Multinational Management (BUS 2207) at UoPeople

In this entry, I would like to talk about Multinational Management (BUS 2207) at the UoPeople. It’s an extremely informative course, focused on operating a business and working in foreign countries. You learn about different business models, cultural models, negotiation and multicultural communication, cultural awareness and gaffes, diversity, expatriate staff, corporate social responsibility, cross-cultural teams, risk management, and so on. I wouldn’t say that it’s a lightweight course nor very demanding, but just in the middle.

My class had only 18 students. It was initially more than that, but many students dropped out by the third week. I’ve talked about how I like small classes and their benefits several times, so I wouldn’t go into it here, again. My instructor had been working in business management and higher education for several years. We didn’t get to know her qualification, but given her instructing style and knowledge, she was very qualified in my view. She expected college-level writing, insightful discussions, real-life applications of class concepts, full course participation throughout the term, and peer assessment that provided constructive and meaningful feedback. She also gave grades based on your work rather than what you wish for. In short, she expected effort and time put into your work, and wanted students to answer all the assignment questions. There were several instances in the course where students didn’t address the questions fully, and she deducted points for that. Thankfully I got 100% in all assignments as my word count always ranged from around 1000-1500 words. The instructor also expected students to give feedback to other peers in the Discussion Forum in at least 150 words. Though she wasn't very strict about it, she despised one-liners and responses like “great work,” etc. Moreover, the instructor had zero tolerance for plagiarism and told us upfront that she scans all the assignments in the course for plagiarism. And if she found anything plagiarized or not properly cited via APA, she would give zero for the work. She throughout the course sent encouraging and helpful messages to students that were polite and kind, unlike the intimidating messages sent by my Micro/Macroeconomics instructor last year.

When the course started, the instructor gave us a questionnaire and told us that she would give us 10 points if we filled it. The questionnaire was very interesting and combined emotional intelligence with various business settings. At the end of the course, the instructor adjusted the points in the assignments. The class was exceptionally civil in the course. Most of the students were quite mature, both in terms of age and thinking. It was also one of the politest classes I have taken at the UoPeople, with students showing mutual respect and praise for one another.

There is no assigned book for the course. Actually, there are two, but the course doesn’t reveal them. It only provides pages of the book to you to read each week. You can download the books from the .zip folder given in the course repository. If you can't find them, then Google "business-fundamentals-4.3" and "When Cultures Collide: LEADING ACROSS CULTURES Richard D. Lewis Nicholas Brealey International." You can download the books from my Google Drive, in case you can't find them online: HERE and HERE. Each week you’ve to read a great deal from different articles, links, and pages of the book. The problem with the course is that the instructions aren’t clear but confusing for reading material, and they don’t correspond to the questions asked in the course. That is why it is significant to download the entire book from the course repository rather than reading just the chunks provided to you each week. In some weeks, the reading material doesn’t even match the asked question. Speaking of the book, one of them was extraordinarily dull and not helpful at all. It’s one of those courses where you’re on your own when it comes to reading. However, you can only do well on the course if you read, because all the Graded Quizzes and exam questions come directly from the readings.

In the course, you write 8 Discussion posts, 8 Learning Journals, and 3 Written Assignments. You don’t have to submit Written Assignments every week, and there’s plenty of gap between them. In the Written Assignments, you have to write lengthy papers on international real-life case studies. They are rather fascinating. In the Discussion Assignments and Learning Journals, you’ve to come with examples from your country or explain how you would do things in an international setting, like negotiating a contract, working in a cross-cultural team, hiring an international staff vs. local staff, and so on. In the Written Assignments, you’ve to analyze real-life case studies of Nike, an international hotel chain, and a textile service provider. The Written Assignments were quite fun but required you to write at least 4-6 pages.

The Graded Quizzes of BUS 2207 were straightforward though. You’ve to answer 25 questions within 40 mins in the 3rd and 6th week of the course. The Graded Quizzes contained definitions and everything else you read in the course. I felt it was one of the courses where everything came out of the weekly readings. The Quizzes also had unique questions where you’ve to “match each word to its correct definition” and “select one or more answers” (checkboxes). It’s the only course at the UoPeople where I had seen such distinctive questions.

As for the Final Exam of BUS 2207, the format was pretty much like the Graded Quizzes. It wasn’t difficult. Some of the questions came straight out of the Final Review Quiz. You get 90mins (1hr 30mins) to answer only 35 questions! I was done in 48mins. It had no math involved but just questions on definitions, terms, concepts, and everything else you learned in the course. In contrast, I had to answer 60 questions in 1hr with the math involved in another course at the UoPeople. I’m not sure why the UoPeople’s allotted time is so inconsistent across courses. 90 mins for just 35 questions are simply an overkill. Whereas, 1hr for 60 questions with math is just isn’t enough in my view. In the end, I ended up getting an A, and I am pleased with my effort.

In a nutshell, it’s a very enlightening class. The reading material was my only beef with the class as it didn’t correspond well with the questions or was mismatched in some weeks. You also don’t know where to read to write about the Discussion/Learning Journals. Nonetheless, the only way you can do well in the course is by reading, as everything comes out of it on the exam/Graded Quizzes. Therefore, don’t skip any of it. I left feedback on the course evaluation questionnaire, and I hope that the school fixes the shortcomings.