Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Meena Chavan
Contact via meena.chavan@mq.edu.au
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
4cp at 800 level and ((BUS651 or MKTG696) or (admission to MIntRel or admission to MCom or MIntBus or MEc or MActPrac prior to 2011))
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
To succeed in a globalised business environment, it is imperative for managers to understand contemporary approaches to leading and managing in culturally diverse environments and explore strategies and tactics for managing international assignments and teams. Core objectives of this unit are to enhance multicultural competence skills and impart an understanding of how cultural diversity affects managerial behaviour and processes which is highly valued by future employers. The unit utilises a range of assessments such as simulations, experiential exercises, forums, reflective tasks, case studies, presentations and group activities in order to synthesise students' understanding of cross-cultural theories and their ability to apply their learning.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Due |
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ONLINE PARTICIPATION | 20% | ONGOING |
CASE STUDY | 20% | WEEK 2- 12 |
REPORT | 20% | 2.5.14 @5pm (evening) |
FINAL EXAM | 40% | From 16th June 2014 |
Due: ONGOING
Weighting: 20%
Online forums will be conducted during the Semester. These are analogous to tutorials in a traditional course. You are required to participate actively in these, and your contributions will be assessed.
A. CASE STUDY FORUM: Students must read every case study and make a post expressing your opinion, connecting current discussions by other students, relating to concepts learned in the video lectures, readings, your work experience or material from the case study. There is no word limit for the post. For each case study the forum will only be open for 2 weeks, which means that the forum for the first case study will close end of week 3 .
B. EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE FORUM: These are comprised of application tasks and reflective activities. Reflective tasks are exercises designed to encourage reflection on Unit topics and associated readings. Each lecture will have one experiential exercise, and one video reflective task. Students must read these and post their perspectives in these forums. A rubric for online presentation is used to mark online participation which can be seen on iLearn. Each of these forums will close after 3 weeks .
LATE SUBMISSIONS
No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.
Due: WEEK 2- 12
Weighting: 20%
Weekly (Case Analysis- Group work)
Every week nominated student groups will submit the case analysis through turnit in. The case analysis should address the following:
A. Introduction
A brief of the case environment, company, industry, country, culture and case problem
B. Body
Should include the following sections: Identification of major stakeholders and their problems, objectives and concern, recommended solutions, managerial implications.
C. Conclusion
Briefly summarize the essential complexities posed in this case and the practical implications and lessons learned.
D. Case question
Every case will have questions at the end which will serve as a direction to analyse the case. You do not have to answer these questions.
Detailed marking rubrics can be seen on iLearn and a document titled "How to analyse a case study" will provide further guidance. This is a group activity and one student from the group will upload their case analysis though turnitin as stated below.
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE (Group)
Students are required to submit an electronic copy of their assessment to Turnitin via the Internet as part of the submission process for assignments. Your assignment will then be automatically compared to work of your classmates, previous students from Macquarie and other universities, with material available on the Internet, both freely available and subscription-based electronic journals. Before submission, name your electronic file in a Word document with your surname and student number, e.g., Smith20101309. Please make sure that only one member of your group submits the report to Turnitin for plagiarism check. The word doc will then have his/her surname and student number.
LATE SUBMISSIONS
No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.
Due: 2.5.14 @5pm (evening)
Weighting: 20%
THE EU CULTURE
Britain may be in the front line of the Euro crisis, but it is not the only country affected. The Euro zone is a massive market for businesses from the United States, China, India, Japan, Russia and the other major world economic powers. China has considered lending money to Europe, they are that concerned that the Euro may collapse. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was set up to help countries in economic difficulty, set aside hundreds of billions of dollars for a bailout of some of the Euro zone countries. The wider world is so keen to see the Euro survive — even if that means it has fewer members —for the following reasons:
To preserve the Euro zone’s massive consumer market. A staggering 322 million Europeans use the Euro every day. It’s the currency of seventeen nations. Besides daily activities, these people use the Euro to buy goods and services from overseas — if there was a collapse in its value, and then they would be less able to buy imports.
