Leading Across Borders: Culture, Mobility, and Virtuality

Introduksjon

Please note that this is a preliminary course description. The final version will be published in June 2026.

In an increasingly globalized world, where organizations are seeking to attract international talents and where individuals are increasingly mobile, cultural awareness and cross-cultural leadership knowledge and skills are essential. Organizations also need to adjust their human resources management practices to deal better with cultural diversity.

In this course using organizational and psychological research, we explore the concepts of culture, mobility, cross-cultural leadership, and international human resource management.  We examine how culture and cultural differences influence human behaviour in the workplace. We discuss the different types of international mobility and their respective challenges and opportunities. We examine how culture and leadership are intertwined, discuss how cultural diversity affects human resource management, especially within multinational corporations, and discuss leadership in global virtual settings. Finally, we discuss how cultural diversity and its management can trigger ethical dilemmas.

This course will provide the students with a theoretical, analytical, and experience-based foundation for understanding the challenges involved in leading a culturally diverse workforce.

Kursets innhold

Topics covered:

• The construct of culture
• Central theories and research for understanding cultural differences, including comparative theories/research and indigenous theories/research.
• Central theories and research for understanding international mobility, including research on expatriation and migration
• Central theories and research for understanding cross-cultural leadership and human resource management, including research on cultural intelligence and leadership development, leadership across cultures, and human resource management practices in multinational corporations.
• Central theories and research on leadership in global virtual settings, including research on leadership effectiveness and its determinants in global virtual teams.
• Ethical dilemmas associated with the management of cultural diversity in the workplace.