Week 16: Closing Week

Housekeeping and Updates

Please check back for updates, reminders, and any final housekeeping items as we bring the course to a close.

Your Turn to Lead

If you have not already facilitated a student-based session, you must present in week 16.

Use this final opportunity to help classmates apply a focused international management concept from any module in the course. Explain the idea, offer a management decision or dilemma, and show why it matters to multinational organizations.

Choose your delivery mode

You may use PowerPoint, an infographic, or video. Other suitable approaches include a short live demonstration, a role-play, a guided discussion built around a visual, or an interactive poll or mini-scenario. You may combine formats when doing so supports the learning. Whatever format you choose, use it to guide a coherent session and make your explanation and analysis clear.

Five possible topics

1. Doing Business Responsibly Across Borders (Chapters 1–2 / Global environment, ethics, and interdependence). Present a U.S.-based company facing a conflict between local expectations and its ethical commitments. Ask classmates to weigh stakeholder interests and recommend a defensible response.
2. When the Same Message Means Different Things (Chapters 3–4 / Culture and communication). Give classmates a cross-cultural communication misunderstanding. Ask them to identify possible explanations, distinguish evidence from assumptions, and redesign the message.
3. Negotiating an International Partnership (Chapters 5–6 / Negotiation and strategy formulation). Create a short negotiation in which a U.S.-based company and an overseas partner have different priorities. Ask classmates to identify shared interests and connect proposed terms to the company’s international goals.
4. Who Decides in a Global Alliance? (Chapters 7–8 / Alliances, structure, and control). Present an international joint venture facing disagreement over a key decision. Ask classmates to recommend decision rights and a way to monitor performance while preserving cooperation.
5. Helping Global Talent Succeed (Chapters 9–11 / International HRM, global careers, motivation, and leadership). Present an employee returning from an international assignment whose experience is being underused. Ask classmates to propose a career and leadership response that supports motivation and retains global knowledge.

Original topics are welcome, but you must obtain my approval before you begin compiling materials for your session. Propose a focused topic and briefly explain its connection to international management.

Give your session a clear shape

Open with a question, example, or dilemma that establishes the focus. Explain the relevant concept in your own words, then use a concrete example to help classmates apply it. Invite a brief response or decision from the class, and close by drawing the learning together into a clear takeaway. This is a flexible sequence; adapt it to your topic and delivery mode.

General guidance for success

Teach one meaningful idea well. A narrow question explored thoughtfully will help the class more than a broad collection of facts. Make the connection to international management explicit.

Explain the significance. Move beyond describing differences or listing concepts. Help classmates understand why the example matters, who is affected, and what it reveals about international management. Treat cultural patterns as a starting point for inquiry rather than assumptions about every individual.

Use evidence thoughtfully. Support factual claims with credible sources and identify them in your slides, infographic, video credits, or accompanying materials. Distinguish a company’s claims from independently supported results and your own interpretation. Use APA author–date citations where appropriate and provide enough source information for classmates to locate the material.

Design for your classmates. Keep text readable, visuals purposeful, and audio understandable. Caption video where possible. Explain unfamiliar terms and give the class enough context to participate.

Make participation purposeful. Ask a focused question or offer a short choice that helps classmates use the idea. Leave room to respond to what they say and connect their contributions to your takeaway.

Rehearse the whole session. Check the timing, media, and transitions. Have a simple backup if a link or video fails. Finish within 10 minutes with a clear statement of what classmates should carry forward.