Course Syllabus

IMS 6365.501
School of Management
The University of Texas at Dallas

Course Information

Course
Course Number/Section IMS 6365.501
Course Title Cross Cultural Communications and Management
Term and Dates Fall 2007 (Aug 16, 2007 – Dec 3, 2007)

Professor’s Contact Information

Professor Habte G. Woldu
Office Phone 972-883-6357
Email Address wolduh@utdallas.edu
Office Location SM 4.805
Online Office Hours T, R 4:30 – 5:30 pm and T, R 9:00– 9:45 am by appt.
Web site: http://www.utdllas.edu/~wolduh

Course Description and Objectives

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.

Required Text

Nancy, Adler, International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 4th Edition, South-Western

Thomson Learning, 2002

Required Reading Articles for Group Projects

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, A Cross-national Comparison of Cultural Value

Orientation of Indian, Polish, Russian and American Employees, Journal of International
Human Resource Management, 17:6, pp. 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 Gudide 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

Reading articles:
Janet L. Evans, “B” is for Bribery

James E. McClain, Diversity in Business

http://www.speaking.com/articles_html/JamesE.McClain_940.html

Janet X. Ai and Neil R. Abramson, Key Cross-Cultural Differences Related to

Canadian Companies Doing Business in China

Levine Robert, The pace of life in 31 countries: Western Europeans combine a fast
pace with ample leisure, while Latin Americans take their time both on and off the job
American Demographics, Nov, 1997 Transparency International

Eigen, Peter (2000) “Bribe Payers Survey, 1999” Transparency International, January,
2000

By Margaret (Peggy) Love and Sylvia Theriault, Cultural Awareness Prevents Expatriate Safety Pitfalls,
MOBILITY Magazine, October 2002

Discussion Mini-Case Profile:

Discussion 1: Bus schedules in the Bahamas

Bus drivers and business owners in the Bahamas work whenever they want to work. A
particular hour dictates what they will actually do. If the bus driver feels hungry, he/she will go
home to eat lunch without waiting for a scheduled lunch hour. If he/she meets a longtime
friend, he/she will take time to have a long conversation while the passengers would nervously
wait for the driver in the bus. This cultural behavior is in contrast with the practice in countries
where life is preplanned and time is viewed as money.
1) Is the behavior of the bus driver consistent with the life style of most developing countries?
2) Explain why nations differ in their perception of time.
(pg 32, Adler)

Discussion 2: Trusting or Naïve:

Based on the discussion presented under the title
“Can a Bosnian Trust a Canadian Working in Sweden?” in Adler, 2002 p 24, what is your
perception on how the Western versus non-westerner cultures view fellow human beings with
regard to human nature “Good Versus Evil” How much will this attitude affect the management
style of nations?

Discussion 3: Individualism versus Collectivism

Under the title “The German won’t hire the Serbian’s daughter”, there is a dilemma a German
boss is facing when his best Serbian engineer came to his office and asked him to hire his
daughter who happened to graduate from one of German’s best universalities. The issue hear is
the German boss is coming from business cultural background where asking favor for a family
member or to work with a family member in the same organization is not popular or can even
be considered unethical, where as for the Serbian, it is ethical and appropriate to ask a favor and
to work with a family member in a corporate settings. If the situation is not solved positively,
the Serbian engineer leaves the corporation. P.29
1) Discuss the problems involved in this case and the origin of the problems with regard to the
cultural background of the subjects involved in this particular dispute?
2) How can one solve the problems?
3) Can corporation be efficient when family members work in the same organization or
department?

Reading source: Barone, Michael, “A place like no other” (Specific Nature of American
Culture)
Discussion 4: The long term versus the short term organizational cultures:
Japanese and Canadian firms reached a stalemate over the length of the contract. The Japanese,
in order to reduce the uncertainty in their coal supply and to assure continuous, stable
production in Japan, wanted the Canadians to sign a 10-year contract. The Canadians on the
other hand, did not wish to commit themselves to such a lengthy agreement in the event that
they could find a lucrative offer in the interim. Due to such cultural bounded differences, the
two sides could not negotiate a deal. (p.33)
a) Discuss the nature of cultural background of the two countries that could have
contributed to the conflict.
b) Do you believe that one of the parties has a wrong business strategy?
c) Discuss the options that can help explore the ways to reconcile the two conflicting sides

Discussion 5: Power Distance: An Application of Theory X over Y

Canadian Employees described their Filipino boss’s low-trust approach to management as
unbearable and suspicious behavior. The Canadians went on saying that, the Filipino boss was
constantly looking over their shoulders, checking their work, attitudes and punctuality. As a
result, the employees began to slow down work; however their boss’ understanding was that
they were being lazy. (Adler, 2002 p 47)

Discuss:
a) the causes for the misunderstanding of both sides and relate the situation to one or two of
the theories you have been exposed to in your readings.
b) how is this case related to McGregor's X and Y theories within the context of Canadian
and Filipinos cultures?

