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2023/2024  BA-BEBUO1021U  Culture in a Global Business Context

English Title
Culture in a Global Business Context

Course information

Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc in European Business
Course coordinator
  • Maribel Blasco - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Intercultural studies
  • Sociology
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 23-06-2023

Relevant links

Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors:
  • Identify a well-founded research question containing a ‘puzzle’ or problem concerning culture and business in a European context
  • Formulate a clear and coherent academic argument, both in writing and orally
  • Account for, and critically reflect on, the strengths and weaknesses of the theories and concepts you use for analyzing the role of culture in business
  • Apply the theories and concepts taught to empirical issues/cases in European business
  • Account for your own cultural assumptions in addressing your topic
  • Reflect on social responsibility issues that may arise in relation to culture in business activities in regard to your chosen topic
  • Demonstrate awareness of the challenges and opportunities offered by group work, reflect critically on the learning process in your group work and on what you could do to improve it next time
Examination
Culture in a Global Business Context:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance, see also the rules about examination forms in the programme regulations.
Individual or group exam Oral group exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 3-5
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
The group essay is max 2 pages per student.

A group of 3 students can max write 6 pages, a group of 4 students can max write 8 pages and a group of 5 students can max write 10 pages.

At the oral exam a group must spend max. 10 minutes on their presentation.

The exam duration is as follows:

3 students = total 30 mins
4-5 students = total 45 mins
5+ students = total 60 mins
Assignment type Written assignment
Release of assignment Subject chosen by students themselves, see guidelines if any
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
10 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Re-examination:
If a student participated in writing the group essay, but was sick at the time of the oral examination, the re-examination will be based on a resubmission of the original group essay.

If a student participated in writing the group essay, but did not pass the oral examination, the student can choose either to resubmit the original group essay or to write a new, individual essay, of maximum 5 pages, within a specified time period.

The exam time for a single student reexamination is 25 minutes (10 mins student presentation, 10 mins for exam dialogue, 5 minutes voting and changeover).
Description of the exam procedure

Written examination assignment: The student groups have seven days in which to complete their written group essay.

 

Oral examination: Students make a brief group presentation (10 minutes max) of their essay, which is followed by a discussion with the examiner/s. Students may consult notes while making their presentation.

 

An exam assignment will be handed out containing guidelines for how to write the essay.  The exam assignment guidelines are identical to those of the practice assignments that students will begin developing towards the end of the course, the idea being that students can use their practice assignments in the final exam.

 

Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

The overall aim of the course is to introduce students to major ways in which culture can be conceptualized in relation to business, and to how cultural dynamics play out in different ways in a globalizing business world, specifically in a European context. The course aims to train students to see business as anchored in local, regional and global cultural contexts.

 

The course is organized in eight three-hour lectures introducing key areas in which culture is crucial in business. Students will be introduced to major theories and concepts relating to important cultural dimensions of business. Each lecture will include examples and/or cases to illustrate the theory and concepts pertaining to the session. Examples of topics include: culture and globalization, culture and leadership, organizational culture, culture and gender, and culture and business networks. Empirical examples will be mostly drawn from the European business context, or from cases of Danish businesses operating abroad.

 

Students are invited to reflect critically on the assumptions underpinning the theories presented, and to take these into account when considering business problems and challenges. The course further aims to train students' cultural sensitivity, and thereby their ability to act in 'culturally responsible' ways, by challenging their own cultural assumptions.

 

Students are also introduced to problem-oriented research  through workshops, group-based supervision and practice assignments: including how to draft a good research question and craft a literature review, as well as a basic introduction to methodology, data presentation and the application of theory to data.

 

The course integrates the HA EB values in the following way:

 

Mutual respect: Teachers and students show mutual respect by honouring the formal contracts that pertain to them (e.g. information sharing, deadlines, preparing classes and readings adequately, etc) as well as implicit contracts for appropriate conduct, such as arriving at classes on time and doing their part to maintain an atmosphere that supports learning.

Integrity: The course encourages self-reflection both in its academic goals (reflecting on own cultural assumptions) and in the groupwork input and exam format, where students learn to reflect on how to improve their own role in a collaborative process.

Engagement: Both teachers and students come to class willing to engage in dialogue with one another. Through this, our goal is to achieve a participatory and accessible culture of mutual learning.

Description of the teaching methods
Lectures, class discussions, workshops about academic writing for cultural studies, and group supervision.
Feedback during the teaching period
Students receive feedback on a practice assignment that they develop during the course and which forms the basis for their exam assignment. This feedback takes the form of:

i) 3 x 20 mins supervision in groups of 3-5 students, with the aim of providing dialogue-based feedback on their practice assignments;

ii) 3 x workshops at which students receive content input and then engage with the teacher and with peers in face-to-face discussions about their ideas for their practice assignments


Student workload
Preparation 124 hours
Participation 36 hours
Exam 50 hours
Expected literature

Indicative literature:

 

Eagleton, T. (2016). Culture. Yale University Press.

 

Guthey, E., & Jackson, B. (2011). Cross-cultural leadership revisited. The SAGE handbook of leadership, 165-178.

 

We will be drawing on cases and research articles addressing cultural dimensions of international business

 

Last updated on 23-06-2023