INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION FOR BUSINESS AND MARKETING PURPOSES - 2023/4

Module Overview

This module aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of theory and practice in the field of intercultural communication, as well as business and marketing practices across cultures. It will present the theoretical frameworks that have been proposed for explaining and reconciling cultural differences in the multicultural workplace, and for influencing multicultural marketing strategies and communications. Then the module will focus on how (and to what extent) these frameworks can be used to facilitate successful interactions in international business environments and successful marketing campaigns in foreign markets. Students will be required to analyse relevant intercultural situations in real-life business settings through case studies, and will also reflect on how cultural awareness can be brought to different professional audiences through training activities such as simulations and presentations.

Module provider

Literature & Languages

Module Leader

DIPPOLD Doris (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative module content includes:

* Defining culture and measuring its impact on international business and marketing

* Culture’s effect on individuals, teams and organisations

* How differences in cultural values can lead to misunderstanding in the international workplace

* An overview of cross-cultural management theory: from the 1950s to the 2000s

* Taxonomies of cultural values and their limitations: Hall, Hofstede, Trompenaers, Schwartz, Globe, Lewis

* Working in multicultural teams

* Exploration of the influence of intercultural issues, cultural values and expectation on consumer behaviour, marketing communications and the success of the marketing strategy

* Needs of the global (marketing) manager

* Cross-cultural training

* Humanitarian migration and work migration: cross-cultural perspectives

 

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Group Presentation: Individual recorded presentation

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop understanding of how intercultural communication issues affect people working in international business and marketing environments. It will also allow students to demonstrate their ability to apply theoretical frameworks to developing a multicultural marketing strategy. Finally, it will help them to develop presentation and analytical skills.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

* Mid-Semester 2000-word report (addressing learning outcomes 1, 2, 3)
Students will apply the cultural values frameworks discussed in class to a case study and make recommendations for business practice. 

* End of semester 15-minute individual or 20-minute group presentations (addressing learning outcomes 3, 4, 5)
Students will use the cultural values frameworks discussed in class to prepare a customer-facing presentation in which they make recommendations to a client about the best strategies and practices in a new market. This assignment develops resourcefulness and resilience as students learn to cope with the pressures of a live presentation. It also develops employability skills and global and cultural capabilities.

 

Formative assessment / feedback

Students will be able to discuss their plans for the presentations and the written assignments with the module tutor. They will also receive verbal feedback in class on the analysis of case studies and informal presentations. Further formative ‘feed forward’ will be on the first assessment. Students will also be encouraged to use feed-forward comments from other modules to support their assessments in this module.

Module aims

• The module aims to: develop students' knowledge and understanding of the historical development of the field of intercultural communication, cross-cultural management and multicultural marketing, as well as new developments in the field
• develop students' appreciation of the challenges and complexities of dealing with culture in all its manifestations in international business and marketing settings
• develop the ability to critically analyse and apply theoretical frameworks and discuss how (and to what extent) they can be used to facilitate successful interactions for those involved in managing and marketing across cultures
• develop the ability to appraise case studies of real-world marketing and management scenarios, and suggest appropriate and effective ways of resolving any cross-cultural issues occurring
• encourage students to reflect on their own cultural backgrounds and personal orientations, and how these might be used and perceived in future professional activities
• reflect on how knowledge of and awareness of the principles of cross-cultural and intercultural communication has the potential to facilitate global migration for work and humanitarian purposes (with reference to the UN's sustainable development goals)

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to develop students’ understanding of scholarship in intercultural communication, cross-cultural management and multicultural marketing, stimulate a critical approach to using established frameworks within the field of cross-cultural management and raise awareness of strengths and limitations of these frameworks. It will also provide students with the opportunity to practice and develop presentation skills and practical competencies required in international management and marketing roles.

The learning and teaching methods include:

Weekly seminar sessions: The seminar sessions include a mixture of lecture-type and interactive elements. In each session, concepts, models and frameworks will be introduced by the tutor. Students are given the opportunity to apply these theories and concepts in practical exercises and relate them to their own experiences.

Captured content: Captured content provided for each weekly session include the Pdf slides for the sessions as well as the Panopto-recorded lecture-elements for each class. The captured content aims to develop understanding of key concepts and theories. Students are expected to engage with the captured content to deepen their engagement with the materials and complete the guided learning exercises. 

Guided learning: Students’ in-class learning is supported by a structured programme of guided learning activities to do at home. Students do practical analysis exercises, read relevant literature and find examples of their own which can be further discussed in class. 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: CMCM008

Other information

Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:

Global and Cultural Capabilities: Many of the students in this class strive to work in international commercial, public service or voluntary organisations. Doing so requires a sound understanding of how cultural values influence ways of working and how they might determine how products and services are most effectively marketed. This module allows students to develop global and cultural capabilities through knowledge of, and critical reflection on the impact of culture on international business and marketing and ways of describing these through models of cultural difference. This modules builds on the Semester 1 and Semester 2 modules in Business Communication – in which cross-cultural and intercultural perspectives were introduced from linguistic perspectives – by providing theoretical perspectives that are commonly aligned with management theories. As such, the module acts as a bridge module between modules taught by SLL and SBS.

Employability: Following on Semester 1 and Semester 2 modules in Business Communication, the module also further enhances students’ employability skills. Whilst in the Business Communication modules, students were asked to use linguistic theory to develop recommendations for individuals and business on issues of interpersonal communication and advertising and customer relationship building, this module allows students to extend these skills further. In assessment 2, students are asked to prepare an individual or group presentation (depending on student numbers) and present this in class in a style suitable for a professional audience. This extends students ability to skilfully navigate various genres of speaking.

Resourcefulness and resilience: Reflecting on cultural values, and how they might change or be challenged in a new environment requires students to be emotionally resilient. This module enables students, through class discussion and practical exercises, to discuss their personal experiences as well as strategies for dealing with challenges in an intercultural environment. Moreover, the module also provides, in the form of additional skills seminars, an opportunity to further develop the personal resources and skills needed to succeed in assessment, in particular the oral presentation which has the potential to stretch students’ resilience.

Sustainability: One of the UN’s sustainable development goals focuses on Reducing Inequalities, in particular by facilitating “orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-planned migration policies”. Effective intercultural communication that prevents the stereotyping of specific cultural groups based has the potential to contribute greatly to this goal. This module allows students to reflect critically on the cultural value taxonomies discussed and on how they might be applied to work towards the inclusion of marginalised groups.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.