EXC 3674 The (Hi)stories Multinational Companies Tell
EXC 3674 The (Hi)stories Multinational Companies Tell
This is a summer course for summer 2021.
Maximum 100 students.
The overall goal of the course is for students to learn how company (hi)stories are created and used as strategic, immaterial assets. Multinational companies narrate stories about themselves, their past and future in annual reports, CSR reports, anniversary publications, on web platforms, social media, and other places. These (hi)stories are based on masses of qualitative and quantitative data, imagery, visualizations that must be turned into reasonably coherent, trustworthy and meaningful narratives.
In the course, students learn how company narratives emerge from a variety of sources and explore the importance of identifying biases in the interpretation of data. Furthermore, they will be able to identify alternative stories in the data. They also learn how to distinguish between evidence-based, factual company narratives and purely fictional constructs. Different stakeholders make strategic decisions based on the company narratives and depend on their accuracy and accountability. The students learn to assess the truthfulness of the narrative and its strategic purpose. They learn how to read between the lines, how to identify silenced voices, missing sources and alternative interpretations. Finally, the company narrative must be meaningful for audiences in different markets and cultures, so the students will learn how to consider the context in which the narrative appears.
The students will work with company narratives from multinationals from Brazil, China, Australia, Scandinavia, USA, South Africa, and other countries, presented by lecturers from many of the same countries. There will also be guest lecturers from multinational companies.
After completed course students shall have:
- Knowledge of key concepts and theories about company (hi)stories from business history and ethnographic research.
- Knowledge of information evaluation and source criticism.
- Understanding of how cultural and historical context shape company narratives.
- Understanding of how strategic purpose shapes company stories.
After completed course students will be able to:
- Do a thematic cross-case comparison of multinational companies’ published (hi)stories
- Recognize and identify false biases
- Identify and visualize the story in a dataset
- Identify alternative stories from the same dataset.
- Make a coherent, truthful and meaningful company story
After completed course students will be able to demonstrate:
- Respect for the complexity of multinational business
- Understanding of cultural difference and diversity
- Knowledge of ethics and sustainability issues
- Ability for critical reflection
Week 1: The company (hi)stories
Introduction to theoretical concepts, cross-case methodology for analyzing company stories and their data sources.
The role of data in the making of company stories. Introduction of the concept of data-driven stories, how companies use data to create a narrative through text, data visualizations, imagery, infographics or other means that help to tell the story.
Getting to know each other and establishing work groups.
Week 2: Contextualizing stories
Analyze how company stories are shaped for specific cultures and markets. Study ethics and sustainability accounts of the same company in different countries. Learn choice of key terms/visuals/imagery to help tell a story, examine factors that need to be considered, such as language, bias, cultural perspectives etc.
Independent group work and discussion of findings in class.
Week 3: Uses of company stories
Analyses of cases to identify how they are shaped to fit them for a strategic purpose, like marketing, tax audits, IPO’s, M&As, anniversaries. How the use of data-driven visualizations can help "sell" the story to the audience. Introduce examples of how data can be misused or presented unethically to influence audience perception. Presentation of findings in groups and class.
Independent group work and discussion of findings class.
Week 4: Making stories
Examine how one set of data may be used to create more than one narrative. Use visualizations to help support the storyline without introducing unintended bias.
Identification of alternative stories in datasets.
Narrate parts of the group’s self-made company story and deal with responses.
The course is offered digitally. There will be lectures for the whole class. Students will be given assignments to work on in groups and present in class. They will work in heterogeneous groups, composed of students from different countries/regions, and homogenous groups, with students from the same places.
Software tools
Special software tools are required. Will be specified before class starts.
This course EXC 3674 The (hi) stories multinational companies tell, is different from, but complement the Summer School course EXC 3676 Storytelling for business practice. This course deals with the externalities of the company stories and is especially relevant for students interested in strategy, policy-making, research and internationalization. The other course deals with the internal structure and form of narratives and is especially relevant for students’ from the creative industries and/or interested in management and persuasion. There is no assumption that students will take more than one course. This course can be taken independently or combined with any other courses offered as part of BI International Summer School. However, should a student be interested and eligible, the two courses can be taken together and will give breadth and depth to the student’s knowledge and skills to analyze understand and cope in the world of company storytelling.
Higher Education Entrance Qualification
Covid-19
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be deviations in teaching and learning activities as well as exams, compared with what is described in this course description.
No specific prerequisites is required.
| Exam category | Weight | Invigilation | Duration | Grouping | Comment exam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Exam code: EXC 36741 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Grading rules: Internal and external examiner Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course | 40 | No | 4 Week(s) | Individual (3 - 5) | Further information will be given at the first day of the course. |
| Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Exam code: EXC 36741 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Grading rules: Internal and external examiner Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course | 60 | No | 6 Week(s) | Individual (3 - 5) | Further information will be given at the first day of the course. |
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Webinar | 45 Hour(s) | Participation in lectures in class and groups (digital) |
Student's own work with learning resources | 64 Hour(s) | Preparatory reading |
Student's own work with learning resources | 9 Hour(s) | Experimenting with software for analyzing/visualizing stories. Preparation for class. |
Group work / Assignments | 64 Hour(s) | Making of a company story. Choice of datasets, source evaluation, presentation and defense of story |
Digital resources with automatic feedback | 9 Hour(s) | Self-tests and evaluations. |
Feedback activities and counselling | 9 Hour(s) | Reflection on group processes |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.