COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
Course Syllabus
Fall, 2010
COURSE
Working around the World HCA 457I (3 Units)
TIME
Online
INSTRUCTOR
Inna Lisker
INSTRUCTOR
OFFICE HOURS
OFFICE LOCATION
CONTACT INFORMATION
Inna Lisker
Tuesdays and Thursdays:
Phone Conference: 7:30PM-9:30PM
E-mail (preferred): anytime
(will respond within 24 hours)
Virtual
E-MAIL (preferred) ilisker@csulb.edu
Phone:
(949) 510-5892
INTRODUCTION
A study of the effects that religion, language and culture, political
structure, economics, and physical environment have on the development
of work and people’s perceptions of work and occupations in the United
States and other countries around the world.
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course, you should be able to develop the competencies
and perform activities listed in the first column of the table below. The
instructional and learning activities that we will undertake in the class are
shown in the second column, and the assessment methods for each
objective are detailed in the third column.
Course Objective
Instructional
Assessment
Activities
Method(s)
1. Create a climate that fosters Reading class material;
DQ essays;
understanding of cultural diversity Discussion participation; Discussion
and individual views of “work” and Reading and commenting Participation
“job” in your respective workplaces.
on peers’ perspectives
2. Develop a deeper understanding of Reading class material
cultural diversity issues that occur in Discussion participation
the workplace.
Reading and commenting
on peers’ perspectives;
Instructors’ feedback
DQ essays;
Discussion
Participation;
Exams
3. Analyze and discuss the current Reading class material;
research, practice, and policy independent research;
literature related to cultural diversity. writing analytical essays
DQ essays;
Discussion
Participation; Team
Project
DQ essays;
Discussion
Participation, Team
Project
4. Develop a personal philosophy of
cultural diversity in the workplace
and its rationale in modern
society.
Reading class material;
Discussion participation;
independent research;
writing reflective essays
5. Discuss societal stereotypes of
various cultural, ethnic, and racial
groups and how stereotypes affect
our perceptions of and
interactions with persons from
these groups.
Reading class material;
Discussion participation;
Independent research;
reading, reflecting, and
commenting on peers’
perspectives; writing
analytical and reflective
essays
Independent and Group
research; analytical
essays
Reading class material;
independent research;
writing
reflective/analytical
essays
Reading class material;
Discussion participation;
writing reflective essays
DQ essays;
Discussion
Participation; Team
Project; Exams
Discussion participation;
Reading, reflecting, and
commenting on peers’
perspectives; instructor’s
feedback; Working in
teams; overall experience
of online collaboration
10. Develop outlines on various
Reading class material;
methods of creating or re-creating Discussion participation;
important aspects of professional writing reflective and
practice as a means to identify the analytical essays,
personal action theories that shape independent research
behavior.
activities
DQ essays,
Discussion
Participation; Team
Project
6. How to analyze a case study and
how to develop a report.
7. Understand critical social issues
in American Education.
8. Explore rationale for reflective
practice, within a social and
organizational context.
9. Understand the role of the
facilitator in establishing a
supportive environment
conducive to reflection and
growth.
DQ essays; Team
Project
DQ essays;
Discussion
Participation;
Exams
DQ essays;
Discussion
Participation
DQ essays;
Discussion
Participation;
Exams
TEXTS
Required:
Turner, C. & Trompenaars, A. (2000). Building cross-cultural
competence: How to create wealth from conflicting values. New Haven:
Yale University Press.
Class Notes and Material
Highly recommended:
Friedman, T. L. (Latest Edition). The world is flat: A brief history of the
twenty-first century. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Other Suggested Readings:
Gray, K., & Herr, E. (1998). Workforce education: The basics. Boston,
MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Harrison, L. E. & Huntington, S. P. (Eds.) (2000). Culture matters: How
values shape human progress. New York, NY: Basic Books.
