21591 Transnational Management
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
This subject introduces concepts and capabilities that are critical to navigating the complexities of managing in transnational contexts. It integrates frameworks and practices from diverse disciplinary areas, such as cross-cultural and social psychology, organisational behaviour, and international human resource management, to help students address the major challenges (and opportunities) of global management.
An important learning outcome of this subject is how culture influences your (and others’) assumptions, perceptions, attributions and behaviours, and therefore how it shapes managerial practices. The content, activities and reflections with which we engage in this subject are designed to help students develop awareness and competencies to more effectively communicate, collaborate, manage and lead in international and culturally-diverse settings.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| 1. | examine the impact of culture on themself and others, and the cross-cultural capabilities needed to bridge cultural differences |
|---|---|
| 2. | apply a range of management approaches to suit different transnational settings and functions, including communicating, collaborating, managing and leading |
| 3. | discuss the impact on global careers of the challenges and opportunities which exist in transnational contexts |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the following program learning objectives:
- Communicate information clearly in a form appropriate for its audience (2.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
Globalisation is probably the single defining phenomenon of our lifetime. It shapes every aspect of our lives from where, how and why we work, to the composition of our communities, companies and classrooms. Students studying Transnational Management develop an outlook and capabilities that make them more effective transnational operatives and managers. It does this by contributing to the development of the following graduate attributes:
- Intellectual rigour and innovative problem solving
- Communication and collaboration
- Social responsibility and cultural awareness
This subject also contributes specifically to develop the following Program Learning Objective:
- Demonstrate ability to work independently and with others as a member of a team to achieve an agreed goal (2.2)
Teaching and learning strategies
Pre-class, in-class and assessment activities and learning materials are designed from evidence-based principles of ‘what works’ in developing people’s transnational capabilities.
The subject offers lectures and smaller tutorials, as well as pre-class learning materials that you are required to engage with prior to attending classes.
Pre-class learning materials introduce core ‘threshold’ concepts. These provide baseline knowledge that you will need to get the most from lectures and tutorials. They include short videos and/or readings, as well as opportunities for deeper engagement through designated activities, mini-cases, guided reflections, and curated online resources.
Lectures are used to extend, refine and explore in more detail some of the core concepts introduced in pre-class materials. Personal examples, case studies and cutting-edge research will be shared and discussed, and guidance and formative feedback provided to help you with assessment items.
Tutorials centre on group discussion activities. They provide opportunities to share personal experiences and reflections, apply concepts to case studies, and learn how other students interpret the content. The latter is important because, as we will learn in class, cultural differences can have a strong influence on the assumptions we make and what we perceive as ‘good’ management practice. For this reason, you will be encouraged – where possible – to interact with students from backgrounds different to your own. The tutorials, therefore, offer opportunities to apply many of the interpersonal capabilities (collaborating, communicating, managing, leading) that are central to the learning outcomes of this subject.
Ultimately, the subject’s teaching approach is designed to help you create a vision for yourself as a transnational operative and manager and to provide you with the knowledge, skills and experiences to progress towards that vision.
Students will receive individual and team-level formative feedback on assessment tasks 1 and 2 during classes, and summative feedback after submission.
An aim of this subject is to help you develop academic and professional language and communication skills to succeed at university and in the workplace. During the course of this subject, you will complete a milestone assessment task that will, in addition to assessing your subject-specific learning objectives, assess your English language proficiency.
Content (topics)
The subject content is structured around three core themes, each linked to one of the subject’s core learning outcomes.
Classes will be devoted to unpacking and exploring the latest research and key concepts relating to each theme:
- Being a transnational person (the impact of one’s own enculturation, patterns of cultural differences, transnational capabilities in a global world)
- Managing in transnational settings (understanding and applying different approaches to communicate, collaborate, manage and lead in transnational settings)
- Managing and succeeding in transnational careers (living and working overseas, managing international assignments)
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Team Project (Group)
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1 and 2 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 20% |
| Length: | 20-25 minutes |
| Criteria: |
This subject is designed to contribute to developing program learning objective 2.2 Demonstrate ability to work independently and with others as a member of a team to achieve an agreed goal. Immediately after their discussion, teams will receive anonymous feedback from peers on the above criteria, feedback from the instructor, and optional structured reflection questions for self-evaluation. |
Assessment task 2: Applied Analysis and Reflection (Individual)
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1 and 2 This addresses program learning objectives(s): 2.1 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | a. Checklist = approximately 500 words in total. Some flexibility in word count is allowed for this part of the assessment. b. Final analysis = maximum 2500 words excluding references. Submissions longer than 2500 words will be penalised. Include your name, student number and tutorial in the header (top right of each page) and a page number in the footer. Avoid cover pages, tables of contents and other unnecessary sheets. |
| Criteria: |
Marking criteria linked to assurance of PLO 2.1 (Communicate information clearly in a form appropriate for its audience) is marked with an asterisk. |
Assessment task 3: Final Examination (Individual)
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2 and 3 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | The final examination is expected to take two hours (120 minutes). There is no word limit although quality will be rewarded over quantity. |
| Criteria: |
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Minimum requirements
Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks.
Required texts
There is no required textbook for this subject. However there are required learning materials for each class. These centre on a set of customised Briefing Notes which are available for download from the subject website. These Briefing Notes summarise core theories/ideas that will be discussed and explored further in class. They also include activities and reflection questions, links to relevant websites and academic articles, and some activities and case studies that students are expected to review before class.
Other resources
1. Preparing for the first class: Like all subjects, there are a series of preparation activities that you are asked to complete before the first class. Please take the time to do these activities, which won't take more that 45 minutes in total. See the 'How to prepare for the first class' in the 'Getting started' module at the subject Canvas website for details.
2. Additional learning materials: The Briefing Notes include details of some targeted (optional) academic reading articles. The details of these (including some information to help you understand their relevance to the subject content) can be found at the back of the Briefing Notes, while the articles themselves can be downloaded via the Reading List in Canvas.
In addition to the Briefing Notes, the 'Class materials' pages of Canvas have links to relevant additional materials relating to the topics we cover. These include videos, podcasts, news articles, corporate reports, and other bits and pieces that might help you understand and/or apply the core concepts in the Briefing Notes. Feel free to avail yourself of these before or after class (preferably not during class please!).
A range of quality academic journals publish research relating to this subject. An example of these can be found in the 'Subject resources' page of the 'Orienting Yourself' module of Canvas. All of these journals can be accessed through the UTS library databases. You are encouraged to explore these during the semester and to use relevant additional articles from these sources as part of your assignment work.