Discussion 6: Miscommunication between low context and high context cultures: when a
“yes” does not necessarily mean yes.
A US company has sent a young American to a traditional developing country to train young
graduates how to fly an expensive and modern airplane. The young American mentor spent
eight effective hours a day for 30 days in explaining everything the trainees need to know. At
the end of each day, when he asks if they (the students) understood his lecture, all of them will
repeat “yes”. The trainer concluded that all of them had managed the education and were ready
for practical flying. An experienced American former trainer who sat in classes to evaluate the
process of the training was critical of the communication process and advised that the students’
readiness to fly can be deceiving and dangerous.

a) What went wrong in the training process and method of training?

b) Have you ever observed such a situation taking place in any organization that has a
highly diversified human resource? How can you tackle such a problem?

Reading Source: Key Cross-Cultural Differences Related to Canadian Companies: Doing

Business in China

Discussion 7: Arm’s Length Vs Formal Business Practice:

An Egyptian executive, after entertaining his Canadian guest, offered joint partnership in a
business venture. The Canadian, delighted with the offer, suggested that they meet again the
next morning with their respective lawyers to finalize the details. The Egyptian failed to appear
at the meeting place. The Canadian wondered why the Egyptian was unable to come to the
meeting place and what the problem could be. After some research, the Canadian found out that
the Egyptian interpreted the Canadian suggestion to come with a lawyer, as a sign of mistrust of
his (Egyptian) verbal commitment.

a) Explain the cultural backgrounds of the two that could have contributed to the existing
conflict. Which cultural theory/ies do/does explain the situation?
b) What synergistic approach could you apply in order to solve the misunderstanding so
that the deal will be back on the table for negotiation?

Discussion 8: What Motivates people in Different Cultures? New Hotel in Tahiti

Discuss why the Tahitian skilled wood carving expert was not enthusiastic when a developer of
a hotel, being satisfied by the quality of the work increased his order? Discuss situation in
relation to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Vroom’s
Expectancy Theory. (Adler, 2002, p.177)
Reading Source: Expatriates, Women, Managers, Careers, Structural Systems Research”

Discussion 9: Should host countries be culturally accommodative to foreign expiates?

Companies bring in foreign executives from their foreign subsidiaries to the headquarter. By
bringing these young executives to the United States, companies attempt to create global
management teams which would be ready and flexible for global assignments. While this effort
offers companies the opportunity to attract a highly motivated management force, and the
expatriates the opportunity of working in a dynamic work environment, it also creates
adjustment problems. These executives before they were transferred to the United States could
have had higher social status and comfort when they were in their respective countries. This
scenario is real in most developing countries; due to the low wage and absence of benefits to
workers, the expatriates in their home countries, could afford to hire, servants, gardeners,
guards and chauffer for less money. One of the major adaptation problems these expatriates
face is the unavailability of such conditions. As a result, the spouses express frustration and this
can negatively affect the efficiency of the expatriates.

What can companies do in order to solve these problems? Should companies be

accommodative to them or ignore the problem with the hope that the new foreign expatriates
will adapt to the headquarters' life style and expectation?

Discussion 10: Is Bribery Part of Some Cultures or An Act of Unethical Business

Practice?
You are a marketing director for an American construction company in Middle East. Your
company has bid on a substantial project that it wants very much to win. The total value of the
bid is estimated to be 2 billion worth of crude oil deal from Saudi Arabia. Yesterday, the cousin
of the Minister of Oil and Energy in Saudi Arabia who would award the contract suggested that
he would help if you were willing to pay a “fee” of $20,000. The problem is that, the Ethical
Business Practice Act is strongly enforced in the United States. In addition, you are aware of
the fact that European and Japanese competitors are interested in the deal and have slightly a
different view on the concept of gift or bribery. Furthermore, your company doesn’t want you
to violate the Ethical Business Practice Act, but at the same time, the company expects you to
save the deal. What kind of strategy would you use in order to avoid the legal repercussion on
one hand and losing the business deal on the other hand? How can you handle the situation?
(Adler, 2002, P.192)
Reading Source: Eigen, Peter, “Transparency International’s Bribe Payers Survey”, 1999
Reading Source: Evans, Janet, “B is for Bribery: The Current State of Greased Palm”

