Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Required Readings: Francesco, A. & Gold, B. (2005). International Organizational Behavior. 2nd
edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Course Objectives
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to issues in international organizational behavior and
human resource management. Students will learn the micro-level individual and group-level issues faced
by companies operating in international environments. We will discuss such topics as culture, ethics,
cross-cultural communication and negotiation, motivation and leadership across cultures, diverse groups,
and international workforce selection, training, performance evaluation, and compensation. Students
should leave this course with an increased awareness of the challenges faced by individuals working in
international environments.
Grading
Your grade in this course is determined as follows:
Individual Assignments: Grading Scale:
Exam 1: 25% 100 A+
Exam 2: 25% 94-99 A
Interview Write-up: 10% 90-93 A-
Class Participation and Additional Assignments: 10% 87-89 B+
84-86 B
Group Assignments: 80-83 B-
Cultural Analysis Report (including peer evaluations): 20% 77-79 C+
Cultural Analysis Presentation: 10% 74-76 C
70-73 C-
67-69 D+
64-66 D
60-63 D-
Below 60 F
Exams
All exams are non-comprehensive and include assigned readings as well as material covered in class.
They will consist of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. Requests for rescheduling an
exam will be considered only with timely notification to the instructor and appropriate documentation
such as a written medical excuse or a note from the academic dean. It is your responsibility to inform the
instructor in advance of the exam. Approval for rescheduling is at the discretion of the instructor.
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Interview Write-up
Each student will interview an international student regarding his/her experiences in the United States.
You should select someone who is from a different culture from your own to interview. Focus specifically
on expatriate issues such as challenges faced in this culture (e.g. cultural and day-to-day challenges),
unexpected differences (e.g. stereotypes of the country not being upheld), the experience of culture shock,
and methods used to facilitate adjustment to the new culture.
The write-up is due at the beginning of class on April 9 and should be 2-4 pages long (double-spaced, 10-
12 point font, and error free), written in prose format. First, in a short paragraph, briefly give background
information on the person you interviewed (e.g. his/her nationality and hometown, age, prior international
experience, how long the person has been in the U.S.A.). Then, for the bulk of the assignment, delve into
his/her experiences. Be sure to link your discussion to topics and theories covered in the course.
Participation and Other Assignments
It is expected that you regularly attend class, arrive punctually to class, and remain up-to-date on assigned
readings. Note that you are expected to read the assigned readings and cases before each class. This will
facilitate meaningful discourse about the material. You are strongly encouraged to ask questions and
make comments on the material. You are also required to attend the BAFA BAFA simulation and all
cultural analysis presentations.
I will periodically assign additional assignments not listed on the syllabus. These will be mentioned in
class. You are expected to complete these assignments on time.
You are requested to complete and submit the student information sheet at the end of the syllabus. This
will help me learn about your backgrounds, as well as link names to faces.
Your participation grade will reflect the degree to which you contribute to the class, rather than simply
whether you are physically present. Excellent class participation is characterized by consistently attending
class, contributing to case (and other) discussions, being well-prepared for the current event assignment,
and demonstrating superior understanding and insight on the material. Good class participation is
characterized by consistently attending class and contributing to class discussions as well as being
reasonably prepared for the current event assignment, while only occasionally demonstrating superior
understanding and insights on the material. Poor class participation is characterized by inconsistently
attending class and contributing to class discussion, demonstrating a lack of preparation for the current
event assignment, and rarely demonstrating superior understanding and insights.
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explain how the incident demonstrates this topic/issue. You should describe a minimum of five incidents,
each of which should be approximately one page long. Finally, your conclusion of about three pages
should explain some of the challenges that U.S. citizens may face when interacting and doing business in
this culture given your prior analysis.
The cultural analysis report should be 10-12 pages in length (typed, double-spaced, and error free in 10-
12 point font) excluding a cover page, references, and any additional materials (e.g. appendices). Clear,
concise explanation is ideal. Points will be deducted for spelling and grammatical errors, so it is strongly
recommended that you critically proofread you report prior to submission. The Cultural Analysis
Report is due on April 9 at the beginning of class.
The cultural analysis report will be graded as follows:
1) Content – 80%
This is the most important part of the report. This shows a group’s ability to recognize and
describe cultural and other international OB/HR-relevant content. It also shows your analytical
ability in terms of determining the challenges faced by U.S. citizens doing business in this
country. Thoroughness, accuracy, and keen analysis should come through in this portion of the
paper.