METHODS OF
INSTRUCTION






Discussion
Analytical and reflective writing
Informal peer content critique/feedback
Informal and formal critique/feedback by the instructor
Readings from class texts, class notes/material, and from additional sources
Individual field and research activities
EVALUATION
Your unit grade will be based on the following criteria:
Midterm Examination
Final Examination
Discussion Questions (cumulative weekly: 25 points per lesson)
Discussion Participation (cumulative weekly: 15 points/per lesson)
Team Paper (Annotated Bibliography)
Team Paper (Final Copy)
Total
200
200
300
195
35
70
1000
CLASS POLICIES:
Attendance: There is no attendance policy in this class in a traditional sense—the
students are not required to participate in the class activities at any specific time each
week. However, every assignment in this class has a due-date—such assignments must be
submitted/presented on time.
Late Work: No late work will be accepted or rewarded any credit unless the failing to
submit an assignment on time is due to those circumstances outlined in the CSULB
Attendance Policy as Excused Absences (Academic Senate Policy #01-01). Please refer to
the CSULB Catalog or visit the CSULB Academic Senate site to get familiar with the
policy (http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/grad_undergrad/senate/policy).
Participation: In this class, Participation is a set of specific weekly activities with the
established deadlines. The nature of these activities and the evaluation criteria for them
are described in detail further in this syllabus.
ASSIGNMENTS
Basic Technical Requirements:
Internet access, E-mail account and access, Word Processing with MS Word
compatibility: many of the class notes, documents, and additional readings are
stored as MS Word files and documents; the exam is also written in MS Word-you will need this program in order to retrieve and open these documents and
files; you will also need to use a MS Word compatible program to submit some of
your work to the instructor.
Individual Assignments:
All individual assignments must be computer-typed and word-processed, in the
format described in the latest APA manual. (See APA folder under Course
Information tab for some of the basic tips on APA).
Discussion Questions:
500-600 word essays addressing the questions stated in the discussion board. The
essays should demonstrate your familiarity with the reading material and
concepts, understanding of the topic discussed, your ability to conduct additional
and relevant to the topic research and integrate the knowledge from the class
material and other sources with your personal and professional experience. You
are expected to cite and reference minimum three sources of information; it might
include the class textbook, lecture notes, and any other sources you find during
your research activities for each lesson.
Evaluating Criteria for Discussion Questions
The responses to each lesson’s Discussion Questions will be assessed according
to the following rubric:
23-25 points per lesson--relevant content provided to all questions for the lesson;
well organized, good writing mechanics (check spelling and grammar), evidence
of relevant research; sources are cited and referenced according to APA format
20-22 points per lesson—relevant content provided to all questions for the lesson,
well organized, good writing mechanics, evidence of relevant research BUT
sources are not cited and/or referenced according to APA format
18-19 points per lesson—relevant content provided to most of the questions for
the lesson, reasonably well organized, writing mechanics is acceptable with only
some spelling and grammatical errors, BUT no evidence of relevant research (no
citations or references)
0-17 points per lesson—no response posted OR the content is insufficient, no
organization, no evidence of research.
Discussion Participation:
Constructive comments on other classmates' postings, respectful communication
style and overall active participation in the discussion board.
Evaluating Criteria for Discussion Participation:
14-15 points per lesson—at least two comments are posted per lesson; the
comments are constructive, acknowledge some of the points, arguments,
propositions stated in the discussion posting(s) to which the comments are made
11-13 point per lesson—only one comment is posted per lesson; the comment is
constructive, acknowledges some of the points, arguments, propositions stated in
the discussion posting to which the comment is made
0-10 points per lesson—there are no comments posted; OR the comments are
openly hostile; OR the comments are limited to simple greeting-like statements
(“I agree/disagree”; “Well said,” etc.) without explanation or justification.
Exams:
There will be two online open-book, open-notes midterm and final exams. More
information will be available prior to the exams.
Group Assignments:
There will be a two-part group assignment in this course—Team Research Paper:
The assignment consists of 1) presenting an outline and annotated bibliography
for the paper and 2) presenting the final paper. Each student will be assigned to a
team by the instructor. Each team will be able to communicate through its own
discussion forum accessible only to the assigned members of the team; team
members can also communicate via e-mail, phone, or any other preferred and
accepted by all members modes of communication. Please note, that it is NOT
expected that the team should meet in person; however, this decision is within
each team’s discretion as long as all members consent.
