Course Title:

The Culture of Business and the Business of Culture

Target Audience:

Business Course for business and non-business majors

Catalog Description

 Investigates two aspects of global business. 1) The business of culture, how cultural expressions such as music, film, museums, sports, fashion, drama, opera, literature, food, and entertainment operate in Europe and the United States. 2) The culture of business: the beliefs, customs, and behaviors that govern European and US organizations.

 Course Overview:

 In this course, students will investigate two aspects of the global business environment. The first segment is the business of culture, how cultural expressions such as music, film, art, sports, fashion, museums drama, opera, literature, food, and entertainment operate as business organizations in Europe compared with the United States. Students will choose an aspect of culture such as popular music and learn about how the music business works in the United States. From our base in Salzburg, they will seek out performers and venues around Europe to see how the operate that may be similar or different from the US. Other students may investigate the movie business by visiting studios and surveying the number of American films versus local films in various European countries. They might examine how the percentage of international revenue for US films has increased over the last decade.

 The second segment of the course is the culture of business: the beliefs, customs, and behaviors that govern behavior in European business and how these compare with doing business in the United States. Once in Europe, we will study Disney's development of the Euro Disney theme park outside Paris and travel to the theme park to see how it differs from Disneyland in California or Disney World in Florida.. We will also meet with business leaders in Austria, Germany, France and Holland.

 Course Objectives

1. Understand the connections between popular culture and business
2. Compare and contrast the business of one aspect of popular culture as experienced in the United States versus the experience in Europe.
3. Compare and contrast the culture of doing business in Europe with the culture of doing business in the United States.

Students will assess their learning through three outcome measures.

1. Learning journal. Students will keep a handwritten journal of their experiences during the course.
2. Research paper. Students will conduct a study of one aspect popular culture as a business in Europe and the United States. They will review the literature available and collect data through personal observation and experience while in Europe.
3. Informal presentation (ungraded). Students will make informal presentations to each other throughout the course.

The instructor will give you a score from zero to 100 on each assignment. Multiply this score times the weight to get the number of points for the assignment. Your total points can be converted to a final grade using the following grading scale:

 
 

Total Points	Final Grade
95 to 100	4.0
90 to 94	3.7
85 to 89	3.3
80 to 84	3.0
75 to 79	2.7
70 to 74	2.3
65 to 69	2.0
60 to 64	1.7
55 to 59	1.3
50 to 54	1.0
45 to 49	.7
below 44	0

Point totals will be rounded up if the decimal portion is greater than .5. For example, 94.4 points would receive a 3.7. 94.5 points would be rounded up to 95 and receive a 4.0.

Schedule:
 

Depart LAX	December  31, 1998
Arrive Munich	January 1, 1999
Bus to Salzburg, Austria	January 1, 1999
Check into dormitory
Class begins 9 am to 12 pm	January 4, 1999
Orientation to Salzburg    3  pm	January 4
The Business of Culture  Choose an aspect of culture  Learn about how it operates in the United Stated States.  Begin investigations within Salzburg and the surrounding area.  Form Teams by Region or by Subject Area	January 4  January 5  January 6  (2 sessions)  January 7
Field Trip Number 1  Investigate Cultural Events in Munich from a business perspective.   Munich-European Distributor for  Software co	January 8, 9,10     Januray 11
Debrief Field Trip Number 1  Research cities to visit for Field Trip Number 2, make reservation.	January 12  January 13
Field Trip Number 2  Student teams visit other European cities to study their chosen aspect of culture.	January 13 to January 18
Report on Field Trip Number 2	January 19
The Culture of Business  1. Methodological considerations in studying cross-cultural management behavior  2. Organizations  3. Motivation  4. Management styles  5. Managerial values  6. Cross-cultural communication  7. International negotiation  8. Cultural exchange in mergers and acquisitions  9. Expatriation and cultural adaptation  10. Management learning in an international context  The EuroDisney Case  Salzburg Chamber of Commerce	January 20 to 22
Research Paper Due	January 22
Field Trip Number 3  Visit to EuroDisney outside Paris  Discussion on doing business in France-Programart   Paris Office 9 am Monday  Travel to Holland  Discussion on doing business in Holland- Robert Boreel.   10 am  Tuesday Return to Salzburg Banquet	January 23  January 24  January 25  January 26  January 27      January 28
Debrief Field Trip 3	January 29
Depart Munich for LAX	Saturday, January 30, 1999
Learning Journal Due	February 6, 1999

 

Textbooks

Required Text: Cross-Cultural Management (Management Reader)

Terence Jackson (Editor)

Our Price: $34.95 Paperback - 423 pages (April

1995)

Butterworth-Heinemann; ISBN: 0750619333 ;

 
Student Budget:

With 3 week Rail Pass:

 
 

Item	Each	Number	Total
Amortized Faculty Charge			$300
Airfare	$600	1	$600
Lodging, Salzburg	$10	14	$140
Food, Salzburg	$25	13	$325
Subtotal			$1365
Lodging, elsewhere	$30	14	$420
Food, elsewhere	$45	14	$630
Eurail Pass 10 days in 2 months	444	1	$444
Subtotal			$1494
Grand Total			$2859

 

Faculty Budget
 

Item	Each	Number	Total
Airfare	$600	1	$600
Lodging, Salzburg	$0	14	$0
Food, Salzburg	$25	14	$350
Lodging, elsewhere	$60	14	$840
Food, elsewhere	$45	14	$630
Eurail Pass 3 weeks	$864	1	$864
Total			$3284