2) Process – 20%
This refers to readability, flow, logic, organization, professional look, and writing mechanics of
the report. Reports should be clear, concise, structured in a logical fashion and easily readable,
with a logical flow of thoughts and ideas. The report should be devoid of spelling and
grammatical errors. It should also look neat and professional.
Note that I will not re-assign individuals to a different group after the initial assignment has been made. It
is the group’s responsibility to work together. Students desiring guidance on working with group
members are welcome to ask me for advice. If group members are unable to work together, they have the
right to fire themselves or another group member(s) from their group. In this case, the fired individual(s)
must complete a different cultural analysis report individually, with the same specifications described
above. Fired individual(s) should email me about being fired so that I can provide them with another
movie to analyze on their own.
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The cultural analysis presentation will be graded as follows:
1) Content – 60%
This aspect corresponds to what was written above about the group cultural analysis report.
Evidence of thoroughness, accuracy, and a quality analysis should come through in the
presentation.
2) Presentation – 20%
This area refers to general presentation skills. Students should be audible, come across as
confident and knowledgeable, and clearly state their points. Practicing in advance is important
and helpful.
3) Creativity – 20%
Be creative and have fun when giving presentations. Let your creative juices flow. Do not
simply read the paper aloud, but engage yourselves and the class in an active, interesting, fun
presentation.
Peer Evaluations
Teamwork is important in the workplace and in this class. Since the quality of group output is dependent
upon each individual’s quality contribution, it is vital that each group member work as part of the team.
Because I cannot assess the degree to which group members are performing their fair share of work,
group members will anonymously evaluate the performance of each member. Members will assess each
other (as well as themselves) on their contribution to the country project report, attendance at meetings,
timely contribution to individually assigned tasks, and overall performance. Group members will multiply
the number of people in their group by 100 points and assign their total points among the members. All
members must receive between 80 and 120 points from each evaluator (i.e. you can not give someone a
zero score). Each individual’s average score will be the basis for his/her peer evaluation score, which is
multiplied by the overall group’s country project report score to obtain the final country project report
score for that individual. For example, an individual who was a member of a six-person group that earned
80 points out of 100 on the country project report and who was given the peer evaluations shown in the
table below would receive the overall group case analysis project grade as listed in the “individual project
grade” column below. Thus, student E whose group received a country project report score of 80 and
whose average peer evaluation score was 510/600, or 0.85, would obtain an individual country project
report grade of 68. Note that I maintain the right to disregard self-ratings that are substantially higher than
peer ratings.
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WEBCT
Class notes, the syllabus, and other relevant course-related materials will be posted on WEBCT. You may
download this material from the website. In addition, you are advised to check your messages on WEBCT
prior to each class session. This will be the main way of disseminating any messages or instructions
relating to the course. Furthermore, groups will have a message area on WebCT to facilitate
communication about the country project. Note that exams, written cases, the overall group country
project report (i.e. without peer evaluation), and country project presentation grades will be posted on
WebCT. WebCT can be accessed at webct.utdallas.edu using a UNIX ID and password.
Common Courtesy
You are expected to be courteous during class time. Please respect your fellow students by turning off cell
phones and beepers before class, refraining from talking with others when someone is speaking, and
arriving punctually to class. Also, note that laptop usage during class is prohibited, as this is distracting to
fellow students.
Scholastic Dishonesty
Any student who commits an act of scholastic dishonesty is subject to discipline. Scholastic dishonesty
includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, colluding, submitting for credit any work or
materials that are attributable in part or fully to another party, taking an exam for another person, and
engaging in or attempting to engage in any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student. The
University of Texas at Dallas has several procedures to deal with students who commit acts of scholastic
dishonesty, ranging from flunking the course to being expelled from the university. Visit
http://www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/TitleV.html for further information on this topic.
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Tentative Course Schedule
You are responsible for having read the chapters in accordance with the dates below. Read the material
BEFORE coming to class on the day it is to be discussed. Other reading materials may be assigned in
addition to those in the schedule below, but these will be mentioned at least one class period in advance.
Date Topic Readings Assignments Due
Jan. 22 Culture and Organizational Behavior Ch. 2 Attendance for BAFA BAFA exercise
Jan. 29 Culture and Organizational Behavior (con’t) Ch. 2 Groups formed – list of members
due
Feb. 5 Ethics and Social Responsibility Ch. 3 Movie ranking for Cultural Analysis
Case 7 Project due
Leadership Ch. 11
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Student Information Sheet
BA 4372 – Spring 2007
General Information
Name: ____________________________
Phone #____________________________
Hometown: ____________________________
Work experience:
International experience (study abroad, travel, work, etc.) – include length of time and country(ies)
Personal goals: