Distance Teaching of
Cross-Cultural Marketing
-
Experiences from a
Survey with Students from Six European Countries
ABSTRACT
Annemarie Dalgas[i][ii]
The Aarhus School of Business
Denmark
In 1998 the Department of Marketing at The Aarhus School of Business together
with five other European universities2
participated in an EU supported project with the aim of teaching Cross-Cultural
marketing in a virtual cross cultural learning environment.
The basic idea behind the project was that the learning of Cross-cultural
marketing could benefit by the construction of a virtual environment in which
students and teachers from different cultures could exchange experiences. At
the outset of the project it was also recognised, however, that the inherent
characteristics of the subject of Cross-Cultural Marketing, potentially
represented an obstacle to the success of the programme.
The virtual environment consisted of an electronic classroom containing
course description, information on Open Distance Learning (ODL), lectures,
groups, plenum discussion, informal meeting place, and library. The teaching
was conducted by the Marketing Department at the Aarhus School of Business. The ten lectures consisted of
Power Point slides and cases. We intended the learning process to be a
combination of self-study (bibliography and lectures) and exchange of views in
groups and plenum. Twice a week the tutor was on-line for discussion and
questions.
At the end of the project a questionnaire was distributed to all
students. The most important finding was that students with previous experience
in group based teaching gained the most from the project. Among the respondents
there was also a broad consensus as to the question whether an introductory
face-to-face meeting of students and tutors, at one or more occasions, would
have improved the quality of the teaching programme. Other important findings
from the survey will be presented at the Cross Cultural Marketing conference in
Cancun.
The Virtual Student Mobility (VSM) programme[iii]
is an EU (SOKRATES) supported pilot project which had a two-year duration -
from 1996 to 1998. Lancaster University operated as both overall co-ordinator
and as partner in the project and the other partners were respectively the
University of Porto, Luiss University Rome, Athens University of Economics and
Business, Groupe ESC Lyon, and The Aarhus School of Business.
The overall intention of the VSM project was to provide the non-mobile
EU students with the opportunity to
become virtually mobile by creating six cross-cultural virtual learning
environments on the Internet which the students from the participating
universities could attend[iv].
The one semester modules were all on economics and business from various perspectives,
but they were taught differently in different EU cultures so that students may
be exposed to up to six different European cultures. They were all at master
level and the students were able to obtain ECTS credits just like in any other
exchange programme. The teaching materials and resources (e.g. lecture input,
reading lists, case-studies, tutorials, questions, etc.) were provided on-line,
and even tests and examinations were made available via the Internet. The
communication in the modules was intended to be based on dialogues amongst
students and tutors via the use of computer-conferencing (Lotus Notes). The underlying assumption of using computer
conferencing was that it has the potential of producing open communities, not
just regarding access, but in the sense of open-ended interpretation, active
communication, negotiation, and communicative action.
Another aim of the project was to evaluate the organisational obstacles
to using its approach to ODL and how they may be overcome. The cross-cultural
elements of the programme worked at two
levels: The contact between tutors and students took place in the virtual
settings and the project management also had a conference on the Internet
dedicated to co-ordinating activities, evaluation of student and staff
experience, planning of workshops, etc. The students never met, whereas the
project management held three workshops during the project.
The intentions of the Aarhus module "Cross Cultural
Marketing" were among other things to:
ˇ
Provide the students with an understanding of the problem-solving
process of international marketing by looking at marketing from a
cross-cultural perspective.
ˇ
To make the students familiar with topics like cross-cultural consumer
behaviour and market research, international marketing strategies, company and
culture, international product policy and distribution, cross-cultural
communication and advertising, and international relations and negotiations.
ˇ
To make the students work together in cross-cultural groups thus
exchanging ideas and opinions on marketing based on their national backgrounds.
ˇ
The assessment was intended to be based upon weekly responses on the
web, coursework assessment (in groups) and a final individual report.
The virtual environment consisted of an electronic classroom containing
course description, information on Open Distance Learning (ODL), lectures,
groups, plenum discussion, informal meeting place, and library. In the pedagogical design we wanted to
encourage two-way communication by including discussion forums and the student
café.
The module received 23 applications; 18 from Athens, 4 from Lancaster,
and 1 from Lyon. The uneven distribution of students had serious implications
for the original intention of cross-cultural collaboration and exchange of
experiences. The module ended up by consisting of Athens students only and the
activity in the discussion forums on the Internet was scarce. Many students selected the module because of
the cross-cultural elements and thus ironically they dropped out of the course
due to lack of cross-cultural co-operation. These phenomena are owing to both
pedagogical and organisational aspects which will be discussed in detail below. The remaining students (Greek) were
individualists who did not show any interest in group work, therefore the group
assessment part had to be left out of the evaluation. The student drop-out
number was generally high, but the students who passed the exam managed very
well.
