communication, leadership or negotiation in a foreign setting;
• Develop assertive communication methods, in order to become more persuasive in their cross-cultural interaction;
• Consciously analyse the audience the interact with and apply a communication strategy that suits their level of interest / motivation / involvement / and cultural perspective;
• Understand the effects of cultural differences in the negotiation context and development of efficient strategy;
• Develop cultural understanding and tolerance in cross cultural problem solving and decision making.

Teaching methods

The subject has a strong application focus. Class sessions will consist of a variety of activities including short lectures, team work and discussions, and in-class exercises. There will be significant emphasis on experiential learning processes including small group discussions, problem solving exercises, games, case studies, role plays, along with assignments designed to apply concepts to work situations. Two complex simulations will help students directly experience cross cultural interactions in a focused conscious way. Students play an active part as they plan, simulate, negotiate, obtain feedback, and evaluate their own intercultural communication strategies.

Examination

Mandatory mid-term feedback assignment: In order to be allowed to present the final assignment, each student must submit one mandatory feedback assignment (approximately 3-4 pages) on individual cultural experiences. In this short paper course concepts should be applied in the analysis of the situation. With this students will practice the depth of analysis required in the final project.

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

The project/home assignment requires students to perform an independent piece of research (appx 10 pages long), and in doing so, understand and apply the concepts of the course. Students will be given a complex case and they will need to solve and analyse the case with the use of course concepts and theories. Students need to select and critically apply relevant theories in their attempt to provide alternative solutions. Each proposed solution should be cross checked for feasibility and potential failures.

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

Recommended literature

Chaney L.H and Martin, J.S.(2007): Intercultural Business Communication. Pearson, Prentice-Hall (pp 1-265)

Last updated by ISUP Secretariat 29/01/2010