PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

This program proposed by Grenoble Ecole de Management to undergraduate business students is the perfect combination between enhancing students' business education and experiencing life in a new environment.

During three weeks, international students will have the chance to attend intensive courses in European Business and Intercultural Management, learn survival French sentences, interact with top managers during company visits, discover local culture and socialize with people from around the world in a highly international city.

Some participants are seeking credit towards their studies at their home institutions. Some see the Summer Sessions as a useful prelude - or affordable alternative - to longer-term study abroad. Whatever reasons for attending, participants will be sure to experience a challenging and fulfilling summer in Grenoble.

The intercultural skills acquired during their time abroad, as well as the international outlook provided by the courses, will provide an inestimable advantage for participants in their studies and in their further careers.

Program and Modules
All teaching is done in English. Each business course is worth 3 US credit hours or 6 ECTS credit hours. The Survival French course is worth 1.5 US credit hours or 3 ECTS credit hours. All credits can be transferred to your home institution. However, it is your responsibility to verify with your advisor and/or department that the credits you earn in Grenoble can be applied to your curriculum or course of study. Your home institution may ask for an additional fee to transfer the credits.

The program includes two undergraduate courses conducted by Grenoble Ecole de Management faculty:

1- Intercultural Management - 30 hour course (3 US or 6 ECTS credits) 

This course, entirely in English,  is designed to provide an introduction to cultural differences for international managers. The explosive growth in international business and trade has created a highly interrelated and interdependent world in which people from various nations and cultures must work together effectively.

Intercultural exposure - travel, foreign language study, interactions with cultural practices and norms other than one’s own - represents a singular moment in an individual’s personal history and permanently alters his or her worldview.

How does this experience serve to shape national, regional, and local identities?
How does it affect attitudes and organizational practices in the corporate world?
By attempting to define the prickly notion of ‘culture’and its relation to globalization, we may begin to observe its primordial influence in daily interactions and communication processes, and how can it be understood from a multi-dimensional perspective.
 
In this course we explore the above questions through the comparative window of the French culture, with the good fortune of doing so ‘from the inside’ while studying in Grenoble. Through the use of ethnography, participant observation, case studies, theories of culture, and role plays, we embark on a journey towards the world of ‘the other’ with the ultimate goals of :

• shedding light on our own cultural limitations and assumptions
• gaining practical insights into interactively managing cultural differences in the professional and personal spheres.
• Participation in the class is a critical element of the learning process and will allow you to get the most out of this exciting plunge into inter-cultural differences. As participants, you are expected to read assigned articles and prepare exercises and/or case studies before each class.

Doing Business in Europe - 30 hour course (3 US or 6 ECTS credits) 
The aim of this course is to give students some insights into the complexities of the European environment from a business culture and legal viewpoint. It also explores the different ways in which the European Union institutions now have a determining influence on any company working in or with the European Single Market. Some key issues include the single currency, competition policy, trade policy, and prospective enlargement of the EU.

The course will be delivered through sessions of lectures, debate, short casework and short group activities. The lectures should be limited to 1 hour sessions, followed by group work, debate etc.

These are the main topics of the course:

1 – The European Union 

1. Structure, specific nature, political system and decision-making process. The key institutions: the Council of Ministers, the Commission, the Parliament, the Court of Justice, the European Central Bank
2. Historical development since 1959 and the Treaty of Rome. Waves of enlargement. Internal and external pressures that have incited European integration. Some theory: functional versus federational integration
3. Legal authority of EU.
   The Court of Justice. The relations between member states and the Court of Justice. The EU budget and major policies: the CAP (common agricultural policy) the regional and the social policies
4. External relations
   The Triad ; the EU, the US, and ASIA. The role of the EU Trade Commissioner in International Trade Relations
5. Enlargement…
   The future of EU. The political dimension of enlargement.
6. The future of the EU
   Towards the United States of Europe?

2 – The European Union and Enterprise

1. The single market: development, how single?
   Current status and future development.
   The role of lobbying and its importance to EU firms
2. The single currency: beginnings, aims, strengths, weaknesses.
   The ECB (European Central Bank) and its structure, its mission.
   The euro vs. the dollar.
3. Competition policy: ‘anti-trust’.
   The main weapons used by the Commission.
   The car sector.
   The air transport sector. 2 short cases on each.
4. EU Enlargement and the commercial aspects.
   The shift from planned to free market economies.
   The economics of enlargement: immigration, agriculture and environment.
   Free movement of people and labour mobility.
5. External relations.
   EU and trade representation.
   Trade conflicts with US.
   The role of the WTO.
6. Employment law in the EU and a Case Study

In order to get an overview of the European union prior to arrival, you can visit the following websites:
www.eurunion.org – the site for US students of EU
www.europa.eu.int – the European Commission’s official site

It is strongly recommended that students acquire "Understanding the EU: a concise introduction"

Each course is comprised of ten three hours sessions. Each student will receive three US credits per course (6 ECTS credits) which are transferable to their home university with prior approval.

Pre-reading requirements

Before the course starts, participants will be asked to read some documents. These will be added soon.

3 - Survival French - 30 hour course (3 US or 6 ECTS credits) 
This module will provide students with the basis of French language, reviving the knowledge in French studied at school or college. Students will learn how to face daily situations. They will acquire the language necessary to survive in a foreign country and they will be given the basic tools to integrate this new culture.

This module uses a variety of communicative teaching methods as well as authentic documents to ensure effective learning. Students will be working in pairs or in groups and experience role-playing as often as possible.

At the end of this course the student will be able to:

• introduce him/herself, his/her family and friends
• express his/her tastes
• speak about his/her country
• buy something
• order food and drinks

The capacity in understanding a simple conversation directly connected with what has been studied will be evaluated such as the capacity of the students to introduce him/herself. Students will be evaluated on a written paper where they will have to reproduce (vocabulary, verbs, sentences…) a situation or a dialogue learned in class and on grammar exercises.

Schedule 
Program Costs. The International Summer Session includes:

• 3 courses (15 ECTS credits, 7.5 US credits):
  • Doing Business in Europe (6 ECTS credits, 3 US credits)
  • Intercultural Management (6 ECTS credits, 3 US credits)
  • Survival French (3 ECTS credits, 1.5 US credits) 
• A day trip to Geneva and Annecy with:
  • A visit to the WTO in Geneva
  • Free time in Geneva and Annecy
  • A Savoyard dinner in Annecy
• Company visits to be determined
• A mountain excursion including lunch (Chartreuse Caves and Forest Park)
• A wine tasting course
• A farewell dinner at La Bastille overlooking the city 

Registration deadline:        April 20, 2007

• Arrival date:                       May 14, 2007
• Courses start:                    May 21, 2007
• Courses end:                     June 8, 2007

Please note that the total number of participants is limited to 40.