URL: https://docs1.google.com/document/edit?id=16WCCasOtqX8uUYHyD9E31XiA0tnR_BSn-ZLuJx2Tux4#

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X-Culture International Business Student Cooperation Project

 

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Project Description (PDF)

 

Executive Summary

Task/Simulation

Statistics (2010-2011)

Data and Research  

Schedule

Communication

Grading

Required Time Investment

FAQ, Challenges

Executive Summary

Students in International Business / International Management courses at universities around the world work together for about 8 weeks in teams of 6-7 on a business proposal/plan for a large multinational company. Up to 20+ countries participate in a given semester. The project constitutes 20-30 percent of the course grade. Data on team cultural diversity and demographics, prior international experiences, team dynamics and performance are collected and used to enhance student learning and for research purposes. Upon completion of the project, students and instructors receive Achievement Certificates. All necessary materials and infrastructure are provided. Participation in the project is completely free. About two thousand students from almost thirty countries have participated in the project in 2010-2011. In addition to enhanced learning, scholarly publications based on the data collected during the project are expected.

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Task/Simulation

The Student Instructions used in the Sep-Dec 2011 season could be downloaded here. We are always looking for ways to further improve the project, so some changes in the task and structure of the project are possible.

 

Generally, in teams of 6-7, students prepare a business proposal for a large multi-national company. Each team can choose one of eight companies, each being a leader in a particular industry (IT, oil/gas, car manufacturing, retailing, entertainment, etc.) As a team, students write a proposal for a product or service for the company of their choice. It can be anything from just a viable business idea to “the next big thing.” The proposal provides details on

o product or service the team suggests for the company

o target market

o production site

o financing options

o likely marketing challenges and suggested solutions

o HR related issues such as staffing, selection and recruitment

o Other strategic choices

 

Deadlines

To ensure timely completion of the project, the students have to meet several deadlines throughout the course of the project:   

o Before the project starts: complete the Pre-Project Survey

o About 2 weeks into the project: establish contact with the teammates, start communicating

o About 4 weeks into the project: decide on the product/service the team will be working on

o Last week of the project: submit the team report  

o Within one week after the project: complete the Post-Project Survey

 

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Statistics (2010-2011)

October-December, 2011 Semester

Total number of student teams: 155

Total number of students: 1,150

 

1. Austria

2. Colombia

3. Ecuador

4. France

5. France

6. Germany

7. Ghana

8. India

9. Indonesia

10. Indonesia

11. Japan

12. Korea

13. Kosovo

14. Lithuania

15. Mexico

16. New Zealand

17. Poland

18. Romania

19. Slovakia

20. Spain

21. United Arab Emirates

22. USA-Hawaii

23. USA-Illinois

24. USA-Massachusetts

25. USA-New Jersey

26. USA-North Carolina

 

March-May 2011 Semester

Total number of student teams: 157

Total number of students: 682

1. Barbados

2. Hungary

3. Israel

4. Korea

5. Lithuania

6. Macau

7. Mexico

8. Slovakia

9. Switzerland

10. Turkey

11. USA, N. Carolina

12. USA-New York

13. USA-Oklahoma

14. USA-Texas

Sept-Dec 2010 Semester

Total number of student teams: 125

Total number of students: 463

 

1. Japan

2. Lithuania

3. Pakistan

4. Poland

5. Slovakia

6. Turkey

7. USA

 

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Data and Research

Although the International Business Student Collaboration Project was envisioned as a teaching exercise, IRB approval has been received to collect data as a part of the project and use them for research-related purposes. We are currently developing several papers based on the data collected in 2010-2011 and we hope more papers are to come.

 

Using on-line survey tools, before project starts, students complete the Pre-Project Survey:

- Background, demographics, prior international experience

- Individual cultural values (Schwartz Value Survey)

- Perceived similarities/differences between participating countries (in your opinion, how different/similar are the following two countries, completed for every possible pair of countries participating in the project)

- Perceived ease/difficulty of working with people from other countries (in your opinion, how easy/difficult would it be to cooperate for individuals from the following two countries, completed for every possible pair of countries participating in the project)

- Expected challenges and other thoughts and expectations

 

and after the project ends, the students complete Post-Project Survey:

- The same questions used in Pre-Project survey +

- Peer evaluations

- Satisfaction with team performance, outcome of the project

- Group dynamics (communication frequency and media, conflicts and misunderstandings)

- Experienced challenges, lessons learned, suggestions

 

In addition, individual and team performance is monitored by tracking:

- Respect for deadlines (time stamps for completing each stage of the project)

- Quality of the report (novelty of the idea, economic feasibility, supporting argumentation, attention to detail, readability and formatting quality)

- Peer evaluations

Additional measures may be taken if a viable research proposal is presented.