Team Research Paper (Outline and Annotated Bibliography):
As the result of research of the topic, each team will submit a proposed paper
outline and will list minimum of seven bibliography entries to books, articles,
and/or documents in the discussion board forum designated by the instructor
specifically for this assignment. Each reference entry should be followed by a
brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph--the annotation. The purpose of the
annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the
sources cited. The sources listed in this bibliography must be relevant to the
topic(s) selected by the team for the final paper. The sources listed in this
annotated bibliography activity should, in general, be the same as the sources
cited and referenced in the team’s final paper; however, it is acceptable if some
changes are made in the final list of references used for the paper. (See
Annotated Bibliography file in the APA folder under Course Information
tab)
Evaluating Criteria for Outline and Annotated Bibliography Activity:
31-35 points—the outline is a clear plan of proposed paper; minimum seven
annotated entries are listed; the sources are relevant to the topic of the project
selected by the team; the sources are also clearly organized according to their
relevance to each part (issues, section) of the paper; the APA format is closely
followed
28-30 points—the outline is a clear plan of proposed paper; fewer than seven
annotated entries are listed; the sources are mostly relevant to the topic of the
project selected by the team; the sources are also clearly organized according to
their relevance to each part (issues, section) of the paper; the APA format is
closely followed
24-27 points—no clear plan of sections for the proposed paper; fewer than seven
annotated entries are listed and the relevance of the sources to the topic of the
project or to its parts (issues, section) is not clear; the APA format is not followed
closely
0-23 points—none or insufficient number of entries is listed; no clear relevance to
the topic, APA is not followed.
Team Research Paper (Final Copy):
The team product is an 8-10-page font-12 double-spaced research paper on one of
the topics covered and discussed in this course. The paper should address the
issues of cultural differences in work-related aspects of society. The focus should
be on countries and/or regions other than the US; however, the comparative
analysis between other nations and the US is appropriate. You may also consider
such Globalization issues as the effect of Globalization on a certain professional
field or occupation). In general, choose the topic that is relevant to the course
topics and discussions, on the one hand; and on the other, something that is
relevant to your own professional, personal, and/or academic experience and
interests.
The Paper must be written and organized according to APA format; particularly,
pay attention to citations and references of research sources, and to the
correspondence between citations in text of your essay and references at the end.
It is expected that you will be using at least 7 different sources; that will include
academic publications, national/international database, media/news reports, etc.
More information on the Team Paper assignment, suggested topics and outlines,
as well as the criteria for evaluation can be found in the course website under
Assignment Tab.
All assignments must be submitted by the specified due dates outlined in the Course
Overview file.
Submission Instructions:
Discussion Questions; Discussion Participation Comments:
Type (or copy/paste from a word file) your answers, comments, and
references into the class main discussion board under the forums
designated by the instructor.
Exams:
The exams will be submitted automatically through the exam link in the
course portal. More information on the location of the link will be
available.
Team Paper (Annotated Bibliography and the Final Paper):
Both parts of the team project are to be submitted to the class main
Discussion Board under the forums assigned by the instructor. Both
projects must be submitted as MS WORD attachments. Both parts of the
project (bibliography and final paper) will be open and available for all
students to read and comment.
LETTER GRADES
The following describes the level of student performance expected for each letter grade.
A – Performance of the student has been at the highest level, showing sustained
excellence in meeting all course requirements and exhibiting an unusual degree of
intellectual initiative.
B – Performance of the student has been at a high level, showing consistent and effective
achievement in meeting course requirements.
C – Performance of the student has been at an adequate level, meeting the basic
requirements of the course.
D – Performance of the student has been less than adequate, meeting only the minimum
course requirements.
F – Performance of the student has been such that minimal course requirements have not
been met.
Grades will be assigned based on the following percentages/scores:
Numeric Score Letter Grade
93 - 100
A
83 - 92
B
73 - 82
C
63 - 72
D
0 - 62
F