Combining Multicultural Management and Diversity Into One Course on Cultural Competence

Business educators cannot simply teach undergraduate and graduate students that cultural differences matter. They must equip students to understand how cultural differences work and thus how to turn cultural competence into a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, undergraduate and graduate courses in multicultural management tend to fall short of this goal. They identify cultural management skills required for success in today's business environment, then examine gaps between those target competencies and current teaching in multicultural management, and the source of those gaps in the courses' conceptual foundations. The unified course they are proposing would better prepare students as future managers in today's global, diverse business environment. However, instructors following their suggestions should not expect their efforts at curricular change to be easy or popular. They are likely to encounter at least three challenges. First, colleagues in a faculty member's home department may not be supportive. Second, a substantial amount of work will be required. Third, students will not necessarily be pleased.