Cross-Cultural Management

Among the greatest impediments to the effective management of human resources in today's world of business is the complex set of culturally based assumptions and prejudices about human behavior unknowingly brought into the workplace. The management skills, motivational techniques, personal behavioral patterns, and methods of communication that are valued as effective leadership characteristics in one cultural or national setting can be perceived quite differently, even negatively, in another. An important learning process is recognizing that people's responses to, and effectiveness in, work environments are to a great extent shaped by cultural forces.

This course examines and analyzes what constitutes effective leadership, management, and communication in today's cross-cultural environment of global business. How should business be conducted in other lands? How should people be managed and organized in cultures very different from their own? To what extent are various cultural practices from one country transferable to another? How do we factor the effective cross-cultural management practice into global business plans, human resource managerial strategies, and social business gatherings?

To answer these questions, the students in this course will study, analyze and debate a number of subjects relevant to cross-cultural management: language and communication, cross-cultural conflict resolution and negotiation, culturally biased managerial assumptions, national management cultures, intercultural sensitivity and competency, cross-cultural organizational behavior, global human resource management, training of international managers, the challenges of living and working within cultural diversity, the impact of culture on organization and leadership theory, multi-cultural team-working, and the ethical dilemmas of cultural interaction and conflict.

This course focuses on the critical role culture plays in devising effective international management strategies and techniques. It aims to highlight those areas of cultural divergence, which always challenge communication, understanding, and meaningful teamwork between people of different cultural backgrounds. It prompts students to identify and challenge their own cultural assumptions, conditioning, and practices which may impede the ability to positively interact with others. The course also seeks to provide practical, down-to-earth knowledge and a mix of basic technical skills needed to avoid the managerial pitfalls of cultural innocence and to employ heightened cultural awareness and sensitivity for effective management and action in cross-cultural settings.