Abstract Title: To adapt, or not to adapt, that is the question – How Swedish companies view cultural differences in Asia and adapt if necessary Authors: Felix Norgren and Markus Bodbacka Supervisor: Selcen Öztürkcan Examiner: Susanne Sandberg Course: 19VT-2FE51E Business Administration III ­ Degree Project with specialization in International Business Problem discussion: The problem regarding this research-subject is that there is not as much recent research as one might think regarding this specific area. The problem is access to recent research made on how Swedish companies adapt to Asian business cultures. Research Question: How do Swedish companies view cultural differences in Asia and adapt if necessary? Purpose:  The main purpose of this study is to identify how companies view cultural differences and adapt if necessary. The purpose is also to provide such good material that companies could benefit from reading it in order to prepare themselves to work in different Asian cultures. Methodology: This is a qualitative study, which is using interviews as the source to collect primary data. The study is done with an inductive approach and based on a case study design. Conclusion: The conclusion is that before having meetings with other cultures, it is always favourable to read and learn as much about the customers culture as possible and if necessary, take a course on how to interact with other cultures. However, interacting with individuals from other cultures face to face is always the best way to learn and it is favourable to travel as much as possible to other cultures in order to learn about them.     Key Words: Culture, relationship, code of conduct, cross-cultural learning.

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Collaboration between institutions in distance learning has been practiced for decades at first domestically and now expanding to an international level. Many higher education institutions are also trying to globalize their learning environments through the internationalization process, especially through the curriculum. A review of the extant literature, however, revealed that collaboration efforts are characterized more by infusion of content from one country to another. Collaboration between two different countries, however, is much more meaningful if both parties are equally involved in co-designing, sharing, and implementing such learning experiences. Such a two-way collaboration process is a missing gap in the literature, which the present study has addressed. This study examined the process of developing a two-way collaborative learning experience between one of the universities in the United States of America and a university in a developing Asian country. The global question that guided this research was: What is involved in the process of developing and designing on-line learning between two different countries; and What are the challenges faced during the process? The research design was a qualitative case study of a process, based on Miles and Huberman's (1994) classification. A micro monitoring process, complemented by interviews with key individuals, was conducted to collect the data. Different sources of data (Yin, 1984) or triangulation (Krathwohl, 1997) was a strategy used to increase the validity of the study. Through the micro monitoring process, all documents such as e-mails, meeting notes, and personal notes were collected and analyzed. Categorization and coding procedures followed Coffey and Artkinson (1996): that is, coding as a "mixture of data reduction and data complication." All the data (from interviews and the micro monitoring process) were reported, analyzed, and interpreted from two different but complementary voices: the voice of reporter and the voice of analyst. The voice of reporter revealed a chronology of events and description whereas the analyst interpreted the meaning of the reporter's descriptive portion. Analysis revealed three major phases that evolved in the process of collaboration: initiation, pre-development, and development. Each phase consisted of several specific activities. The major challenges faced during the process evolved around technical matters. Cultural differences, technical expertise, institutional procedures, financial, and time differences were also a challenge to the process. This study besides confirming some practices also broadened and deepened the concept of collaboration and internationalizing the curriculum. Moreover, this study was able to recommend the follow up development of a process framework for developing and co-designing a collaborative on-line learning experience that involves two different countries. / Ph. D.

Expatriates’ adjustment to the host-country culture is a dynamic and gradual process. This process can be facilitated by cross-cultural training. The relationship between cross-cultural training and crosscultural adjustment has been explored to a great extent in the literature, however scholars have mainly put focus on how this relationship unfolds in the context of MNCs offering CCT in-house. Consequently, this leaves an interesting uninvestigated gap in terms of how fully integrated relocation service companies work with cross-cultural services and how their work can facilitate cross-cultural adjustment. This qualitative case-study therefore aims to examine the relationship between crosscultural training provided by a relocation service company and the expatriate adjustment process. An extensive review on existing theories concerning cross-cultural adjustment, cross-cultural training and cross-cultural learning are presented. After this, the case study examines how Nordic Relocation Group (NRG), a relocation service company in Sweden, operates in terms of providing cross-cultural services. The findings indicate that the relocation service company’s services are divided into different phases, whereby the timing and content of services offered varies as the expatriates’ international assignment develops over time. This form of tailoring the cross-cultural training and the content of their services supports the notion of sequential training, which within IHRM literature, is proposed as optimal in order to facilitate the expatriate’s adjustment process. Moreover, the results further indicate that the way in which NRG works with cross-cultural services, in terms of strategy, sequential order, and specific CCT activities offered, promotes effective cross-cultural learning. Consequently, the CCT strategies offered by the relocation service company can be viewed as being aligned with best practice.

The concept of interprofessional practice and education is not new but has recently gained attention as the result of a paradigm shift in the future of healthcare and how it is delivered and financed. Universities are now addressing ways to incorporate interprofessional education and learning experiences into the curriculum to ensure graduating healthcare professionals are competent to collaborate as a team and deliver quality effective healthcare. A regional research university in East Tennessee with health programs across five Health Science colleges (Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Public Health), Psychology, and Social Work has offered an interprofessional rural course for more than six years. The two-semester course is focused on vulnerable or underserved populations and rural communities in the south central Appalachian region. Each course section comprised of 8 to 10 students is led by a team of two or more faculty who represent a cross section of healthcare disciplines and focuses on a specific population or community. The student groups develop interprofessional working relationships among each other and faculty while partnering with rural communities. Using a community-based participatory research approach they prioritize health needs, and develop and implement evidence-based strategies to address the identified needs. Interprofessional education, cross cultural learning, and a university/community partnership within the context of the Hispanic migrant farmworker population are addressed in this paper. The course process, target population, cultural learning, and student outcomes are specifically discussed.

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This thesis explores the Indigenous pedagogy modeled in the university course Thunderbird/Whale Protection and Welcoming Pole: Learning and Teaching in an Indigenous World. This case study uses primary data from in depth, retrospective interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants, as well as document data, to explore the pedagogy and impacts of this course. The research links Indigenous epistemological perspectives with the cultural practices of learning and teaching used. The development of a learning community was part of how Indigenous pedagogy was established through shared goals and principles, respectful relationships and community responsibility. Experiential learning took an Indigenous focus through observation and active engagement in carving and group projects, and through reflective practices and ceremony. The perceived impacts and influences of this course included building cross cultural bridges through the breaking down of cultural barriers, and the development of personal and professional awareness. The course also illuminated the cultural implications of education and demonstrated to Indigenous communities that the university was opening its doors to Indigenous pedagogical practices and culture.