Course Syllabus IMS 6365.

0G1 School of Management The University of Texas at Dallas | Course Info | Tech Requirements | Access & Navigation | Communications | Resources | Assessments | Academic Calendar | Scholastic Honesty | Course Evaluation | UTD Policies |

Course Information Course Course Number/Section Course Title Term and Dates

IMS 6365.0G1 Cross Cultural Communications and Management FALL 2011 (Aug 24th Dec 14th)

Professor Contact Information Professor Habte G. Woldu Office Phone 972-883-6357 Email Address wolduh@utdallas.edu Office Location SM 4.805 Web site http://www.utdallas.edu/~wolduh About the Instructor Dr. Habte Woldu is a faculty member and foreign study trips coordinator at the School of Management, UT Dallas. Courses taught include Cross Cultural Communications and Management (online, on campus), Global Business (online, on campus), Area Studies: East and West Europe, Africa and Asia, and undergraduate section of International Business. Research interest: cross-cultural management, measuring cultural dynamics within demographic groups, East European Studies and African Economic Development. Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions The course is designed for graduate students who have already taken organization behavior, international business and international marketing management. Course Description This course is designed to help students understand the importance of national and organizational cultures with the objectives of enhancing communication among individuals, organizations and nations in order to understand cultural differences and to be able to effectively manage those differences. The course deals with various issues related to complexity of culture, cultural orientation of different organizations and individuals and the mapping of world cultures through the cultural dimensions of Hofstede and others. The course will enable students to develop skills of communications, managing cultural differences in a multicultural environment, and the art of negotiation so that international businesses can be effectively managed and business failures related to cultural blunders can be minimized. Finally, students through various contemporary studies will be able to understand the cultural dynamics that has been taking place globally. Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes Upon finishing this course, students are expected to manage the following core course objectives:
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Recognize the impact of national cultural value system on the behavior of managers and business organizations. Demonstrate the understanding of the cultural orientation of nations and organizations through cultural dimensions of organizational theorists: Adler, Hofstede, Laurent, McGregor and Laurent Demonstrate the understanding of the challenges of team building and motivation of diverse manpower with a diverse cultural background. Develop competency in oral, written and interpersonal communications through case presentation and research report.

Required Textbooks and Materials Required Texts: Nancy, Adler, International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 5th Edition, South-Western Thomson Learning, 2008 The textbook can be ordered online through Off-Campus Books or the UTD Bookstore. They are also available in stock at both bookstores. Required Materials: Articles (available at course site): Bolton, Michele, Imitation Versus Innovation, Lesson to be learned from the Japanese, Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 21, November, 1993. Dadfor, Hussein & Gustavsson, Peter, Competition by Effective Management of Cultural Diversity, International Studies of Marketing and Organization, 22(4), pp. 81-92. Hofstede, Geert, The Cultural Relativity of Organizational Practices and Theories, Journal of International Business Studies, Fall, 1983, pp.75-89 Laurent, Andre, The Cultural Diversity of Western Conceptions of Management, Int. Studies of Management and Organization, Vol. XIII, No. 1-2, pp. 75-96 Suuatari, Vesa, Problems Faced by Western Expatriate Managers in Eastern Europe: Evidence provided by Finish Expatriates in Russia and Estonia, JEEMS 3/1998, pp.240-266 Woldu, H., Budhwar, P. and Parkes, C. (2006), A Cross-national Comparison of Cultural Value Orientation of Indian, Polish, Russia and American Employees, Int. J. of Human Resource Management, 17 (6): 1076-1094 Recommended Reference Texts (not required): Chen, Ming-Jer, Inside Chinese Business: A guide for Managers Worldwide, Harvard Business School Press, Harvard Business School Press, 2001, pp45-65 Walker, Danielle, Walker, Thomas and Schmitz, The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success: Doing Business Internationally, McGraw Hill, 2nd edition, 2003 Schneider, Susan and Barsoux, J-L, Managing across Cultures, 2nd edition, Prentice-Hall, 2003
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Ferraro, Gary, The Cultural Dimensions of International Business, 4th Edition, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2004 Shenkar, Oded, Global Perspectives of Human Resource Management, Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1995 Trompenaars, Fons, Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business, 2 nd edition, 1998, McGraw Hill, 1998 Top Technical Requirements In addition to a confident level of computer and Internet literacy, certain minimum technical requirement must be met to enable a successful learning experience. Please review the important technical requirements and the web browser configuration information. Top Course Access and Navigation This course was developed using a web course tool called eLearning. It is to be delivered entirely online. Students will use their UTD NetID account to login to the course at: http://eLearning.utdallas.edu. Please see the course access and navigation information. To get started with an eLearning course, please see the Getting Started: Student eLearning Orientation. UTD provides eLearning technical support 24 hours a day/7 days a week. The services include a toll free telephone number for immediate assistance (1-866-588-3192), email request service, and an online chat service. The UTD user community can also access the support resources such as self-help resources and a Knowledge Base. Please use this link to access the UTD eLearning Support Center: http://www.utdallas.edu/elearninghelp. Top

