HULT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL

DUBAI CAMPUS
ACADEMIC SESSION 2010-2011

MBA PROGRAM (FULL TIME and PART TIME)

MODULE A

COURSE: Global Management

MATERIAL: Syllabus

FACULTY: Michael Wagemans, Ph.D.

CONTACT INFO: wagemans.michael@adlittle.com and/or +32 473 997 247

COURSE DURATION: November 7 2010 – November 27 2010

Objectives

International business is conducted with and through people from various cultural backgrounds. Cultural
differences, if not understood, can be barriers to the success of any business venture. Furthermore, many
management concepts, techniques and systems taught in North American / European business schools are
based on North American / European cultural beliefs and value systems. These may not work as intended in
other cultures and, if used inappropriately, can compound the challenges of working in a multi-cultural
business environment.

The overall goal of this course is to help you develop the intellectual understanding and the behavioral skills
that will increase your effectiveness in dealing with problems that arise from the interaction of people from
different cultural backgrounds. More specifically, the course is aimed towards increasing your sensitivity to
culture and cultural variation in a business context through:

i) Developing awareness of the pervasive and hidden influence of culture on behavior, particularly with
respect to management practices in global operations.

ii) Developing familiarity with situations and issues that managers often confront when working globally.

iii) Introducing conceptual frameworks and tools capable of increasing managerial effectiveness when
working in various cultural environments and/or with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Course orientation

Management orientation. The course material presents a problem-solving and decision-making approach to
global business. We will examine the management implications of how cultural issues can affect, among
others, performance, teamwork and the execution of strategy.

Behavioral orientation. Skills in effectively managing across cultures are every bit as important as technical
or business skills. Knowing, and if necessary, adapting, your own style, preferences and cultural
assumptions is an essential component of managerial effectiveness. The course focuses on understanding
yourself and your approach to problem-solving and decision-making, so you can develop interpersonal skills
necessary for effective work in different cultural settings.

Intercultural orientation. The course is primarily focused on the interaction between people of different
cultures in work settings. This intercultural orientation is different from a comparative approach, in which
management practices of individual countries or cultures are examined and compared.

Culture-general orientation. The course draws upon material from a wide range of cultures; it will not focus
on a single culture or region. Culture-specific training will help if you are assigned to a specific country to live
and work, but since you and your fellow students have diverse career goals and geographical interests, a
culture-general model is more useful.

Course structure

The course is structured around two parts. In Part I, we focus on the foundations: the global mindset and
intelligence and skills needed to be an effective global manager. In Part II, we consider application areas:
strategy, organizations and change, staffing and corporate social responsibility.

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Course expectations

My expectations are simple: You attend class; you read and reflect on the assigned materials; you are
prepared for classes; and you are involved in contributing to the learning that takes place. This syllabus and
the class assignments function as our documents of mutual understanding of the course’s objectives,
content and procedures.

Academic standards and honesty

As a member of a learning community, you are expected to ensure that your conduct helps create an
atmosphere conducive to learning and the interchange of knowledge, and are committed to academic
honesty. You are expected to familiarize yourself with Hult policies regarding plagiarism and cheating; either
will be severely penalized, will be reported to the Faculty for review, and may result in course failure.
However, please do not assume that all your ideas in this course must be your own. Collaboration
throughout the course, through e.g. study groups is in fact encouraged. The key to academic honesty is that
such collaboration requires acknowledgment. I will be very clear if there are situations in which you may not
discuss material with others in advance.

Course requirements

1. Individual class participation: Active and consistent participation is not the same as just talking a lot in
class. The quality of what you say (or write) and the quality of your listening and responsiveness to others
are important components of your evaluation in this course. You may expect to be called upon (even if you
have not volunteered), and you should be prepared to contribute your ideas and insights. Examples of
effective participation include:
- starting a discussion with a good analysis;
- synthesizing class discussions and/or moving discussions ahead;
- constructively building upon and/or criticizing others’ ideas;
- substantiating your viewpoint with persuasive analysis and logic;
- responding to others’ critiques with reasoned rebuttal and/or graceful acceptance of new ideas;
- presenting well-conceived action plans;
- sharing relevant experiences with the class, and so on.

Examples of unsatisfactory participation include:

- absence and/or persistent tardiness;
- being unprepared when called upon;
- offering unsubstantiated analysis or action plans;
- persistently making off-track comments that distract from the class discussion;
- personal criticisms or defensive behaviors such as aggression or withdrawal.

Class participation evaluation criteria

"A" Range: I participate regularly, contributing to the discussion in nearly every class. I make major,
substantive contributions, sometimes with a unique insight. I'm ready to begin when class begins. I have no
absences without makeup.

"B" Range: I have participated in discussion several times. Most of my contributions have been fairly brief
responses to straightforward questions. I'm ready to begin when class begins. I have missed no more than
one class without makeup.

