The Most Diverse Class – Cross Cultural Management BUS 511

Diversity and inclusion is the hot topic on many people’s minds. Here at the University of Portland, in the Pamplin School of Business, we are especially proud to say that we have the most diverse faculty and staff on campus. As far as classes go, Dr. Sam Holloway’s class, Cross Cultural Management BUS 511, easily personifies diversity as his class is made up of only three students from the United States, and the rest from countries around the world.

On the last day of class, Paavan Shetty, a student from Bangalore, India, gave a presentation on expatriate paradoxes and cultural involvement.  The presentation sets out to explore and explain how nine paradoxes inherent to the expatriate experience affected different areas in business, including the degree to which an expatriate becomes involved in a foreign country and works interdependently with host country nationals, referred to as cultural involvement. The outcome indicated that the more an expatriate became involved in the local culture, the more they were likely to experience the paradoxes. These paradoxes fall into four categories of cultural intelligence, mediation, self-identity, and cautious optimism. This lesson is important in today’s global business environment as organizations are having to learn how to mediate between many different cultural values, while ensuring intercultural effectiveness.

Since a majority of the Prof. Holloway’s is in the seat of an expatriate, it was an even more informative lesson as each person was able to bring their cultural points of view to the discussion.

Professor Holloway stated, “This is the best part of my job! I have learned so much more from my students during this semester than any other.”

For the next segment of the class, Jay Lindmann, Senior Director of Strategic Brand Planning & Operations for NIKE North America, came to discuss his experience as an expatriate in China. He was able to put into context the paradoxes and cultural involvement that he had experienced working in China for a small shoe company in his early 20’s and then for NIKE Asia in more recent years.

The Pamplin School of Business is proud to consistently offer classes that are more than presentations from textbooks, as they incorporate speakers who can bring real world experience to the materials taught in class. 

We are happy that all our International Students feel welcome, included and contented to share their intercultural views with the class.  We wish them every success going forward. Go Pilots!