Communications This eLearning course has built-in communication tools which will be used for interaction and communication. Some external communication tools such as regular email and a web conferencing tool may also be used during the semester. Please see more details about communication tool information. Another communication tool available to students is live voice chat in the 3D virtual world of Second Life. Instructions for accessing the UTD SOM Island in Second Life can be found at http://som.utdallas.edu/somResources/eLearning/faculty/secondLife.php. Interaction with Instructor: The instructor will communicate with students mainly using the Announcements and Discussions tools. Students may send personal concerns or questions to the instructor using the course Email tool. The instructor will reply to student emails or Discussion board messages within 3 working days under normal circumstances. If you need to communicate live, you
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can write me or reach me by phone at my office every Friday between 10 and 12 am. This will be my Cyber office hour time. Top Student Resources The following university resources are available to students: UTD Distance Learning: http://www.utdallas.edu/oee/distance/students/cstudents.htm McDermott Library: Distance Learners (UTD students who live outside the boundaries of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Rockwall, or Tarrant counties) will need a UTD-ID number to access all of the librarys electronic resources (reserves, journal articles, ebooks, interlibrary loan) from off campus. For UTD students living within those counties who are taking online courses, a Comet Card is required to check out materials at the McDermott Library. For more information on library resources go to http://www.utdallas.edu/library/distlearn/disted.htm. Top Student Assessments Grading Information Weights Individual Mini-case Discussion Participation Group Project Midterm Examinational Final Examination Bonus-Discussion on Reflection on Managing Businesses Overseas (on five short video clips) Total Grading criteria Scaled Score 90 - 100 87-90 85-87 80-85 77-80 75-77 70-75 Less than 70 Letter Equivalent A AB+ B BC+ C F 15 % 15 % 30 % 40 % 5% 100% + 5%

Accessing Grades Students can check their grades by clicking My Grades under Course Tools after the grade for each assessment task is released.

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Course Policies Make-up exams Make-up exams are allowed only if the condition for not taking the examination was extraordinary. A student who takes a make-up exam will earn a maximum of 80% if the reasoning for retaking the exam was not convincing to the instructor. Late Work Not accepted unless there is any special situation preventing a student to complete the work on time. Class Participation Students are required to login regularly to the online class site. The instructor will use the tracking feature in eLearning to monitor student activity. Students are also required to participate in all class activities such as discussion board activities, chat, conference sessions and group projects. Virtual Classroom Citizenship The same guidelines that apply to traditional classes should be observed in the virtual classroom environment. Please use proper netiquette when interacting with class members and the professor. Policy on Server Unavailability or Other Technical Difficulties The university is committed to providing a reliable online course system to all users. However, in the event of any unexpected server outage or any unusual technical difficulty which prevents students from completing a time sensitive assessment activity, the instructor will extend the time windows and provide an appropriate accommodation based on the situation. Students should immediately report any problems to the instructor and also contact the UTD eLearning Help Desk: http://www.utdallas.edu/elearninghelp, 1-866-588-3192. The instructor and the UTD eLearning Help Desk will work with the student to resolve any issues at the earliest possible time. Top Participation in the mini-case discussion topics Students are expected to provide comments and solutions to the posted questions and problems spelled out in the provided mini-cases. More expanded versions of the cases are available in Adler (your textbook).The short narrated mini-cases are found under Mini-Case Profiles under Course Material. As the cases reflect the contents and the objectives of the chapters under which they are listed, you need to read the chapters thoroughly. In order to have full credit, each student belonging to a particular group should participate in the assigned respective mini-case. Though each student is assigned to a specific mini-case discussion group, discussion grade assigned to each group member will be based on individual performance. Evaluation of participation will be based on quality, not on quantity of postings. Students may also earn bonus points for their participation grade by contributing to the optional discussions on videos shown on the course site as well as on various articles which will be uploaded during the course of the semester. Guideline on Mini-Case Discussion: Consider class room discussion. Remember quality of your posting is what counts; a posting such as I agree with his or her point will not have any significant merit for the course of the discussion and will not be rewarded.

