Joint SPREAD_Staff Training Event:“Intercultural Issues in Transnational Projects”

Project Number: 2016-1-IT01-KA202 -00550
Sharing good Practices foR
European mobility Activities Development
Erasmus+ KA2 – Strategic Partnerships
Project number: 2016-1-UK01-KA202-024348
Day 1: 5.05.2017
ppt title: LTTA 2 – Training aims & objectives
&
Module 1 – “Trainees Needs”
LTTA-2: 01.05.2017 – 5.05.2017
Plymouth, United Kingdom
Presented by: Gosia Kuklinska
Europa Training UK

LTTA-2: Training programme objectives
Overall objective
The main aim of this training is to promote and strength the importance of intercultural competences in
European mobility projects. To provide information and resources with learning materials & best practices on
intercultural differences and misunderstandings, in order to get a great depth of understanding of successful
mobility and to prevent obstacles. The overall objective is to strength the position of intercultural
competences in the EU youth mobility programmes as tool to maximize the benefits of the mobility.
Specific objectives
✓ Provide 5 days training for intercultural issues in transnational projects;
✓ Collect and share good practices that supports the intercultural issues during the mobility programmes;
✓ Share methods and tools supporting the intercultural competences;
✓ Deliver a clear guidelines and recommendations for all Mobility actors (trainee, hosting and sending org.
tutors, placement mentors, and other) on intercultural differences.

Module 1: Trainees Needs
group expectations…

❖ Description: Aim of this module is to describe everyday problems which might be encountered by
trainees outside of the immediate working and living environment, and how they could
be supported by solving them.
❖ Learning Outcomes:
➢ Knowledge: What are the problems, which are most often encountered by trainees in foreign countries (outside
the direct working & living environment)?
➢ Skills: Recognition of problems common in the own environment. Recognition of problems specific for
the trainee. Develop the respective solution inside the boundaries of the responsibilities of a trainer.
➢ Competences: Provide the necessary level of supervision and support to help the trainee to solve those problems,
without overextending the trainers responsibilities

Module 1: Trainees Needs – key areas
Mobility in the fields of Training and Education is one of the everlasting and more successful initiatives
carried out by the European Commission.
Despite the general satisfaction with the mobility experiences, trainees’ needs are often overlook and this
Module 1 addresses the most common everyday problems which are encountered by trainees outside of the
immediate surrounding, living & working environment.
Key areas identified include:
Adaptation
Knowledge
discovery
Tolerance of
ambiguity
Communication
problems

Knowledge discovery

Module 1: Trainees Needs - Knowledge discovery
❖ Description:
Knowledge discovery raise trainees’ awareness of the intercultural dimension that professional mobility
implies, in a traditional and attractive way. It fosters the trainees' reflection about their intercultural
competences to improve their ability to integrate in a new environment in another country.
❖ Relations to intercultural impact:
Trainees face challenges of being an intern in the hosting company where they complete an international
mobility. At the new work environment, the trainee discovers a different way of communicating, doing things
and even a different way of thinking or/and behaving that they might not know or/and sometimes do not
understand.
The trainees acquire the ability to understand the differences of a new environment/context (adaptability) and
to recognise a situation of cultural shock (personal disorientation - a trainee may feel when experiencing an
unfamiliar situation).
❖ Scenario examples / case study:
All trainees who travel to a new country are required to understand the living and working culture (in
general) of the hosing country and work placement culture to adapt to the differences.

❖ Exercise:
The online game called “The EUtopia Serious Game” (SG) - was designed as a narrative game, focused on the
dialogue and interaction of the different characters. The game play is oriented to multiple choices questions and the
analysis of situations in a limited time. It includes a brief introduction and 4 different scenarios to represent complex
situations, designed to guide the mobility trainees towards a better understanding of the intercultural issues that they
might experience. Throughout this game, they discover more about themselves and their intercultural competences.
Didactic approach:
➢ The navigation of the SG is organized around a hub, in which the player makes choices and discovers different situations and
questions. The game is organized in two dimensions and completely controlled with the mouse. The player navigates through the
game starting from the main menu, where they will always see their progress along the challenges before getting their passport.
➢ The EUtopia Serious online game is composed of 4 scenarios: the new office; the staff room; the manager’s office; and after work.
➢ Each scenario opens a situation that serves a common story, and an opportunity for the trainee to experience different situations:
1) The New Office: The players arrive at the company where they will do the internship. They have some time to leave their personal
belongings, meet their new colleagues and start some administrative tasks.
2) Staff Room: Before the meeting with the manager, the player goes to the staff room, where they will have the opportunity to meet
some colleagues, to prepare for their meeting with the director and understand some rules of the company. In this professional but
relaxed space, the player will interact with their colleagues in a less formal way.
3) Manager’s Office: As with every new arrival, the player will have an interview / meeting with the manager where they will have to
deal with the hierarchy particularities and will have a conversation about their requirements and expectations.
4) After Work: The director invites the player to share their spare time with their colleagues in a non-professional environment.

The EUtopia Serious Game - http://www.mastermob.eu/eutopia.php

❖ Recommendation:
Trainees will need to discover living & working cultures and develop targeted knowledge, skills and attitudes
that lead to visible behaviour and communication that are both effective and appropriate in intercultural
interactions.
Knowledge
cultural self awareness;
culture specific knowledge;
socio-linguistic awareness;
grasp of global issues
& trends
Skills
listening, observing,
evaluating using patience &
perseverance;
viewing the world from
others‘ perspectives Attitudes
respect (valuing other cultures);
openness (withholding judgement);
curiosity (viewing difference
as a learning opportunity);
discovery (tolerance for
ambiguity)

❖ Conclusions:
Knowledge discovery enables trainees to identify and define coping strategies. It helps to understand:
✓ the means of communication, understanding and cooperation with people from any continent, ethnic
origin or culture, and which therefore promotes a spirit of tolerance and cosmopolitanism, and
✓ the linguistic and cultural diversity of different people, which enables trainees to develop an attitude of
interest and respect towards others.
All trainees are required to understand the living and working culture (in general)
of the hosting country and work placement company culture to aid the adaption of all differences.
The EUtopia game highlights trainees’ awareness of the knowledge discovery and indicates
how different living and working cultures understands and accepts uncertainty and
ambiguous situations. Some cultures try to avoid uncertainty, other cultures do not give
such importance to control and prevention.
This also influences the importance of improvisation in different cultures.
The Culture can be defined as
“the sum of a way of life,
including expected behaviour,
beliefs, values, language and
living practices shared by
members of a society.
It consists of both explicit and
implicit rules through which
experience is interpreted”.
(Geert Hofstede)

Tolerance of ambiguity

Module 1: Trainees Needs – Tolerance of ambiguity
❖ Description:
Trainees often face ambiguous situations, i.e. situations than can be interpreted in two or more different ways.
It is therefore important to understand not only the concept of ambiguity (uncertainty regarding the
interpretation or as something of doubtful meaning) but also the concept of tolerance of ambiguity (how far
we are able to tolerate (and live with) uncertainty, the unknown, what is not defined).
Understanding the Tolerance of Ambiguity will contribute to increase trainees empathy (ability to understand
someone else’s feelings), adaptability (ability to behave properly in a new environment/context) and ability
to tolerate and live with uncertain, undefined situations.
Trainees are exposed to multicultural ambiguous situation during their international mobility programmes.
These situations make them feel uncertain or confused. They seek answers and explanations, and try to adapt
to uncertainty, unpredictability, conflicting directions, and multiple demands. In general, most of mobility
trainees have low degree for tolerance of ambiguity when they deal with uncertainty in their lives, whether in
family situations, in the workplace, or in social settings. They become more anxious when they are in
unfamiliar situations.
Understanding your own tolerance of ambiguity help the individual to underline cause for uncertainty and
help to operate / adapt effectively in an uncertain environment during the mobility.
A different look and approach towards the European culture with examples of ambiguous situations through
someone else’s eyes will support the trainee to experience a new way of perceiving cultures and ease the
adaption to uncertainty.

