HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: business administration

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: English

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Prof ODED SHENKAR

Coordinator Email: shenkar120@gmail.com

Coordinator Office Hours:

Teaching Staff:
Prof ODED SHENKAR

Course/Module description:
The aim of the course is to introduce students to culture as a major force in international business and management, in the context of a global economy. In this class we define national culture, review its various classifications, assess its role in management theories, and discuss a variety of theoretical, conceptual, methodological and practical issues relating to the measurement and application of culture in the world of business. While our primary focus is national culture, we review its interface with other levels of culture (e.g., industry, individual). In particular, we focus on the complex task of capturing and assessing the many facets of the cultural encounter, its antecedents, context, process, and outcome.

In addition to measuring and mapping cultural variations, we discuss applications of culture and cultural differences in a variety of management functions, including strategy, organization behavior, and human resource management (and, at times, in other business areas such as finance and marketing). We use real life application grounds such as cross-cultural negotiations, international expansion, and cross-border alliances/ mergers & acquisitions, and provide specific examples such as strategy formulation and expatriate selection. Case studies are used not only in the conventional sense but also as an opportunity for theory testing.

Course/Module aims:

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
- define national culture, review its various classifications, assess its role in management theories

-capture and assess the many facets of the cultural encounter, its antecedents, context, process, and outcome.

-understand applications of culture and cultural differences in a variety of management functions, including strategy, organization behavior, and human resource management

Attendance requirements(%):

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:

Course/Module Content:
Class Schedule and Assigned Readings / Cases

1A Culture: Basic Concepts

Readings:
1. Boyacigiller, N., Kleinberg, J., Phillips, M.E. & Sackmann, S. 2007. Conceptualizing culture. Elucidating the Streams of Research in International Cross-Cultural Management. In O. Shenkar and B.J. Punnett, Handbook for International Management Research, 99–167.

Kick-Start Question: What role does culture play in business?


1B Culture: Major Classifications

Readings:
1. Shenkar, Luo & Chi, International Business, 3rd Edition, Routledge 2015, Chapter Six

Illustrative Case: Sealed Air (A&B) HBS 9-305-095 revised March 23, 2006; HBS 9-398-097 revised 1998

Kick-Start Question: What are the similarities between the various classifications?


2A. Culture and Theory

Readings:
1. Hofstede, G. 1993. Cultural Constraints in Management Theories, Academy of Management Executive. 7.1: 81-94
2. Hofstede, G. 1996. An American in Paris: The Influence of Nationality on Organization Theories. Organization Studies, 17(3): 525-537

Kick-start Question: What is the positioning of culture in organization theories?


2B National Culture Variations

Readings:
1. Ronen, S., and Shenkar, O. Mapping World Cultures: Cluster Formation, Sources, and Implications, Journal of International Business Studies, 44, 9, 2013, 867-89.7


Kick-Start Question: What underlies variations in national culture?


3A Culture Application Grounds: Cross-Border Alliance / Mergers

Readings:

1. Weber, Y., Shenkar, O., and Raveh, A. (1996). National and corporate cultural fit in mergers / acquisitions, Management Science, 42, 8, 1215-1227.
2. Salk, J.E. and Shenkar, O. Social identities in an international joint venture: An exploratory case study, Organization Science, 12 (2), 2001, 161-178

Kick-Start Question: What is the relation between culture and strategy?

Illustrative Case: Transeuropa Corporation (A) INSEAD (ECCH) 493-026-1, 1993


3B Measuring Cultural Differences

Readings:

1. Shenkar, O. (2001). Cultural distance revisited: towards a more rigorous conceptualization and measurement of cultural differences. Journal of International Business Studies, 32 (3), 519-535
2. Shenkar, Oded, Luo, Yadong and Yeheskel, Orly, From Distance to Friction: Substituting Metaphors and Redirecting intercultural research, Academy of Management Review, 33 (4), 2008, 905-923.Special Theory Forum on “International Management: Critique and New Directions”.


