This course is designed to:
1. Increase you understanding of the concept of culture and its effects on their working relationships by understanding the complex facets of culture. ”Culture” is a very large, complex concept with many ways of understanding and analyzing it. A basis of mutual understanding is necessary before a meaningful discussion of company management frameworks and impact of culture/diversity on working relationships can take place.
2. Increase your understanding about the role and the effects of culture and diversity in working environments, dealing with cross-cultural diversity in a management framework as opposed to a purely communicative perspective. When experiencing diversity and cultural problems in a company context, analysis of the framework to manage working together and problem solving is necessary, otherwise solutions are unfocused and lack an appropriate context of understanding.
3. Increase self-awareness of cultural assumptions, and to apply these to problem-solving. We are often unaware of cultural assumptions until we are confronted with differences. Through the ”out-of-the-box” approach to analyzing culture via maps of the world, some cultural assumptions over time will be discussed. To increase understanding of our own cultural assumptions, an understanding of cultural context is necessary.
4. Develop insights that will help to facilitate cultural and diversity management competence. By applying learning and developing improvements or solutions to real experiences, you will assess ideas and their outcomes, thus putting into practice parts of the process of diversity management.

Bachelor's degree

You will be asked to bring in examples of diversity / international cultural problems that you have experienced in the workplace. You will decide on specific topics that you will present in teams. In order for you to be able to be more self-critical and objective about your experiences, we will discuss how the breadth and complexity of the topic can be understood and analyzed. The various definitions of culture shows how so many perspectives can create conflict of understanding, but also gives possibilities to for understanding contexts for cultural conflicts. You will learn to understand how various cultures think differently both in various countries and over time, and how “culture” is inseparable from history, politics, societal issues and even geography and technology; you reflect and shape cultural attitudes and assumptions. The goal is for you to understand that culture is fluid and changing, calling into question existing assumptions of rigid cultural frameworks. The outcome of this part is a critical thinking of cultural assumptions/behavior as well as a self-assessment of personal cultural contexts. We will also focus on theoretical inputs dealing with diversity / cultural issues in the workplace, and a management framework which is needed to create a context for managing cultural diversity. We will discuss various kinds of work groups, international and individual impacts on teamwork, various diversity issues (e.g. age, gender, homogeneity / heterogeneity) that impact the work groups, as well as a company’s responsibility in creating the framework for work groups. The goal here is for the students to understand that cultural openness and diversity in a company requires a conscious framework. At the end of this course, you will be asked to apply learning from the theoretical inputs to the personal experiences. Critical thinking and self-assessment as well as the definitions and framework topics from the previous lectures will be applied to your diversity / international cultural management working experiences introduced in the beginning. In groups, you will apply course learning and present your analyses of a select number of experiences introduced in the first part. You will need to explain the reasons these problems have occurred within an international socio-historical-cultural context. You will analyze the company’s and employees’ roles and responsibilities for the cause. And finally, you will recommend steps for improvement or frameworks for solutions. The goal behind this is to show how solutions or improvements can be created by application of theoretical frameworks and changes in cultural thinking.

Sufficient 1: You show only a sufficient knowledge of the material and concepts but fail to show a convincing ability to apply the knowledge to real life situation nor to communicate the concepts in an effective manner. There are challenges in complying with JAMK reporting instructions.
Satisfactory 2: You show satisfactory knowledge of the material and concepts and attempt to apply the knowledge to real life situation. You can communicate the concepts responsibly. There are some issues in complying with JAMK reporting instructions.

Good 3: You show good knowledge of material and concepts and are able to apply it well to real life situation. You can communicate it responsibly in an effective way. There are some issues in complying with JAMK reporting instructions.
Very good 4: You show very good knowledge of material and concepts and are able to apply it innovatively to real life situation. You can communicate it responsibly in an effective way. There are minor issues in complying with JAMK reporting instructions.

You show exceptional knowledge of subject material. You demonstrate the ability to apply the material to real-life situations and challenges in a critical manner with superior communications skills, complying fully with JAMK reporting instructions.