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In order to avoid repetitive postings, try to be creative in your discussion. For example, you enrich the discussion session by including in the discussion your personal experience and by citing outside reading materials on similar topics. You can also post related published materials. Group Projects Groups will be selected for case studies/article summary. Each group will work on a separate case (article) and a 5-6 double-spaced page written report, which will be submitted on the specific due dates as indicated in the course schedule table. The summary should also be supported by 5-6 similar research papers from refereed journals and books. The summary of the article should include: a) Objective/s of the article b) The problems/hypotheses the author/s seek/s to examine c) The methods of research used in the analysis d) The finding/s of the paper e) The relevance of the article to comparative management f) Conclusion g) The strength and weakness of the article Groups will be assigned at the beginning of the class and will be notified under Announcements. The instructor may also use a group sign-up sheet to form groups for group assignments or projects. A private discussion area will be set up on the discussion board for internal group communications. A group chat room can also be created for each group to use. A web conference system is available for use. Teams can schedule a live web conference for team work. Please see communication tool information for instructions on making a reservation and other web conference information. Meeting spaces have also been set up on the UTD SOM Island in the virtual world of Second Life. Instructions for accessing the island can be found at http://som.utdallas.edu/somResources/eLearning/faculty/secondLife.php. Participation in Group Project: All students are expected to participate in group activities and share the group assignment works. Instructor will ask each group member to evaluate all other group members participation. A Peer Evaluation Form will be submitted by each student. Based on the evaluation information, instructor will assign a group participation grade for each student. However, peer evaluation should be done on the due date of the project. Group Project Grading Policy Group Project grade will be assigned for all group members equally, however, if a group member didnt participate in the project fully, he/she may not be granted the same grade which is assigned for the group. Assignment submission instructions You will submit your assignments (in the required file format with a simple file name and a file extension) by using the Assignments tool on the course site. Please see the Assignments link on the course menu or see the icon on the designated page. You can click each assignment name link and follow the on-screen instructions to upload and submit your file(s). Please refer to the Help menu for more information on using this tool. Please note: each assignment link will be deactivated after the assignment due time. After your submission is graded, you may click each assignments Graded tab to check the results and feedback.
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For the group project assignment, one group member will submit the assignment for the group and all group members will be able to view the results and feedback once its been graded. Online Exams Mid-Term exam includes chapters 1-7 and articles: Hofstede, Laurent, Bolton, Dadfor & Gustavsson. Multiple choice and essay questions. Final exam includes chapters 8 -12 and special lectures 13 and 14 and articles: Dadfor & Gustavsson, Satuuri and Woldu. Multiple choice and essay questions. Both midterm and final examination are conducted online and both exams should be taken within the scheduled time; however students may take make-up exam only under an extraordinary situation. Students taking make-up exam may expect maximum 80% of the grade. In other words, 20% will be deducted for the make-up exam if the reason for taking the make-up exam was not convincing to the instructor. You can access quizzes/exams by clicking the Assessments link on the course menu or see the quiz/exam icon on the designated page. Each quiz is timed and can be accessed only one time within the scheduled time window. Please read the on-screen instructions carefully before you click Begin Assessment. After each quiz is graded and released, you may go back to the Assessments page and click View All Submissions to review your exam results.

