Opetussuunnitelmat

Objective

At the end of this course, you should have a better idea of the role that culture plays in contemporary business and leadership. You will understand the nature of culture, how it is expressed, how language and knowledge management are impacted, and how unconscious biases are within us all. And, more importantly, what you can do to improve in all these areas.

Content

Through this very focused course, you will be introduced to and experience aspects of culture such as its nature, the dimensions of cultural variability, language and meta-communcation, that knowledge is not neutral, implicit bias, and the role of theory and experience in developing your understanding of and growing competence in intercultural interaction, both within your home culture and in other cultures. All these are components of intercultural leadership that recognizes the uniqueness of individuals even within larger, similar groups.

Oppimateriaali ja suositeltava kirjallisuus

All the material and literature in this course is either provided by the instructor or gathered by the students, and typically involve peer-reviewed journal articles or course content in the form of PowerPoints or experiential activities.

Teaching methods

This intensive course is a mixture of theory, experiential learning activities, classroom interaction, and reflective learning. Through engaging both theory and practice--and enhanced by reflection--you can gain insights into how multiple personal, cultural, and contextual aspects influence you as an individual and eventual professional and bring implications for how you perceive, work, and achieve in an interconnected and multicultural world.

Employer connections

The focus of this course is intended to offer student insights into how cultural elements impact you on personal, relational, and professional levels. As a result, as cultural beings, this content of this course can be applied in multiple settings and contexts. However, it is especially useful for those in positions of influence: leadership, management, education, entrepreneurship, and as a non-profit/NGO professional.

Exam schedules

There are no exams in this course. The assessment process involves daily short reflections based on the day's topic of learning (60% a team presentation (40%).

Student workload

Students will meet every-other-day for 6 sessions. The intention by the course is for students to engage the knowledge they each bring with day's course topic and their peer learners.

A 3 ect/credit course represents 71 hours of work for the student. About 15 hours of that will be spent in the classroom; the balance (56 hours) will be the result of out-of-class personal reflection and preparing for the group presentation. The out-of-class assignments involve reflecting on a topic-related in a short essay (estimating 15-30 minutes to complete, depending on level of English writing skill) for the six classes and then preparing for the team presentation that involves reading peer-reviewed literature and team planning.

Content scheduling

Although the final choice of topics and the ordering of their presentation will be made closer to the start of the Summer School course, it is likely that the course content will include most, if not all, of the following. Additional topics might also be presented.

The influences and impact of culture on the individual
The interplay between cultural dimensions and personal identity
Observation vs. Evaluation
Multicultural groupwork and implicit bias
Conflict resolution and ethics

Further information

Assignments are assessed on a scale that equals 100 points; these points will be converted to Jamk's 0-5 scale at the end of class. Students must earn 44 points to pass the course. Students earning 45-54 points earn a grade of 1. For each additional 10 points, the grade rises one additional grade. Thus, students earning a point score of 85 or above will merit a 5 for the course.

Students' assessment has multiple points:
Daily reflective diary (6 x 10 points)
Team presentation (40 points: 25 from the teacher's evaluation and 7.5 from constructive peer feedback/7.5 from self-evalluation)


Student assignments will be assessed in the following areas:
1. Ability to observe cultural context/behaviors in action and interpret the relevance of these for one’s personal and future professional practices and behaviors.
2. Ability to reflect on content learning for personal and professional development.
3. Ability to synthesize information on a particular topic and present to others.

Evaluation scale

0-5

Arviointikriteerit, tyydyttävä (1-2)

This course is based on 100 points earned for the entire course and translated to Jamk's 0-5 scale. Incomplete assignments will earn a zero for that assignment, thus impacting the final grade.

To earn a 1, you must earn between 45 and 54 points. This reflects someone who has a general sense of the nature of culture and its implications but isn't capable of significant reflection on the implications of this knowledge or inability to apply it. Or it could represent someone who doesn't turn assignments.

You will earn a 2, thus 55-64 points, if you are able to understand the contents of the course conceptually and maybe even see the application of the knowledge. However, your self-reflection or understanding of how to interpret information for different contexts isn't strong. Or it could be that someone has difficulty completing assignments.

Arviointikriteerit, hyvä (3-4)

To earn a 3 (65-74 points), you will need to demonstrate a good grasp of the concepts as well as some insightful reflection on how the information is applicable to your life, to leadership, to business.

A grade of 4 (75-84 points) is awarded if you can demonstrate a good grasp of the concepts, but also demonstrate engagement with the concepts in terms of teamwork, insightful reflection, and engagement with the content of class.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

You earn a grade of 5 (85+ points) if you can demonstrate a mastery of the concepts--both theoretically and in application--and provide reflections which are deep and insightful. You are actively engaged in the class content and with your peers in discussions--and see beyond the immediate practicalities of the class. In other words, you as a person demonstrate a transformation in your thougths and perceptions that will inform your leadership practices and business acumen in the future.

Qualifications

As an overview course, no prerequites are needed except a basic curiosity about humans and groups form and perform and how new knowledge can be applied in multiple contexts and situations.