Global and Intercultural Competencies
U6354 / Syllabus
Professor:
Class:
Office Hours:
Thomas D. Zweifel (tdz2@columbia.edu).
Mondays, 11am-1250pm, Room 902 International Affairs.
Mondays, 10-11am, Room 1321 International Affairs.
Most managers assume that this century will be another American century. It may well be; but
few know that by 2007, the #1 language on the Internet may not be English but Chinese; or that
by 2010, 30-40% of top managers at multinationals will likely not be American or European, but
Indian, Chinese, Indonesian or Brazilian, representing the largest emerging markets of the 21 st
century. Managers in the public, private, or nonprofit sectors who ignore these trends will do so at
their peril. In this age of virtual teams, increasingly border-less economies, highly mobile free
agents and transnational terrorism, the rules have changed. Like it or not, all of us are touched by
globalization; but few managers are prepared for managing across cultures.
“Global and Intercultural Competencies” aims to prepare students as global citizens with the
intercultural facility necessary to lead and manage in business, government, and
nongovernmental organizations anywhere in the world. The course aims to help students develop
cross-cultural skills and provide an understanding of critical issues in the management of
multinational or transnational organizations. Topics covered include international leadership skills,
cross-cultural negotiations, conflict resolution, ethical dilemmas in cross-cultural environments,
global human resource management, and designing and managing global organizational cultures.
The course comes in three parts. Part I (sessions 1-6) provides the theoretical framework and a
cross-cultural tool-kit. Part II (sessions 7-10) applies the cross-cultural theories and methods to
world regions. Part III (sessions 11-12) focuses on specialized intercultural skills and issues.
Required Readings
Required books are available at Labyrinth Books, 536 W 112 Street, off Broadway:
Friedman, Thomas. 2000. The Lexus and the Olive Tree. New York: Anchor.
Hofstede, Geert. 1997. Cultures and Organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Zweifel, Thomas D. 2003. Culture Clash: Managing the Global High-Performance Team. New
York: SelectBooks.
Zweifel, Thomas D. 2003. Communicate or Die: Getting Results by Speaking and Listening. New
York: SelectBooks.
Recommended Readings
Barber, Benjamin R. 1996. Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are
Reshaping the World. New York: Ballantine Books.
Barzini, Luigi. 1983. The Europeans. London: Penguin.
Friedman, Thomas. 2003. Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism. New
York: Anchor.
Hofstede, Geert. 2001. Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and
Organizations Across Nations. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Huntington, Samuel P. 1996. The Clash of Civilizations. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Requirements and Grading
 Completion of all required readings and attendance of all classes.
 Active participation in class and on the https://courseworks.columbia.edu class web site (20%
of grade).
 Midterm exam (20% of grade).
 Team presentation and facilitation of a case study (25% of grade).
 Final paper, 15 pages, double-spaced (35% of grade).
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Never let school interfere with your education. – Mark Twain
Schedule (subject to change)
1. Introduction and Fundamentals
Overview. Requirements. Introductions. Q&A. Teams and cases (who, how to prepare, how to
facilitate). Model-building: dependent and independent variables. Mill: method of difference.
Tautology. Counterfactuals.
Read:
King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane, and Sidney Verba. 1994. “Causality and Causal
Inference,” in King, Keohane and Verba, Designing Social Inquiry. Princeton:
Princeton University Press. 75-114.
Patricio Navia and Thomas D. Zweifel. 2003. “Democracy, Dictatorship, and Infant
Mortality Revisited,” Journal of Democracy 14:3 (July). 90-103.
Read (Recommended):
Kohli, Atul, et al. 1995. “The Role of Theory in Comparative Politics,” in World Politics, vol.48,
October 1995.
Nagel, Ernst. 1952. “Problems of Concepts and Theory Formation in the Social Sciences,” in
American Philosophical Association (ed.), Science, Language and Human Rights.
Philadelphia.
Assignment: Design your causal model.
2. Globalization
Learn: Globalization: reality or myth? The end of history or the clash of civilizations? Global trade,
finance, migration, organizations, summits. The New Human Agenda.
Read:
Friedman, Thomas. 2000. The Lexus and the Olive Tree. New York: Anchor.
Friedland, Lewis A. 1992. “Covering the World: International Television News Services,”
Twentieth Century Fund Paper. 61p.