A high ambiguity-tolerant culture is not concerned by uncertainty. People from this culture tend to feel
comfortable in situations in which they do not always know what is happening, and they do not avoid these
situations.
▪ Example:
Johnny is from a high ambiguity-tolerant culture. He sees a group of people from another culture, and although he does not
know a lot about their language or customs, he knows enough and tries to communicate. Since Johnny is not worried by
uncertainty, he's got no problem inserting himself into the conversation, and while his foreign language may not be great, he's
not afraid to try. For Johnny, communication is not hampered by uncertainty, and he doesn't care if he occasionally makes
mistakes.
In the real world, notable cultures that are pretty high on ambiguity tolerance include the nations of the Southern Europe and
Caribbean. In these regions, communication, both with friends and strangers, tends to be informal, time schedules are not
always important, and uncertainty is a common feature of daily life.
Let me ask - have you ever tried following an Italian train schedule? For those of us who aren't from the Southern Europe or
Caribbean, it's a pretty stressful experience. If the train shows up at all, it could be 5 minutes early or 15 minutes late.
Cultures with high tolerance for ambiguity rarely plan far in advance, and generally understand that plans are subject to
change. In terms of communication, people from these cultures are often comfortable striking up conversations with anyone,
regardless of how well they know them, but if you're going into a conversation with a specific goal, don't hold your breath.
These conversations can, and often will, meander through dozens of personal topics before arriving at the actual point.

A low ambiguity-tolerant culture is concerned or made uncomfortable by uncertainty. People from these
cultures tend to become anxious when they are in unfamiliar situations or do not have at least rough plans.
This is Jenny. Jenny is from a low ambiguity-tolerant culture. While Johnny has no problem joining
unfamiliar culture, Jenny is going to avoid as much uncertainty as possible. Does this mean that she is never
going to head across the board? No, but she is going to research the culture, language, and customs of other
areas, and she is going to practice so that by the time she gets there, she know exactly what to expect.
 Video link: Tolerance for Ambiguity – click here

But how do you acquire or develop this tolerance for ambiguity?
Exercise 1

Exercise 2
The purpose of this exercise is to let trainees to identify and reflect on their reactions to ambiguous/unclear
information/situations; to fully understand the meaning of tolerating ambiguity in an intercultural context;
and to contribute to a change in the learner’s perspective regarding the predominant cultural ethnocentricity.
The concepts of ambiguity and tolerance of ambiguity and examples of ambiguous situations, are tested by
“Reflexion through images”
What can you see?
The first picture proposed is particularly interesting
for the purpose sought of international trainee
because what it shows can vary depending on the
cultural background of the observer.
To those who are from West who are used to
being indoors this picture can appear to
show a family sitting in the corner of a room
with a window through which vegetation
can be seen outside. Show the same image
to someone in Africa however and the
perception changes, the rectangular room
corner looks like a tree and the window
appears as an object being balanced on the
woman's head.
Source: http://www.eyes-and-vision.com/influence-of-culture-on-visual-perception.html

Exercise 2
What can you see?
Source: http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Modules/FM21820/visper04.html

Exercise 2
What can you see?

Exercise 2
What can you see?
Source: https://pelaez.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/papalagi5-144.jpg

Module 1: Trainees Needs - Tolerance of ambiguity
❖ Conclusions:
It is easy to get frustrated by the lack of clarity and certainty, or annoyed by too many questions and not enough
answers. In fact, that is what usually happens when you are right on the threshold of a breakthrough. It sounds
clichéd and maybe it is, but this is when trainee has to trust the process.
✓ Stay neutral and suspend judgment - delay, as long as you can, the expression of an opinion, positive or
negative, about the topic of discussion or exploration. Don’t get distracted by the process either. Take it all
in as interesting data.
✓ Stay curious - seek to understand the things that would otherwise induce a judgment. Avoid assumptions,
and try to take on an open-minded, curious stance about what is happening around you. Ask questions that
start with “why” and say things like, “Tell me more about that.”
✓ Enjoy the mess - consider uncertain things as an opportunity that allows you to be messy. The whole world
is constantly demanding that you put things in order, give yourself permission to let them stay out of order,
in service to a possibly more innovative outcome.
✓ Take time - the world that is asking for order is demanding speed as well. Slow things down and take your
time to look at things for longer, to ask more questions that you would normally permit yourself, to generate
more ideas and options before selecting among them.
✓ Try things on - play with questions and ideas and concepts, try them on for size. Follow threads of thought,
pretend something might work and see where it takes you. Live, temporarily, with possible options to see if
they are useful or not.

Communication
problems

Module 1: Trainees Needs – Communication problems
❖ Description:
Intercultural communication is defined as situated communication between individuals or groups of different linguistic and
cultural origins. Mobility trainees often face communication problems on international mobility programmes. Almost all conflicts
involve communication problems, as both a cause and an effect. Misunderstandings, resulting from poor communication, can
easily cause a conflict or make it worse. Further, once a conflict has started, communication problems often develop because
people in conflict do not communicate with each other as frequently, as openly, and as accurately as they do when relationships
are not strained. Thus communication is central to most conflict situations, and the trainees may hide their true feelings
intentionally or unintentionally, getting confused and uneasy.
The communication problems are especially common when people from different cultures try to communicate. Even if their
languages are the same, culture acts like a lens through which we see and interpret the world. If their cultures are different, it is
easy for the same statement to mean one thing to one person and something different to someone else. Thus intercultural
communication is especially prone to errors. The ability to learn how different cultures communicate is an asset in the modern
world of mobility.
For example, different cultures have different understandings of hierarchy and formality, so adopting a laid-back, familiar style of
communication can cause problems in a country that takes a formal approach to business communications. Some countries also
take a slower approach to business planning and execution, and assertive American approaches may appear aggressive in these
cultures. Body language is also an issue in other cultures. Gestures can mean different things in different cultures, so it can be
easy to offend people by using what may seem like a harmless gesture.

Exercise 1 – let’s share your experience! – need pen & flipchart & working in group / indiv.
A - What cultural differences have YOU experienced when traveling or living abroad?
B - What cultural similarities have YOU experienced when traveling or living abroad?
C - What cultural differences have YOU experienced when working with international mobility students?
D - What cultural similarities have YOU experienced when working with international mobility students?
Your case studies show everyday situations that all trainees face when participating in the international
mobility projects. These situations rage from trainees arrival to the destination country to the relationship
with their housemates, hosting families, but also including work related aspects.
 Video link: Culture's Impact on Interpersonal Communication – click here
>> Culture and Communication, Communication across cultures, Interpersonal communication, High and Low Context Cultures.

Exercise 2 – case studies for international communication problems solving – working in group & scenario
& problem solving plays
Scenario 1:
Every Tuesday is International Dinner Night at
the hostel where the trainee John is living.
John came on mobility programme from India
three months ago and loves trying new dishes.
Unlike the rest of the guests, he eats with no fork
and takes the rice using his hands. For several
weeks now, he notices that they all look at him
astonished and he does not understand what it is
going on.
His mentor Ana notices the situation from the
other side of the table, approaches John after
dinner and tries to put a solution to the above
mentioned cultural shock.
Scenario 2:
The new trainee Julie has started her work
placement just a week ago at the reception of a
cute hotel in the city centre. She rapidly learnt
how to handle the booking system and seems to
have understood the dynamics of the hotel.
However, every time a guest asks her for tips or
directions, she restricts herself to point out the
must-see in the local map. It is already the
second time that her tutor/mentor received
complaints from some guests, because they said
to have felt mistreated. Julie still has no
confidence when talking the language of the
hosting country and is afraid of committing
mistakes. Her tutor, that cannot allow himself to
receive more negative feedbacks, decides to talk
to her.
Scenario 3:
The trainee Adam has recently started working
in a Marketing Online agency. He normally sticks
to the schedule, but for 2 weeks now, he leaves
his workstation for 20 minutes every day without
excusing himself. His mentor Mike is mad at him
for such a behaviour, and goes to look for him,
finds him in a small room praying.
Adam explains to Mike that this is the month of
Ramadan and he needs to pray during his
working hours. Mike did not know anything
about it and feels bad for not having been able
to meet the needs of one of his intern staff.

