Course Objectives
Class Materials
Assignments, Grading and Due dates
Weekly Schedule and Readings
Ulrike Irmler
206 661 8148
Irmler@u.washington.edu
Wednesday, 6:00-9:30
Mary Gates Hall 074
https://catalysttools.washington.edu/workspace/irmler/10575/
Class lists: mailto:hcde512a_s10@u.washington.edu
mailto:hcde512b_s10@u.washington.edu
By appointment
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
 Understand basic principles of market research and audience segmentation
 Understand the essentials of cultural models and schema
 Understand how these models reflect in contrastive rhetoric and design differentiation
 Be able to apply cultural models to analyze usage and user scenarios
 Understand the fundamentals of cross-cultural management and teams
 Understand the impact of cultural models on engineering and business practices
Posted Online at https://catalysttools.washington.edu/gopost/board/irmler/15857/
Book: Hofstede, Geert: Cultures and Organizations: Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for
Survival (Revised and Expanded Edition, McGraw Hill, 2005)
Assignment Description
Market study Students will pick a target market (not US and not their native country) and conduct research on relevant market
Weight Due
15% Week 5

trends and conditions.
Position paper 2-page position paper: Google vs. China
Final research project
Students can choose between
a traditional research paper on a topic of relevance to the class
OR
a portfolio piece and presentation. Piece must be based on a global design and showcase several
Oral participation cultural variants (this could be a site plan, design comps, writing samples, video, etc.)
Participation in discussions and class preparation
15%
50%
20%
Week 7
Week 9
W EEK 1 – A PRIL 7

Course introduction

Audience segmentation and research
Reading for week 1:
Kelts, Roland: “Toyota and Trust: Was the Akio Toyoda Apology Lost in Translation.” In Christian
Science Monitor, 2/25/2010.
Wind, Yoram and Susan Douglas: “Some Issues in International Consumer Research.” In European
Journal of Marketing, 8, 3 (1974): 209-217.
Foedermayr, Eva K. and Adamantios Diamantopoulos: “Exploring the Construct of Segmentation
Effectiveness: Insights from International Companies and Experts.” In Journal of Strategic
Marketing 16, 2 (2008): 129-156.
Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E.M. and Frenkel Ter Hofstede: “International Market Segmentation:
Issues and Perspectives.” In International Journal of Research in Marketing 19 (2002), 185-
213.
Further Reading:
Kotler, Philip: Marketing Insights from A to Z: 80 Concepts Every Manager Needs to Know. Hoboken,
N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2003.
Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong. “Market Segmentation.” In Principals of Marketing, 195-208.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2006.
Krull, Robert: “What Practitioners Need to Know to Evaluate Research.” In IEEE Transactions on
Professional Communication 40, 3 (2007): 168-181.

W EEK 2 –A PRIL 14

Cultural models & schema
Reading for week 2:
Hofstede, Geert, and Gert Jan Hofstede. Cultures and Organizations. New York: McGraw, 2006.
Chapters 1, 3.
Hoft, Nancy: “Developing a Cultural Model.” In International User Interfaces. Edited by Elisa M. del
Galdo and Jacob Nielsen (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996): 41-73.
Parker, Stephen R., Haytko, Diana L. and Charles M. Hermans: “Individualism and Collectivism:
Reconsidering Old Assumptions” In Journal of International Business Research, 8, 1 (2009):
127-139.
Campbell, Scott: “Perceptions of Mobile Phone Use in Public: The Roles of Individualism,
Collectivism, and Focus of the Setting.” In Communication Reports, 21, 2 (2008): 70-81.
Further Reading:
Hall, Edward T. and Mildred Reed Hall: Understanding Cultural Differences. (Yarmouth, Me.:
Intercultural Press, 1990)
Trompenaars, Alfons and Charles Hampden-Turner: Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding
Cultural Diversity in Global Business. (New York: McGraw Hill, 1998).
Gudykunst, William B.: Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Communication. (Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications, 2003).
W EEK 3 – A PRIL 21

