As more and more organizations continue to expand globally, the need to have a workforce comfortable with operating across cultural and institutional boundaries has become vital. This trend has led to a growing number of employees with distinctly global careers. Individuals who have chosen this type of career often find themselves at one point or another in the roles of expatriates, frequent international business travelers, or members of global virtual teams. The focus of this course is on understanding how to manage these various types of global employees, as well as on preparing students for a global career. We will cover topics such as cultural and institutional factors relevant to global careers, expatriation, repatriation, and alternative forms of global employment.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an increased understanding of the cultural, institutional, and organizational factors that shape the experiences of global employees.
2. Identify the opportunities and challenges associated with a global career.
3. Differentiate between different types of global employees and the issues faced by each group.
4. Acquire skills and tools to develop successful expatriation and repatriation programs.
5. Compare and examine the various paths to crafting a global career.
6. Demonstrate improved research and critical thinking skills.

Regular attendance is a requirement to pass this course, you cannot be absent for more than 20% of the total course time. Attendance of the last session (June 18th: 14:00-15:30) is mandatory. 

This course is comprised of lectures, case analyses, student research presentations, and a final in-class examination. This is a highly interactive course. Thus, students are expected to be fully engaged and participate in class discussions. The course is designed in such a way as to maximize your learning by balancing between lecture and your involvement in discussions, cases, and exercises. All course documents, assignments, lecture notes, etc. will be posted on the course website on Learn@WU.

Students must have completed a two-page reflection/summary of their own career plan before the first day of class (bring a hard copy to class). Make sure to identify any potential global career opportunities. We will discuss these reflections during our first class session. This assignment will be graded as part of your in-class participation grade.

I will be available for in-person meetings by appointment, e-mail address: mihaela.dimitrova@wu.ac.at