1. Instructor: Çağrı Topal
BA 4216 Cross-cultural Studies in Organizations Introduction and Culture Course syllabus available at
Instructor: Çağrı Topal

2. Relevance Culture as shaping managerial and organizational practices
Cultural diversity based on differences in education, occupation, hometown, social class, and gender

3. Objective
Developing a critical understanding of the implications of different national cultures for business and management practice in domestic and international markets
Improving teamwork and presentation skills

4. Outcomes
Understanding the global context of cross- cultural management, influence of different religious and cultural characteristics on management, role of cross-cultural communication in business, leadership, motivation, negotiation, conflict management, and human resource management across cultures, ethical issues in cross-cultural settings, and ethnocentric business practices
Improving teamwork and presentation skills

5. Readings Mixed readings from relevant textbooks
Textbooks on cross-cultural management available from the library
Long cases from Martin J. Gannon, “Understanding Global Cultures”, 3rd and 4th editions
Short cases to be distributed in class

6. Assessment-1 Midterm 1 20% Midterm 2 20% Case quizzes 30%
Case presentation and report 15%
Group participation 10%
Individual participation 10%
Total %

7. Assessment-2: IMPORTANT
Grades and notes are final and not subject to change.
No individual request for additional study for raising a grade will be accepted.
No non-academic criteria such as that you are working outside, that this is your last semester, and that this is your only course will be considered in grading.

8. Lecture and participation
Key points and examples by the instructor
Discussion in the groups of two or three or four students
General class discussion
Students’ questions and critiques
Do not write the name of an absent student on the group/case participation sheet and lose all participation points

9. Midterms Two conceptual exams (November 2 and November 23)
Closed-book and closed-notes
Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, true-false, short- and long-answer questions
Make-up essay exam only if applied within one week after the exam with documentation
No make-up for group or individual participation studies in the class

10. Case presentation and quiz
Ten cases
Each presented by a group of two or three students
40 minutes for the presentation and 20 minutes for the discussion
Go beyond the case and do your own research on the business conduct
Allocated on a first come-first served basis
See the case guide
Quiz for each case (do not be late and not leave early not to get a zero mark)

11. Case report Report only on the case presented-3 pages
Typed in appropriate format (see the syllabus)
Not the analysis of the case
Explanation of the group preparation process
Group grade
One point penalty for each day of late submission

12. Civility Be in class on time Turn your cellular phones off
Turn your laptops off
Avoid engaging in side conversations
Use an impersonal professional language
See the instructor if you need special arrangements

13. Grading Percentage Course Grade Coefficient 90-100 AA 4 85-89 BA 3.5
BB 3
CB 2.5
CC 2
DC 1.5
DD 1
FD 0.5
49 and below FF 0

14. Code of ethics and regulations
Make yourself familiar with the university’s code of ethics and regulations

15. Questions
Questions
Concerns

16. Culture
Kluckhohn (1962): ‘culture consists of patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artefacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e., historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values’

17. Culture
Triandis (1972): the subjective perception of the human-made part of the environment including the categorization of social stimuli, associations, beliefs, attitudes, roles, and values that individuals share

18. Culture
Hofstede (1980): culture consists of shared mental programs that control individuals’ response to their environment
Human nature: Universal characteristics
Groups: Culture
Individuals: Personality

19. Culture Group phenomenon Shared Learned Enduring
Powerful influence on behaviour
Systematic and organized
Largely invisible
Normal

20. Culture natural and correct vs. unnatural and incorrect
universal validity
in-group vs. out-group

21. Culture It’s like water surrounding the fish
Culture does not necessarily result in the same behaviour in all individual members but signals the same meaning every time
Similar values might exist in different cultures with different priorities