WELCOME TO INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE WORKSHOP

Alena Ipanova

Contact information:
www.synergizer.se
alena@synergizer.se
+46729439029
 LET’S WARM UP
● Say Hi to your neighbours
● Share why you are here today
WONDER HOW DIVERSE OUR GROUP IS?
● Go to live.voxvote.com
● Use PIN: 80385
● Share which culture you associate
yourself with
IN FOCUS FOR TODAY

● What is Culture and Intercultural

Competence

● Why bother about Intercultural

Competence

● IC Theory & Practice

● Global Dexterity Concept

CULTURE AND INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
WHAT IS CULTURE FOR YOU?
 MORE THAN 200 DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE

‘Culture is the collective programming of the mind which

distinguishes the members of one group or category of
people from another.’
Hofstede, 1994

‘Culture is the essential tool for making other.’

Lila Abu-Lughod, 1991

‘Culture is the set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors

shared by a group of people, but different for each
individual, communicated from one generation to the next.’
Matsumoto, 1996
ICEBERG MODEL OF CULTURE
What happens when two Icebergs meet?
“OUT OF THE BLUE” EXPERIMENT
 WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You and your best friend were driving late at night. While driving, your friend fell
asleep for a moment and hit a person crossing the road. There are no witnesses, the
person is hospitalised and doesn’t remember what happened. Police questions you
as the only witness of the accident.

Go to live.voxvote.com
PIN: 80385
 PERCEPTION

‘We see things not as they are, but as we are’.

H.M. Tomlinson
WEIRD OR JUST DIFFERENT?
IT’S ALL THE MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

RIGHT AND WRONG

RIGHT AND RIGHT

 INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE COMPONENTS

● Relationship building skills

● Cultural self-awareness
● Behavioral skills: listening,
● Culture-general knowledge
problem solving
● Culture-specific knowledge
● Empathy
● Interaction analysis
● Information gathering skills

● Curiosity
● Cognitive flexibility
● Motivation
● Open-mindedness
 AWARENESS

CULTURES DON’T MEET, PEOPLE DO!

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

the idea that a

person's beliefs,
values, and practices
should be understood
based on that person's
own culture, rather
than be judged against
the criteria of another.
 CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Multicultural team Example

British Indian
colleagues colleagues

French
colleagues
IC THEORIES IN PRACTICE
 Edward T. Hall
Low Context and High Context Framework
 Example: High and Low Context Communication
A: It looks as if we’re going to have to keep the production line running on
Saturday.

B: Ah, I see.

A: Can you come on Saturday?

B: I think so.

A: That’ll be a great help.

B: Yes, Saturday is a special day.

A: How do you mean?

B: It’s my son’s birthday.

A: How nice - I hope he has a good day.

B: Thank you. I appreciate your understanding.

 HEALTHY BREAK!
Talk to someone you haven’t talked yet or make 50 push ups - you choose!

Discuss with someone you haven’t talked yet:

1. What does it mean to you (in your culture)

to come to the meeting on time, or to be
late? How much “late” is acceptable?

2. If you were a superhero who would you be

and why?

3. Share your cultural experience that made

you feel fascinated/strange/awkward
E. Meyer. The Culture Map (2014)
 CULTURE CLASH EXAMPLE (1)
Swedish manager contacting a developer in India asking to prioritize resolution of a bug
which was scheduled to be resolved in two months. But there’s no response at all from an
Indian developer even after the second email. WHY? WHAT’S YOUR GUESS?
CULTURE CLASH EXPLANATION (1)

Leading Scale
EXAMPLE: CULTURE-BASED BUSINESS FAILURE

Wal-mart launch in Germany

 CULTURE CLASH EXAMPLE (2)

US company is hosting representatives of Chinese

production unit to discuss future cooperation.

They have only three days and they schedule everything

in a very professional manner with meeting rooms,
breaks and lunches, managing everything as scheduled
in the agenda.

After three days Chinese delegation leaves. Americans

are sure that they got them as partners. But Chinese
respond with refusal.
WHY? WHAT’S YOUR GUESS?
CULTURE CLASH (2) EXPLANATION

Trusting Scale
Global Dexterity Concept
A. Molinsky Global Dexterity Concept

The ability to adapt your behaviour - smoothly and

successfully - to the demands of a foreign culture, without
losing yourself in the process.

Four step process:

1. Diagnose the new cultural code

2. Identify your own personal challenges
3. Customize your behaviour
4. Make the behaviour into “muscle memory”

Flexibility is the key!

 How to adapt without losing yourself?
Example: American executive relocated to India

Your personal GAP The new culture’s Zone

Comfort Zone of Appropriateness
 SHARE WITH YOUR NEIGHBOUR

What are you taking for yourself from this workshop?