Exercise 2 – case studies for international communication problems solving – working in group & scenario &
problem solving plays
Scenario 5:
The trainee David is sick at home, because he
got drunk last night. Next day he stays at home
with host family because he has hangover. The
in-company mentor Phil wants to be informed
every time a trainee or an employee is sick. The
trainee’s colleagues know the trainee is at home
because the last night he was drunk, but they
don’t tell anything to the mentor. The mentor is
getting angry because he is not kept up to date
and feels the trainee is misbehaving.
Scenario 4:
During the interview, mentor Andrew and trainee
Debra agreed on a work timetable. During
Debra’s his first week, he should work the
afternoon shift, which starts at 16:00, because the
hotel is a bit quitter and this will help Debra to
settle in more easily. However, Debra never shows
up before 16:15, making her colleague having her
colleagues to stay later to handover.
The mentor Andrew, cannot stand unpunctuality
and decides to talk to Debra.

The world is becoming
more diverse, and every
mobility trainee need to
understand how to work
within barriers and
challenges in order to be
successful and overcome
communication problems
without language barriers.
Module 1: Trainees Needs - Communication problems
❖ Conclusions:
Everybody knows the old game called telephone, where you get a group of people together, and one person
says a phrase to another, and they pass the phrase on and so on until the last person repeats the phrase.
Usually what the phrase started as and what it ends as are two totally different things. This little game may
underscore the importance of communication, but it still shows it is very important.
It is no secret that communication is an important aspect of international mobility projects. It can be tough to
keep communication flowing, but when you add in communicating with people of different cultures and
languages, the problem becomes an even larger one.
The mobility tutor / mentor should be aware of the different cultures and know different ways and patterns of
communicating with international trainees, to create a workplace where the trainee from different
backgrounds can easy adapt, flourish and grow.
If the tutor communicates to all trainees in the same way, then he/she is destined to fail. The tutor/mentor
should learn to understand the nuances of how each culture communicates and also be able to act as a bridge
when team members from different cultures are communicating.
And visa-versa, the trainees must research, understand, try to adapt to different cultures of communication
with mentors/tutors on their international placement. Different cultures have different viewpoints on life and
work, and, as they say, that is what makes the world go round. The trainees face many challenges with many
cultural aspects & viewpoints when communicating, while those can be completely valid in their home
country, may not work in other countries.

Adaptation

Module 1: Trainees Needs – Adaptation
❖ Description:
The cross-cultural adaptation is an umbrella term that encompasses other similar but narrower terms, such as:
culture shock, assimilation, adjustment and acculturation.
Cultural adaptation is the process and time it takes trainees to integrate into a new culture and feel
comfortable within it. Trainees in this position may encounter a wide array of emotions that the theory
describes in four different stages. This includes the honeymoon, culture shock, recovery, and adjustment
stages.
International mobility trainees may face various challenges during cross-cultural adaptation processes, such
as accepting new living and working conditions, learning the academic culture and different education
systems, making new friends and developing a new social support system. However, the most salient
challenge for international students is to make a successful intercultural transition as quickly as possible and
still remain focused on their academic mission – to accomplish the mobility programme. When failing in
adapting to a new culture, international trainees may suffer both psychologically and physically, such as
sleepiness, appetite disturbance, indigestion, physical exhaustion, homesickness, depression, disorientation,
and feelings of isolation and alienation.
 Video link: Cultural Adaptation – click here
>> Cultural Adaptation, Stages of Cultural Adaptation

Exercise 1 – let’s share your experience! – need pen & papers & working in group / indiv.
After arrival
A - How did you feel when you arrived to new country? (ex, excited, loss or disappointed?)
B - When you arrived there, what things you did not like/adapt to very much?
C - What is the biggest frustration you experienced there? How did you fix it?
D - Was there any turning point for you to adapt to the hosting culture better?
After 2/3 weeks
E - Did you feel that you are an outsider? When? (Can you give example/s?)
F - What difficulties do you have at the moment compared with in the beginning?
G - Do you feel (completely) integrated or sometimes still separate?
Review
H - Did you receive any help from your hosting mentor/tutor or sending organization, parents, etc? (if yes, what was it and was is useful?
I - What do you think the hosting org. could do to improve your communication problems/experiences?
J - Do you have some suggestions for the future students for adapting the local life culture?

Module 1: Trainees Needs – Adaptation
❖ Adaptation factors:
In the beginning, we have new students coming from different culture backgrounds. At first they would somehow go though culture shock (suffering
from culture shock feeling e.g. excitement, fresh, worry, scared, loneliness, homesick, etc.) after the process of changing, they would either somehow
get more used to the new life, or dropped off.
The intercultural adaptation is composed in six principles:
1 - intercultural adaptation is motivated, goal-orientated process in with trainees to learn to accommodate to
the new culture;
2 - intercultural adaptation and learning processes are reciprocal and interdependent;
3 - intercultural adaptation implies a stranger-host relationship, where thinking and behavioural patterns have
to be modified to fit the frame of reference of the host culture;
4 - intercultural adaptation is a cyclical, continuous, and interactive process, where the new culture influences
and changes the person, but at the same time the person influences and changes the environment;
5 - intercultural adaptation is an ongoing process;
6 - intercultural adaptation implies personal development.
New comers/
students
Cross-Cultural
Adaptation
Adapted
students
Changing Solving

group expectations
vs
review

Sharing good Practices for
Day 2: 6.05.2017
Module 2 – “Cultural Theories”
LTTA-2: 01.05.2017 – 5.05.2017
Presented by: Matteo Radice
Europa Training UK

Module 2: Overview
❖ Description: Aim of this module is to provide the stakeholders with the theoretical tools to better
understand what is meant by “culture”; what are the main elements that shape it and
in what way it may affect one’s international mobility (IM) experience. This stage is
fundamental in order to eventually prevent possible conflict situations that might be
caused by an improper approach towards a foreign environment.
➢ Knowledge: The analysis wants to give a general answer to issues likewise: what are the most relevant theories
used to study “culture” as a social phenomenon? In what way we can use them to better assess the dynamics of an
international mobility?
➢ Skills: Analysis and “proper” assessment of helpful skills such as linguistic proficiency; regional knowledge and
ethno relativism
➢ Competences: The present module aims to strengthen the cultural competence and the cultural intelligence of
the stakeholders involved in IM, intended as: “is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with
people of other cultures” (Messner & Schäfer, 2012)

Module 2: Before we start– Assessing Culture
Before we crack on….a little experiment!
Get into small groups and try to answer to these questions: (5 mins.)
• Are you capable to give a definition of culture?
• Do you think there is a universal definition of culture?

