Course description

Name of Applied Intercultural Communication: Course 224-01 3 Module Germany Code Credit Points Self study SWS Attendance (h) Total workload (h) (h) 3 2 30 60 90 Semester Language

1 English

Course Applied Intercultural Communication: Germany Prerequisites – Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: . Explain relevant facts about German history, society and culture. . Critically analyze and reflect on a range of contemporary business issues in the German context. . Analyze case studies within the German context based on cultural, historical and social explanations, as well as the students’ own personal experiences. . Evaluate factors involved in the case studies and arrive at a personal conclusion. Intended Learning . Describe the evolution, coherence and distinctiveness of German Outcome business habits in order to act appropriately in a German business context. . Develop strategies for dealing with possible challenges related to German business habits. . Compose an intercultural diary based on the students´attentive observation of their German environment and the critical analysis of their observations (applying intercultural theories, where necessary). . Evaluate conflict management strategies as they relate to Human Resources-issues. The course aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of business with representatives of and/or within the German culture, with some comparative notions in order to assess its distinctiveness and develop skills for cross-border, cross-cultural management and business communication. Course outline: . Overview of German culture: key concepts of history, religion, beliefs Content and customs German business culture and attitudes: hierarchy, authority and pragmatism Management and working styles for doing business in Germany . Communication, meeting and negotiation styles when doing business in Germany Challenges and practical solutions for doing business in Germany

The teacher/trainer provides a balance of structured input and discussion of Teaching case studies, critical incidents and scenarios. Students practice how to Methods handle new situations in a low-risk setting while working on and discussing case studies with their peers. An important tool applied in the seminar is reflection to focus, firstly, on the (inter)cultural challenges that may arise in the German environment and, secondly, on a meta-level, on the (assumed different) communication and 2

working/study patterns of the students due to their individual cultural backgrounds. The seminar will also include group work and student-led excursions.

Assessment Intercultural journals, group presentations Method 1. Deane, Neil (2014): Modern Germany: An outsider's view from the inside. Pro Business. 2. Franklin, Peter. 2006. Communicating and Cooperating with German Business People: A Guide for the British. Institute for Intercultural Management, Values and Communication. [E-Book] Konstanz: http://www.dialogin.com/index.php?id=78 3. MacGregor, Neil (2014): Germany. Memories of a Nation. Delaware/London: Penguin Random House. Downloadable episodes on BBC Radio4: “Germany. Memories of a Nation”. Recommende http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04dwbwz/episodes/downloads d Reading 4. Schroll-Machl, Sylvia: Doing Business with Germans. 2011. Their Perception. Our Perception. Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht. 5. Thomas, Alexander, Eva-Ulrike Kinast, Sylvia Schroll-Machl (2010): Handbook of Intercultural Communication and Cooperation: Basics and Areas of Application. Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht 6. Stern, Fritz. 2006. Five Germanys I Have Known. [Reprint] New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux 7. Twain Mark: The Awful German Language. http://usa.usembassy.de/classroom/Mark%20Twain/Mark%20Twain %20Awful%20Broschuere.pdf (page 9-17 of pdf document)

Module OStR Ulrike Meyer, Prof. Dr. Ute Barbara Schilly Coordinator Lecturers OStR Ulrike Meyer, Prof. Dr. Ute Barbara Schilly Version 1