Student Assessment
Grading System:

• Individual participation in case discussions and class activities (15%)

• Group project: summary of articles (20%)
• Mid-Term exam includes chapters 1-6 and articles: Hofstede, Laurent, Bolton, Dadfor
& Gustavsson (30 %)
• Final exam includes chapters 7 -10, special lectures 10-14 and articles: Dadfor &
Gustavsson and Satuuri (35%)

Participation
Participation in the weekly mini-case discussion topics:

Students are expected to provide comments and solutions to the questions and problems
provided in the mini-cases. More expanded versions of the cases are available in Adler (your
textbook).The short narrated mini-cases are found at the end of my lecture notes. 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 of you should participate in all

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.

Group Project: Article Summary

Groups will be selected for case studies/article summary during the first week of the course.
Each group will work on a separate case (article) and a 5-6 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

Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty

The university has policies and procedures regarding scholastic dishonesty. Detailed
information is available at: http://www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/dishonesty.html. 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.

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

Course Schedule
Week Date Chap Lecture Discussion
1 08/16 Ch. 1 An Lecture 1 Introduction
Introduction: Culture General Discussion:
and Management Bus schedules in the
Bahamas
2 08/23 Ch. 2 How Do Lecture 2 & Trusting or Naïve
Cultural Differences 3 Discussion Reportby
Affect Organizations? Gr. 1
&
Ch.3 Communication
across Cultures

3 08/30 Ch. 4 Creating Lecture 4 Individualism Vs

Cultural Synergy Collectivism
Group 1 Discussion and Report
Summary by Gr. 2
Report on
Hofstede
4 09/06 Ch. 5 Multicultural Lecture 5 The long-term Vs
Teams Group 2 Short-term
Summary Organizational Culture
Report on
Laurent Discussion and Report
by Gr. 3
5 09/13 Ch. 6. Global Lecture 6 Power Distance: An
Leadership, Group 3 Application of Theory
Motivation, and Summary X over Y
Decision Making Report on
Bolton Discussion and Report
by Gr. 4
6 09/20 Ch. 7 Negotiating Lecture 7 Miscommunication:
Globally Low Vs High Context

Discussion and Report

by Gr. 5
7 09/27 Midterm Chapters 1 – 6

8 10/04 Ch. 8 Managing Lecture 8 Arms Length Vs

Global Managers: Formal Business
Cross-Cultural Group 4 Procedure
Transitions during Summary
Entry and Reentry Report on Discussion and Report
Dadfor, & by Gr. 6
Gustavsson,

9 10/11 Ch. 9 and Ch. 10 A Lecture 9 What Motivates people

Portable Life: The in Different Cultures?
Expatriate Spouse New Hotel in Tahiti
and Global Career Discussion and
Report by Gr. 7

Lecture 10 The Lecture 10 Should host countries

Cultural Behavior of Group 5 be culturally
Expatriates: Who Summary accommodative to
adapts Better to the Report on foreign expiates?
American Culture? A Suutari General Discussion
survey-based study
(Woldu)

10 10/18 Lecture 11: Lecture 11 Is bribery part of some

Modeling of Cultures cultures or an act of
Based on Cultural unethical business
Orientation practice?
Discussion and Report
by Gr. 1
(Part 2)

11 10/25 Lecture 12: Two Lecture 12 Reading Source:

Views on Legal Group 6 Measuring cultural
Interpretation and Summary differences between
Time Management Report on East Europe and
Woldu et al. others: Woldu and
Reading Source: Budhwar
Woldu, H. and
Budhwar, P. Across-
National Comparison
of Cultural Value
 Orientation of Indian,
Polish, Russian and
American Employees

12 11/01 Lecture 13: Lecture 13 Reading Source: Do

Assessing East Females Culturally
European Culture differ from their Male
Counterparts?
Reading Source: Discussion and Report
Woldu, H. and by Gr. 2 (Part 2)
Budhwar, P. “Do
Females Culturally
Differ from Males? A
Gender Based
Analysis of the
Former Communist
Countries

13 11/08 Lecture 14: Human Lecture 14

Resource Group 7
Management Summary
Strategy in Different
Countries

14 11/15 Discussion Doing Business

session on Abroad-Video Clips
viewed five scenarios
video clips
15 11/22 Holiday
16 11/29 Final exam Includes Adler Ch.
7-10, special
lectures and
articles: Dadfor,
Suutari and Woldu
et al.

Syllabus Addendum
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, 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.