Course Syllabus

Course description:

Cultural diversity doesn’t only exist between national cultures; it also exists between different corporate and professional cultures within the same organization.  Previously, cross-cultural training has primarily been focused around outlining the differences between various national stereotypes with little or no attention on how we can benefit from this diversity. Today we live in a globalized world, where cultures blend together more than ever before in history. Thus, being able to lead successfully across cultures is a key skillset to possess and at the same time extremely complex to manage. 

The purpose of this intercultural management course is to bring the participants attention to the importance of knowing how to take advantage of cultural diversity, in any form. We will leverage a theoretical framework from academic research as well as be inspired by leaders with experience within managing different cultures.

Learning objectives:

The objectives of the course are to enable you to:

• Understand the concepts of cross-cultural leadership.
• Take a strategic approach to cross-cultural leadership.
• Be able to apply best practices within cross cultural leadership to your personal leadership development.
• Be able to design working environments that take advantage of cultural diversity.

Assignment	Percent
Attendance, participation and engagement (individual)	20%
Impactful Leadership (Individual)	25%
Podcast (team)	25%
Leadership perspectives from Copenhagen (team)	30%

Students are expected to:

• Students are expected to show up for class prepared and participate actively
• Complete all assigned worked prior to each deadline and each class
• Contribute actively and engaged during classes, visits, activities, and make sure to always speak up and contribute to our knowledge production each time we are together
• Be punctual and attend all assigned activities both during our classes, mandatory activities, and visits
• Missing classes, activities, visits and assigned work without a legitimate excuse will result in a lower final grade
• Cell phones are to be shut off or silenced during class and texting, using social media etc. during class will have a negative impact on your participation grade.
• Laptop, tablets, and smartphones are NOT to be used during class and visits unless approved by your instructor or for note-taking. If you fail to meet this expectation, it will have a negative impact on your final grade.

Grading

**To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work**

• Active class participation throughout the course: A=95 / Occasional participation: B=86 / Little or no participation: C=76. Fine-tuning of percentage points may occur, reflecting student performance.
  
• Note that attendance at all classes and field studies are required and expected and is not credited as participation. Failure to attend will have a negative influence on the participation grade, however.

• Canvas discussions Before most classes you are required to post at least one entry to our Canvas discussions page. You are required to complete thoughtful canvas responses to readings, guest lectures, and visits. Your instructor will provide you with more information.

How to Get a Good Grade

• Involve yourself! Allow yourself the luxury of taking a genuine interest in the course.
• Get organized! Enter all due dates in a calendar and set aside time to work on assignments and prepare for class. 
• Prepare for class! Every class!
• Participate! Sharing your thoughts and ideas in class is not just important for the participation grade, it is one of the best tools for developing your analytical skills.

A word about grades 

I realize that grades are important to you, but try not to let your anxiety about grades deter you from taking intellectual risks and learning just for the joy of learning. I do not grade to punish or reward you just as my grade is not an indication of my evaluation of you as a person. I grade you to give you my honest assessment of your academic performance. 

Faculty 

Dorte Mari Aggergaard (she/her)

M.A. (Modern Culture & Innovation, University of Copenhagen) B.A. (Art History and Pedagogy/Educational Studies, University of Copenhagen and Roskilde University). Visiting scholar at Leeds and Brown University. Member of the Denmark Committee at Brown, and DIS representative at Harvard, MIT, RISD and Brown. Worked for The European Commission's Safer Internet Programme, recipient of an EU Lifelong Learning Programme grant for a project on cross-cultural learning. Has worked with innovation, and been part of the start-up community in Copenhagen. With DIS since 2014.

Required Texts

Course readings (see below are found) on Canvas. Before each class, you are expected to read texts, listen to podcasts, and/or watch films/videos assigned for the class.

Simon and Hoyt 2022 Gender and Leadership in Northouse 2022 Chap 14 (1).pdf

Harvard Business Review Women Rising.pdf

Cross Cultural Conflict Resolution in Teams.pdf

The ADKAR model.pdf

Change management - A key to a successful future.pdf

World Bank - Doing Business In Denmark 2020.pdf

Managing Multicultural Teams.pdf

Culture Club An Interview with Fons Trompenaars.pdf

Dilemma-Doctors.pdf

Dimensionalizing Cultures_ The Hofstede Model in Context.pdf

5 Simple Office Policies That Make Danish Workers Way More Happy Than Americans.pdf

Teaching Methods 

The teaching in this course is based on experiential learning and students are expected to participate actively in activities, independent field work, presentations and discussions both during class, field visit and on canvas. While I am responsible for the overall structure of the class, all of us will contribute to the production of knowledge and creating a learning space with reflection, responsibility and trust.

The class will largely be student driven through group work, hands-on activities, and debates. Your own engagement plays an important role and you are encouraged to reflect actively on your leadership experiences during our hands-on activities and help towards creating an inclusive and safe learning environment. 

Overall, the aim is to create a class community characterized by respect and willingness to listen/consider others’ perspectives, where it is safe to explore ideas together and individually, even when they are not fully conceptualized. This requires a level of trust in each other and a willingness and curiosity to consider each other’s arguments.

Please notice that the course topics are subject to change, depending on how the semester unfolds and the interests of the class.