Contrastive rhetoric

Cross-cultural communication
Reading for week 3:
Kaplan, Robert B.: “Cultural Thought Patterns in Inter-Cultural Education.” In Language Learning 16,
1&2 (1984): 1-20.
Connor, Ulla: “New Directions in Contrastive Rhetoric.” In Tesol Quarterly, 36, 4 (2002): 493-510.
Wang, Junhua: “Convergence in the Rhetorical Pattern of Directness and Indirectness in Chinese and
U.S. Business Letters.” In Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 24, 1 (2010): 91-
120.
Spyridakis, Jan, Waka Fukuoka and Yukiko Kojima: “Illustrations in User Manuals: Preference and
Effectiveness with Japanese and American Readers.” In Technical Communication, 2 (1999):
167-166.
Pika, Simone, Nicoladis, Elena and Paula Marentette: “How to Order a Beer: Cultural Differences in the Use of Conventional Gestures for Numbers.” In Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40, 1
(2009): 70-80.
Jackson, Chris and Nancy Ciolek: “Designing Visual Information for a Global Audience.” In
International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (2006).
Further Reading
Cheung, Ming: “The Globalization and Localization of Persuasive Marketing Communication: A
Cross-Linguistic Socio-Cultural Analysis.” In Journal of Pragmatics, 42 (2010): 354-376.

W EEK 4 – A PRIL 28 TH

Games and Culture
Guest lecturers:
Adam Vance, Director International Product Management, ArenaNet
Alex Thayer, Ph.D. student, HCDE
Reading for Week 4:
Zhang, Xiaochun: “China Localizes Online Games for Global Players.” In Multilingual Computing,
October, 2009.
Khaled, Rilla et al.: “Factoring Culture into the Design of a Persuasive Game.” In Proceedings of the
18 th Australia Conference on Computer-Human Interaction, November, 2006.
Power, Mary R.: “Video Games and a Culture of Conflict.” In Journal of Children and Media, 3, 1
(2009): 90-94.
Kim, Hyeshin: “Women’s Games in Japan: Gendered Identity and Narrative Construction.” In Theory,
Culture & Society” 26, 2-3 (2009): 165-188.
Wang, Yang and Mainwaring, Scott D.: “’Human-Currency Interaction’: Learning from Virtual
Currency Use in China” (paper presented at CHI, Florence, Italy, April 5-10, 2008).
W EEK 5 – M AY 5 TH

Global reach, local relevance

Designing for global audiences
Reading for Week 5:
Asokan, Ashwini and Michael J. Payne: “Global Corporations: A Balancing Act in Delivering
Meaningful Consumer Experiences.” In Design Management Journal, 4, 1 (2008): 9-20.
Chavan, Apala Lahiri: “The Washing Machine That Ate My Sari – Mistakes in Cross-Cultural Design.”
In Interactions, 16, 1 (2009): 26-31.
Briefing: “The Apparatgeist Calls.” In The Economist, 33, 8663 (2010): 56.
Morris, Jeremy: “Drinking to the Nation: Russian Television Advertising and Cultural Differentiation.
In Europe-Asia Studies, 59, 8 (2007): 1387-1403.
Würtz, Elizabeth: “A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Websites from High-Context Cultures and Low-
Context Cultures” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 1, article 13. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue1/wuertz.html
Further Reading
Lee, Leon Z.: “Creating Worldwide Brand Recognition: Lesson’s From Dell’s Online Global Branding and Internationalization Project” Multilingual Computing & Technology. (January/February
2005) 113-117.
Foscht, Thomas et al.: “The Impact of Culture on Brand Perceptions: A Six-Nation Study.” In
Emerald, 17, 3 (2008): 121-142.

