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1 – 10 of over 8000The purpose of this study was to explore local and international business students' perceptions of their intercultural group work experience as a mechanism for developing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore local and international business students' perceptions of their intercultural group work experience as a mechanism for developing intercultural competence and group work skills.
Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative interviews, the group work experiences of 11 final-year undergraduate local and international students in a business program in a large Australian university were analysed.
Findings
The findings suggest that international and local students working together on group assignments create social and academic situations that result in “at best” limited positive intercultural learning and relationships. Differences in expectations, motivations, language fluency, trust and relationship issues were evident when students collaborated on group assignments. Thus, it appears that group assignments are potentially flawed mechanisms for delivering the goals of intercultural competence and group work skills in business students.
Practical implications
Although this exploratory study is limited in scope, the research has implications for pedagogical strategies, in particular, the use and design of group assignments and the preparation of students for working on group tasks in intercultural groups. It also has implications for developing effective learning mechanisms that lead to improved student intercultural competence, greater socio-cultural engagement and the academic success of international and local business students, as well as positive learning experiences for all.
Originality/value
The findings of this study are likely to be a useful resource for university staff considering the use of group work assignments for the development of intercultural understanding and competence and collaborative skills.
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Luana Ferreira-Lopes, Iciar Elexpuru-Albizuri and María José Bezanilla
Allowing for interaction with foreign cultures without the need to travel, intercultural virtual collaboration represents a potential tool to develop business students’…
Abstract
Purpose
Allowing for interaction with foreign cultures without the need to travel, intercultural virtual collaboration represents a potential tool to develop business students’ intercultural competence. This study aims to explore students’ perceptions towards the implementation of a research-based task sequence in a project in which undergraduate Business students from Spain collaborated virtually with undergraduate business students from The Netherlands during a semester. More specifically, this paper investigates what intercultural competence indicators were mostly developed by the sequence implemented; how much each task from the sequence in question developed different intercultural competence indicators; and how much students enjoyed participating in each task.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected through after-task reflection questionnaires. A quantitative analysis of Likert-type questions was carried out and open-ended responses were used to illustrate findings.
Findings
Results reveal that the task sequence developed different dimensions of students’ intercultural competence and, particularly, fostered a positive attitude towards intercultural relationships, increased students’ cultural knowledge and awareness and equipped students with skills to work in diverse teams. It also showed that as complexity grew along the sequence, the average students’ perception of their intercultural competence development tended to decrease. The majority of students’ very much liked participating in the different tasks.
Originality/value
Designing telecollaborative projects can be very challenging and understanding the learning potential of different pedagogical strategies for virtual collaborative environments can help teachers to take better-informed decisions.
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Attempts to demonstrate how a shared vision amongst group members is developed. Endeavours to understand the process through which members of a multicultural group, Asian and…
Abstract
Attempts to demonstrate how a shared vision amongst group members is developed. Endeavours to understand the process through which members of a multicultural group, Asian and Western, develop and sustain a consensus, the way they interpret, give meaning and make sense of what went on during the process of strategic decision making. Explores the cross‐cultural differences in cognitive perception, affective and communicative dimensions. Suggests that findings show these categories as highly interrelated and determine the shared vision.
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Beatrice Avolio and Jorge Benzaquen
Internationalization has been a paramount objective for higher education institutions (HEIs) for decades. However, the landscape of education underwent significant transformation…
Abstract
Purpose
Internationalization has been a paramount objective for higher education institutions (HEIs) for decades. However, the landscape of education underwent significant transformation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to altered contexts, challenges and opportunities for HEI internationalization. This paper aims to critically evaluate the dimensions of internationalization strategies in HEIs and the opportunities within each dimension. Adopting a reflexive approach, the study focused on non-Western HEIs, recognizing the diverse approaches to internationalization within higher education contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology, this paper covered 74 articles published in Web of Science database from January 2019 to December 2023.
Findings
The study organized dimensions related to internationalization strategies in non-Western HEIs, offering a comprehensive framework comprising six dimensions: students, programs, faculty, research, international ventures and other sources; and nine internationalization facilitators: international partnerships, funding, government education, international policies, technology, internationalization culture, diversity and inclusion, staff competence and attitude, student/faculty engagement, intercultural experience and satisfaction, English as a medium of instruction (EMI), and knowledge transfer mechanisms. Furthermore, the study delineated strategies within each dimension and highlighted prevalent performance indicators utilized by HEIs.
Originality/value
The study’s primary contribution is a conceptual framework designed to assist HEI directors and academics. This framework delves into dimensions, strategies and indicators of internationalization particularly relevant in the post-pandemic era.
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Olga Dziubaniuk and Monica Nyholm
This paper aims to explore methods of teaching sustainability and business ethics, relevant to the modern demand for student’s skills and knowledge. The study explores the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore methods of teaching sustainability and business ethics, relevant to the modern demand for student’s skills and knowledge. The study explores the challenges of teaching a business school undergraduate-level course and argues that a constructivist pedagogy is a suitable epistemological approach for designing a course unit concerning sustainability and ethics.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents case study findings drawn upon course feedback and course reflections aimed at making sense of what the most effective pedagogic approaches were that influenced students’ learning.
