European Master and Certification Program
in Risk Engineering and Management

IVC-R19 BC&M
Business Communication and Management of Intercultural Differences

Course code: 136489 (SEM)
Language of instruction: English
Duration of the course: 1 days (9h)
Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Aleksandar S. Jovanovic (Steinbeis EU-VRi GmbH)
Assessment: Written Exam, Transfer Paper

Short description

In the times of ever increasing globalization, cultural differences and multilingual issues play an important role in the area of business communication which can easily fail on apparently banal issues. This could be of particular importance also in collaborative international projects. A cognitive approach toward cultural and national differences will be used throughout the training.

Objectives

The purpose of this course is to ensure that engineers, managers and IT experts can understand the importance of these aspects for the success of their collaboration with partners from other cultural background. It will address issues such as

  • Intercultural value systems
  • Differences in cultural practices
  • Cross-cultural project management
  • Individualism vs. Teamwork
  • Successful management of cultural differences as a factor of success in international projects
  • What one should know, do or not do in an EU project
  • Case studies: US, Japan, India, China ...

This course will focus on interaction with attendees and require their active participation. In particular, the course will cover the successful management of cultural differences as factor of success in risk engineering, risk management, IT and other projects. Working in an international atmosphere, essentials of multilingual business communication, elements of business ethics and Human Resources Management as applicable in collaboration with foreign firms.

Target Attendees / Participants

The course is designed for:

  • Engineers
  • Managers of IT and other companies
  • Project managers

 

Course Content by Units

Unit 1: Successful management of cultural differences as factor of success of IT and other projects

Unit 2: Multicultural contexts – what you should know, what you should do, what you should not do…

Unit 3: Multilingual environments in international projects

Unit 4: Essentials of Business communication & Elements of Human Resources Management in multinational projects

Teaching Methods

Lectures, review and discussion of the daily material. Lectures notes and CD will be provided.

Literature

  • Hall, Edward, T. (1959). The silent language. 1st edn, Anchor Books, New York, USA. ISBN: 0385055498
  • Hall, Edward, T. (1976). Beyond culture. 1st edn, Anchor Books, New York, USA. ISBN: 9780385124744
  • Hofstede, Geert & Hofstede, Gert, J. (2005). Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. 2nd edn, McGraw Hill, USA. ISBN: 9780071439596
  • House, Robert, J. [et al]. (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. 1st edn, Sage Publications, California, USA. ISBN: 9780761924012
  • Morrosion, Terry & Conaway, Wayne, A. (2006). Kiss, bow or shake hands. 2nd edn, Adams Media, Avon, Massachusetts, USA. ISBN: 1593373686


For more information about the European Master and Certification Program in Risk Engineering and Management in general, go the Homepage.
For more information about the European Master Program in Risk Engineering and Management in general, go the Master Study page.
To see more courses in the curriculum, go to The curriculum page, or by date and topic go to the Calendar of Courses page.
Contact: via email sti889@risk-technologies.com or phone +49 711 1839 781 or +49 711 1839 647
(Course profile ID: IVC-R19, generated on March 19, 2024)