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Examples of Papers Currently Being Developed Based on the Data Collected as a Part of X-Culture Project

 

• Effects of Different Forms of Distance and Diversity in International Teams on Team Dynamics and Performance

 

The study explores the effects of different forms of distance on team dynamics and performance. The effects of the following forms of distance are considered/compared:

- Actual cultural distance (cultural diversity in the team operationalized using Hofstede’s, GLOBE’s, Schwartz’s national cultural indices)

- Perceived cultural distance (based on perceptions of the team members about differences/similarities among the cultures represented on the team)

- Economic development distance (among the countries represented on the team)

- Political system differences (among the countries represented on the team)

- Other institutional differences indicators (among the countries represented on the team)

- Language differences (among the countries represented on the team)

- Religions differences (among the countries represented on the team)

Each form of distance is measured as (1) range of values for the team, (2) standard deviation of the values for the team, and (3) average of all possible distance combinations for the countries represented on the team.

The effects of the different forms of distance on the following factors are considered:

- Team performance

- Individual performance, diligence, commitment

- Team member satisfaction

- Team performance satisfaction

- Project satisfaction

- Conflict and misunderstanding frequency

- Communication frequency

- Choice of communication media (email, Skype, phone, etc.)

The data will be analyzed using HLM. The findings will be discussed with the focus on implications for selection, training, and international team management.

• Antecedents of Perceived Distance, Differences in Diversity in Cross-Cultural Teams

 

Research has effectively demonstrated that individual attitudes and perceptions may affect team dynamics and performance. Hence, it is important to understand and predict individual attitudes and perceptions about international cooperation and cultural differences. Perceptions about differences/similarities among members of international teams is one those attitudes that may have a significant effect on what team members expect from their team, how members of the team approach one another, how they interact, and ultimately perform as a team. Using longitudinal data on 200+ teams with 1,000 + team members, the study explores antecedents of perceptions about differences/similarities among representatives of different cultures and perceived difficulties/ease of working with representatives of different cultures. The study participants are business students who worked together for about two months in virtual teams of 3-6 students in 2010-1011 school year. Student from over 20 countries participated in the project, with a total of 3-5 countries represented on each team. Initial attitudes and perceptions were collected before the project started and then again the same data were collected after the completion of the project. Additionally, data on respondent demographics, country or origin and country of studies, and prior international experience were collected. Also, team dynamics and performance were assessed based on peer evaluations, team member comments, quality of the team reports, the ability of the team to meet deadlines, and the like. The data were analyzed using HLM. The results are discussed with the focus on managerial implications, in particular with respect to selection and perception management.

Schedule

The schedule will be set once the participant list is finalized. Based on the semester start/end dates reported by the participants this semester, we can start the project in February-March and set the project submission deadline in late April or early May. This would give our students about eight weeks to complete the project.

 

 

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Communication

During the project, students collaborate on-line relying on such free communication tools as email, Skype, Google Docs, Dropbox, Facebook Groups, instant messengers, video conferencing tools, and others. It is likely that the students will also try the newly released Google+ which is a powerful on-line collaboration platform. Many students stick with email and reluctantly explore other communication tools, but many seem to enjoy learning new technologies and experimenting with different communication media. Recognizing that not all students are versed in latest communication technologies (some of the tools listed above are only a year or two old), detailed instructions with screen shots will be provided to make sure students are properly equipped if they want to try.

 

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Grading (Marking)

It is up to the individual instructors to determine how they grade performance of their students. It is suggested that the project is weighted at about 20-35 percent of the course grade.

 

The following indicators of performance are available to the instructors:

- Reports: each team produces one version of the team report (business proposal) and the studies submit exact copies of the report to their respective instructors;

- Deadlines: information about when each component of the project was completed (pre- and post-project surveys, contact with teammates established, product/service for the international joint venture agreed upon, report submitted);

- Peer-evaluations: detailed peer evaluations (each student on the team evaluates each student on the team).

 

Most likely, different instructors will choose a somewhat different evaluation scheme for their students. This, however, should not be a problem and in fact makes the exercise more reminiscent of real-life collaboration where partner companies pay their employees differently, set different expectations and place different values on the important of the project.  

