Term B 2017 – 2018
Intercultural
management
Summary
Youandi van Wezenbeek
13-11-2017
,Table of contents
Table of contents .................................................................................................................. 1
1 Culture, communication and global citizenship ............................................................... 3
1.1 What is Culture? Visible and invisible culture .......................................................... 3
1.2 Definition of culture ................................................................................................. 3
1.3 Cultural programming ............................................................................................. 4
1.4 Culture and subcultures .......................................................................................... 4
1.5 Intercultural communication .................................................................................... 4
1.6 Noise. What exactly is communication noise?......................................................... 5
1.7 TOPOI model, intervention for cultural noise ........................................................... 5
1.8 Global citizenship .................................................................................................... 6
2 Working with Hall’s key concepts of cultural differences................................................. 7
2.1 High and low context communication ...................................................................... 7
2.2 Monochronic and polychronic time .......................................................................... 8
2.3 Personal space ....................................................................................................... 9
2.4 Fast and slow messages......................................................................................... 9
2.5 Fast and slow information flow .............................................................................. 10
2.6 Action chains ........................................................................................................ 10
3 Working with Kluckhohn’s variations in value orientations ............................................ 10
3.1 Dominating, in harmony with or subjugated to nature............................................ 10
3.2 Past, present and future orientation ...................................................................... 11
3.3 Doing or being cultures: task or relation orientation............................................... 11
3.4 Individualism and collectivism ............................................................................... 11
3.5 Is space private or public? .................................................................................... 12
3.6 Human nature ....................................................................................................... 13
3.7 The three-step method by Pinto ............................................................................ 13
4 Working with Hofstede’s 6 dimensions of culture ......................................................... 13
4.1 Power distance index ............................................................................................ 14
4.2 Individualism and collectivism ............................................................................... 14
4.3 Masculinity versus femininity ................................................................................. 15
4.4 Uncertainty avoidance .......................................................................................... 15
4.5 Long-term and short-term orientation .................................................................... 16
4.6 Indulgence and restraint ....................................................................................... 17
4.7 Example country scores (the Netherlands & Japan).............................................. 17
5 Cultural synergy: Trompenaars’ 7 dimensions and cultural reconciliation ..................... 18
5.1 Universalism and particularism: rules or relationships? ......................................... 18
5.2 Individualism and communitarianism..................................................................... 18
, 5.3 Emotions: neutral and affective ............................................................................. 18
5.4 Involvement: specific and diffuse .......................................................................... 19
5.5 Status: achieved and ascribed .............................................................................. 19
5.6 Time ..................................................................................................................... 19
5.7 Attitudes towards the environment ........................................................................ 19
5.8 Reconciliation: from vicious circle to virtuous circle ............................................... 20
5.9 Three steps to cultural synergy ............................................................................. 21
6 The growth process in intercultural sensitivity .............................................................. 22
6.1 Denial ................................................................................................................... 22
6.2 Defence ................................................................................................................ 22
6.3 Minimization .......................................................................................................... 22
6.4 Acceptance ........................................................................................................... 22
6.5 Adaptation ............................................................................................................ 23
6.6 Integration/intercultural competence ..................................................................... 23
7 Culture shock while studying abroad ............................................................................ 23
7.1 Culture shock: what is it? ...................................................................................... 23
7.2 What are the stages of culture shock? .................................................................. 23
7.3 Pre-departure stage .............................................................................................. 23
7.4 The vacation stage................................................................................................ 23
7.5 The angry stage .................................................................................................... 23
7.6 Adjustment stage and strategies ........................................................................... 24
7.7 Re-entry shock...................................................................................................... 24
7.8 Re-entry shock and international careers .............................................................. 24
8 Multicultural teams and global leadership..................................................................... 25
8.1 Managing diversity in teams.................................................................................. 25
8.2 Multicultural teams’ strengths, weaknesses and conditions for excellence ............ 25
8.3 During the stages of group formation: challenges and opportunities for culturally
diverse teams .................................................................................................................. 26
8.4 Global leadership: the GLOBE project .................................................................. 26
8.5 GLOBE dimensions/cultural competencies ........................................................... 27
8.6 GLOBE leadership clusters ................................................................................... 28
8.7 GLOBE leadership and values .............................................................................. 28
Harari’s book – Sapiens (a brief history of Humankind) ....................................................... 30
, 1 Culture, communication and global citizenship
1.1 What is Culture? Visible and invisible culture
According to interculturalist Edgar Schein, culture consists of layers (like an onion).
1. Artefacts of culture:
This is the outer layer. These are the first thing you
notice when entering a new country. They are easy to
perceive and nice to know, but intercultural
communication is not going to be about artefacts.
2. Norms and values:
This is the second layer. They are (un)written standards
of correct, desired behaviour. What are the norms? The
values express what we think is good or right. They are
not as visible as artefact and take some time to notice
and learn them.