Already by 1952, the American anthropologists Kroeber and Kluckhohn listed 164 definitions of
culture.
Module 2: Before we start– Assessing Culture
• “A set of basic assumptions – shared solutions to universal problems of external
adaptation (how to survive) and internal integration (how to stay together) -
which have evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the
next.” (Schein, 2004)
• “A complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art morals, law, custom and
any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society.” (Tylor,
1871)
• “Whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its
[society] members.” (Goodenough, 1957)

Module 2: quick facts and key areas
“The average change achieved in six months through the Erasmus programme can be considered
equivalent to a personality change that would normally happen over four years of life without
Erasmus experience”
(Erasmus+ Impact Study, 2017)
International mobility has become one of the major assets European students can rely upon and the most
appreciated trait by European employers (EACEA, 2016). In 2014 the ministers of the European Higher
Education Area (EHEA) agreed to double the proportion of students completing a period of study or training
abroad to 20% by 2020 (2014)
Quick facts:
➢ By 2017, the Erasmus+ Framework Programme 2014-2020 has already given the opportunity
to work and study abroad to more than 4 million people:
• Around 2 million Higher Education students
• Around 650,000 Vocational Education and Training students
• Around 800,000 lecturers, teachers, trainers, Education staff and Youth workers
• More than 500,000 young Volunteers

➢ Even five to ten years after graduation, the unemployment rate of mobile students is lower than for non-
mobile students, and in five to ten years after graduation, significantly more Erasmus alumni (64%) than
non-mobile alumni (55%) hold a management position. (Source, Erasmus+ Impact Study, January 2016)
Five to ten years after graduation unemployment Alumni in management positions five to ten years after graduation

➢ Erasmus+ mobility Programmes have turned to be a game changer not only as it comes to employability,
but it is also changing the lifestyle of generations of students, reshaping cultural fundamental concepts,
such as “Home” and “Family”.

Key areas
Cultural Theories Game Theory
Value Orientation
Theory
➢ International mobility comes also with new challenges and issues that have to be faced on a
daily basis mobility of people means also mobility of cultures
Only in the city of London there are
more than 270 nationalities and
there are spoken over 300 languages
➢ Especially on the work place, cultural difference might bring to conflict
situations that can hamper the productivity and can induce to a negative
opinion on the convenience of mobility.
➢ In order to avoid conflict, it is important to have and provide, before the
mobility, proper preparation on the following key areas:

Module 2: Cultural Theories
Cultural theories

<<Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) and Finance
Minister Taro Aso “listen” to a question from an opposition
lawmaker during a budget session at the national Diet in
Tokyo in February 2013>> (Christensen, CNN 2016)
Why are cultural theories important?
Before approaching a foreign culture, means first and foremost understand that culture is made of many
different features and nuances. Knowing this can prevent from spreading “funny” misconceptions.

Culture in human mental programming (Hofstede, 1994)
❖ According to the 2016 Erasmus+ impact survey, 93% of
the surveyed employers across Europe confirmed that
personality in general is indeed important for the
recruitment. Among the traits considered as part of
“Personality”, great consideration was given to:
➢ Tolerance of Ambiguity
➢ Curiosity
➢ Ability to Adapt and Act in New Situations
In the 90s, Hofstede found that culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes
the members of one group or category of people from another. CULTURE IS LEARNED

Concerning icebergs, onions and lily ponds
Through the years, anthropologists and sociologists have tried to break culture down into several theoretical
structures, adding feature; perspectives and different levels of rigidity, yet all pointing at the same basic
fundamental concept: external products of any given culture are motivated by deeper and embedded
reasons
The Iceberg Model
❖ Culture is similar to an iceberg. In 1967, Edward T.
Hall proposed that culture has two components and
that only about 10% of culture (external or surface
culture) is easily visible; the majority, or 90%, of
culture (internal or deep culture) is hidden below the
surface.

The Onion Model
❖ Culture is similar to an onion. In 1991,
Geert Hofstede theorized a more complex
structure of culture, in which every layer is
a “peel” of the system. In this concentric
structure, the only invisible level is the one
of “values”, namely how people believe
things “ought to be”. The outer levels are
nothing but external expressions of the
central core:
➢ Symbols
➢ Heroes
➢ Rituals

The lily pond metaphor and the three layers of culture
❖ Culture is similar to a lily pond. With this daring
statement, Edgar Schein wanted to replace the
assumption of culture as a rigid system.
➢ According to this vision, culture is a dynamic ecosystem always
changing and adapting. It’s constantly evolving yet stable and strong.
It can be shaped not changed.
➢ Things above the surface are nurtured from below. One cannot
create true change without impacting the whole system. For example,
you cannot decide you want red lilies and paint the flowers. You have
to understand what makes the flowers white.
➢ Apply this vision to international mobility, means that no external
element can radically change the structure as a whole, nor the
structure stays imperturbable in its assumptions. Logic of
cooperation between the external element and the system

Learning activity 1
Reflecting one’s culture
❖ Description:
An important part of intercultural awareness is the reflection of one’s own culture. This reflection can be done methodically by using the six cultural
dimensions of Geert Hofstede. The cultural dimensions represent independent preferences for one state of affairs over another that distinguish countries
(rather than individuals) from each other.
1) Power distance index (PDI)
2) Individualism vs. collectivism (IDV)
3) Uncertainty avoidance index (UAI)
4) Masculinity vs. femininity (MAS)
5) Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation (LTO)
6) Indulgence vs. restraint (IND)
❖ Didactic approach:
➢ In pairs, participants will be given a detailed description of the cultural dimension of Hofstede (see the handout) to estimate the
level of the national culture they are in.
➢ Once the host national culture has been assessed, participants will classify the other participants’ national cultures accordingly.
➢ The results will be compared to the original findings and the participants with the closest estimation win.

35
89
66
35
51
69
50
76
70
75
61
30
56
59
47
96
47
66
11
55
79
70
60
63
68
60
64
93
38
29
63
27
31
99
28
33
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM MASCULINITY UNCERTAINTY
AVOIDANCE
LONG TERM
ORIENTATION
INDULGENCE
SPREAD PARTNERS’ CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
United Kingdom Italy Malta Austria Poland Portugal

Module 2: Game Theories and Logic of Cooperation
Game Theory and Logic
of Cooperation

Big question: How can individually rational behaviour lead to collectively
bad outcomes?
A beautiful mind (2002)

The Prisoner’s Dilemma
The most used and known model of game, important to understand that in situations of
stand off, the usual outcome is not the most efficient one.
❖ Scenario: the police have arrested two suspects for a crime.
➢ They tell each prisoner they’ll reduce his/her prison sentence if he/she betrays the other prisoner.
➢ Each prisoner must choose between two actions: cooperate with the other prisoner, i.e., don’t betray him/her
defect (betray the other prisoner).
❖ Payoff = – (years in prison):
❖ Acions: Each player has only two strategies, each of which is a single action
❖ Non-zero-sum There is no efficient allocation of resources
❖ Imperfect information: neither player knows the other’s move until after both players have moved
In a non zero sum game,
none of the players is
interested in changing his
payoff unless the other
does the same, which
means that they both have
to agree to change

Reiterated game
❖Adding reiteration to a game situation allows the players to foresee the actions taken and have
better understanding of the expected outcomes
➢ The payoffs change multiple Nash equilibria
➢ More chance to collaborate to reach a better equilibrium
➢ “Punishment” added as new variable to the game
Grim Strategy Tit for Tat
✓ “Unforgiving strategy”
✓ Non cooperative game
✓ Non cooperative behaviour is
triggered after a first defection
✓ Non cooperative behaviour is
maintained forever
✓ Forces to cooperate
✓ “blow for blow”
✓ Non cooperative
behaviour adopted
“proportionally”
✓ Invites to cooperate
What happens if “culture” is inserted in the equation?

Module 2: Value Orientation Theory
Value Orientation Theory

The logic of Value and the Expected Outcome
In game theory and classical economics, it is often assumed that the actors (people, and firms) are
rational and that the action a rational agent takes depends on:
➢ the preferences of the agent
➢ the agent's information of its environment, which may come from past experiences
➢ the actions, duties and obligations available to the agent
➢ the estimated or actual benefits and the chances of success of the actions.
……but is it what truly happens in real life?

