Developing Global Graduate Capabilities: Integrating Business, Language and Culture in an Interdisciplinary Space

Abstract

A new undergraduate unit of study, “Doing Business with Europe” (DBWE), was developed in an Australian Business School as an elective combining three elements: business, culture and language. The aim was for students to develop intercultural competencies for a global business context, and also to introduce them to cultural and linguistic aspects of the focus European country/countries. The inclusion of a linguistic element into a business unit is unusual in business courses in Australia and there was some concern that it might not appeal to students. In our experience, this was not the case: students enjoyed the unusual language taster component in a business unit. The unit was developed and taught by two lecturers in the Business School, both with a background in language teaching and education. Essential dilemmas facing staff developing and teaching the unit included: selection of the business/political content to be addressed; how to divide the content between the three elements of the unit; what achievement expectations could be placed on students; how to develop and assess global intercultural skills; and curriculum and organizational issues in the university context. Another interesting aspect in relation to curriculum development is that the unit involved team teaching and thus provided an ideal situation for ongoing reflection and continuous improvement. This chapter discusses the above issues and shows how student achievement in the various elements was fostered, captured and assessed.