Description:

Formal requirements for “International Business Cultures“

Course contents:

English is still the number 1 business language and excellent English skills are required by anyone wishing to work in an international company, whether here in Germany or abroad. However, especially to attain senior positions, candidates today are also expected to be aware of intercultural differences and to be able to adapt their business behavior correspondingly. 

In this module, we will therefore focus on intercultural differences in key areas of doing business internationally:

• Meetings and Decision-Making Processes
• Presenting and Giving Feedback
• Intercultural Business Writing and Telephoning
• Working in Intercultural Teams and Managing Conflict
• Socialising

Course material:

We will work with various materials. However, Communicating across Cultures by Bob Dignen (CUP: 2011, 1st ed.) is highly recommended for self-study and will be used extensively in class.

Attendance:

As this is an interactive seminar, attendance is vital. Therefore, participants are not allowed to miss more than two sessions without valid excuse. If you have to miss more than two sessions, talk to me in advance so we can discuss alternative solutions.

Requirements:

In order to obtain the 6 CPs for this course, you are not only expected to attend regularly and participate actively, but will also have to hold a presentation in class (20 – 30 minutes) and hand in a seminar paper of about 5 – 7 pages.

Presentations:

Participants should research and present the business culture of different countries (e.g. US, UK, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa etc). 

You are welcome to present the business culture of your native country / a country you have studied or worked in.

Alternatively, students can also present the business culture of an organization or company they have worked for. 

Each presentation will be followed by a peer feedback round.

Presentation dates will be agreed during the first or second course session.

Presentation topics have to be uploaded to the database in this Moodle course at least one week before the presentation date.

Seminar papers:

The presentations form the basis of the seminar paper each participant has to hand in. 

The seminar paper should be about 5 – 7 pages in length and fulfill all requirements of an academic research paper (e.g. full and correct citation and referencing, clear structure). 

You can find the deadline for uploading your paper and the database where to upload it in this Moodle course.

Formalities:

Eine Anmeldung ist nicht notwendig.