Modulbeschreibung

Over the last decades human societies across the globe have established progressively closer contact. This pace of global integration has dramatically increased. Globalization has become the buzz-word, describing a variety of changing economic, political, cultural and environmental processes that are transforming our experience of the world. In this environment, more and more people with a different cultural background interact. Thus, this rapid pace of change can be unsettling and it is increasingly necessary to manage it considering economic and cultural aspects. This requires combining soft and hard factors in order to be more successful.
Therefore, this module gives students a broad overview of globalization and its impact on different nations. They learn how to do an integrated market analysis considering economic and cultural aspects, and how to combine economic and cultural knowledge.
This module enables students:
- to deepen their economic and cultural knowledge as well as to specify it.
- to use the potential of culture to achieve their project goals
- to develop their intercultural competence further.
- to apply their economic and cultural knowledge in the project and to find cross-cultural solutions in a global business environment
- to learn to work in a multi-cultural team in a respectful way.

The module builds on Intercultural Communication and Understanding (ICOU) and LEINb and is an application of it.

Written assignments: GRELb

GRELa (1/3): written test, closed book, 1 hour
GRELb (2/3): individual written assignment (self-reflection)

GRELb is not a regular class but provides intercultural support for the consulting projects, with the goal of developing intercultural competence. It will be expected and regarded as a matter of course that students use their own initiative when working and acting in the context of this course.

Professional competences:
Participants can :
• extend their subject-specific economic knowledeg to include more detailed aspects
• working effectively in a global environment, integrating cultural and economic knowledge (hard and soft factors) and using it to create competitive advantages
• analyze a market economically and culturally
• apply the basics of intercultural communication and competence (5 steps, cultural dimensions, communication styles) to their consulting project and hence work on the project become more effectively.
• recognize intercultural challenges in their consulting project and solve them
• Implement the knowledge gained about multicultural teams in their consulting project

Methodological competences:
Participants can:
• analyse the effects of international perspectives and levels of international relations
• express their own opinion with the help of special techniques of argumentation
• use the models and methods taught in this module in their consulting projects, and hence work more efficiently

Self-competences:
Participants can:
• develop the ability to engage self-critically in the learning process and to engage in team-work and to expand their comfort zone.
• reflect on intercultural situations (their own culture, the other culture), analyze them and find solutions.
• consider a particular situation from various cultural and economic perspectives
• respect different styles of working and different mind-sets, and work with them in an unbiased way, i.e. use the potential of culture for the success of the project

Social competences:
Participants can:
• show knowledge and demonstration of their readiness and openness towards other cultures, people and global conditions.
• further develop their intercultural competence
• be sensitive to culture in working and leading across cultural boundaries
• work efficiently in multicultural teams

Topic area I: GRELa Global Relations
• Globalization in general
• Globalization and Culture
• Specific Markets
• Culture-specific knowledge
• Transfer-oriented application of ICOU: case studies

Topic area II: GRELb Intercultural Competence
• Culture-specific training, including team building (CPIM, JUSP and JCSP) -> prepatory task is mandatory
• Observation of team and feed-back if needed
• Drawing up a code of conduct and a team profile
• Mid-project team coaching with prior individual assignment and checking of code of conduct and team profile
• Continuous intercultural support of projects, teams and team leaders.

Group work, guided self-study, individual and group reflection, group coaching, experiential learning.

Mandatory:
• Steger, Manfred B. (2017) Globalization, a very short introduction, 4th edition, Oxford University Press
• All materials which are handed out in class

Optional:
• Uehlinger, Ch (2017): Miteinander verschieden sein, interkulturelle Kompetenz als Schlüssel zur global vernetzten Welt, 2. Auflage, Versus Verlag
• Hofstede. G./Hofstede, G.J. (2011): Lokales Denken, globales Handeln: Interkulturelle Zusammenarbeit und globales Management. 5. Auflage, München
• Trompenaars, F./Hampden-Turner, Ch. (2012): Riding the waves of cultures, Understanding Cultural Diversity in Global Business, 3. Auflage, London Culture-specific, e.g.
• Althen, G. with Bennett, J. (2011): American Ways, a Cultural Guide to the United States, 3rd edition, Boston/London
• Chen, H. (2006), Kulturschock VR China/Taiwan, 7. Auflage, Bielefeld
• Culture Detective China
• Gao, G./Ting-Toomey, St. (1998): Communicating effectively with the Chinese, London
• Huang, J. (2010): China besser verstehen, Interkulturelle Annäherung - Warum Chinesen anders denken und handeln
• Nisbett, R.E. (2003): The Geography of Thought, How Asians and Westerners think differently … and why, New York
• Schenk, E./Thomas, A. (2008): Beruflich in China, Göttingen
• Slate, E.J./Schroll-Machl, S. (2006): Beruflich in den USA, Göttingen
• So, Y.L./Walker, A. (2006): Explaining Guanxi, the Chinese Business Network, Oxon
• Storti, C. (2004): Americans at Work, a Guide to the Can-Do People, London/Boston