Course Syllabus

IMS 6365
School of Management
The University of Texas at Dallas

Course Information

Course
Course Number/Section IMS 6365
Course Title Cross Cultural Communications and Management
Term and Dates Spring, 2009

Professor Contact Information

Professor Habte G. Woldu
Office Phone 972-883-6357
Email Address wolduh@utdallas.edu
Office Location SM 4.805
Office Hours                 M & W  12:30 ‐1:30 and W 4:30‐5:30  

About the Instructor

Dr. Habte Woldu is a faculty member and International Student Exchange Programs and
Foreign Study Trips in the School of Management, UT Dallas. Courses taught include Cross
Cultural Communications and Management (online, on campus), Global Business (online, on
campus), Area Studies: Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa and as well as undergrad
International Business and International OB & Human Resource Management. Research
interest: cross-cultural management, 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 had already taken organization behavior,
international business and international marketing management.

Course Description
The course covers issues related to complexity of culture, cultural orientation of different
organizations and individuals, mapping of world cultures through the cultural dimensions of
Hofstede, the importance of diversity in an organization, understanding the various methods of
motivating multinational human resources and the process of selection, training and managing
expatriates for international assignments.
Students in this course are expected to understand the importance of national and
organizational cultures with the objectives of enhancing communication among individuals,
organizations and nations. The course also helps students to understand cultural differences
and similarities and to effectively manage cultural differences.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Upon finishing this course, students are expected to manage the following core course
objectives:
1 Recognize the impact of national cultural value system on the behavior of managers and
business organizations.

2 Determine the cultural orientation of nations and organizations through cultural

dimensions of organizational theorists: Hofstede, Laurent, McGregor and Laurent

3 Understand the challenges of team building, motivating diverse manpower in a

multinational organization and the creation of synergistic management.

4 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

Textbooks and some other bookstore materials can be ordered online through MBS Direct
Virtual Bookstore or Off-Campus Books online ordering site. They are also available in stock
at the UTD Bookstore and Off-Campus Books.

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

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, 2nd edition, 1998, McGraw Hill, 1998

Course Access and Navigation

Course lectures and course materials can be accessed through web course tool called
WebCT. Students will use their UTD NetID account to login to the course at: UTD Galaxy:
http://galaxy.utdallas.edu or at http://webct6.utdallas.edu.. Please see the course access and
navigation information.

UTD provides eLearning technical support 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The improved
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.

Communications

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.

Student Resources

Access to many University resources are available to students. Some sources of interest
include:

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 library’s 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.
Student Assessments
Grading Information

Weights

Individual Mini-case Discussion Participation 15 %

Group Project 15 %
Midterm Examination 30 %
Final Examination 40 %

Total 100%

Grading criteria

Scaled Score Letter Equivalent

90 - 100 A
87 - 89 A-
85-87 B+
80-84 B
77-79 B-
75-77 C+
70-4 C
< 70 F

Accessing Grades

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

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%.

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 WebCT to monitor student activity. Students are also required to participate
in all class activities such as discussion, conference sessions and group projects as well as
articles summaries.
 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 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 publication sources 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

Participation in Group Project:

All students are expected to participate in group activities and share the group assignment
tasks equally. The Instructor will ask each group member to evaluate 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 didn’t participate in the project fully, he/she may not be granted the same grade
which is assigned for the group.

Exams

− Mid-Term exam includes chapters 1-7 and articles: Hofstede, Laurent, Bolton, Dadfar &
Gustavsson. There will be multiple choice and essay questions.

− Final exam includes chapters 8 -12 and special lectures 13 and 14 and articles: Suutari, and
Woldu et al.

Academic Calendar

Week/ Reading Weekly discussion on Group project

Dates Lecture mini-cases assignments and due
dates

1 Ch. 1 An Personal Statement

1/12 Introduction: Introduction Sign up to a group
Culture and Discussion 0: Bus
Management Schedules in the Bahamas
 Distribution of projects
among groups

2 Ch. 2 How Cultural Discussion 1: Individualism

1/21 Differences Affect collectivism: The German
Organizations won’t hire the Serbian
daughter, Adler, p. 29
Gr 1 members

3 Ch. 3 Gr 1 Project Report on

1/28 Communication Hofstede
across Cultures

4 Ch. 4 Creating Discussion 2: Activity of

2/04 cultural synergy doing Vs. being: Kashmir
Vs. Sweden, Adler, p. 31
Gr. 2 members

5 Ch. 5 Multicultural Gr 2 Project Report on

2/11 teams Laurent

6 Ch. 6. Leading Discussion 3: The long Gr 3 Project Report on:

2/18 Globally term versus the short term Dadfar and Gustavsson
organizational cultures:
Japanese and Canadian
Negotiation
Adler 2008, p. 32
Gr. 3 members

7 Ch. 7 Motivating Gr 4 Project Report on:

2/25 people from around Bolton: Imitation Vs.
the world: Inspiring Innovation
people to contribute

8 Ch. 8 Multinational Discussion 4 Trusting or

3/04 decision making Naïve: Canadian
Employees and Filipino
Manager
Adler, 2008, p 46
Gr. 4 members

9 Ch. 9 Negotiating Midterm Exam

3/11 globally (Sat. 04/10- Sun. 05/10)

10 Ch. 10 Managing Gr 5 Project Report on:

3/25 cross-cultural Suutari
Transitions: Moving
abroad and coming
back home

11 Ch. 11 A Portable Discussion 5 Power

4/01 life: The Expatriate Distance: An American
 Spouse Executive in London
Adler, 2008, p. 55
Gr. 5 members

12 Ch. 12 Global Gr. 6 Project Report on:

4/08 Careers: Woldu et al.
succeeding in the
21st century

13 Lecture. 13 Special Discussion 6: Creating

4/15 lecture: Human Cultural Synergy: Uruguay
resource and the Philippines
management Adler, 2008, p. 115
strategies in Gr. 6 members
different cultures

14 Reflection Discussion Gr. 7 Global Leadership:

4/22 Based on: Giving oneself for things far
Managing Business Abroad- greater than oneself, Adler
Video Clips 1-5 pp 159-162

Web conference
November 21, 12 – 1 pm
CT

15 Lecture 14: Special Discussion 7: What

4/29 topic: Assessing Motivates people in
East European Different Cultures? A New
Cultures Hotel in Tahiti, p 187 Adler
Gr. 7 members

16 Final Exam
5/06

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.

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 university’s
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, 972/883-6391).

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 one’s own work
or material that is not one’s 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 university’s 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 student’s
U.T. Dallas email 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 university’s 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 respondent’s 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 Dean’s 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 semester’s 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:

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 student’s 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, and 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.