4A Managing Cultural Differences

Illustrative Cases: Sealed Air Taiwan (A) HBS 9-305-094, revised March 23, 2006
Sealed Air Taiwan (B) HBS 9-399-059, revised April 17, 2001


4B Culture and Strategy

Readings:
1. Schneider, S. C., & De Meyer, A. 1991. Interpreting and responding to strategic issues: The impact of national culture. Strategic Management Journal, 12(4): 307-320.
2. Makino, S., & Neupert, K. E. 2000. National culture, transaction costs, and the choice between joint venture and wholly owned subsidiary. Journal of International Business Studies, 31(4): 705-713.
3. Hennart, J. F., & Larimo, J. 1998. The impact of culture on the strategy of multinational enterprises: does national origin affect ownership decisions? Journal of International Business Studies, 515-538.


5A Culture and other Business / management Functions

1. Brock, D. M., Shenkar, O., Shoham, A., & Siscovick, I. C. 2008. National culture and expatriate deployment. Journal of International Business Studies, 39(8): 1293-1309.
2. Schuler, R. S., & Rogovsky, N. 1998. Understanding compensation practice variations across firms: The impact of national culture. Journal of International Business Studies, 159-177.
3. Kwok, C. C., & Tadesse, S. 2006. National culture and financial systems. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(2), 227-247.


5B Methodological Issues

Readings:
1. McSweeney, Brendan. 2002. Hofstede’s model of national cultural differences and their consequences: a triumph of faith-a failure of analysis. Human relations, 55(1): 89-118
2. Lenartowics, T., & Roth, K. 2001. Does subculture within a country matter? A cross-culture study of motivational domains and business performance in Brazil. Journal of International Business Studies, 305-325.

Required Reading:
See course content.

Additional Reading Material:

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 10 %
Project work 90 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
Method of Instruction

Course methodology consists of readings, lectures, class participation, case analysis, and in-class assignments. There is a strong emphasis on the analysis of complex international business problems, including the preparation and discussion of real-life cases, but in relation to the landscape of management theories and research. While students may be assigned individual case / reading responsibilities, all participants are expected to undertake a proactive role in raising questions and in offering constructive solutions to the issues discussed in class.

Case Preparation for Class Discussion

The following are general guidelines that are especially relevant for using case studies as a research instrument and not only as a teaching tool (note, in particular, #6 & #7).

1. Read the case quickly, noting the major issues and a general sense of the layout. Read to get a sense of who the protagonist(s) is/are and what their situation is like. Ask yourself how the case might fit into the assigned materials or previous sessions.
2. Reread the case carefully, annotating, highlighting and distinguishing important information, omissions, and questions raised by the reading.
3. Decide the most important issues then answer assigned questions, if any. If no questions are assigned, propose and answer your own.
4. Evidence shows that the most useful learning method is to follow individual with group learning. Once you have mastered the material on your own, discuss the case with classmates before class to test out your ideas, brainstorm and further your understanding of the issues.
5. Prepare notes to guide your class participation, including: answering assigned questions, summary of main issues, subsequent questions raised by the reading, assumptions made by the case writer and/or the protagonist(s), similarities and differences to other cases, possible approaches or solutions to the case problem.
6. Remember the theory base: This is a high level course and you should focus on the theory implications of the case discussed. For instance, do the events in the case correspond to theoretical predictions? If not, why? Is there published empirical research to support the predictions of a theory as illustrated in this case? Is there anything in the case that can be used to feedback into the theory? Is there a combination of theories that together provide a better explanation of case’s events?
7. Put things in context: A potential detriment of the case approach is that students are swayed by the idiosyncrasies of an individual case and generalize to the broader population. Remember that cases, while real-life, are not necessarily representative of other situations, industries, firms and business environments. One way to put things in context is to look at industry competitors or the activities of the same company in other markets; another is to seek updates and additional information beyond what the case provides; a third is to turn to theories, especially those focus on context.

Method of Assessment

Students will write a paper that will explain and illustrate the role of culture in a business phenomenon of their choice (e.g., a cross-border alliance) using at least two relevant theories of management and or international business (e.g., resource dependence theory and internationalization theory).