Purpose

The purpose of this course is to prepare you for management positions in today’s organizations, by: 

1. sensitizing you to the scope and nature of cross-cultural business, 
2. elevating your knowledge of cross-cultural business, and 
3. cultivating your proficiency in cross-cultural business.
   

More concretely, the course aims to provide you with a collection of cross-cultural business ‘tools’—models, theories, frameworks, perspectives, concepts, ideas, etc.— which are required for success in the global economy. 

The course also provides you opportunities to practice these tools through hands-on experiential activities in which you will work in a multicultural team of students from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, American University in Cairo, and students from Libya. 

Format & Content

This semester-long course will operate as a virtual exchange, bringing together professors and students from Egypt, Libya, and the United States. You will be in your own institution’s classroom, but you will also be in class virtually with your fellow students from the other three countries!

The class will also connect you with teammates from other countries to collaborate on specific aspects of cross-cultural business.

The course will combine traditional classroom sessions with hands-on experiential activities. The classroom sessions will focus on culture and cultural competence, plus specific cultural practices of each of the participant countries. The course will also employ a consulting project in which you will research and then plan the internationalization of a company. 

Benefits

• Get equipped to communicate, problem-solve, and collaborate in a global team environment—all essential skills in an interconnected world.
• Learn a framework to develop your cultural competence and acquire skills for practicing cultural competence in business and life. 
• Improve your virtual collaboration abilities as you work virtually with a cross-cultural team to complete a substantial team project. 
• After taking this course: have a great story to tell—to friends, family members, and job recruiters!
• Earn a certificate from the William Davidson Institute for participating in the program. 

More questions?

Please check out our FAQs or email wdi-virtual@umich.edu.