Netherlands

The language section of the course helps students develop and improve the skills and strategies necessary to successfully manage most uncomplicated oral and written tasks and social situations which may be confronted within daily life in the Netherlands. The culture & society section provides a basic understanding of present-day Dutch society and culture. Through reading articles covering Dutch culture, students learn to understand the Dutch way of approaching and discussing cultural and society issues.

Format
During the language section, the classroom language is Dutch. The main activity is the use of Dutch in a variety of oral and written communication tasks. The instructor provides input, instruction, and explanations.
In the culture section, topics on Dutch society and culture are introduced and discussed. Reading materials on Dutch culture are studied in English and/or Dutch.
Students are expected to give a presentation in English.

This course introduces the theory and practice of consumer studies. In terms of theory, the course focuses on economic, psychological, sociological, communication, and marketing theories to develop an understanding of consumers. Concepts such as information processing, attitude formation, framing, group norms, conflicts, motivations, emotions, goals, income, wealth, social practices, and culture are studied. In terms of practice, the course reviews four different approaches to consumer studies. All theories can be analyzed with at least four different approaches: marketing, communication, sociology, and economics. During a group assignment students analyze a self-chosen problem concerning a consumer situation with the four approaches to examine how and why consumers behave the way they do, and to provide an answer to the raised research problem.

Global Intercultural Management explores different aspects of intercultural management, including teams, leadership, Human Resource Management, values, culture, and negotiations. The units are designed to develop student's abilities to compare and analyze the reasons for fundamental differences, in intercultural management and governance practices that exist amongst key organizations and societies around the world. Studies focus on comparative analysis of combinations of cultures (societies and public and private governance) across Nations, corporations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs). These fundamental understandings are essential to successfully shaping policies and decisions for executives and managers in a much globalized world. Students are challenged to explore and explain intercultural issues that influence and impact global management. Students have the opportunity to develop a deeper knowledge about how culture shapes management practices in international organizations. Academic inquiry is explored through the examination of the following units: The Global Challenge Unit; Culture and Intercultural Management Unit; Organizational Culture –Global Interaction Unit; Values and Culture: Impact and Influence Unit; Intercultural Communication and Cultural Competence Unit; Leadership Foundation and Styles– Effective Multicultural Teams Unit; International Management – HR Strategies Unit; Role of the Global Manager.

This course focuses on cultural difference and identity in an era in which the nation seems to lose its unifying significance in matters of personal identity and group identity formation. It analyzes how globalization influences identity and culture and the ways in which these interact with social differences, gender, ethnicity, religion, and nationality. Students become familiar with theories of globalization and culture such as hybridization, McDonaldization, the clash of civilizations, and concepts such as orientalism, occidentalism, and multiculturalism. Its orientation is both practical and theoretical.