Purposes of values
Most of the time, humans make decision which are not profit-orientated, but rather value-based.
➢ Help us decide whether preferences or events are good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or worthless, important or insignificant.
➢ They become the basic determiners of perceptions, opinions and attitudes.
➢ Using values will always mean going through certain processes: motivation, selection, appraisal (evaluation)
➢ Values have social function: values derived from commonality of experiences unite families, tribes, societies and nations
CULTURE AS VALUE ORIENTED
Cultural value orientations evolve as societies confront basic issues or problems
in regulating human activity. People must recognize these problems, plan
responses to them, and motivate one another to cope with them.
Principles or standards of behaviour; one's judgement of what is important in life

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's (1961) Values Orientation Theory
❖ Starting from the assumption that people's attitudes are based on the relatively few, stable values they hold,
cultural anthropologists Florence Kluckhohn and Fred Strodtbeck's (1961) suggested a theory of culture
based on value orientation.
❖ Values Orientation Theory proposes that:
➢ all human societies must answer a limited number of universal problems
➢ value-based solutions are limited in number and universally known in all societies at all times
➢ different cultures have different preferences among them.
❖ Cultural dimensions:
1. Relationship with nature - beliefs about the need or responsibility to control nature.
2. Relationship with people - beliefs about social structure.
3. Nature of human activities - beliefs about appropriate goals.
4. Relationship with time - extent to which time influences decisions.
5. Human nature - beliefs about different people nature.

Learning activity 2
The Value Orientation Method
❖ Description:
The Value Orientation Method (VOM) helps both parties to understand their own values, and those of the “other”.
1) Relationship with nature - beliefs about the need or responsibility to control nature.
2) Relationship with people - beliefs about social structure.
3) Nature of human activities - beliefs about appropriate goals.
4) Relationship with time - extent to which time influences decisions.
5) Human nature - beliefs about different people nature.
➢ In pairs, participants will be given a detailed description of the VOM (see the handout) to estimate the level of the national
culture they are in and to carry on the activity shown.
➢ The results will be compared and dicussed.

❖ Conclusions:
✓ International Mobility (IM) is becoming one of the key assets of today’s job market and one of the most
resilient vehicle of cultural exchange: a superficial knowledge of foreign cultures or the use of inadequate
theoretical measures, might lead to unfortunate misconceptions
✓ Cultural Theories are a valuable tool for all the stakeholders involved in IM to understand the living and
working culture (in general) of the hosting country and work placement company culture to aid the
adaption of all differences.
✓ The value of culture cannot be underestimated especially in the working relations, in which decision
making and cooperative strategies are at the base of a mutual trust employers – trainee.
❖ Recommendations:
✓ Trainees who will arrive to the host country shall come prepared to experience the local living & working
culture and shall be disposed to develop skills and attitudes -as already expressed in Module 1- useful to
interact in an effective and appropriate way right from the start.
✓ Organisations involved in hosting/sending trainees shall need to have deep understanding of the
hosting/sending culture, in order to better prepare and guide not only the trainees, but also host families
and work placements alike, throughout the whole IM experience.
Module 2: Conclusions and Recommendations

Know thy self and thy enemy. A thousand battles, a
thousand victories.
(Sun Tzu, the Art of War)

Day 3: 3.05.2017
Module 3 & 4 – “Host Country Culture & Culture Shock”
LTTA-2: 01.05.2017 – 5.05.2017
Presented by: Matteo Radice
Europa Training UK

Module 3 & 4: Host Country Culture & Culture Shock
❖ Description: Aim of this module is to define ways to help the incoming trainee to assess and cope
with the host country culture. For all the stakeholders involved, this implies being
able to recognize and the most relevant features of the host culture and ways to
transfer that knowledge International Mobility participants. This of course includes
explaining the trainees principles of culture shock as well as providing ways to apply
that knowledge in an everyday training context.
➢ Knowledge: In which ways can the host country to be expected to be different from the culture of the trainee?
What is culture shock? What is CQ and why is important in the work context?
➢ Skills: Recognition of culture shock in trainees. Cultural intelligence and resilience
➢ Competences: Handling of specific traits of the own culture in a professional matter, especially when in contact
with cultures which have different viewpoints. Clarification and Explanation of different cultural
parameters Supporting the trainees in overcoming culture shock, without overextending trainer
responsibilities.

Module 3 & 4: key areas
Our Mobility programmes, mostly foresee a period not longer than two-three months and we expect our
trainees to be ready to work at an efficient pace already on day two.
In this way, trainees are forced to go through a rapid and intense adaptation to the host country culture. Such
drastic procedure might bring forth all the issues related to prejudices, culture shock and acculturation, in a
more dramatic and stressful way.
Key areas identified include:
Acculturation in
work context and
Cultural Intelligence
Handling a
foreign culture
Prejudices,
Stereotypes and
cultural Intelligence
Coping with Culture
shock and emotional
adjustment

Module 3: Stereotypes, prejudices and Cultural Intelligence
Stereotypes and Prejudices

What is a stereotype?
➢ The term stereotype derives from the Greek words στερεός (stereos), “firm, solid” and τύπος (typos),
“impression”
➢ The term was used for the first time in 1798 in the printing trade and outside of printing, the first reference
to "stereotype" was in 1850, as a noun that meant image perpetuated without change.
➢ However, it was not until 1922 that “stereotype” was first used in the modern psychological sense by
American journalist Walter Lippmann in his work Public Opinion.
stereotype is “...a fixed, over generalised belief about a particular group or
class of people.” (Cardwell, 1996)
Stereotypes lead to social categorisation
➢ The use of stereotypes is a major way in which we simplify our social world; since
they reduce the amount of processing we have to do when we meet a new person.

Stereotype: good or bad?
❖Stereotypes are cognitive categories that simplify our social world; since they reduce the amount of
processing (i.e. thinking) we have to do when we meet a new person.
➢ Advantage: it enables us to respond rapidly to situations because we may have had a similar experience before.
➢ Disadvantage: it makes us ignore differences between individuals; therefore we think things about people that might not be true
❖According to Daniel Katz and Kenneth Braly (1933), stereotyping leads to racial prejudice when
people emotionally react to the name of a group, ascribe characteristics to members of that group,
and then evaluate those characteristics.
❖Possible prejudicial effects of stereotypes in mobility are:
➢ Justification of ill-founded prejudices or ignorance
➢ Unwillingness to rethink one's attitudes and behaviour against the stereotype
➢ Preventing some people of stereotyped groups from either integrating in the workplace or access to certain activities

The vicious cycle of stereotypes
Stereotype: cognitive
Prejudice: affective
Discrimination: behavioural
How do I categorize?
Overgeneralized beliefs about people might
lead to prejudice
How do I feel about that category?
Feelings may influence treatment to others,
leading to discrimination
How do I act towards that category?
Biased treatment and exclusive behaviour
towards a given group, based on stereotypes
and wrong prejudices.

Do you have stereotypes?

Training activity 1
❖Misconceptions: one of the most common issues of engaging in new culture are the
misconceptions of how we perceive other cultures to be like.
➢Stage 1:
✓ Splitting in to two groups, you have 5 minutes to identify the 6 most common stereotypes
about the British culture.
✓ Once the stereotypes have been found, confront them with the results and guess whether
they are true or false
➢Stage 2:
✓ Think about the reasons why these are common misconceptions and what impact that would
have on you visiting the UK.
✓ Each Group will feedback on each misconception and their reasoning for choosing each
one.

