BMGT30440

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. Discuss, describe, analyse and evaluate managing in a cross-cultural environment in terms of its characteristics and be able to apply theoretical concepts to a range of different international management and business settings.
2. Understand, analyse and evaluate how communication, negotiation, decision-making, motivation, leadership, strategy, company and industry organisation, operations, and managing international teams are profoundly impacted by cultural and behavioural specificities.
3. Through class content, case discussion, class dialogue and module assignments the students will develop analytical and reflective skills on managing across cultures as well as intercultural communicative competencies.

Indicative Module Content:

In this module, we cover topics and concepts related to values, cognition, organisational frameworks, communication, leadership, motivation, negotiation, and ethics.

In particular, we will:

1. Examine and describe a culture in terms of its features, how cultures differ and persist, the major debates surrounding culture today and culture and social groups, and be able to apply these theories and concepts to a range of different cultural and organisational settings.
2. Examine and describe how culture works based on cross-cultural interaction in terms of social cognition, cultural norms and scripts, selective perception, stereotypical expectations, differential attributions, the cross-cultural interaction model and finally the nature of motivation across culture.
3. Be able to critically appraise these different theories and concepts and critically evaluate their usefulness in addressing the problems of managing people from different cultures.
4. Describe and evaluate the manager as a decision-maker and the cross-cultural dimensions of decision-making.
5. Examine and evaluate the manager as a negotiator through communication and negotiating across cultures.
6. Examine and evaluate the manager and his / her leadership role across different cultures.
7. Understand, analyse and evaluate the key issues relating to the successful management of multicultural groups and teams.
8. Understand, analyse and evaluate the challenge of international assignments for the employer and the prospective candidate for the international assignment.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

This module is structured around a series of lectures across 12 weeks, class debate, and, where relevant, case studies and video materials. Class participation is an essential component of the design of this course. All students will be expected to engage in in-class discussion and debate to facilitate the formation of their critical judgments. Students are expected to have their name cards in class.

Teaching and learning strategies for this module include a range of activities to accommodate and support different abilities, skills, and learning styles that allow every student from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to participate and to achieve success.

In this module, cultural diversity is the norm rather than the exception. Culture is characterised by shared patterns of behaviours and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understandings, which are learned through a process of socialisation. Hence, my teaching and learning strategies are designed through students’ interaction and communication within and across cultural groups in the class.

Group work and collaborative learning in this module are to facilitate a deeper understanding of the issues discussed during the lecture and to develop intercultural attitudes and competence, through sharing of experiences and integration among students.
All collaborative work in this module is done through group assignments of international groups of three to five students. To maximise students’ opportunities to get to know more students from the same class, two/three different sets of international groups are created. International research confirms that intercultural learning has often happened as a result of mixed cohorts of students studying together.

When students had to work in mixed groups, it encouraged them to think comprehensively – appreciating the perspectives and input of students from other cultures, with different language and cultural backgrounds. It encourages them to learn how to communicate and collaborate with people from different cultures, particularly when they are challenged with complex tasks or questions.

Collaborative learning in cross-cultural settings for intercultural problem-solving assignments fosters in students critical thinking and reflection on information and knowledge they possess and changes the association that students have to their own education.

All activities in this module are developed to raise awareness of different cultural perspectives, and advance students’ skills of observation, interpretation, and non‑judgmental thinking.

Students are actively encouraged to engage critically with AI tools as part of their learning in this module. Appropriate uses may include brainstorming, summarising material and testing ideas. Any use of AI must be cited appropriately.



ALL THE COMPONENTS OF THE ASSESSMENT ARE COMPULSORY.


CLASS PARTICIPATION AND SHORT INDIVIDUAL ESSAYS

Class participation is an essential component of the design of this course. All students will be expected to engage in in-class discussion and debate to facilitate the formation of their critical judgments.
Students will be expected to submit their individual short essays before class throughout the semester.
Students will write short personal reflections on different topics.

GROUP PROJECTS

The key in this Group Project will be to step outside your own cultural box and to further develop/enhance your cultural empathy skills. In this project, I would like you to be imaginative, creative, as well as analytical and evaluative. There are three possible project options. Each option involves a written and oral component. More details on the options will be discussed in the class.
Projects will be presented and submitted in Weeks 11 & 12 on a “first come, first served” basis.

GROUP PRESENTATION

Presentations in the class of the assigned academic readings and other assignments are done in groups on a weekly basis.

INDIVIDUAL FINAL EXAM-ESSAY

The evaluation will assess your knowledge of the course content. The questions will focus on the concepts and tools discussed in the class and covered in the associated texts. You will be expected to support your answers with examples. This is a 3000-word essay. The individual exam essay will be done individually.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Learning Recommendations:

No prior modules requirements. Bring your desire to learn.

Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.

 

Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Group and class feedback will be given during the semester.

The essential textbook and readings for this module are:

Main Text:
Richard M. Steers (Author), Joyce S. Osland (Author), Management Across Cultures: Developing Global Competencies, 4d Edition, Cambridge University Press.

Main Readings:
Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in
Psychology and Culture, 2(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1014

Katze, L. (2017) Negotiating International Business: The Negotiator's Reference Guide to 50 Countries Around the World,
Book Surge Publishing; 3ed edition.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.