To prevent a global recession. A collapse of the Euro or a situation where some European governments would be unable to repay their debt would have a huge, negative impact on the world economy. It would resemble the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 (in truth, it could be much worse than that). At the very least, businesses around the globe would think twice about investing and taking on new staff while others might start to trim their operations and cut jobs. A global economic recession would be highly likely.
To protect the world financial system. Banks around the globe have invested in the government debt of Euro zone countries. These banks also hold large amounts of Euros. If the current crisis gets much worse, then the government debt and currency that they hold will fall in value, which could undermine their own financial well being. It could be like the 2007 and 2008 financial crash all over again, with the global banking system under threat. This would be bad news for everyone.
It’s not just the 322 million people in the Euro zone which depend on their currency — there are 150 million people in African countries whose currencies are pegged to value the Euro. If the Euro zone fragments and the value of the Euro collapses, these African countries will see the value of currency collapse too.
Against a backdrop of ongoing Euro zone volatility, companies are continuing to review their exposures in Europe, including the nature and extent of their Euro-related contracts, and are asking what measures they can put in place to protect their assets and limit cash flow threats. This uncertainty has affected business confidence in different ways in nations across the world. Please read the following extracts and papers in the context of the task outlined below:
http://www.pwc.com/us/en/issues/eurozone-business-impact/index.jhtml
http://www.economist.com/node/2156423
http://www.internationalbusinessreport.com/2012/eurozone_impact.asphttp://ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_3_No_9_May_2012/28.pdf
http://www.cis.org.au/images/stories/issue-analysis/ia132.pdf
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/obrien-browne/a-different-take-on-the-e_b_1212418.html
http://www.cresc.ac.uk/publications/deep-stall-the-euro-zone-crisis-banking-reform-and-politics
http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/audit-services/publications/eurozone-crisis-impact.jhtml
YOUR TASK:
You are a consultant tasked with a submission developing a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the Euro crisis on "THE WORLD" in general and "AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS" in particular to assist them with their strategy in the Euro zone. Whilst doing this your focus will be on the "CULTURE" of the European country you select and you will analyse the situation based on the cultural dimensions and cultural theories that you study in class.
Your report should encompass all risks: Political, Cultural, Social, Legal, Economic and provide advice on their impact to Australia business operating in EU. Please note you can select any country of your choice in the EU. In particular you are required to critique, analyse and assess the following four issues with CULTURE as a basis:
i. Global impact of Euro crisis on businesses and industries in EU, Australia and the World.
ii. Country (EU country of your choice) specific economic, political, legal, cultural, social and cultural characteristics and history
iii. Possible implications and contingency planning for Australian business
iv. Role of culture in the EURO crisis
v. At the end of the report include in brief a case study of a company operating in EU from any country and present the analysis of the impact of the EU crisis on its operations with a focus on the comparative cultures of the 2 countries.
WORD LIMIT
2500 words +/- 10%, including references.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITTEN ASSESSMENTS
All assignments submitted for assessment must adhere to the following standards
1. Cover Page
For each of the assignment, you must use a cover (or title) page that provides the following information:
(a) Your full name and student number;
(b) Contact details: email address;
(c) Unit code and name
(d) Assignment number and assignment title;
2. Presentation of Assignments
Assignments should meet normal academic and professional standards of presentation, including:
(a) All pages, excluding the cover page, should be numbered;
(b) Page margins should be at least 2.5 cm on all four edges and 1.5 line spaced;
(c) Times New Roman font type and font size of 12 points should be used.
(d) Harvard referencing system should be used.
3. Submission Procedure (Individual)
Students are required to submit an electronic copy of their assessment to Turnitin via the Internet as part of the submission process for assignments. Your assignment will then be automatically compared to work of your classmates, previous students from Macquarie and other universities, with material available on the Internet, both freely available and subscription-based electronic journals. Before submission, name your electronic file in a Word document with your surname and student number, e.g., Smith20101309.
4. Late Submissions
No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved. All assessments are mandatory.