Guttenplan, D.D. 1993. “The Americanization of The Economist,” Columbia Journalism Review,
May/June. 55-58.
Lewis, Michael. 1994. “The Case Against ‘Abroad’,” The New Republic, 12 December.
21-23.
Zweifel, Thomas D. 2003. Culture Clash: Managing the Global High-Performance Team. New
York: SelectBooks. Chapter 1.
Read (Recommended):
Fukuyama, Francis. 1989. “The End of History?” The National Interest no.16, Summer 1989.
Huntington, Samuel P. 1989. “No Exit – The Errors of Endism,” The National Interest no.17, Fall.
3-11.
Huntington, Samuel P. 1996. The Clash of Civilizations. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Friedman, Thomas L. 2000. The Lexus and the Olive Tree. New York: HarperCollins.
Ohmae, Kenichi. 1995. “Putting Global Logic First,” Harvard Business Review, JanuaryFebruary. 119-125.
Ohmae, Kenichi. 1990. The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy.
New York: HarperCollins.
The Hunger Project. 1995. “Ending Hunger and the New Human Agenda.” New York:
www.thp.org/reports/nha.htm
Case: CNN: American or global news?
3. What Is Culture?
Learn: Culture as a construction. The three layers of culture. The drivers of culture: what you
don’t know that you don’t know. The fallacy of essentialism. Standing with the customer;
respecting local brands and tastes.
Read:
Hofstede, Geert. 1996. Cultures and Organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill.
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Watkins, Michael D. and Carin-Isabel Knoop. 2000. “The Coca-Cola Co. (A): The Rise and Fall of
M. Douglas Ivester,” Harvard Business School Case # 9-800-355. 19p.
Read (Recommended):
Anderson, Benedict. 1983. Imagined Communities. London: Verso.
Hacking, Ian. 1986. “Making Up People,” in Thomas C. Heller, Morton Sosna and David E.
Wellbery (eds.), Reconstructing Individualism: Autonomy, Individuality and the Self in
Western Thought. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Hofstede, Geert. 2001. Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and
Organizations Across Nations. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Case: Why did Coca-Cola lose $2 billion sales in Europe? The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas
Ivester.
4. Know Thyself: Cultural Blind-Spots
Learn: The four blind-spots of US culture. US hegemony: myth or fact? Empire?
Read:
Prahalad, C.K. and Kenneth Lieberthal. 1998. “The End of Corporate Imperialism,” Harvard
Business Review, July-August. 69-79.
Strange, Susan. 1987. “The Persistent Myth of Lost Hegemony,” International Organization, 41:4,
Autumn. 551-573.
Milner, Helen and Jack Snyder. 1988. “Lost Hegemony?” International Organization 42:1,
Autumn. 749-750.
Strange, Susan. 1988. “Reply to Milner and Snyder,” International Organization 42:1, Autumn.
751-752.
Read (Recommended):
Weber, Max. [1930] 1976. The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism. London: George Allen
and Unwin.
Fuss, Diana. 1989. Essentially Speaking: Feminism, Nature and Difference. London: Routledge
Kegan & Paul.
Case: Microsoft’s loss to Linux in China: what went wrong?
5. Cross-Cultural Tools
Learn: How to decode a national or organizational culture.
Read:
Sathe, Vijay. 1985. “How to Decipher and Change Organizational Culture,” in R.H. Kilman and
Associates, Managing Corporate Cultures. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 552-568.
Zweifel, Thomas D. 2003. Culture Clash: Managing the Global High-Performance Team. New
York: SelectBooks. Chapters 2-4.
Read (Recommended):
Trompenaars, Alfons. 1998. Riding the Waves of Culture. London: Economist Books.
Case: Disagreements over Iraq: A case of culture clash?
6. Know Thy Enemy: Standing in Their Shoes
Learn: Clash of civilizations? The tool of global citizens: listening.
Read:
Doz, Yves. 2002. “Yves Doz: The Thought Leader Interview,” Strategy and Business Fourth
Quarter. 9p. Reprint No. 02408.
Handy, Charles. 1995. “Trust and the Virtual Organization,” Harvard Business Review, May-June.
40-50.
Huntington, Samuel P. 1993. “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs 72:3, Summer. 22-49.
Zweifel, Thomas D. 2003. Communicate or Die: Getting Results by Speaking and Listening. New
York: SelectBooks.