 

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Required Time Investment

The provided infrastructure makes the project is not as time consuming as it may seem at the first glance. Expect to spend as much time as you would on a regular team-based term project, possibly 10-15% more time due to a larger number of questions coming from your students that you need to answer. Here are rough estimates of the time requirements for instructors and students (the number will largely depend on the number of students in your class, number here are provided for a class of about 40 students):

 

INSTRUCTORS

Before the project starts:  

Studying documents in the project package (instructions and guidelines, on-line surveys, etc.): 1 h

Pre-project correspondence with other instructors and other set-up tasks: 2 h

During the project:  

Correspondence with other instructors  2 h

Correspondence with students, expect on average, 2-3 emails/meetings per student, at 10 min each: 10 h

Other unexpected tasks and issues that need to be addressed 2 h

After the project:  

Grading the reports: 5 h

Distributing Achievement Certificates to the students (the certificates with student names already types in will be mailed to you for free): 1 h

TOTAL  20-25 hours

 

Research (optional):  

Data analysis, writing papers, etc.; completely voluntary  Depends on the level of involvement

 

 

STUDENTS Hours

Before the project starts:  

Pre-project survey 0.5

During the project:  

Correspondence with teammates 5

Report write up 5

Other unexpected tasks and issues that need to be addressed 3

After the project:  

Post-project survey 0.5

TOTAL  10-15 hours

 

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FAQ, Challenges

Language:

English is the working language of the project and it is expected that all participating instructors and students have at least basic English skills. Unfortunately, there is no easy way around it. Experience shows, however, that even most basic English communication skills are sufficient. Most communication is written (email, Google Docs) and students have enough time to read/write project-related materials, use a dictionary if needed, as well as use Google Translate and other excellent free on-line translation tools. The data collected so far indicates that poor language skills were not among concerns reported by the students. Diligence and commitment are much more important than English skills. If anything this is a good experience. Those who are native English speakers realize that not everyone speaks their language. For others, the project is a great motivator to learn English.

Undergraduate or MBA:

Although undergraduate students have historically participated in the project, it does not mean that MBA students cannot participate. We may have mixed undergraduate/MBA teams or we may have separate MBA and Undergraduate teams. The project is certainly suitable for both levels and we can work out a solution that would work for everyone.

What if a student drops a class?

With so many students involved in the project, it is inevitable that some teams will lose/gain a member or even two during the project due to dropouts or late enrollments. Changes in team composition are not uncommon in the real workplace so students would get a good preview of real-life challenges of international business cooperation. With about five students per team, minor team composition challenges (+ or – one or two teammates) are usually easily absorbed and do not substantially affect team performance. The key is to let students know in advance that such changes are possible and should they happen, students should not panic and just carry on with the project using available human power.

Wrong emails:

Occasionally emails provided by the students turn out to be wrong or outdated. Usually this problem occurs in the first days of the project. When students encounter the problem, they tend to send a message (sometimes angry) to their instructor. The instructors who receive the complaints then forward the message to the instructor of the student whose email is not working for further investigation. Usually it takes a day or two to resolve the issue. Once the correct email is available, the information is sent to all concerned parties.

Missing students:

With so many students involved in the project, it is inevitable that there will be a few students who will simply not do their share of work, some deal with family issues, others have emergencies, some simply don’t care. These cases are extremely rare, but you will definitely see at least a few of them. It is important to inform your students that it is possible that some of their teammates will not be responding to their emails and not doing their share of work. Students should keep trying to establish contact with all of their teammates, but should not worry if some of their teammates never respond. If one or even two teammates do not do their share, the remaining three or four team members should simply keep working on the project and do their best with the available resources. The peer evaluations will allow for adjusting individual grades to reflect the level of involvement of each individual student.

 

The problem may be bigger when a teammate does not participate during most of the project, but then surfaces a few days before the deadline when most of the work had already been completed. Usually all parties claim that they tried their best to establish contact with their teammates but never received any response. The core team that kept working on the project is usually inclined to exclude the “missing” student from their team saying that the work had already been completed. The “missing” student is desperately trying earn some points, tells that he or she tried to contact the teammates earlier but never received any reply or actually presents legitimate reasons why he or she could not participate earlier. There seems to be no perfect solution to this problem. However, the situation presents a great research opportunity. We have the following options:

- Let each team work it out among themselves and detail their decision in the report and/or the post-project survey. The solution and what led to it would be an interesting research question.

- Create new teams from the “missing and resurfaced” students and let them complete the project in the last few days before the deadline. Again, performance and dynamics in these “last-minute” teams would present an excellent research opportunity.

- Let “missing” students complete the project on their own. This is the most efficient options from the logistics point of view. The problem is that the International Collaboration Project is an exercise, not a test. The value of the project is in students gaining first-hand experience in international collaboration. Leaving students an option to complete the report on their own defeats the purpose of the project.

Somehow this issue has not been a problem in the previous semesters, but it may well be next time around, so we may need to discuss it further to be prepared.

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Questions, concerns, suggestions: contact Vas Taras at v_taras@uncg.edu

 

 

American Students, Fall 2010

Japanese Students, Fall 2010