Stage 1: how many have you got?
British….
• They live in the past
• They don’t care what people think
• They are a different person when the sun is out

• They all speak the Queen’s English
• They go mad for Fish and Chips
• They are all posh and snobby
• They don’t mind a bit of dust

• They love to bet
• They live constantly under the rain
• They are bad cooks
• They are proud patriots

Module 3: Handling a foreign culture
Handling a foreign
culture

Do as the Romans do….but what do they do exactly?
(Source. Bean: the movie, 1997)

Handling a foreign culture in 5 steps
❖ Different national cultures view the same thing in very different ways. If not handled properly, the difference
between one’s own culture and the culture of the host country might jeopardize the trainee’s integration thus
distance him from the host environment and vice versa.
❖ To be able to handle a foreign culture like the one in the host country:
➢ Learn about your values: your cultural background is part of your “business card”. Seek feedback from the people you work with or from a
friendly party in the other culture on how behaviours and communication style can be perceived by your hosts.
➢ Ask questions and be ready to be flexible: If you are unsure what is appropriate, be more structured and have more explicit communication
rather than less.
➢ Assume nothing: a smile and handshake are not necessarily an agreement, “yes” can mean “no”, unsmiling may not mean unfriendly, silence
may not mean disagreement.
➢ Identify their management style: understanding they way decisions are taken in your host country, will allow you to know “your place.” Agree
on a common working approach that balances the differences.
➢ Learn the language: Language is the most straightforward expression of a country’s culture. Asking people how they would like to be
addressed and treated, mastering the correct pronunciation and spelling of the names of people you work with is just the first step
Can you think of any more tips and steps to add?

Learning activity 2
❖ Exercise:
➢ Split the participants in two groups. At least 6 people will be the engineers; the rest shall be the Derdians. If the numbers allow it, there can be also a
third group of impartial observes, who will draw independent conclusions at the end of the activity.
➢ Each of the group will be given with a handout with the instructions on how to proceed. Do not share the information with the other group.
➢ After the game the two groups of participants take a piece of flipchart and note their comments to the following three points:
1) Facts
2) Feelings
3) Interpretations
➢ The following points should be discussed in plenary:
1) We have a tendency to think that others think the way we do.
2) We often interpret things right away, without being aware of the differences in cultural behaviour.
3) How were the roles distributed/What role did I take? What does that reveal of my identity? Did I feel comfortable with my role?
4) Is that image I have the same that was perceived by the others?
5) What influence did my cultural background have on the role I took on?
The game Derdians and Engineers is a simulation of a meeting of two cultures, in which one of the two has to find the key to foreign cultural
behaviour, analyse the effects of meeting with a foreign culture and cope with it to reach the ultimate goal. The scenario goes like this:
a team of engineers goes to another country in order to teach the people there how to build a bridge, but they have to cope with unexpected and
challenging cultural differences…

Module 4: Coping with Culture shock and emotional adjustment
Coping with Culture shock and
emotional adjustment

What is Culture Shock?
❖ Culture shock as a term created by the American anthropologist DuBois (1951) and is defined as “feelings of alienation
and/or disorientation due to being in an unfamiliar cultural environment.”
❖ Although it is commonly recognized that culture shock works differently form individual to individual, there are some
common characteristics for many people:
➢ Feelings of loneliness and isolation that go beyond homesickness
➢ Frustration or even anger over difficulty in accomplishing basic tasks such as grocery shopping, navigating public transportation, etc.
➢ Feelings of incompetence or feeling “stupid” because language barriers prevent effective communication with locals
➢ Sleep disruption (insomnia or sleeping too much)
➢ Resentment of cultural differences between home and host country, or believing that your home culture is “superior” to the host culture
➢ Stereotyping of or hostility towards locals
➢ Depression (mild to severe)
❖ Culture shock is seen as a process, represented as adjustment curves, which can focus either on the sole mobility experience
(U CURVE), or also on the effects of the mobility on the return home (W CURVE). Usually the process of cultural
adjustment is time framed (up to 48 months roughly), but this is not straightforward!

COMFORTANDSATISFACTION
MONTHS IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY
Honeymoon
(0-2 months)
Negotiation
(3-9 months)
Adjustment
(9-48 months)
Mastery
( >48 months)
The U curve of cultural adjustment
➢ Honeymoon phase: You have just arrived in your host country, and
you are excited to immerse yourself in the new culture and intrigued by
the differences that you encounter.
➢ Negotiation phase: Usually after a few weeks, this newness wears off
and your sense of adventure gives way to aggravation over issues such as
difficulty in communication or anxiety over “looking foreign” and being
treated differently (for example).The smallest of obstacles might take on
epic proportions.
➢ Adjustment phase: At this point, you start to adjust to cultural
differences and develop new patterns of daily living that both fit with the
new culture and work for you.
➢ Mastery phase: Most students will not be abroad long enough to reach
this phase; it comes after a year (usually more) of living abroad and
means that you are equally comfortable with your home culture and your
“new” culture.

The W curve of cultural adjustment

Ways to cope with culture shock
DOs
✓ Research some of the cultural
customs of your country before
you depart.
✓ Remind yourself of why you
decided to study abroad.
✓ Keep your sense of humour.
✓ Develop relationships with people
from your host country.
✓ Keep a healthy lifestyle
✓ Explore the host country
Stick to your cultural habits.
Build yourself a “comfort
bubble”.
Being absorbed by your work.
Compare the culture of your host
country with your own.
Daily contact with family back
home.
Avoid contact with locals
DON’Ts

❖Exercise:
❖Didactic approach:
➢ Do not change the signs on the paper.
➢ Put the results in the appropriate boxes.
➢ Do not use calculators
Learning activity 2
The participant will receive a handout with some simple arithmetic problems. Therefore, it
should be easy for you to get the correct answers. However, to simulate the culture shock of
being in a different country, the symbols for multiplication, addition, division, and subtraction
follow a different logic. The problems must be solved in 3 minutes.

Module 4: Acculturation in work context and Cultural
Intelligence
Acculturation in work context
and Cultural Intelligence

Culture shock findings
➢ Even the simplest, the most obvious things may turn to be difficult or challenging while stepping
in a foreign working environment.
➢ Participants in international mobility have to adjust to a new cultural environment in a very short
amount of time; and it is often a stressful experience.
➢ Old-timers should recognize these difficulties and, if possible, help newcomers overcome them.
ACCULTURATION

Acculturation: a definition
Acculturation is the process of cultural change and psychological change that
results following meeting between cultures. (Berry, 2010)
➢ Culture learning process
✓ It implies cultural and psychological change
✓ Acculturation happens when individuals from different cultures share one
geographical location (e.g., due to migration, international study or internship).
➢ Dual process
✓ The positivity of its outcomes depend on the willingness and the bona fide of the
actors involved
How many tribes do you think they are from?

Acculturation: a model
❖ The most widely known acculturation model was developed by Canadian psychologist John Berry [Berry,
J. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural
Relations, 29, 697-712]
❖ Due to his model, people interacting with a new culture are confronted with two
basic issues:
➢ maintaining the “heritage” or “home” culture and identity;
➢ maintaining relationships with the host society.
❖ Depending on where the positive or negative value is placed (on “home” and/or
“host” culture), the author defines four acculturation strategies:
1. Integration
2. Separation
3. Assimilation
4. Marginalization

Acculturation matrix
Positive Negative
Positive Integration Assimilation
Negative Separation Marginalization
Attitude toward maintaining
HOME culture
Attitudetoward
learningNEW
culture
+ -
+
-

Acculturation and well-being
Behavioral Shifts Acculturative stress and
Well-being
Integration Selective adoption of new
behaviors; retention of
valued features of "home"
culture
Lowest level of stress;
Better well-being
Assimilation The biggest behavioral
shifts; adoption of new
behaviors
Average level of stress;
Average well-being
Separation The fewest behavoiral shifts;
retention of "home" culture
behaviors
Average level of stress;
Average well-being
Marginalization Major loss of "home" culture
behaviors; appearance of
disfunctional behaviors in
"host" culture
Highest level of stress;
Worse well-being
How can we foster positive acculturation in a work context? CQ

Cultural Intelligence: definition
Research shows that Cultural Intelligence (CQ) helps adjust to a new
cultural environment and overcome culture shock.
❖CQ is defined as:
➢ an outsider’s ability to interpret unfamiliar and ambiguous behaviors the way that compatriots
would;
➢ an ability to perform effectively and efficiently in different cultures and environments.
❖CQ relates positively to job performance
➢ People with higher CQ can more easily understand unfamiliar cultures and adjust their
behaviors to perform effectively in culturally diverse situations.
❖CQ relates negatively to culture shock
➢ People with higher CQ suffer less from culture shock.