"C" (and below) Range: I speak infrequently, but I have spoken at least once. I don't raise my hand often,
and usually I have only spoken when called upon. When called on, I may not have been well prepared. I
have arrived late to more than two classes and/or have missed two or more classes without make-up.

2. Course integrative assignment: Each student will be assigned to a team. Each team will have to
complete the course integrative assignment. Please carefully consider the requirements and guidelines for
doing so (see entry class 9 further in syllabus). On day of class 9, some teams will be called upon to
present in front of the class (duration of presentation is approx. 20 minutes with 10 minutes for Q&A). Every
member of the team that is called upon to present contributes to the oral presentation. Every team hands in
a properly bound/stapled hard copy of the assignment at the end of class 9. Late and electronic submissions
will not be accepted. Teams will be composed and countries assigned in the first class.

3. Exam: There will be a closed book exam at the end of the course.

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Class attendance policy

Because so much of your learning in this course depends on the active, thoughtful and consistent
participation of yourself and your classmates, your attendance is essential; absences and/or tardiness
create a significant detriment for the entire class. Attendance will be taken at each class. If you know that
you will miss a class, please notify me in advance. If you must miss a class, for whatever reason, in order to
receive participation credit for the missed class, you must submit a two-page, typed, double spaced analysis
of the class/case(s) you missed (make-up). More than one missed class, or significant tardiness without
make-up will result in deductions from your class participation grade, as will more than two missed classes,
even with a make-up.

Grading policies

A, A- A is awarded for work whose quality is at an exceptionally high level for a graduate degree. As a
guideline, it is expected that no more than 20% of class grades will be A or A-. A- indicates very high, but not
exceptional, level of quality.

B+, B, B- B is awarded for work whose quality is at the expected level for a graduate degree. B+ or B-
indicates quality which is slightly above or below the expected level, respectively. A grade of B+ indicates
strong performance in this course.

C+, C, C- C is awarded for work whose quality is fair, but below the expected level for a graduate degree.
C+ or C- indicates quality which is slightly above or below fair, respectively.

D D is awarded for work whose quality is totally unsatisfactory and very much below the expected level for a
graduate degree.

F F results for work of which the quality is unacceptable or at a failing level. F may also be given as a result
of cheating or plagiarism.

Consider the below grading grid:

Points Grade Performance

4.00 A Outstanding

3.67 A- Excellent

3.33 B+ Very good

3.00 B Good

2.67 B- Acceptable

2.33 C+ High marginal

2.00 C Marginal

1.67 C- Poor

1.00 D Unsatisfactory

0.00 F Fail, plagiarism or cheating

Course evaluation

Class participation 20%

Course integrative assignment 30%
Exam 50%

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Assignments
Class 2: “Your home country’s cultural map”
Class 3: “The Kruncheans”
Class 9: “Course integrative assignment”

Course materials

The main textbook is Henry W. Lane et al., International Management Behavior: Leading with a global
th
mindset, 6 edition (IMB hereafter).

There is also a case pack and a few additional readings that will be made available to you.

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Part I: Foundations

Class 1: Global management & the global manager

Course introduction (syllabus, team composition, course integrative assignment, …).

Exercise
Where have you been? An exercise to assess your exposure to the rest of the world’s peoples (case pack).

Reading
IMB, chapter 1.

Questions
Do you understand the concept of the ‘global mindset’?
What are critical competencies a global leader must possess?

Class 2: Cultural intelligence: the knowledge component

Reading
IMB, chapter 2.

Questions
What is culture? What developments and trends can one discern?
How does perception play a role?
What does the mapping of cultures entail? What are the limits of mapping?
Do you understand the cultural orientations framework?

Why mapping is useful/important? “A cultural theory of plane crashes”

A short “case” to underscore why mapping is useful/important.

Home assignment and individual presentation: “Your home country’s cultural map”
Each student prepares his/her home country’s cultural map and is ready to present (PowerPoint) in front of
the class.

Class 3: Cultural intelligence: the skills component

Reading
IMB, chapter 3.

Questions
Are you familiar with the MBI model for high performance?

Case
Johannes Van Den Bosch sends an e-mail (textbook).

Questions
From Johannes’ point of view, what was his intention in sending the e-mail? What was the effect of his
editing the e-mail to “stick to the facts”? How do you think Pablo will react to the e-mail? Why? What cultural
assumptions underlie Johannes’ e-mail? How do you think Pablo will respond?

Cross-cultural role play

“The Kruncheans” (see separate briefing).

Class 4: Cultural intelligence: knowledge + skills

Reading
Vijay Govindarajan & Anil K. Gupta, “Building an effective global business team”, MITSloan Management
Review, Summer 2001.

Students are expected to do background research / reading on Indian culture in preparation of class.

Video
“Outsourced”.

Questions
Answer the first set of questions while watching the film:

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How does Todd change as a leader / manager?
What could Todd have done better to prepare for the job?
What are some examples of cultural differences in the film?
How does Todd start to “give into India”?
What does Dave learn when he comes to India?

