Global Business and Intercultural Management - Einzelansicht

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." – a quote often attributed to Peter Drucker, one of the most influential management thinkers and a pioneer of modern strategy – highlights a key insight that has become increasingly relevant in today’s globalized economy: cultural factors can determine the success or failure of strategies, organizations, and business outcomes. While traditional economics and management theory long focused on “hard” factors, it is now widely acknowledged that “softer” institutional and cultural dimensions play a decisive role in shaping business and project results.
In today’s world, where innovativeness increasingly emerges from cooperation and the power of interdisciplinarity, it is essential to understand the underlying mechanisms of culture and to develop the ability to navigate between different cultural mindsets. This applies not only to national or regional cultures but also to organizational values, workplace norms, and disciplinary ethics.
Intercultural differences profoundly influence management decisions, leadership styles, communication, and collaboration. They also play a decisive role in international management and corporate internationalization strategies. Successful market entries, cross-border mergers, and global project collaborations often depend less on the quality of the formal strategy than on the ability to understand and bridge cultural differences. Conversely, the neglect of cultural factors has led to the failure of numerous internationalization efforts, making intercultural competence a critical asset for global managers.
Beyond intercultural management, the course also explores how culture interacts with the broader field of international and global business management. Students will examine how cultural dynamics affect global supply chains, multinational organizational structures, cross-border leadership, and strategic alliances. They will learn to evaluate how global businesses design and implement strategies across diverse cultural and institutional environments, and how international competitiveness increasingly depends on the successful integration of cultural awareness with global business practices.
This course equips students with the ability to identify and understand intercultural challenges, sharpen their awareness of the significance of cultural aspects in global business, and develop practical skills to address intercultural dilemmas and tensions. Students will engage with both modern and well-established theories and methods of intercultural management and learn to apply these frameworks to practical problems faced by global managers.
By the end of the module, students will:
• Gain a comprehensive overview of the current state of intercultural management research.
• Develop the ability to critically evaluate theoretical and empirical studies in the field.
• Enhance their competence in managing diversity, interdisciplinarity, and complexity in global business environments.
• Strengthen their skills in navigating cultural challenges to improve business and project outcomes.
• Understand the cultural foundations of international management and assess their impact on effective internationalization strategies.
• Analyze how cultural and institutional factors shape global business management, from multinational organizations to international supply chains and alliances.

Format:
The course combines weekly lectures (concepts, theories, frameworks) with interactive application sessions (case studies, group discussions, simulations) to bridge theory and practice.

Assessment:
The course is successfully completed by passing a written examination and frequent assigments in English.

Time and Place:
Tuesday, 10:00–11:30 & 11:45–13:15 (Room 206, Marienstraße 7B)

The course is successfully completed by passing a written examination and frequent assigments in English.

The course is open to all Bachelor and Master students of the faculties of Architecture and Urbanism, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Art and Design, and Media as part of the ”Interdisciplinary Study Program”. Before registering, please consult your academic advisor and clarify whether this course can be credited to your curriculum. If required, you can conclude a learning agreement (DE/EN) before the start of the course.