Cultural Intelligence in work conext
Developing CQ is equally important both for company’s old-time employees and for
newcomers – trainees.
For old-timers CQ helps:
➢ be more open to interacting
with colleagues from different
cultures / with those who are
different from them
➢ be more sensitive to cultural
differences and more apt to
accept them
For newcomers CQ helps:
➢ adjust to the new environment
by acquiring cultural knowledge
and adopting new behavior
patterns
➢ quickly overcome culture shock
and be more effective at
workplace

The three dimensions of CQ
❖ The concept of emotional intelligence is
relatively recent: early definitions and studies
of the concepts were given by P. Christopher
Earley and Soon Ang (2003), who identified
three dimensions at the base of CQ
➢ “Head” - cognitive & metacognitive
➢ “Body” - behavioral
➢ “Heart” - motivational
HEART
BODY
HEAD
CULTURAL
INTELLIGENCE

❖Cognitive and metacognitive CQ:
➢ Cultural knowledge about economic, legal, and social aspects of different cultures (e.g.
host culture)
➢ Knowledge of organizational culture (in host organizations)
➢ Mental processing responsible for gaining awareness and understanding of different
cultures
High cognitive and metacognitive CQ allows incorporate new information in order to
understand and interpret new experiences.
❖Strategy:
➢ Gain cultural knowledge through educational and personal experience
➢ Be attentive: notice clues to a culture’s shared understandings
Example: see Cultural Intelligence – Activity handout 1, Case study 1
HEAD

❖ Physical / Behavioral CQ:
➢ Capability to perform preferred verbal and non-verbal actions when interacting with
people from a different culture
People with high behavioral CQ act the same way the representatives of a different culture do.
Their actions prove they have really entered a new culture.
❖ Strategy:
➢ Observe people
➢ Adopt their habits and mannerisms
BODY

❖ Emotional / Motivational CQ:
➢ Intrinsic interest in cross-cultural adjustment
➢ Believing in your own efficacy in a new cultural environment
People with high motivational CQ are able to gain more attention and energy for a better
performance and have more confidence in accomplishing tasks.
❖ Strategy:
➢ Remember yourself in the face of challenging situations; thinks about your success in overcoming
them
➢ Persevere through difficult situations and believe in yourself
➢ Think what motivates you for being / working in the new cultural environment
HEART

Learning activity 3
❖Exercise:
• Create a mind map reflecting on the most important aspects of your national and/or organizational
culture which you believe a trainee should be aware of.
❖Didactic approach:
• Use the Cultural Intelligence model to thinks about:
➢ Head-dimension: What should a trainee know about your culture?
➢ Body-dimension: How should a trainee behave in your culture?
➢ Heart-dimension: What may motivate a trainee to work in your company?
• If you work with a partner or in a group, present your mind map to your peers.
See Activity handouts 2 & 3

Module 3 & 4: conclusions and reccomendation
❖ Conclusions:
✓ Foreign cultures are always and by all stereotyped, since stereotypes are cognitive labels which are helpful to
synthesise external concepts
✓ The first step to handle the host country culture and to avoid the culture shock is to know how to properly
contextualize stereotypes and to proactively cope with them
✓ In the work context, cultural differences – if not well assessed and overcome – can jeopardize the International
Mobility experience.
❖ Recommendations:
✓ Trainees who will arrive to the host country shall come prepared to experience the local living & working culture
and shall be disposed to develop skills and attitudes -as already expressed previously- useful to interact in an
effective and appropriate way right from the start. Cultural intelligence stands at the forefront.
✓ Organisations involved in hosting/sending trainees shall strife to promote and to teach acculturation and they shall
guarantee the proper integration of the trainee, vis a vis the exigencies of the hosting company.

“I imagine hell like this: Italian punctuality, German humour and English
wine.”
Peter Ustinov

Day 4: 04.05.2017
Module 5 – “Intercultural Communication”
LTTA-2: 01.05.2017 – 5.05.2017
Europa Training UK

Module 5: Intercultural Communication
❖ Description: This module explains differences in the use of language, explains how to overcome
the language barrier and teaches easy to use practical communication strategies.
➢ Knowledge: How is language differently used in different cultures? Direct and indirect communication.
Affective and neutral communication.
➢ Skills: Recognizing different patterns of communication.
➢ Competences: Handling different approaches in communication style. Clarification and Explanation of different
cultural parameters.

❖ Intercultural Communication – Language – Areas to be covered
Introduction Language Barriers
Nonverbal
communication

Introduction

Intercultural Communication
Intercultural
Communication
Language
Personal
features
Culture
HistoryReligion

Effective Communication Basic Skills
Do:
✓ Speak
✓ Discuss
✓ Explain
✓ Present your views/beliefs
✓ Be interested
Do not:
✓ Shout
✓ Argue
✓ Demand immediate understanding
✓Impose your views/beliefs
✓Focus on yourself

Effective Communication
❖ Respect other people’s beliefs
❖ Put aside your personal beliefs for the purpose of
communication
❖ Put stress on the similarities not differences
❖ Be open-minded bearing in mind WE all have the right to
be different

Effective Communication
❖ Let yourself go and learn language and how to
communicate everywhere!
❖ Combine different sources of acquiring knowledge and
language
❖ Be yourself, Share your opinions but always accept
what other believe in.

Language Barriers

Language Barriers
Language barriers are created by CIRCUMSTANCES and
PEOPLE so ALWAYS ADAPT to all CONDTITIONS
Be ready to make mistakes and hear mistakes but remember
that they are the outcome of the process of thinking
Language barriers influance the converstaion but they do
not stop the process of communication

Common Barriers to Effective Communication
The use of jargon - Over-complicated, unfamiliar and/or technical terms.
Emotional barriers and taboos - Some people may find it difficult to express their
emotions and some topics may be completely 'off-limits' or taboo.
Lack of attention, interest, distractions, or irrelevance to the receiver.
Differences in perception and viewpoint.
Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulties
Physical barriers to non-verbal communication. - Not being able to see the non-
verbal cues, gestures, posture and general body language can make communication
less effective.

Common Barriers to Effective Communication 2
Language differences and the difficulty in understanding
unfamiliar accents.
Expectations and prejudices which may lead to false assumptions
or stereotyping - People often hear what they expect to hear rather
than what is actually said and jump to incorrect conclusions.
Cultural differences - The norms of social interaction vary greatly in
different cultures, as do the way in which emotions are expressed. For
example, the concept of personal space varies between cultures and
between different social settings.

Training Activity 1
What Makes a good Communicator?
➢Stage 1:
✓ Splitting in to three groups, you have 20 minutes to identify the most important skills /
competences that make a good communicator
➢Stage 2:
✓ A Group discussion to define the list of the essentials skills of a good communicator.

Communication = action + reaction
➢ Speak slowly and clearly
➢ Ask for clarification
➢ Be specific
➢ Frequently check for understanding
➢ Be patient
➢ Provide information via multiple channels
➢ Avoid idioms and jargon.

