Syllabus
Registration via LPIS
| Day | Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | 10/08/25 | 08:00 AM - 12:30 PM | TC.4.03 |
| Wednesday | 10/15/25 | 08:00 AM - 12:00 PM | TC.4.03 |
| Wednesday | 10/22/25 | 08:00 AM - 12:00 PM | TC.4.03 |
| Wednesday | 10/29/25 | 08:00 AM - 12:00 PM | TC.4.03 |
| Wednesday | 11/05/25 | 08:00 AM - 10:00 AM | TC.5.15 |
| Wednesday | 11/12/25 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Online-Einheit |
| Wednesday | 12/17/25 | 05:00 PM - 07:00 PM | EA.6.026 |
In the age of globalization, the success of organizations depends on their capacity to navigate a culturally diverse world. The course provides students with theoretical concepts of culture, with models of intercultural communication and accounts of cultural diversity within business settings. Case studies are used to show what characterizes intercultural business communication at the interpersonal, organizational and societal levels. In doing so, the course addresses the challenges and opportunities arising from these intercultural business environments and familiarizes students with different tools/instruments to manage them in practice.
On successful completion of the course, students will:
1) be able to explain why culture is a multi-layered and dynamic concept
2) be able to identify the complex processes underlying intercultural communication
3) be aware of the opportunities and challenges of intercultural communication in organizational contexts
4) be able to make culturally sensitive decisions in organizational communication.
- lecture style input (theoretical concepts)
- problem-based learning
- group work
- simulations and games
- group discussions
- case studies
1) individual assignment (50 %): reading & reflection assignment
2) Group assignment (50 %): case study & production of a video presentation & peer-to-peer review
Grades will be based on the final score, as follows: 100-90%: excellent (1); 89-80 %: good (2); 79-70%: satisfactory (3); 69-60%: sufficient (4); <59% fail (5)
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| Unit | Date | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction - Nadine & Regina Why intercultural business communication matters in the age of globalisation, digitalisation, and migration & what will this course be about? Tree of Life - learning about each other / team building activity practical information
What is intercultural communication? - Navigating the VUCA-world An intercultural simulation - Experiencing intercultural situations
Individual Reading & Reflection Assignment: Interculturality and Strategies to deal with it (Deadline: 31st October)
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| 2 | Conceptualizing Culture - Regina What is culture?
Open and closed concepts of culture
Tools, Resources and Activities
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| 3 | Multicultural teams (Nadine) Intercultural teams
Case study - Group Project - kick off Group Project: Edutainment Video on intercultural concepts in context (Deadline: 10th December) |
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| 4 | Organisational culture (Regina) What is organisational culture? Research Insights: Office lore as an expression of contemporary workplace culture Dealing with interculturality in organizations
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| 5 | Counselling session During the first counselling session, we will focus on how your team understands the task and how you plan to approach it. Specifically, we expect you to be ready to discuss:
At this stage, it is not advisable to divide the task into subtasks and assign them too early, as this often results in fragmented or incoherent presentations. Instead, the session should help your team develop a shared understanding of the task and a coherent approach. Kindly come at the time indicated for your group (--> information on canvas!) |
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| 6 | Consulting & Feedback - groups work towards their case studies (asynchronous & virtual) The purpose of the second consultation session is to discuss any questions, problems, or challenges you encounter while working on the project. Since pace and progress may vary across teams, we leave the scheduling up to you. However, our expectation is that you proactively contact us—at least for a brief check-in—about how your work is progressing. |
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| 7 | discussion of case study videos & general feedback In preparation for this session, you should watch the videos of the other groups (accessible in/via the discussion threads) and take notes that will enable you to initiate and contribute to a discussion of these case presentations. A thorough review of each presentation is key to doing so—and, naturally, it also shows appreciation for your peers’ work. The session will begin with a discussion of the case videos; there will be no joint viewing of all videos during the session. |
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