Read (Recommended):
Buber, Martin. 1974. I and Thou. New York: Scribner.
Lipnack, Jessica and Jeffrey Stamps. 1997. Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time and
Organizations With Technology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
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Parker, Philip M. 1997. Linguistic Cultures of the World. Westport CT: Greenwood Publishing
Group.
Case: US Army: from training fighters to training diplomats – could 9/11 have been prevented?
*** Midterm ***
7. Europe
Learn: Europe North / South / West / East. Path-dependency: institutions embody value systems
and history.
Read:
Szamuely, Tibor. 1988. “The State Over Society” and “Interpretations: Feudal and ‘Asiatic’,” in
The Russian Tradition. London: Fontana. 37-48, 74-90.
Zweifel, Thomas D. 2003. “Best and Worst Practices in European, US and Swiss Merger
Regulation,” Journal of Common Market Studies 41:3 (June). 541-566.
Read (Recommended):
Barzini, Luigi. 1983. The Europeans. London: Penguin.
Dawson, Christopher. 1960. Understanding Europe. New York: Doubleday.
Zweifel, Thomas D. 2002. Democratic Deficit? The European Union, Switzerland, and the United
States in Comparative Perspective. Lanham MD: Lexington Books / Rowman & Littlefield.
Zweifel, Thomas D. 2002. “Who is without sin cast the first stone: the EU’s democratic deficit in
comparison,” Journal of European Public Policy 9:5, October. 812-840.
Case: General Electric’s failed merger with Honeywell: what went wrong?
8. Asia and Pacific Rim
Learn: Business cultures in Asia. Transforming an entrenched culture.
Read:
Ghosn, Carlos. 2002. “Saving the Business Without Losing the Company,” Harvard Business
Review, January. 37-45.
Read (Recommended):
Beasley, W.G. 1990. The Rise of Modern Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle.
Renwick, George W. 1991. A Fair Go for All: A Guide for Australians and Americans. Yarmouth,
ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.
Case: Nissan in Japan: how did Carlos Ghosn become a comic strip hero in Japan?
9. The Americas
Learn: American business culture. Culture change in Latin America.
Read:
Engel, Dean W. 1995. “Business Culture,” in USA Business (internal manual). 221-245.
Slywotzky, Adrian J., Karl Weber and David J. Morrison. 2000. How Digital Is Your Business?
New York: Crown Publishing Group. 15p.
Wartzman, Rick. 1999. “Read Their Lips: When You Translate ‘Got Milk’ For Latinos, What Do
You Get?” Wall Street Journal, 3 June 1999. 5p.
Read (Recommended):
Althen, Gary. 1988. American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States. Yarmouth, ME:
Intercultural Press, Inc.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1945. Democracy in America. New York: Alfred Knopf.
Case: The IMF and Argentina: what went wrong? OR Cemex: why did Lorenzo Zambrano
succeed?
10. Africa
Learn: Business cultures in Africa.
Read:
Maren, Michael. 199_. “Feeding a Famine,” MediaCritic.
The Hunger Project. 1991. “Planning-in-Action: An innovative approach to development.” 8p.
The Hunger Project. 2001. “Briefing on the Strategy to Stop the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.”
20p.
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Read (Recommended):
Pradervand, Pierre. 1989. Listening to Africa. New York: Praeger.
Richmond Y. and Phillis Gestrin. 2003. Into Africa: Intercultural Insights. ISBN 1-887864-57-9.
Summary at www.interculturalpress.com
Case: The African Union: will Africa be democratic?
11. Cross-National Mergers & Acquisitions
*** Guest speaker: John Adams, President, Adams & Royer ***
Learn: The process and pitfalls of cross-national M&As.
Read:
Ashkenas, Ronald N., Lawrence J. DeMonaco and Suzanne C. Francis. 1998. “Making the Deal
Real: How GE Capital Integrates Acquisitions,” Harvard Business Review JanuaryFebruary. 165-178.
Sebenius, James K. 2002. “The Hidden Challenge of Cross-Border Negotiations,” Harvard
Business Review. March. 76-85.
Case: The DaimlerChrysler merger: what went wrong?
12. Global Human Resource Management
Learn: Global HR deployment and expatriate management: pitfalls and best practices. Expatriate
selection. Global compensation policies. A global learning organization.
Read:
Schell, Michael and Charlene M. Solomon. 1997. Capitalizing on the Global Workforce. New
York: McGraw-Hill. 173-253.
