From Intercultural Management to Leadership and Management Studies

As of September 2008, the specialization in Leadership and Management Studies ( LMS) replaces the specialization in Intercultural Management. We are very excited about this development, but not because we are leaving behind the concerns and issues that have generated interest in Intercultural Management over the years. The new specialization will keep the best aspects of the Intercultural Management curriculum, while sharpening the focus on the relationship between leadership and management.

As a specialization within the CBS Masters of Science in Business, Languages, and Culture (or cand. merc. int.), LMS will maintain the same strong focus on the conduct of business activities in a variety of international and regional contexts. The program will still encourage participants to arrange internships and exchange semesters abroad. The curriculum will still continue to emphasize case analysis and discussion; to combine conventional, alternative and critical perspectives; and to incorporate theoretical and practical insights from a variety of different academic disciplines.

So why the change?

Perhaps the most important reason for the change came out of a series of ongoing conversations with successful graduates and alumni of Intercultural Management. In those conversations it became clear that very few of them find jobs in “Intercultural Management” per se. Yes, most of them work in international or culturally dynamic organizations. But the common thread uniting their career trajectories is leadership— within a few years of graduation, virtually all of them have taken on leadership roles and responsibilities of various sorts. Whether they do consulting, HR, project or product management, business development, research, marketing, branding, stakeholder relations, or international aid and development for an NGO, their job require them to participate directly in the leading and shaping of their organizations at a variety of different levels.

Clearly the specialization in Intercultural Management had helped prepare them for these activities along the way. But we decided that it makes more sense to focus our energies directly on the issues and skills that make for effective leadership in international and regional contexts. Towards this end we will continue to draw on the expertise and experience of our former graduates, both by inviting them into the classroom, and by encouraging them to invite participants in the new specialization in Leadership and Management Studies into the existing network of Intercultural Management alumni.

By Eric Guthey, Line Coordinator, Leadership and Management Studies