ERIC Number: ED271974
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1985
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Intercultural Aspects of Multinational Business.
Matthews, Patricia; Zumbar, Angela
One of the major challenges facing most departments of business administration is international business, a field that warrants expansion because of the world economy and because it is of increasing importance to most countries. One of the goals of any international business curriculum must be to establish awareness and understanding of the cultural environment of multinational business. Ignorance of cultural differences is not just unfortunate, it is bad business, and it entails possible disastrous consequences. Culture includes language, religion, values and beliefs, customs, legal and political traditions, status and social relationships, and material symbols. International managers need a conceptual scheme to analyze relevant cultural differences in all of these areas and techniques for solving problems resulting from them. Mount Union College in Ohio has developed an interdisciplinary international business major to address all of these areas. It exposes students to the available technology, theory, and practices for situational analysis. A final written project and a special problems course, conducted in the foreign language and emphasizing the importance of cross-cultural communication and access to the host culture, are features of the curriculum. A brief description of each aspect of the program, including the credit allotment, is included. (MSE)
Descriptors: Administrator Education, Business Administration Education, Cultural Awareness, Culture Conflict, Higher Education, Intercultural Communication, Interdisciplinary Approach, International Trade, Language Proficiency, Languages for Special Purposes, Problem Solving, Program Descriptions, Required Courses, Second Language Instruction
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A