FACULTY OF BUSINESS, ECONOMICS AND ACCOUNTANCY
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH
COURSE SYLLABUS
BA21203
PENGURUSAN SILANG BUDAYA
Sem. II 2015/2016
Lecturer
Room
Tel. no.
e-mail
:
:
:
Prof. Dr. Syed Azizi Wafa
School of Business and Economics
320000 ext. 1079
:
sazizi@[Link]
INTRODUCTION
Due to the strong and modern developments that have taken place in
telecommunications and transportation, the world seems to have shrunk and is
often referred to as a global village. These have brought about an increased
interaction between managers from various cultures. The increase in the number
and strength of multinational corporations from America, Europe, Japan and Korea
has oftentimes brought about a clash with local cultures. As a result, it is
important that managers understand culture and the implications of culture in the
development of individual and group culture as well as management style.
This course will emphasize on the differences in management practices as a
result of differences in culture. Focus will be given towards looking at the
differences between the Western and Eastern management styles. Topics that
will be discussed include the interaction between culture and organization,
strategy and culture, human resource and culture, leadership and culture, as well
as on communication and negotiation. Class discussions will focus on the
practices of Western multinational and Eastern multinational corporations.
Current cultural issues in management in Malaysia and the ASEAN region will
also be discussed in this course.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course objectives are to:
expose students to the concept of culture and the role of culture in
developing individual as well as group behaviour and management style.
evaluate and compare the similarities and differences between the
management style and practices of MNCs from the East and the West. This
includes the issues in leadership, decision making, organisational structure,
performance appraisal, training and development.
Learn how to manage cultural differences in organisations as well as learn
what it takes for an organisation to become truly global
expose students to the applicability of Western theories in the Malaysian
and Asian context.
to facilitate students in understanding the differences and similarities in
social culture in the Malaysian environment especially between Malays,
Chinese and Indians.
to apply theoretical concepts to operational situations through case studies
and project.
Learning outcomes:
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Recognize the similarities and differences between cultures and the role of
culture in developing an individual as well as group behaviour and
management style of an organisation.
2. Explain how culture influence organisations especially organisational
structure, strategy, human resource management and other processes in
organisations.
3. Compare and contrast how the various managerial functions such as
planning, organising, leadership and control is being practiced differently as
a result of the influence of culture.
4. Use cultural dimensions in the formulation of planning, organising,
leadership and control activities to manage the operations of the
organization.
LECTURE SCHEDULE
WEEK
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
TOPIC
Introduction to the course
The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture
Western and Eastern Business Cultures
Culture and Management Styles
Culture and Corporate Structures
Culture and Change, and Marketing
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
Cultural Diversity
MID-TERM BREAK
Culture and Communication
Barriers to Intercultural Communication
Negotiating Internationally
Conflicts and Cultural Differences
Developing Intercultural Relationships
Cultures of Malaysia
Semester Report Presentation
EVALUATION
Class Exercise
60%
Case study and presentation
30%
Quiz
10%
Culture in action
20%
Final Exam
40%
_____
100%
====
MAIN REFERENCE
Schneider, S. C. & Barsoux, J. L. 2003.
Prentice Hall.
Managing Across Cultures. Europe:
Wafa, Syed Azizi.2014. Management Styles of Malaysian Managers. Kota Kinabalu,
Penerbit UMS.
Browaeys, M. J. and Price, R.. 2008.
Understanding
Management: England: Pearson Education.
Cross-Cultural
OTHER REFERENCES
Asma Abdullah. 1998. Going Glocal. Shah Alam: SNP Offset (M) Sdn. Bhd.
Brislin, R. W. & Yoshida, T. 1994.
California: Sage Publications.
Improving Intercultural Interactions.
McLaren, M.C. & Md. Zabid A. Rashid. 2002. Issues and Cases in CrossCultural Management. Malaysia: Prentice Hall.
Holden, J. N. 2002. Cross-Cultural Management. London: Prentice Hall.
Ferraro, G.P. 1994. The Cultural Dimensional of International Business. 2 nd
ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Hamzah-Sendut, Madsen J., & Thong, G. 1990. Managing in a Plural Society.
Singapore: Longman Singapore Publishers.
Hodgetts, Richard M. & Luthans, Fred. 2000. International Management. 4th
ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Inc. (International edition).
Lane Henry W. & Joseph J. DiStefano. 1992.
International Management
Behaviour. 2nd ed. Massachusetts: PWS-Kent Publishing Co.
Miyashita, K & Russell, D. 1994. Keiretsu. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc.
Negandi, Anant R. 1987.
and Bacon, Inc.
International Management. Massachusetts: Allyn
Putti, J. M. 1991. Management: Asian Context. Singapore: McGraw Hill.
Ronen, Simcha. 1986.
Comparative and Multinational Management.
Singapore: John Wiley & Sons.
Terpstra, V. & David K. 1991. The Cultural Environment of International
Business. 3rd ed. New York: South Western Publishing Co.
Fatehi, K. 1996. International Management: A Cross-Cultural and Functional
Perspective. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Other additional information
Lectures:
The primary teaching techniques shall be the lecture/discussion method. Students are responsible for
reading the assigned material beforehand. The lecturer will only discuss the topics which are
deemed to be important and that may require further elaboration. Students are encouraged to
share their experience on the lectured topic and may ask questions on issues that they do not
understand at any point during class, or after class.
Case Study (30%)
The Case study method will be used extensively in class to assist students in understanding and
applying the knowledge learned in this course. Students will be divided into teams of 3-4
individuals and each team must submit the case study report for all the cases assigned to the
class. However each team will be responsible to present only one case study report during the
whole semester. This will be pre assigned at the beginning of the semester. The presentation will
be graded based on the following: Business Like Attire; Presentation Skills; Audio/Video/Power Point
Quality; Contents of Presentation; and Question and Answer Session Skills.
In preparing the case study report, students must follow the following format:
CASE SUMMARY
Summarise the case study using your own words.
The length should not be more than one page.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
List all problems.
Discuss the problems within the case.
Differentiate symptoms from problems.
State your problem statement by integrating the problems and looking from a conceptual
view
ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES
Brainstorm the alternative solutions for your problem.
Choose the best three or four alternative strategies.
The alternatives must be able to resolve the problem stated.
The alternative should be an approach with a pattern of action to resolve the problem :NOT STEPS
or ACTIVITIES.
Describe each alternative briefly: Half Page Each
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES
If the strategy is implemented, what are the possible positive and negative outcomes.
Evaluate each alternative strategy.
THE BEST STRATEGY AND JUSTIFICATION
Choose the best strategy to resolve the problem stated.
The strategy can be a combination of the strategies listed.
Justify why it is the best approach chosen.
Do not merely repeat the strengths listed in the evaluation part
IMPLEMENTATION
Divide implementation into short and long term implementation.
Describe the implementation of the strategy chosen in detail,, step by step.
In the long term implementation, try to resolve all the other problems in the case not covered
by your
problem statement.
Describe steps necessary in how to prevent the problems from recurring in future.
CULTURE IN ACTION (20%)
This is an individual assignment. Each student is required to prepare a POWERPOINT report
which is descriptive in nature, describing a foreign culture. Information relating to the
culture and its characteristics should be provided through pictures, videos, songs, dances
from goggling through the internet, newspapers or magazines or any other print/online
media. The report should be around 15 minutes long. A copy of the report must be
submitted through a compact disc. And submitted during the presentation in class.