Würtz, Elizabeth: “A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Websites from High-Context Cultures and Low-
Context Cultures” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 1, article 13. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue1/wuertz.html
W EEK 6 – M AY 12 TH
The International Social Web
Reading for Week 6:
Cyr, Dianne: “Modeling Web Site Design Across Cultures: Relationships to Trust, Satisfaction and E-
Loyalty.” Journal of Management Information Systems, 24, 4 (2008): 47-72.
Farrer, James and Jeff Gavin: “Online Dating in Japan: A Test of Social Information Processing
Theory.” CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12, 4 (2009): 407-412.
Dmitrieva, Natasha: ‘Russia’s Online Social Nostalgia in the Internet Age.” In Russian Life, 51, 2
(2008): 36-40.
Sia, Choon Ling: “Web Strategies to Promote Internet Shopping: Is Cultural-Customization Needed?”
In MIS Quarterly, 33, 3 (2009): 491-512.
Further Reading
Brenda Danet and Susan C Herring: The Multilingual Internet: Language, Culture, and
Communication Online. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007): 67-93.
Seshagri, Sarita: “Content Consumption and Exchange Among College Students: A Case Study from
India.”In MUM ’09: Proceedings of the 8 th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous
Multimedia, (2009).
San Martin, Sonia: “Risk, Drivers, and Impediments to Online Shopping in Spain and Japan.” In
Journal of Euromarketing, 18 (2009): 47-64.
Ishii, Kenichi and Morihiro Ogasahara: “Links between Real and Virtual Networks: A Comparative
Study of Online Communities in Japan and Korea.” In CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10, 2
(2007): 252-257.
W EEK 7 – MAY 19 TH

Commerce and citizenship
Reading for Week 8:
Cannici, William J. Jr.: “The Global Online Freedom Act: Combating American Businesses That
Facilitate Internet Censorship in China.” In Journal of Internet Law, May (2009): 3-17.
Mortimer, Ruth: “Misrepresentation of our Nation’s Ethnic Diversity Drives us All Mad” In Marketing
Week, 32, 49 (2009): 16.
Bartlett, Thomas: “Google in China should have Known Better.” In Eureka Street, 20, 1 (2010) 17-19.
Avgerou, Chrisanthi: “Interpreting the Trustworthiness of Government Mediated by Information and Communication Technology: Lessons from Electronic Voting in Brazil.” In Information
Technology for Development, 15, 2 (2009): 133-148.
Further Reading:

Rawlinson et al.: “Cross-National Attitudes and Perceptions Concerning Software Piracy: A
Comparative Study of Students From the United States and China.” In Journal of Education for
Business, 83, 2 (2007): 87-93.
Kacen, Jacqueline and Julie Anne Lee: “The Influence of Culture on Consumer Impulsive Buying
Behavior” In Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12, 2 (2002) 163-176.
W EEK 8 – M AY 26 TH

Perceptions of Quality
Reading for Week 7:
Cole, Robert E. and Michael S. Flynn: “Automotive Quality Reputation: Hard to Achieve, Hard to
Lose, Still Harder to Win Back.” In California Management Review, 52, 1 (2009): 67-93.
Meng, Juan et al.: “Some Retail Service Quality Expectations of Chinese Shoppers.” In International
Journal of Market Research, 51, 6 (2009): 773-796.
Gerber, Evan: “Building a High-Quality Global User Experience.” In Multilingual Computing, 91
(2007): 46-48.
Further Reading:
Zu, Xingxing, Fredendall, Lawrence D. and Tina L. Robbins: “Organizational Culture and Quality
Practices in Six Sigma.” In Academy of Management best Conference Paper, (2006).
Naor, Michael et al.: “The Role of Culture as Driver of Quality Management and Performance:
Infrastructure Versus Core Quality Practices.” In Decision Sciences, 39, 4 (2008): 671-702.
Vance, Anthony, Elie-Dit-Cosaque, Christophe and Detmar W. Straum: “Examining Trust in
Information Technology Artifacts: The Effects of System Quality and Culture.” In Journal of
Management Information Systems, 24, 4 (2008) 73-100.
W EEK 9 – J UNE 2 ND

Cross-cultural teams, distributed teams.

Student presentations
Reading for Week 9
Pateli, Niki and Robert Tucker: “Power and Trust in Global Virtual Teams.” In Communications of the
ACM, 52, 12 (2009) 113-115.
Mockaitis, Audra et al.: “The Determinants of Trust in Multicultural Global Virtual Teams.” In
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2009: 1-6.
Gibbs, Jennifer: “Dialetics in a Global Software Team: Negotiating Tensions Across Time, Space and
Culture.” In Human Relations, 62, 6 (2009) 905-935.
Duckworth, Holly: “How TRW Automotive Helps Global Virtual Teams Perform at the Top of Their
Game.” In Global Business & Organizational Excellence, 28, 1 (2008): 6-16.

W EEK 10 – J UNE 9 TH

Student presentations

Career Options

Wrap-up
(no readings for week 10)