Findings
Results indicate that students appreciate active forms of learning via practical assignments and discussions. As knowledge of sustainability and business ethics is important for the student’s future career path, students need to develop skills of applying conceptual knowledge to practice via constructive pedagogical methods.
Practical implications
This empirical study contributes to the literature of constructivist pedagogics, which is explored in the context of sustainable development and business ethics teaching. Practically, it contributes to the analysis of teaching methods and frameworks applied in the course emphasizing the necessity of engaging in interactive and personalized learning and teaching processes.
Originality/value
Issues of teaching ethics and sustainable development are known concerns, but they have to be addressed systematically because of the changing business environment. This study explores the constructivist pedagogy based on empirical evidence and highlights its value in the educational process.
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Maureen Brookes and Nina Becket
This paper aims to identify the extent to which hospitality management degree programmes are internationalised to develop graduates capable of working within the global…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the extent to which hospitality management degree programmes are internationalised to develop graduates capable of working within the global hospitality industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative multiple case study approach was adopted for a UK study of undergraduate international hospitality management degrees. Interviews and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques.
Findings
The findings reveal the importance of the development of graduates' cross‐cultural competencies within international hospitality management programmes and the methods used to develop these. The study also reveals further opportunities to enhance the internationalisation of degree programmes.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are based on a case study research strategy set within the context of the UK and as such, the generalisability of the findings may be limited. In addition, the study sample contained only undergraduate international hospitality management degree programmes.
Practical implications
This paper reveals a number of opportunities to enhance the internationalisation of hospitality management programmes and the challenges currently faced by academics and students.
Originality/value
The paper provides a framework comprising internationalisation at home (IaH) and internationalisation abroad (IA) dimensions for academics to assess the internationalisation of degree programmes and the extent to which cross‐cultural competencies are developed among graduates. The framework can also be used by graduate recruiters seeking candidates with the requisite cross‐cultural understanding, attitudes and skills to work within the international hospitality industry.
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The world of work and education is changing at a rapid pace, driven by continued technological disruption and automation. The future is uncertain and difficult to envisage. A…
Abstract
Purpose
The world of work and education is changing at a rapid pace, driven by continued technological disruption and automation. The future is uncertain and difficult to envisage. A futures thinking scenario planning approach is used in exploring and guiding education policy makers on how best to respond to the range of possible futures. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes elements of prior scenario planning methodologies to devise a practical model of preferred and plausible likely scenarios in the context of rapid and continuing technology disruption. Based on the notion of “impact and uncertainty,” two possible future alternatives of work and learning were developed. Incorporating elements of the possibility space scenario framework and a vignette approach of current emergent technologies, this paper assessed the usefulness of the preferred and likely outcomes.
Findings
While preferred future scenarios entailing collaborative styles such as human–machine cooperation, smart virtual active learning campuses and living knowledge learning environments may produce more desirable benefits for education stakeholders, the more likely plausible scenario is one based on continued disruptive technologies. Automation, artificial intelligence and the advent of 5G network technologies will drive customization and personalization in higher education delivery and revolutionize the work landscape in the immediate future. Universities will need to embrace and respond to these changes.
Originality/value
The paper gives insights into how universities can prepare their students for future of work and improve their employability. In addition, this author recommends ways in which HEIs can leverage these newer technologies to drive educational services and commercial value.
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Malgorzata Rozkwitalska, Michal Chmielecki, Sylwia Przytula, Lukasz Sulkowski and Beata Aleksandra Basinska
The purpose of this paper is to show how individuals perceive the quality of intercultural interactions at work in multinational subsidiaries and to address the question of what…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how individuals perceive the quality of intercultural interactions at work in multinational subsidiaries and to address the question of what actually prevails in their accounts, i.e., “the dark side” or “the bright side.”
Design/methodology/approach
The authors report the findings from five subsidiaries located in Poland and interviews with 68 employees of these companies.
Findings
The “bright side” dominated the interviewees’ accounts. The phenomenon of high social identity complexity or common in-group identity can help explain the findings. The results also shed some new light on the associations between the context of subsidiaries and the perception of the quality of intercultural interactions.
Research limitations/implications
The paper contributes to the literature on cultural diversity and intercultural interactions in multinational subsidiaries. As the “bright side” of interactions was emphasized in the interviews, it particularly supports positive cross-cultural scholarship studies. Yet the explorative research does not allow for a broader generalization of the results.
Practical implications
Managers of multinational corporations (MNCs) should do the following: shape the context of MNCs to influence the dynamics of intercultural interactions and the way they are seen by their employees; emphasize common in-group identity to help their employees to adopt more favorable attitudes toward intercultural interactions; look for individuals with multicultural identity who display more positive approaches to intercultural contacts; place emphasis on recruiting individuals fluent in the MNC’s functional language; offer language training for the staff; and recruit employees with significant needs for development who will perceive more opportunities in intercultural contacts.
Social implications
The research demonstrates that the multicultural workplace of MNCs may be recognized by employees as activating the positive potential of the individuals and organizations that make up a society.
Originality/value
The accounts of intercultural interactions are analyzed to illuminate some significant foundations of how individuals perceive such interactions. The study provides a qualitative lens and highlights the positive approach to intercultural interactions. It may redress the imbalance in prior research and satisfy the need for positive cross-cultural scholarship.
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