CCC Global Internship in Canada
Shin Tanabe (Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan)
Liliana D. Olavarrieta (University of Toronto)
Course Dates: June 27, 2015 (June 26 Canada time) Online Session
Aug. 3, 2015 - Aug. 15, 2015 (Lectures and internship period in Canada)
Course Description
This course aims to introduce basic business concepts and practices in transnational companies in Canada. It
provides students with an opportunity to experience and analyze practical issues in Canadian business settings
through paired internships consisting of KGU and Canadian university students. By taking this course, students will
improve their understanding of Canadian business issues, in areas such as business management, business culture,
and cross-cultural cooperation.
Learning Objectives:
The Internship will offer the student the opportunity to:

Get practical experience within the business environment in Canada.

Develop cross-cultural communication skills.

Develop the ability to analyze and propose solutions to business problems.

Develop a greater understanding of Canadian business culture while more clearly defining personal career
goals.

Develop and refine oral and written communication skills.
Schedule
Jun. 20 (Jun. 19 Canada Time)
Class1: Course Introduction/Pre-Departure Orientation (Online Session)
Between Jun. 20 (Jun. 19 Canada Time) and Aug. 2
Class2: Career Management in Canada (Olavarrieta) (Online)
Suggested Readings
Lionel Laroche and Don Rutherford (2006) Recruiting, Retraining, and Promoting Culturally
Different Employees, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Title
Aug. 3 (Room: TBC)
Morning Session: (9:00 – 12:15)
Class3: Internship Orientation / Pre-internship Survey (Tanabe)
Class4: Canadian Business Culture (Olavarrieta)
Suggested Readings:

Richard Steers et al. (2013) Management Across Cultures, Developing Global Competencies, 2nd ed.,
New York: Cambridge University Press

Canadian Business and Maclean’s magazines for examples, several recent issues such as “Secrets of
Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies,” Special Report, July 2014.
Afternoon Session: (13:15– 16:30)
Class5: Conflict Management and Business Analysis (Olavarrieta)
Suggested Readings

Richard Steers et al. (2013) Management Across Cultures, Developing Global Competencies, 2nd ed.,
New York: Cambridge University Press

Lionel Laroche and Don Rutherford (2006) Recruiting, Retraining, and Promoting Culturally
Different Employees, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Title

Martin J. Eppler and Roland Pfister (2012), Sketching at work, A Guide to Visual Problem Solving
and Communication, St. Gallen: MCM Institute
Class6: Workshop: SWOT analysis / Logic Tree

Eric Ries (2011), The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to
Create Radically Successful Businesses, New York: Crown Business

Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pingeur (2010), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for
Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Hoboken: Wiley
Aug. 4 (Room: TBC)
Class7: Tutorials (9:00 – 12:00)
Class8, 9: Pre-Internship Presentation (13:00 – 16:00)
Pre-Internship Presentation on Host Companies/Organizations (10min. each)
Aug. 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 (8 days): Internship Period
Aug. 15 (Room: TBC)
Morning Session: (10:00 – 11:45)
Class 10: Final Presentation by Intern Pairs: (15min. each)
Afternoon Session: (13:00 – 16:00)
Class 11: Final Presentation by Intern Pairs: (15min. each)
Class 12: Wrap-up and Course Evaluation
Course Grading
Active Participation (20%):
Please prepare SWOT analysis and Logic Tree work sheets during the workshop and discuss the contents with
instructors during the tutorial session. Since the two sessions aim to help students to understand the assigned task
and business issues, do bring up your questions and concerns if you have any. At your host company, you are
expected to comply with your host institution’s regulations and be punctual for opening time, various meetings and
deadlines. Be sure that you are not an “invited guest” at your host institution and expect to take care of your own
affairs by yourself.
Pre-Internship Presentation (20%):
Make a 10-minute group presentation on your host institution and its industry. You may use power point to make a
presentation (bring your USB 10 minutes prior to the session). Briefly introduce your host institution and its
business type, and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats at your host institution. Evaluations will
be made by instructors based on the following points: content and organization of your presentation, understanding
of your host institution, and response to questions.
Critical Reflection Paper (20%):
As you perform your internship, write a 300-word critical reflection paper on what you have experienced each day.
Just describing your duties and accomplishments is not sufficient. You do need to support your points with reasons
and evidence (for example, if you think some business practices at your host company are “strange,” you need to
clarify why those practices are strange for you). Please compile and hand in the reflection paper on the final day of
the class (August 15th). Not all placements are similar so the marking will take this into account.
In your critical reflection paper, please touch upon the following points.
-
What did you learn about the company and its industry?
-
What did you learn about yourself (attitude, perception, presumption, values) with regard to the internship?
-
How did your internship experience redefine your career plan?
-
How did your internship experience redefine your learning of the course material?
Put on page 1 of your final journal the following:
Internship for whom _____________________________
Contact person ______________________________
Nature of assignment[s] ( max. two sentences) ___________________________
Venue _____________________
How was your time spent? ___% online and offline research / ___% data processing /manipulation
; ___% listening/recording; ___% observation ___% interviewing; ___% presentation; ___% other
Final Presentation (20%):
Make a 15-minute group presentation on the final day of the course (August 15th). Briefly introduce your internship
tasks and describe the lessons you learned from the internship. (e.g. lessons you gained from working with your
partner and employees at your host organization.) You do not need to re-introduce your host company and its
industry. Evaluations will be made based on the following points:
1) Content and structure of your presentation
2) Critical reflections on your internship experience supported by reasons and evidence (anecdotes and personal
episodes.)
3) Response to questions
Final Group Report: (20%)
Submit a final group report of 10-15 pages (double spaced) on Aug. 15, 2015. Find a topic and discuss what you
learned through this internship program. For example, consider one of the following topics below:

Cross-Cultural Issues

Workplace Diversity: How does your host company try to increase workplace diversity?

Teamwork: What was your strategy to complete your assigned project(s)? What kind of cross-cultural
problems did you face with your partner (or corporate staff) and how did you solve the problems.

Canadian Business

Characteristics of the Canadian market (customers, clients, etc.): How is the Canadian market different
from the Japanese market? What kind of marketing issues did you see at your host institution?

The management style of your host organization: What are the advantages and disadvantages of its
management style?

Global Leadership

Leadership: What kind of person was a good leader at your host company? Why do you think he / she is
a good leader? What kind of skills or experience, do you think, you need to have in order to become a
good leader in your host institution?
You are expected to write a logical paper that has a thesis statement, supporting reasons and examples. You may use
data or articles from your host institution’s website and brochure to support your ideas, but your main source should
be your internship experience and your thoughts gained from the internship.
Submitting Papers

Please ensure that you understand the following rules. Your compliance demonstrates your scholarship and
maturity. These provisions are strictly enforced. All work submitted to the instructor will be marked; however,
the grade entered on the student’s record will depend on the following provisions. In-class submission of a
paper, on the day indicated, should be both in person and by email (ccc2015student@gmail.com) and only
until 10:00 am. Students should always hand papers directly to the instructors and send soft copy to the CCC
email account; don’t entrust it to a friend. Essays are due in class at the time specified; essays overdue by even
one hour are deemed late. Late penalties will accrue until a hard copy of the paper is received. Late papers
incur a penalty of 5 marks per day late.

Plagiarism is the use of the written work of others (either direct copies or close paraphrases) as one’s own
original work. If quotations and/or passages from other works are used in your papers, they must be accorded
the proper citation in order to avoid any misunderstandings about plagiarism.