More generally, consider these questions:

What did you learn about India?
What did you learn about yourself, if you were put into Todd’s position?
What can Western companies do better to prepare employees for immersion into a new culture?
What have you learned from watching “Outscourced”?

Part II: Application

Class 5: Global strategy

Reading
IMB, chapter 5.

Questions
Do you understand the organizational alignment model?
Are you familiar with concepts like ‘business strategy’ and ‘business models’?
What strategic choices are available to a firm in a global context?

Case
Disneyland Resort Paris: Mickey goes to Europe (textbook).

Questions
Disney seemed to have mechanisms in place to adapt to local culture, yet these means appeared to have
been ineffective in Paris. Why? Put differently, why could the success of Tokyo Disneyland not be
replicated?

Do you think Disneyland Resort Paris’ strategic assets (products, practices, ideologies, …) were in an
advantageous position or a disadvantageous position in the French / European cultural context? What re-
alignment efforts were undertaken / should have been undertaken?

Given Europe is moving towards a multi-cultural society, what areas, in terms of cultural responsiveness,
need work?

Now, consider Hong Kong Disneyland … Chinese guests often do not know norms of international
behaviour when travelling abroad which creates a specific problem. What can Hong Kong Disneyland do to
alleviate this problem? What would be some of the foreseeable challenges for The Walt Disney Company if
it chooses to enter the China (mainland) market?

Class 6: Global organizations and organizational change

Reading
IMB, chapter 7.

Case
DaimlerChrysler: Post-merger news (case pack).

Questions
Was DaimlerChrysler a merger of equals?
Would you have characterized the merger successful?
What are the ongoing issues?
What would you do if you were Schrempp?

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Class 7: Global managerial staffing
Reading
IMB, chapter 6.
Jeanne Brett et al., Managing multicultural teams, Harvard Business Review, November 2006.

Questions
Are you familiar with the various challenges and issues related to global managerial staffing and talent
management?
Do you understand the challenges of managing multicultural teams?

Case
Ellen More in Korea (textbook).

Questions
What are the problems and why do they exist?
What alternatives exist at this point?
In Andrew’s position, what would you do?
What changes would you recommend making for future projects?

Class 8: Cross-cultural ethics and social responsibility

Reading
IMB, chapter 8 and 9.

Questions
What is ethics in a business context?
How can managers respond to ethical problems they encounter?
Are you familiar with the various ethical frameworks?
Do you have an argued opinion on the cultural universalism vs. relativism debate?
Are you familiar with the key ethical guidelines?
What is corporate citizenship/corporate social responsibility? What are its merits and limits?
Do you have an opinion whether social responsiveness is in fact self-interested behaviour?

Case
Medical Equipment Inc. in Saudi Arabia (case pack).

Questions
Give a few examples. Does Grover understand the local culture? Grover suggests the option of sending Al
Humaidi to a Medical Equipment showroom in France or the US. How does that compare to paying Al
Humaidi? What should Grover do now? Why? Is bribery and corruption a problem in your country?

Video
“Frontline: Black Money”, followed by class discussion.

Class 9: Course integrative assignment

Each team, select a domestic product(s) and/or service(s) (real or fiction) and develop a plan for growing the
product(s) and/or service(s) in the foreign country that was assigned to the team. The plan must show the
major growth initiatives and must not exceed 10 PowerPoint slides. The assignment must be guided by the
contents of the course. The team should be prepared to present the findings with the class. The project
requires the instructor’s approval. The grade will be based on the criteria presented in the first class.

Some suggested guidelines:

1. Business’ domestic development history (issues to be addressed)

- What is (or are) the product(s) and/or service(s) the business provides or will provide?
- How did the business grow nationally?
- What organization structure was adopted? How has the organization changed over time?
- What about staffing (team, skills, leadership, etc.)?
2. Business’ international development plan (issues to be addressed)
- Where will the business begin (e.g. one city, multiple cities, rural areas, …)? Why? (e.g. similarities,
ease, …)

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 - What will be the business’ international strengths / competitive advantages and/or weaknesses
(e.g. reputation, pricing, quality)
- Why will the inhabitants and the government of the foreign country welcome the company? What
will you do to develop the relationship?
- How will the business make itself known in the foreign country before entering it? (e.g. promotion,
free samples)
- Will the business form a partnership with a local firm? Why use that approach? If it enters a
partnership, how will it deal with differences in culture?
- How will you develop international business / management skills? By employing experienced
executives? By acquiring the skills by going through the internationalization process slowly?
- How will the business do its staffing? Does the nature of the product(s) and/or service(s) influence
the view? How will you attract high calibre executives for the foreign assignment?
- How will you develop workers’ skills in the foreign market?
- Will the company adopt a cross-national ethics and responsibility code? Describe it.
- Discuss the overall impact of culture on international management.

EXAM – Closed book!