Detailed marking rubrics can be seen on iLearn.
Due: From 16th June 2014
Weighting: 40%
The final exam will be an open-book online exam. You will have 2.5 hours to complete. All chapters from the text book are assessable. There are two sections:
A. 1 Case Study (marks 10)
B. Essay (marks 30)
Essay questions will include:
· a) experiential application questions
· b) questions from lecture topics
A sample exam can be found on iLearn.
ACTIVITY I: USING iLEARN FORUMS (Mandatory not Assessed) This practice exercise is mandatory for all students and must be completed by the end of week two. This is not an assessment. This will be the first step which will assist you to learn how to learn in an online environment and how to use the iLearn forums in online units.
A) Please post a message on GLOBAL CAFE introducing yourself, your previous studies and what you do.
B) Using iLearn DIALOGUE Please email me telling me why you choose to study this unit and what do you expect to learn from this unit?
C) Using E-RESERVE to access the library for resources for your assignments and download readings. a) You must access E-Reserve from iLearn home page, open up one of the readings and print it. b) Open up one of the research databases (Business Source Premier) available through Library/Research databases/Business source premier). Search for "Organizational Culture" and email it to everyone on GLOBAL CAFE
ACTIVITY II: CASE STUDY GROUPS (Mandatory Assessed 20%)
Check the group and case study allocated to you. Start discussing the case study on the case study forum with your group members provided for your case study exclusively. Upload the case analysis on the day you are scheduled to do so in the designated area on iLearn and post an entry in the case study forum for each case study which is an online participation activity.
ACTIVITY III: VIDEO LECTURES AND QUIZZ (online participation activity) Every week you will be required to listen to the lecture for the week and attempt the quizzes for each one of them. This is an online participation activity.
ACTIVITY IV: INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT (Mandatory Assessed 30%)
You will submit your individual assignment on Turnitin before the deadline in week 9.
ACTIVITY V: EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVITY - APPLICATION QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION (Online participation activity)
Each week an experiential exercise which is an application task and a a video exercise which is a reflective task be posted on the respective forums. Students need to make one post each week on this forum. There is no limit to the words.
Please note online participation is worth 20%.
ADDITIONAL READINGS: You can access additional readings through iLearn. They are embedded in e-reserve links in each topic so you can simply click on the link to the article you wish to view and you will be prompted to login to e-reserve.
Required and Recommended Texts and/or Material
Required text: ‘International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures – Text and Cases’, EIGHT EDITION (International Edition) by Helen Deresky, Pearson, 2014. This contains all the required case studies in addition to material posted on iLearn. A copy of the required text is also available in the Macquarie Library and obtainable from Macquarie University Coop Bookshop (macq_byr@coop-bookshop.com.au)
Students should have their own copy of this text as case studies and a few experiential exercises are from the text. There are some copies on the library shelves and in library reserve. Lectures support and add to the textbook but cannot replace it. It is a standard work of reference on cross cultural management. Online video lecture sessions are backed up online with lecture notes, case studies, articles and discussion.The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/
Technology Used and Required
Students are required to use information technology in this unit. Students will need to use: Library databases to source materials for the research reports, which are accessed electronically for conducting, research for assignments;
Electronic (internet) access to ilearn to download unit learning resources and upload assignments or other materials required for class activities and assignments; Microsoft word and Power point (where applicable) for the research reports and presentations).You can check that your computer’s software and hardware are compatibility with Macquarie University standard requirements at:
https://learn.mq.edu.au/webct/RelativeResourceManager/25994001/Public%20Files/uw/softw
Unit Web Page
Course material is available on the learning management system (ilearn) .The web page for this unit can be found at:
https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/
Learning and Teaching Activities