Listen - Speak - Listen = COMMUNICATE
➢ Communication means FLUENCY
➢ Don’t be afraid to make mistakes but correct yourself
➢ Use all possible means of communication – words, body language,
gestures
➢ Be confident
➢ SMILE ☺
➢ Act and React

Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication
❖ facial expressions,
❖ head movements,
❖ hand and arm gestures

• In Western culture, an upright, yet relaxed body posture, is
associated with confidence, positivity, high self esteem.
(Guerrero & Floyd, 2006).
• “A weak walking style sends a cue of vulnerability to a
would-be mugger or attacker.” (Gunn,s Johnson, &
Hudson, 2002)
• “Confident walkers rank near the bottom of potential
targets of crime”(Ivy & Wahl, 2009).
Nonverbal communication: Posture & Gait

Nonverbal indicators of dislike:
• Indirect, oblique body orientation
• No eye contact, or eye contact of short duration
• Averted eyes
• Unpleasant facial expressions
• Relative absence of gestures
• Body rigidity, bodily tension
• Incongruent postures
Nonverbal communication: Posture and Body Movement

Interpreting posture:
Nonverbal communication: Posture and Body Movement
What are these
people conveying
with their bodies?

What are Hand Gestures?
Hand gestures are a way of communicating with
others and conveying your feelings. These gestures
are most helpful when one is speaking to someone
with no language in common. The meanings of hand
gestures in different cultures may translate into
different things.
Nonverbal communication: Hand Gestures

Humans have uniquely expressive hands:
Nonverbal communication: Hand Gestures

Nonverbal communication: Adaptors
• Adaptors are usually
unintentional.
• Adaptors include self-
touching behaviors
• Adapters signal
nervousness,
anxiousness, boredom
• Generally speaking,
adapters are perceived
negatively
– However, adaptors may
be perceived as more
genuine, authentic
Examples of adaptors
– Fiddling with hair
– Chewing fingernails
– Tapping foot or leg
– Biting lips
– Scratching arm
– Wringing hands
– Clenching jaw

Nonverbal communication: Adaptors
Hair twirling is an adaptor, but does
it always mean the same thing?

Nonverbal communication : Nonverbal leaving behaviours
What do people do when
– they are ending an
interpersonal
conversation?
– they are getting ready to
leave class?
– they are ending a phone
conversation?
Does it depend on:
– the communication
context?
– the nature of the
relationship?
– cultural considerations?

“Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they
understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the
economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that
their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the
same questions.”
Paulo Coelho

Day 5: 05.05.2017
Module 6 – “Conflict Management”
LTTA-2: 01.05.2017 – 5.05.2017
Europa Training UK

Module 6: Conflict Management
❖ Description: Introduction into the basic principles of conflict management and de-escalation with a
specific focus on interculturality and practicality.
Key areas:
✓ Understand the basis of negotiation and de-escalation
✓ Understand what is a business meeting and its features
✓ Understand how reduce or face conflicts
✓ Understand how to respond effectively to critical situations
➢ Knowledge: Understand the basis of negotiation and de-escalation.
➢ Skills: Learn about the strategic advantage of preparation
➢ Competences: Improve listening capacity, reduce conflict and build an effective negotiation activity

Module 6: Key aspects to be covered:
❖ Dealing with conflict: behaviours and suggestions for a good
negotiation. Build understanding of methods and tools to manage
conflicts resolution
❖ Competencies to avoid / face conflict - meeting management
❖ Competencies to avoid / face conflict - effective team impact
❖ Competencies to avoid / face conflict - effective communication

Effective cooperation follows from finding a shared position
based on shared principles
Your
Principles
The Other’s
Principles Hidden
Your
First
Position
Your
Next
Position
A
Shared
Position
Other’s
First
Position
Other’s
Next
Position
Visible

A conflict of interest exists when such a shared position is not
apparent
Your
Principles
The Other’s
Principles Hidden
Visible
Your
First
Position
Your
Last
Position
Other’s
First
Position
Other’s
Last
Position
Conflict
Of
Interest

Conflict Intervention

Facilitation conflict resolution
1. Complete a cost/benefit analysis for conflict intervention
2. Clarify your role
➢ Intervention, no arbitration or mediation
➢ Conflict partners remain responsible for resolving the conflict
3. Explain a conflict model
➢ Construction of the reality from a personal perspective
➢ Principles and positions
➢ Indicate the value of working through a conflict
4. Establish rules for conflict resolution
5. Facilitate the exploratory discussion
Adapted from W. de Moor, Stress-
and conflict management 1989

Training Activity 1
Conflict resolution rule book
➢Stage 1:
✓ Splitting in to three groups, you have 20 minutes to identify the most important stages in
conflict resolution that can be added to a rulebook
✓ For example, Stage 1: Establish power balance (Only allow means of power e.g. information,
Establish agreement on overall team objective)
➢Stage 2:
✓ A Group discussion on the contents of a conflict resolution Rule Book

1. Establish power balance
➢ Only allow means of power (e.g. information)
➢ Establish agreement on overall team objective
2. Strive to avoid loss of face
➢ No personal attacks, no intimidations
➢ No accusations
➢ Revising your opinion is regarded constructive
3. Explore differences of opinion
➢ A difference of opinions suggests a difference of principles
➢ Exploration for clarification
Adapted from W. de Moor, Stress-
and conflict management 1989

4. Separate issues from people
➢ A person is more than his opinion on a single issue
➢ Conflict is a process, not an end-result carved in stone
5. Deal with emotions appropriately
➢ Emotions are undeniably a part of conflict
➢ Expressing emotions is allowed, but only when open for discussion
➢ Avoid having the expression of emotions lead to new conflict material
6. Strive to find a shared position (win-win)
➢ Avoid symmetrical escalation from competitive positions
➢ Partners in conflict, not adversaries

7. Avoid personality evaluations
➢ Conflict behaviour should not be extended into personality traits
➢ Avoid rigidity by attributing roles
➢ Explore principles that drive behavior
8. Create a supportive climate
➢ Descriptive instead of judgmental
➢ Focused on issues instead of people
➢ Spontaneous and honest instead of deceptive and closed
➢ Empathetic instead of competitive
➢ Flexible and open instead of rigid

Conflict resolution strategies
COMPROMISE
FLEXIBILITY
ENERGY
High
LowHigh
REJECTION
Low
ADPTATION
COOPERATIONCOMPETITION

Training Activity 2
How to improve listening capacity
➢Stage 1:
✓ Splitting in to three groups, you have 20 minutes to identify the key characteristics / styles
that could be used to help improve listing capacity in relation to international Mobility's
✓ For example, Keep out of your mind every negative emotion about people sitting in front of you
➢Stage 2:
✓ A Group discussion on how to improve listening capacity

Nine hints to improve listening capacity
1. Keep out of your mind every negative emotion about people sitting in front of you
2. Clarify your role
3. Don’t try to imagine what the other part is going to say
4. Listen with attention is not only to be silent
5. Try to not interrupt and practice effective insertions
6. Make questions to increase understanding of others’ position
7. Remember all has been said
8. Do not forget that body language has to be coherent with logical thinking
9. Use your self control

Seven final suggestions to reduce conflict and build an effective
negotiation
1. Awareness: Is important to be aware of difference between interests and positions. Interest are basis
on which build long term agreements.
2. Be creative: try to overcome concepts like ‘we did always like this’, propose new paths and solutions,
taking into consideration interests of all parts. Don’t try to imagine what the other part is going to say
3. Truth: your assertive truth makes people more engaged. Try to not interrupt and practice effective
insertions
4. Engagement: be sure that other part is able (and committed) to take decisions.
5. Listen: an active listening may be one of negotiation key of success
6. Relation: is often even more important that be successful
7. Alternatives: issues in social sciences (like negotiation or communication) have often more than one
solution. Reflect on this point

Training Activity 3
Conflict Management in European Mobility
➢Objective:
➢ A group discussion on examples of Conflicts that have occurred in Mobility projects and
the steps that were taken to resolve the conflict.
➢Outcomes:
➢ Identify the best practices for resolving conflicts
➢ Are there major difference in the types of conflicts based on the role (mentor, trainee, host
company)
➢ What happens if conflict cannot be resolved

“Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can
make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it.
That factor is attitude.”
William James

Joint SPREAD_Staff Training Event:“Intercultural Issues in Transnational Projects”

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