Data on tutor and student experience was collected locally
after the termination of the one semester modules and co-ordinated by Lancaster
University. Furthermore, in order to assess the obstacles and the costs and benefits
of the ODL projects to the participating institutions data was gathered via
workshops and questionnaires.
Due to the difficulties the institutions faced regarding the
recruitment of students for the project only 46 students took part in the VSM experience
and completed their studies. The response rate of the student questionnaires
was 37 % (17 out of 46 students), the onset of summer holidays probably
influencing the number of responses[v].
Thus the results can in no way be said to be significant.
|
Host > Sender V |
AArhus |
Athens |
Lancaster |
* Lyon |
*LUISS |
Porto |
Total sent out |
|
Aarhus |
- |
4 |
1 |
1 |
- |
2 |
8 |
|
Athens |
18 |
- |
2 |
- |
- |
4 |
24 |
|
Lancaster |
4 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
6 |
|
Lyon |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
|
LUISS |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
2 |
|
Porto |
- |
- |
5 |
- |
- |
- |
5 |
|
Total received |
23 |
4 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
46 |
|
Applicn. |
24 |
4 |
12 |
2 |
0 |
11 |
59 |
|
Q'aire Returns |
3 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
17 |
Table 1 shows the numbers of students sent out from and received by
each partner institution.
Table 1: VSM Students sent out/received
* Provided in languages other than English.
According to the VSM contract the modules were supposed to be made
available in English and in the national language. However, most modules were
in English. It is striking that the two modules provided in languages other
than English received so few applications let alone VSM students who actively
started the modules. The LUISS module was taught in Italian and received no VSM
students. It indicates that it can be problematic to offer courses in languages
other than English in cross-cultural settings (at least when Spanish speaking
countries are left out).
|
|
Aarhus |
Athens |
Lancaster |
Lyon |
LUISS |
Porto |
Total |
|
Very much |
1 |
- |
1 |
1 |
- |
4 |
7 |
|
OK |
1 |
- |
3 |
- |
- |
1 |
5 |
|
Not much |
1 |
4 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
5 |
Table 2 shows the student gratification ratio distributed among the 17
respondents.
Table 2: How have you enjoyed participating in this type of course?
Table 2 indicates that most VSM students enjoyed taking the modules.
However, the most striking figure is Athens' module with 4 dissatisfied
students, namely four Danish participants. One of the reasons for this was the
fact that the Athens module suffered a serious university server break-down
lasting almost 4 weeks of the 10 weeks course which caused many difficulties
both to the Danish students attending Athens' module and to the students from
Athens. The Danish students decided to meet once a week to discuss course
literature, assignments, problems, etc. which in fact made it a very valuable
learning experience for them. As one of them writes in the questionnaire:
"We feel that we have done a very large piece of work and have actually,
due to our own activity, learned a lot from this course". Yet the learning process was basically owing
to the students' own initiative and ability to work together as a group, not to
the pedagogical structuring of the module on the Internet.
However, despite the technical and other difficulties encountered, most students considered the VSM
participation a valuable experience, and 10 of 17 students would like to take
similar courses in the future, 3 responded "maybe"[vi]
|
|
Aarhus |
Athens |
Lancast. |
Lyon |
LUISS |
Porto |
Total |
|
I was able to study at my own pace |
3 |
- |
3 |
1 |
- |
1 |
8 |
|
I was able to study when it suited me |
2 |
- |
4 |
1 |
- |
2 |
9 |
|
The courses contained all the information I needed |
- |
- |
3 |
- |
- |
3 |
6 |
|
I like sharing information in the discussion conferences |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
3 |
|
The discussion conferences gave me the info. I needed |
- |
- |
2 |
- |
- |
1 |
3 |
If we look more closely at the various factors constituting an ODL
course the students were asked about the aspects which made ODL an effective
learning experience.
The table indicates that, for VSM students, the aspects which most
contributed to the effectiveness of the learning experience were the
individualistic factors such as being able to work at one's own pace, when one
wants to, rather than the collective aspects of the discussion conferences. The
discussion conferences contributed less to the course effectiveness in the
students' perceptions. This point is central to the overall intention of the
project, which was to provide students with the same benefits of cultural
immersion, as with physical mobility, without living abroad by means of the
cross-cultural communication in the conferences. The findings suggest that
discussion conferences may have limited value to students who prefer to operate
as instrumental distance learners rather than immersing themselves in a
cross-cultural dialogue through the media of computer conferencing[vii]
The findings also support the general assumption among ODL researchers that the
type of student likely to be successful in distance education settings are
students who are more independent, who are highly motivated, and who exhibit a
high degree of personal self-efficacy[viii]
However, one may speculate as to whether the students' perception of
the discussion conferences as ineffective has more to do with the structuring
and the pedagogical planning of the use of the conferences than with
disinclination to use them as cross-cultural communication channels. In
fact many students expressed the need
for more discussion and activity in the questionnaires. However, the general
tendency was scarce communication in the discussion conferences. The section on
pedagogical aspects below will discuss
these matters more thoroughly.