This unit will be taught using a participant-centered and experiential learning method of teaching. “Experiential learning takes place when a person is involved in an activity, then looks back and evaluates it, determines what was useful or important to remember and uses this information to perform another activity” (John Dewey, 1938). Video lectures would be posted on iLearn. Students will partake in case and application discussions, and watch relevant videos on iLearn. Case studies will be extensively used. Case analyses are intended to be analytical critiques on some central issues of the case being discussed. As this is an online discussion-oriented class, students will read all of the case studies indicated on the course schedule and come prepared to discuss and defend themselves on the online case forums. Every student is expected to participate. In your case analyses, please refrain from writing a summary of the case or repackaging the information already provided in the case. Based on the information provided in the case, be analytically judgmental, propose alternative managerial views and action plans, and discuss the relevance and appropriateness of the frameworks proposed in the readings and lectures to the case. In short, write what you think of the situation in the case and not merely repeat what the author says. The course teaches several models for cultural analysis of case studies. Some examples are: Hofstede, Trompenaars, and Edward Hall. These models are to be used for group case study assignments and research paper .This unit is presented through the following learning media: Thirteen online video lectures combined with forums that serve as tutorial discussions, case studies, experiential exercise and videos. Lecture notes, assignment details, assessment methods, case studies, reading and reference materials and a sample exam paper are posted on iLearn. Every week one student group will discuss, analyse and upload a relevant case study online. The weightage of this presentation is 20%. Each group only uploads once. Case analysis submissions will be marked and returned in the following weeks online. All groups will upload their reports (individual assignment) in week 9 via Turnitin. The total assignment weightage is 60% and the final exam will be 40%.
Supplementary Research Resources
Official website of Geert Hofstede http://www.geert-hofstede.com/
Global edge Global business resources http://globaledge.msu.edu/
Country profiles http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/country-profiles.html
Virtual Library on International Development http://www2.etown.edu/vl/intldev.html
The World Index of Chambers of Commerce & Industry http://www.worldchambers.com
The United Nations http://www.un.org
Week |
Lecture: Topic and Reading |
Case Study and Experiential Activity |
1 |
Assessing the environmen: Political, Economic,Legal,Technological Chapter 1 |
Experiential activity: Forces at work |
2 |
Managing Interdependence: Social Responsibility, Ethics, Sustainab8ility Chapter 2 |
Case Study 1: Blackberry in International Markets Experiential activity: Predatory competition |
3 |
Understanding the Role of Culture Chapter 3 |
Case Study 2: Google's Orkut in Brazil Experiential activity: Business trip to Japan
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4 |
Communicating Across Cultures Chapter 4 |
Case Study 3: MTV Networks: The Arabian Challenge Experiential activity: Cultural differences in business communication
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5 |
Cross-cultural Negotiation and Decision Making Chapter 5 |
Case Study 4: Alibaba Experiential activity: Cross cultural negotiations
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6 |
Formulating Strategy Chapter 6 |
Case Study 5: Carrefour's Misadventure Experiential activity: Renault and Nissan in South Africa
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RECESS |
Mid session break:12 - 27 April 2014 Classes resume:28 April 2014
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7 |
Implementing Strategy Chapter 7 |
Case Study 6: Walmart's expansion in Africa Experiential activity: Cross culture mergers and acquisitions |
8 |
Organisation Structure and Control systems Chapter 8 |
Case Study 7 : Chrysler Experiential activity: Images of Organisational Culture
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9 |
Staffing, Training and Compensation for Global Operations Chapter 9 |
Case Study 8: Foreign Investment in China Experiential activity: Career opportunities overseas
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10 |
Developing a Global Management Cadre Chapter 10 |
Case Study 9: Mahindra & Mahindra Experiential activity: Expat Life in EU
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11 |
Motivating & Leading Chapter 11 |
Case Study 10: Indra Nooyi Experiential activity: Servant Leadership
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12 |
REVIEW |
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13 |
FINAL EXAM |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.
This graduate capability is supported by:
The unit uses research from several external sources namely academic journals, books, media articles and government publications as listed below to support your learning of cross cultural concepts, theories and current happenings:
This unit gives you opportunities to conduct research and gives you practice in applying research findings in your assessments.
Date | Description |
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28/02/2014 | The Description was updated. |