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Cross-Cultural Management for IT-Specialists

• Course name: Cross-Cultural Management for IT-Specialists
• Code discipline: 0.1 Course characteristics
• Subject area:

Short Description

This course covers the following concepts: • Interaction in a Multicultural Team;; • Leadership Across Cultures;; • Cross-Cultural Positioning/Adaptation of a Project/Company;; • Resolution of Cross-Cultural Disputes;.

Course Topics

Course Sections and Topics

Section	Topics within the section
Cross-Cultural Management and Modern Challenges in Business	- The Best Variant to Apply Cross-Cultural Management Skills in Modern Business - Qualitative Aspects of National Cultures - Personal Branding of a Manager/Specialist Aspiring to Work Globally
Working in Multicultural Teams.	Cross-Cultural Sensitivity. Collaboration inside a Multicultural Team. Leadership of a Multinational Team
Cross-Cultural Adaptation of a Product/Project.	- Collecting information on target audiences in a foreign cultural environment. - Cross-Cultural Activities Online. - Corporate Communications in Cross-Cultural Environment.
Cross-Cultural Negotiations and Dispute Resolution	- Dialogue in International Business. - Specific Features of Business Negotiations in Cross-Cultural Environment - Cross-Cultural Conflicts in Business. - Cross-Cultural Mediation and Dispute Resolution
Written Communication in Multicultural Environment	- Business Correspondence in Multicultural Environment. - Interpretation of Texts in Various Cultures. - Cultural Stereotypes while Preparing for Presentations (colors, texts, etc.). - Cross-Cultural Issues in Investor Presentations.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

What is the main purpose of this course?

The main objective of the course is to provide students with a set of skills to identify and adequately interpret the cultural intentions of their respective target audiences to successfully promote themselves and their projects in foreign markets. During the course, the students will receive information on the following aspects:

ILOs defined at three levels

Level 1: What concepts should a student know/remember/explain?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

• • qualitative aspects of national cultures;
• • business stereotypes in different cultures;
• • general principles of leadership in multinational teams;
• key challenges while adapting the product/projects to the cultural expectations of the subsequent target audiences;
• • cross-cultural misunderstandings (conflicts) and the ways to overcome them.
• characteristic features of written communication in global business environment

Level 2: What basic practical skills should a student be able to perform?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

• potential problem areas in managing cross-cultural teams;
• key challenges while adapting the product/projects to the cultural requirements of the subsequent target audiences;
• steps to build up mutual understanding inside an intercultural team
• typical mistakes while preparing documents for the respondents from other cultures.

Level 3: What complex comprehensive skills should a student be able to apply in real-life scenarios?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

• techniques to interpret correctly the behavior and intentions of their interlocutors from various cultures
• methods to settle down conflicts arisen from cultural misunderstandings
• strategies to improve their cross-cultural competencies to ensure a more correct promotion of their product/project
• fundamentals of global business etiquette (in both oral and written types of communication with interlocutors representing other cultures)
• strategies to solve problems in cross-cultural issues in the global business environment
• *- What should a student be able to evaluate at the end of the course? By the
• end of the course, the students should be able to evaluate:
• a cultural conflict to apply subsequent remedies;
• cultural intentions of the parties during negotiations.
• marketing communication strategies for their possible application in various cultures;
• presentations for their appropriateness for the demonstration to the representatives of other cultures.

Grading

Course grading range

Grade	Range	Description of performance
A. Excellent	85-100	-
B. Good	70-84	-
C. Satisfactory	55-69	-
D. Poor	0-54	-

Course activities and grading breakdown

Activity Type	Percentage of the overall course grade
In-class work (including exercises and case studies)	100
Final Project (Team)	0
Exams	0

Resources, literature and reference materials

Open access resources

• Abramson N., and Moran R. 2018. Managing Cultural Differences. Global Leadership for the 21st Century. Routledge.
• Trompenaars F., Hampden-Turner Ch. 2000. Riding The Ways of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
• Trompenaars F., Woolliams P (2004). A new paradigm for Marketing Across Cultures. Marketing Insights. Available at http://www.thtconsulting.com/Articles/Anew%20paradigm%20for%20Marketing%20Across%20Cultures.pdf
• Meyer E. 2014. The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business. PublicAffairs
• Minkov M. 2011. Cultural Differences in a Globalizing World. UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Gudykunst W. 2003. Cross Cultural and Intercultural Communication. California: Sage Publications.
• Molinsky A. 2013. Common Language Doesn’t Equal Common Culture. Harvard Business Review, April 3, 2013. .

Teaching Methodology: Methods, techniques, & activities

Activities and Teaching Methods

Activities within each section

Learning Activities	Section 1	Section 2	Section 3	Section 4	Section 5
Testing (written or computer based)	1	0	0	0	1
Oral polls	1	1	1	0	0
Discussions	1	1	1	1	1
Exercises	1	1	1	1	1
Exercises (Case Study)	1	1	1	1	1

Formative Assessment and Course Activities

Ongoing performance assessment

Section 1

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	Is it possible to consider cross-cultural management an independent branch of business?	1
Question	What are the main differences between high-context and low-context cultures?	1
Question	Provide 2-3 examples of cross-cultural interfaces and state their differences from cross-cultural dimensions?	1

Section 2

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	What are the stages of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) by M. Bennett?	1
Question	What is the difference between cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence?	1
Question	Describe the Cultural Intelligence Techniques of Head, Body, and Heart.	1

Section 3

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	Which methods for collecting and analyzing of cultural data can you name?	1
Question	What factors should be taken into consideration while promoting the project/product among various target audiences in other cultures?	1
Question	What are the main differences in working with media in different cultures when promoting a product/project?	1

Section 4

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	What is the difference between ‘dialogue’ and ‘interaction’?	1
Question	What is understood by ‘semantic scissors’ in the dialogue?	1
Question	What are the key reasons for cross-cultural conflicts? How can cross-cultural conflicts influence business issues?	1
Question	What are the key principles of conflict mediation?	1

Section 5

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	What are the differences in textual structures and their interpretations in various cultures?	1
Question	Which characteristic features of business correspondence in different cultures can you name?	1
Question	Which issues must be taken into consideration to interpret correctly emails of business partners from other cultures?	1

Final assessment

Section 1

1. Name two directions in international business with the best applications for the tools of cross-cultural management.
2. Which culturally-based risks can one encounter in IT-projects?
3. What are the components of the personal brand of a successful cross-cultural manager?
4. How can you apply the Culture Map (E. Meyer) to avoid cultural traps in business?

Section 2

1. What are the potential problem areas in working in cross-cultural teams?
2. What changes occur when evolving through each step of the DMIS scale?
3. Please provide five tips to strengthen the performance of a cross-cultural team
4. What are the key challenges for managing multicultural teams?

Section 3

1. What are the main differences in the promotion of the product/project in social networks in different cultures?
2. Give 2-3 examples of culturally inappropriate information for publication in mass media.
3. What coloristic features should be taken into account while preparing a website for the promotion among target audiences in various cultures?
4. Give 2-3 examples of cultural faux pas of well-known companies while promoting their products in other cultures.

Section 4

1. Name three aspects to be taken into consideration while negotiating with the representatives of other cultures.
2. Describe the algorithm for solving cross-cultural conflicts in multicultural teams.
3. What are the peculiarities of negotiating strategies of the representatives of various cultures? What are the remedies not to be trapped in such manipulation?

Section 5

1. Why is it so important to take into account the cultural characteristics of potential investors while preparing for presentations?
2. Please provide 3-4 examples of the incorrect interpretation of cultural intentions in textual messages of business partners from other cultures.

The retake exam

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5