BA 4216 Cross-cultural Studies in Organizations Introduction and Culture

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BA 4216Cross-cultural Studiesin
OrganizationsIntroduction and Culture

• Instructor Çagri Topal

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Why take this course

• Culture as shaping managerial and organizational
  practices
• Cultural diversity based on differences in
  education, occupation, hometown, social class,
  and gender

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General objective

• Creating cultural awareness

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Specific Objectives

1. Understand the concepts and theories of culture
   as relevant to management
2. Apply theoretical concepts into cross-cultural
   management settings
3. Develop critical thinking on the relation of
   culture to managerial theory and practice

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Readings

• Mixed readings from relevant textbooks
• Martin J. Gannon, Understanding Global
  Cultures, 3rd and 4th editions
• Textbooks on cross-cultural management available
  from the library
• Short cases to be distributed in class

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Assessment-1

• Midterm 1 20
• Midterm 2 20
• Case quizzes 30
• Case presentation and report 15
• Group participation 10
• Individual participation 10
• Total 105

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Assessment-2 IMPORTANT

• Grades and notes are final and not subject to
  change.
• No individual request for additional study for
  raising a grade will be accepted.
• No non-academic criteria such as that you are
  working outside, that this is your last semester,
  and that this is your only course will be
  considered in grading.

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Lecture and discussion

• Key points and examples by the instructor
• Discussion in the groups of two or three or four
  students
• General class discussion
• Your own questions and critiques

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Midterms

• Two exams
• Closed-book and closed-notes
• Focus on the points emphasized in class
• Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, true-false,
  short- and long-answer questions
• No final exam and thus no final make-up exam

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Cases and presentations

• Ten cases
• Quiz for each case
• Each presented by a group of three or four
  students
• 35-40 minutes for the presentation and 15-20
  minutes for the discussion

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Case report

• Report only on the case presented-3 pages
• Not the analysis of the case
• Explanation of the preparation process of the
  group
• Group grade 1 point penalty for each day of late
  submission
• Form your groups
• Go to this page and select a case
  http//old.ba.metu.edu.tr/user/ctopal/ba4216.html
• Typed in appropriate format (see the syllabus)

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Attendance and participation

• Participation essential
• Bring questions
• Provide new insights based on theories
• Share your relevant personal experiences
• Be critical of the course material

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Civility

• Be in class on time
• Turn your cellular phones off
• Turn your laptops off
• Avoid engaging in side conversations
• Use an impersonal professional language

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Grading

• Percentage Course Grade Coefficient
• 90-100 AA 4
• 85-89 BA 3.5
• 80-84 BB 3
• 75-79 CB 2.5
• 70-74 CC 2
• 65-69 DC 1.5
• 60-64 DD 1
• 50-59 FD 0.5
• 49 and below FF 0

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Code of ethics

• Make yourself familiar with the universitys code
  of ethics

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Questions

• Questions
• Concerns

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Culture

• Kluckhohn (1962) culture consists of patterned
  ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired
  and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting
  the distinctive achievement of human groups,
  including their embodiments in artefacts the
  essential core of culture consists of traditional
  (i.e., historically derived and selected) ideas
  and especially their attached values

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Culture

• Triandis (1972) the subjective perception of the
  human-made part of the environment including the
  categorization of social stimuli, associations,
  beliefs, attitudes, roles, and values that
  individuals share

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Culture

• Hofstede (1980) culture consists of shared
  mental programs that control individuals
  response to their environment
• Human nature Universal characteristics
• Groups Culture
• Individuals Personality

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Culture

• Group phenomenon
• Shared
• Learned
• Enduring
• Powerful influence on behaviour
• Systematic and organized
• Largely invisible
• Normal

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Culture

• natural and correct vs. unnatural and incorrect
• universal validity
• in-group vs. out-group

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Culture

• Its like water surrounding the fish
• Culture does not necessarily result in the same
  behaviour in all individual members but signals
  the same meaning every time
• Similar values might exist in different cultures
  with different priorities