Explore the role of culture in international business with this free online course for university students. Learn how cultural differences can shape communication, management, and working in diverse teams through videos, activities and real business examples. Develop insights that can support your studies today and help prepare you for internships, international opportunities and your future career.
About This eLearning Course
Success in international business is not only shaped by markets, finance, or strategy. Culture can influence how people build trust, communicate ideas, make decisions, respond to authority, and work with others. This course introduces some of the key concepts behind intercultural communication, helping you explore why approaches that feel natural in one culture may be understood very differently in another.
As well as understanding others, you will be encouraged to reflect on your own cultural preferences and assumptions. This helps build intercultural competence and the wider cultural intelligence needed to approach diversity with greater awareness, curiosity and flexibility. Whether you go on to work internationally, join a multicultural team or manage people across cultures, these insights can help prepare you for the situations you may encounter.
The course is free, but you must have a valid university email address to access it. SCORM files are available for LMS upload.
Discover why understanding culture is important in international business and what can happen when organizations overlook local expectations.
You will begin by looking at the difference between cultural generalizations and stereotypes before exploring real business examples involving eBay, Airbnb and Deliveroo. These cases demonstrate how differences around trust, relationships, consumer expectations and behavior can influence the success of international business models.
Explore three cultural dimensions that offer a practical framework for making sense of different ways of thinking, communicating and working.
You will examine individualism and collectivism, hierarchy and egalitarianism, and task and relationship orientation. Interactive activities allow you to compare cultural tendencies and explore your own preferences, helping you understand how cultural dimensions can provide useful clues without defining individuals or reducing people to stereotypes.
Move from theory into practice by exploring how culture can influence intercultural communication, cross cultural management and global teams.
Through scenarios and intercultural communication examples, you will examine direct and indirect communication, feedback, speaking up, leadership expectations, decision making and trust. You will also explore how different expectations can affect multicultural teams and virtual collaboration, and how diversity of thought and perspective can become a strength when differences are recognized and managed effectively.
Bring the course together by considering what these insights could mean for your future studies, internships and career.
You will explore the importance of curiosity, empathy, self awareness and adaptability when working across cultures, as well as practical ways to continue developing your intercultural competence. These include seeking international experiences, working with people from different backgrounds, reflecting on your own cultural preferences, learning languages and building an international network. You can also download a certificate of completion to reference on your CV.
Continue your learning through a collection of free resources covering international business and intercultural communication.
You will find articles, business culture guides, intercultural management guides and videos that allow you to explore cultural differences in greater depth, including their impact on international business, communication, management and working across cultures.
Course Content
The course combines concepts from international business and intercultural communication with practical examples, quizzes, scenarios and opportunities for self reflection. Rather than simply teaching facts about different countries, it introduces frameworks that can help you understand why people may approach communication, relationships, authority, decision making and teamwork in different ways.
Across five chapters, you will move from understanding why culture matters to exploring cultural dimensions and how they influence workplace behavior. You will then apply these insights to communication, cross cultural management, diversity and global teams, before considering how you can continue developing your awareness as you move from university into your future career.
“The elearning is exactly what we wanted for our employees and gave a good understanding of Saudi culture.”
A. BinZeid
HR Business Partner
“Thank you for this valuable event and for a formidable masterclass. It was eye-opening and fascinating.”
V. Hodgkinson
Training Manager Retail
“This has been my favourite training program to date. I’ve found the discussions really rich. It’s helped me connect with and better understand my colleagues. ”
M. Dupont
Marketing Manager
“I found the training with the provider the best in all the training I have attended over the years – which are many.”
S. Kveder
Team Manager
“Invaluable sessions for our leadership team. Well done on creating such a fun space to collaborate and share ideas. ”
L. Cruz
Talent Development
“This program left me with lots of important takeaways that are essential to my role. I feel more confident in driving positive outcomes.”
C. Jones
Global Mobility
“Superb. We will definitely be using you again!”
D. Brain
Chief Executive (EMEA)
“100% what we needed. I am hoping this session will highlight potential challenges and how we need to approach things differently.”
G. Whipp
Regional Head of Sales
“Eye-opening and insightful—this workshop really made me think about things I didn’t even know needed thinking about.”
M. Tufro
Learning & Development Manager
Just sign up with your university email address to access the free course and start exploring how culture shapes international business, communication, management and global teamwork.
You can also continue your learning through our business culture guides and intercultural management guides, which explore how communication styles, workplace expectations, leadership and business practices vary across countries and cultures.
For further insight, browse our intercultural articles and free cultural awareness videos, covering topics such as intercultural competence, cultural intelligence, global teams, communication and the impact of culture on international business.
You can buy an individual license to a course for $50 (some courses may be priced differently). This gives you instant access to the course for 1 year via our website. If you want to buy a SCORM file for use on an LMS, then the fee is $2,500. You can also buy team or group licenses to all courses – contact us for pricing.
Course length depends on the topic, but most of our online cross cultural courses take approximately 60 minutes to complete. Each course is broken into clear, manageable modules that learners can complete at their own pace with 24/7 access.
Designed as both a training experience and an ongoing reference tool, the content is practical, comprehensive, and accessible whenever needed. Shorter and longer formats are available depending on the subject matter.
Yes, our cross cultural training courses cover practical, real-world application, which is at the heart of our cross cultural training programs. We prioritize relevance through case studies, reflection questions, and business scenarios, which are drawn from over 20 years of global training experience.
Each course is built to help learners understand how culture shapes behavior in meetings, communication, leadership, negotiation, and daily work life; delivering actionable insights for professional success across cultures
Yes, every learner receives a cross cultural training completion certificate at the end of their course. This can be downloaded and used to demonstrate professional development, support internal learning records, or contribute toward professional development requirements.
Certificates are a great way for HR, L&D, and team leaders to track learning progress and recognize individual achievement.
Our cultural awareness courses typically include topics such as core cultural values, business culture, and professional etiquette. They explore key areas of doing business, like working in multicultural teams, managing meetings, virtual collaboration strategies, people management and leadership, and negotiation across cultures.
Each course is designed to improve cultural understanding and global communication skills for real-world business situations.
Yes, all our online cross cultural courses are fully accessible online and optimized for remote learning. Whether you’re using a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone, the content is responsive and easy to navigate. This makes it ideal for busy professionals, hybrid teams, and global workforces.
Learners can access courses anytime, anywhere, which is perfect for flexible schedules, international teams, and mobile learning on the go. No downloads or special software required.
If you would like to purchase a course for a team or for use within an organization simply contact us. We will invoice you for a group license and set up all your users for you.
$50
SCORM File: $2,500
$20
SCORM File: $500
$50
SCORM File: $2,500
$50
SCORM File: $2,500
$50
SCORM File: $2,500
$50
SCORM File: $2,500