Case: Why did Danone / Motorola succeed in their global HR management?
13. Final Paper
Due by 14 May 2004. No exceptions.
15 pages, double-spaced.
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Appendix: Template for Weekly Case Presentations
Each week, a team of two or three students will present and discuss a case study for
approximately 30 minutes (15 minutes presentation, 15 minutes discussion, 5 minutes evaluation
by the class). This entails:
 Doing independent research on an assigned case,
 Explaining the case by critically using the theories in the readings for that week and (if
relevant) from the readings for any week up to the presentation,
 Facilitating a discussion of the case and the theories, and enable other students to
participate.
Some tips for an effective presentation and discussion:
 Go directly to the heart of the case and come up with an explanatory “puzzle” that is
genuinely interesting to you in the context of the course. Be crystal clear on your
research question.
Case/Puzzle
E.g.: Why did the
DaimlerChrysler merger
go awry? How could the
fiasco have been
prevented?








Dependent (Outcome) Variable
E.g.: DaimlerChrysler’s
operating profits fell by 75% in
2001. The company was forced
to terminate 26,000 people and
suffered major brain drain.
Independent (Input) Variables
E.g.: DaimlerChrysler failed
because of
(a) or
(b) or
(c) or
(d) or
(e)
Argue for the most plausible
variable.
Review the theoretical class readings relevant to your case.
Do research using a search machine (e.g. www.google.com or ABI/Inform).
Come up with a hypothesis (e.g. “The merger failed because…”) and argument to verify
or falsify your hypothesis. Back your argument with theories from the readings.
Determine the dependent and independent variables each author presents in their
arguments.
Begin your presentation by introducing your research question, and why the question is
important. Show your causal model (dependent variable, possible independent variables,
your hypothesis).
Use handouts and/or transparencies to highlight main points and focus attention on areas
for discussion. Keep your visuals simple: as a rule, less is more. Do not use more than 510 slides in total. For example, use the above template for one visual.
It is perfectly legitimate to find that your hypothesis is wrong. The task is not to be right,
but to use theories and get a finding.
Close your presentation with a set of discussion questions aimed at provoking a good
discussion. A visual might help here too. E.g. What could DaimlerChrysler’s chairman
Jürgen Schrempp have done differently?
Have fun with this. It is like detective work.
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Schedule of Case Presentations
Week
1
Topic
Fundamentals
Case
N/A
Presenters/Facilitators
N/A
2
Globalization
CNN: American or global
news?
3
What Is Culture?
Why did Coca-Cola lose $2
billion sales in Europe? The
rise and fall of Douglas Ivester
Sanuber Bilguvar
Denizmen,
Rossana Shokrian
Kristen Leigh Morrow,
Stephanie Habrich
4
Know Thyself: Cultural
Blind-Spots
Microsoft’s loss to Linux in
China: What went wrong?
Jaewon Choi,
Min Cho,
Elsie Wong
5
Cross-Cultural Tools
Disagreements over Iraq: A
case of culture clash?
Letitia Marie Sanchez,
Rossana Shokrian
6
Know Thy Enemy:
Standing in Their Shoes
US Army: from training fighters
to training diplomats – could
9/11 have been prevented?
Tomas Grigera,
Alejandro Estevez-Breton
Pinzon
Midterm
N/A
N/A
N/A
7
Europe
The EU’s prohibition of the
GE/Honeywell merger: What
went wrong?
Michelle Choi,
Min Cho
8
Asia and Pacific Rim
Carlos Ghosn and Nissan OR
Enron in India
9
The Americas
The IMF and Argentina: What
went wrong? OR Cemex: Why
did Lorenzo Zambrano
succeed?
Elsie Wong,
Eileen Lei,
Sangay Wangchuk
Ximena Duenas,
Maria Jose Castro
10
Africa
The African Union and
democracy
Andrea Crawford,
Tiago Couto
11
Cross-National Mergers
& Acquisitions
The DaimlerChrysler merger:
What went wrong?
Paul Morrison,
Emily Thornton
12
Global HR Management
Danone / Motorola: Successful
global HR management
Jean Ing Lee
Final
N/A
N/A
N/A
No Case: Marie Therese Batz? Hanako Kaku? Maria Beliaeva? Yongkwon Kim? Sarika
Mirchandani? Tamie Nakayama?
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