Web Conference Event (not required but with bonus points for participation) Special Session: Web conference on video clips on Managing business operations overseas: the cases of Saudi Arabia, India, Mexico, England and Japan. After watching the video clips, prepare well ahead of time in order to fully participate in the web conference discussion. In order to participate in the web conference effectively you need to have a microphone connected to a computer with Internet access. Please make sure that your device works. Please see communication tool information and also the course Web Conference page on how to access and use the Adobe Connect Pro web conference system. Top Academic Calendar WEEK/ DATES 1 08/2408/28 READING Weekly Discussion on minicases Personal statement: introduction (on Discussion Board) Distribution of projects among groups 2 08/2909/04 Ch. 1 An Introduction: Discussion 1: Individualism Culture and collectivism: The German wont Management hire the Serbian daughter, Adler, p. 29 Sep 04 Group project assignments Due dates Aug 28 Sign up to a group by Aug 28

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Group 1 members (to participate in the discussion on individual basis) 3 09/0509/11 4 09/1209/18 5 09/1909/25 6 09/2610/02 Ch. 2 How Cultural Differences Affect Organizations Discussion 2: Activity of doing Ch. 3 Vs. being: Kashmir Vs. Sweden, Communication across Adler, 2008, 31 Cultures Group 2 members Ch. 4 Creating cultural synergy Ch. 5 Multicultural teams Discussion 3: The long term versus the short term organizational cultures: Japanese and Canadian Negotiation Adler 2008, p. 32 Group 3 members Gr 2 Project Report on Laurent Sep 25 Oct 02 Gr 1 Project Report on Hofstede Sep 11

7 10/0310/09 8 10/1010/16 9 10/1710/23 10 10/2410/30 11 10/3111/06 Ch. 6. Leading Globally Ch. 7 Motivating people from around the world: Inspiring people to contribute Ch. 8 Multinational decision making

Midterm Exam Sat 10/08- Sun 10/09 Gr 3 Project Report on: Dadfer and Gustavsson Oct 16 Discussion 4: What Motivates Oct 23 people in Different Cultures? A New Hotel in Tahiti, Adler p 187 Group 4 members Gr 4 Project Report on: Bolton : Imitation Vs. Innovation Oct 30 Discussion 5 Trusting or Nave: Canadian Employees and Filipino Manager Adler, 2008, p 46 Group 5 members Nov 06

Ch. 9 Negotiating globally

12 11/0711/13

Ch. 10 Managing cross-cultural Transitions: Moving abroad and coming

Gr 5 Project Report on: Satuuri Nov 13

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back home 13 11/1411/20 Ch. 11 A Portable life: Discussion 6 Ethical Decision The Expatriate Spouse Making: Hazardous materials in West Africa Adler, 2008, p. 217 Group 6 members Ch. 12 Global Careers: succeeding in the 21st century Lecture. 13 Special lecture: Human resource management strategies in Different Cultures Nov 20

14 11/2111/27 15 11/2812/04

Gr. 6 Project Report on: Woldu et al. Nov 27 Discussion 7: Coaching Dec 04 Executives: public is public, and private is private: to be taken seriously, a woman executive must hide her role as a wife and a mother Adler, 2008, p. 302-304 Group 7 members Reflection Discussion Based on: Managing Business AbroadVideo Clips 1-5 Web Conference Gr. 7 Project Report on: Global Leadership: Giving oneself for things far greater than oneself, Adler pp 159162 Dec 08 Final Examination Sat 12/10 - Sun12/11

16 12/0512/11

Lecture 14: Special topic: Assessing East European Cultures

17 12/1012/11

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Scholastic Honesty The University has policies and discipline procedures regarding scholastic dishonesty. Detailed information is available on the UTD Judicial Affairs web page. All students are expected to maintain a high level of responsibility with respect to academic honesty. Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. Top Course Evaluation As required by UTD academic regulations, every student must complete an evaluation for each enrolled course at the end of the semester. An online instructional assessment form will be made
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available for your confidential use. Please look for the course evaluation link on the course Homepage towards the end of the course. Top University Policies Student Conduct & Discipline The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic year. The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the universitys Handbook of Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/8836391). A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents Rules, university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct. Academic Integrity The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as ones own work or material that is not ones own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings. Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the universitys policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective. Email Use The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a students U.T. Dallas email
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address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts. Withdrawal from Class The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled. Student Grievance Procedures Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities, of the universitys Handbook of Operating Procedures. In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called the respondent). Individual faculty members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the respondents School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the School Deans decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations. Incomplete Grade Policy As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at the semesters end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F. Disability Services The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:
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The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22 PO Box 830688 Richardson, Texas 75083-0688 (972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY) Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility assistance. It is the students responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours. Religious Holy Days The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated. The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment. If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive officer or designee. Off-Campus Instruction and Course Activities Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website address given below. Additional information is available from the office of the school dean. (http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm) These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor. Top
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