• Account for key characteristics that define culture(s) and describe the criteria for cross-cultural analysis in a business context
• Apply theories and models to corporate business cases to exemplify team collaboration across cultures
• Explain cross-cultural company experiences and offer practical insight about their cultural efforts
• Demonstrate how multinational corporations deal with sustainability, diversity and work-life balance in high performance team collaboration in a global perspective
• Reflect upon own team collaboration experience and learning in a cross cultural context

This course helps to prepare future managers for the cross-cultural challenges and opportunities awaiting them in an increasingly globalized business environment. By examining pertinent theories and practices of high performing teams, students gain a greater understanding about how culture influences an organization’s internal and external relationships and its decision-making and operations. Students explore strategies to bridge cultural gaps and to preempt or resolve conflict in teams. They also gain insights into best dealing with culturally diverse customer, employee, supplier, and other stakeholder groups. Management communication techniques that highten awareness of differences across cultures are a key aspect within the curriculum. Theories cover a range of brand management, leadership, organizational behavior effectiveness, work-life ballance and intercultural conflict styles as well as team collaboration across cultures. Discussions focus on team performance and the experiences of numerous companies including Bang and Olufsen, Coloplast, Ecco, Novo Nordisk, Microsoft, Sony and Huawei. During the summer course students will also do experiential learning by observing business and with focus on culture and team collaboration.

Class 1: Overview: Cross-cultural imperatives and trends in global business management

Class 2:  Aspects of culture and differences in corporate cultural norms. Prevalent theories and models used in cross-cultural analysis

Class 3: Impact of culture(s) on business decision-making

Class 4: Managing communication across cultures - diversity

Class 5: Negotiation and conflict resolution in a cross-cultural corporate context  

Class 6: Cultural activity - field work in Copenhagen 

Class 7: Leadership best practices to manage culturally diverse stakeholders

Class 8: Techniques for successful collaboration in multicultural work groups and teams

Class 9: Structuring organizations and partnerships for intercultural effectiveness

Class 10: Shaping and managing international assignments/tasks

Class 11: Recapture course

Ordinary 6-week course

Preliminary Assignment: The Nordic-9 pre-course is foundational for the summer university and identical for all bachelor courses. Students will receive an invitation with all details by the end of May. The assignment has two parts. 1.) online lectures and tutorials that student can access at their own time and 2.) one synchronous workshop which will be offered both online and in-person at several dates and times before the official start of the summer university courses. Sign-up is first come first serve. All students are expected to complete this assignment before classes begin.

We reserve the right to cancel the course if we do not get enough applications. This will be communicated on https://www.cbs.dk/en/study/international-summer-university/courses-and-exams in start March.

ONE case needs to be purchased from CBS Samfundsliteratur; instructions to be posted on course site.

Full reading list will be available on Canvas