The following table contributes to the understanding of the factors
which, according to the students, made the VSM experience a less effective
learning experience.
Table 4: Which of the following aspects made this a less effective
learning experience for you? Indicate all aspects you felt had an influence:
|
|
Aarhus |
Athens |
Lancaster |
Lyon |
LUISS |
Porto |
Total |
|
It was hard to find enough time to participate adequately |
1 |
- |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
4 |
|
I felt isolated |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
- |
2 |
|
I needed more support and encouragement to learn efficiently |
- |
4 |
1 |
1 |
- |
2 |
8 |
|
The course did not include the information I needed |
1 |
4 |
- |
1 |
- |
1 |
7 |
|
The discussion conference did not give me the info. I needed |
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
- |
- |
8 |
The table clearly shows that lack of sufficient information, whether
supplied by the web or via the discussion conference, was the main factor
contributing to the lack of learning effectiveness experienced. Therefore,
apart from the technical difficulties using the Lotus Notes discussion software
which will be discussed later, other interesting conclusions can be made from
the survey regarding the effectiveness of the ODL learning approach in a
cross-cultural setting:
ˇ
apparently, the tutors lacked the facilitation
skills to make better use of the conferences.
ˇ
Apparently, the students were not properly introduced to the new way of
learning and communicating, including thorough local instruction to using the
Lotus Notes conferencing software.
ˇ
Apparently, different teaching/learning cultures at the different
partner institutions militated against collective discussions in some cases.
As to the third point, experiences from the Aarhus vs. Athens cultural
encounter e.g. showed that the Athens students were generally more
individualistic making it very difficult to encourage group communication. The
communication in "Cross Cultural Marketing" therefore basically consisted of individual e-mails. This was also the case in Athens' own module
in which no discussion conferences existed. The Danish students therefore
decided to work collectively in a very well-organised way while expressing the
Know-All - attitude and the "professional accuracy" which are typical
traits of the Danish national character[ix]
in their communication with the Greek tutor. The Danish students managed the
course very successfully due to their close co-operation.
Concludingly, the study of the students' experience of the VSM project
suggests that ODL modules are a viable way to study abroad and receive academic
credit. However, institutions wishing to encourage such opportunities must
attend to the technical and administrative difficulties and even more
importantly to the facilitative skills of the teaching staff. Institutions
should not assume that a tutor skilled at face to face teaching will
necessarily be able to transfer those skills to electronic media even when
these offer the possibility of group discussion.
The very factors which make ODL modules effective (i.e. individuals can
work at their own pace and time) mean that interaction will be at least
asynchronous and disjointed and sometimes may cease inexplicably causing
general consternation and anxiety amongst all would-be participants. The
emotional highs and lows of this form of educational process should not be
under-estimated, especially where group conferences are regarded as a major
vehicle for teaching and learning. Therefore, if institutions want to make VSM
a cultural as well as a distance learning experience they will have to pay more
attention to the design of electronic learning environments and the
facilitation skills of the tutors. However, other factors such as e.g. administrative
and organisational differences among the European cultures also play a major
role in the facilitation of ODL as a cross cultural learning experiment.
Three main themes tended to be predominant as regards the experiences
of the VSM institutions:
ˇ
Technical
ˇ
Pedagogical
ˇ
Administrative
The observations below are based upon the questionnaires (qualitative,
open-ended) from Lancaster to each institution including matters such as
obstacles to and costs of producing the modules, questions to tutors about
positive and negative aspects of teaching in the ODL fashion compared to
ordinary face-to-face lectures, and questions about the institutions'
dissemination plans, etc.
It is not the intention of this paper to go into details about
technical matters, but instead consider the matters concerning technology which
are important seen from a cross-cultural perspective. One of the ideas about
the VSM project was that a common technological platform should provide a way
of sharing development effort and was also the best way to ensure easy access
to the various modules for staff and students in all institutions. The
conferencing- and database system Lotus Notes[x]
was chosen by Lancaster as the common communication platform for the project.
However, it turned out that only three partners managed to make Lotus Notes
work and to integrate the system into the tutoring and project management work
process. Therefore the technical, organisational and educational co-operation via the Internet did not work out as
originally intended and the communication with the three partners which did not
use Lotus Notes had to take place by fax, telephone, and bilateral e-mail.
The VSM partners basically faced the same technical problems which had
to be overcome:
ˇ
The main reason for the disinclination to use Lotus Notes was that the
programme required a substantial amount of system administrator support which
was felt to be particularly cumbersome and expensive by the countries of the
"less-favoured" regions of the EU. Instead they made use of existing
systems.
ˇ
The unexpected amount of e- mail inquiries from students about
technical and administrative matters concerning partners' courses reduced the
time left for cross-cultural co-operation via Lotus Notes.
ˇ
Generally, the amount of support, be it technical, administrative, or
pedagogical, was under-estimated by most partners.