3. Basic assumptions:
This is the deepest layer. They are abstract and invisible. We learn them very young and
we are unaware of their influence. Yet the perception of the world around us and the
judgements we make about others, are shaped or distorted by them. Intercultural
communication is about bringing basic assumptions of our own culture to our awareness
and to recognise the basic assumptions of other cultures. This is so we can
communicate creatively and more effectively with people from other cultures, to use
cultural diversity at work as a source of inspiration and growth, and to achieve cultural
synergy.
1.2 Definition of culture
Culture (with capital C): literature, art, music, theatre, museums and architecture.
culture (with little c): the familiar way we think, feel and behave. How we learned
this and share the meaning of it with other members of our
society.
There are several definitions of culture, below you can see four of them. The one in bold
(Geert Hofstede) is the one chosen by the book.
1. Edgar Schein “a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned
as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal
integration, that has worked well enough to be considered
valid and therefore to be taught to new members as the
correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those
problems.”
2. Mijnd Huijser “a group’s set of shared norms and values expressed in the
behaviour of the group’s members.”
3. Fons Trompenaars “Culture is the way in which a group of people solves
problems.”
4. Geert Hofstede “Culture is the collective programming of the human
mind, which distinguishes the members of one group or
category of people from another.”
Intercultural
management
Summary
Youandi van Wezenbeek
13-11-2017
,Table of contents
Table of contents .................................................................................................................. 1
1 Culture, communication and global citizenship ............................................................... 3
1.1 What is Culture? Visible and invisible culture .......................................................... 3
1.2 Definition of culture ................................................................................................. 3
1.3 Cultural programming ............................................................................................. 4
1.4 Culture and subcultures .......................................................................................... 4
1.5 Intercultural communication .................................................................................... 4
1.6 Noise. What exactly is communication noise?......................................................... 5
1.7 TOPOI model, intervention for cultural noise ........................................................... 5
1.8 Global citizenship .................................................................................................... 6
2 Working with Hall’s key concepts of cultural differences................................................. 7
2.1 High and low context communication ...................................................................... 7
2.2 Monochronic and polychronic time .......................................................................... 8
2.3 Personal space ....................................................................................................... 9
2.4 Fast and slow messages......................................................................................... 9
2.5 Fast and slow information flow .............................................................................. 10
2.6 Action chains ........................................................................................................ 10
3 Working with Kluckhohn’s variations in value orientations ............................................ 10
3.1 Dominating, in harmony with or subjugated to nature............................................ 10
3.2 Past, present and future orientation ...................................................................... 11
3.3 Doing or being cultures: task or relation orientation............................................... 11
3.4 Individualism and collectivism ............................................................................... 11
3.5 Is space private or public? .................................................................................... 12
3.6 Human nature ....................................................................................................... 13
3.7 The three-step method by Pinto ............................................................................ 13
4 Working with Hofstede’s 6 dimensions of culture ......................................................... 13
4.1 Power distance index ............................................................................................ 14
4.2 Individualism and collectivism ............................................................................... 14
4.3 Masculinity versus femininity ................................................................................. 15
4.4 Uncertainty avoidance .......................................................................................... 15
4.5 Long-term and short-term orientation .................................................................... 16
4.6 Indulgence and restraint ....................................................................................... 17
4.7 Example country scores (the Netherlands & Japan).............................................. 17
5 Cultural synergy: Trompenaars’ 7 dimensions and cultural reconciliation ..................... 18
5.1 Universalism and particularism: rules or relationships? ......................................... 18
5.2 Individualism and communitarianism..................................................................... 18
, 5.3 Emotions: neutral and affective ............................................................................. 18
5.4 Involvement: specific and diffuse .......................................................................... 19
5.5 Status: achieved and ascribed .............................................................................. 19
5.6 Time ..................................................................................................................... 19
5.7 Attitudes towards the environment ........................................................................ 19
5.8 Reconciliation: from vicious circle to virtuous circle ............................................... 20
5.9 Three steps to cultural synergy ............................................................................. 21
6 The growth process in intercultural sensitivity .............................................................. 22
6.1 Denial ................................................................................................................... 22
6.2 Defence ................................................................................................................ 22
6.3 Minimization .......................................................................................................... 22
6.4 Acceptance ........................................................................................................... 22
6.5 Adaptation ............................................................................................................ 23
6.6 Integration/intercultural competence ..................................................................... 23
7 Culture shock while studying abroad ............................................................................ 23
7.1 Culture shock: what is it? ...................................................................................... 23
7.2 What are the stages of culture shock? .................................................................. 23
7.3 Pre-departure stage .............................................................................................. 23
7.4 The vacation stage................................................................................................ 23
7.5 The angry stage .................................................................................................... 23
7.6 Adjustment stage and strategies ........................................................................... 24
7.7 Re-entry shock...................................................................................................... 24
7.8 Re-entry shock and international careers .............................................................. 24
8 Multicultural teams and global leadership..................................................................... 25
8.1 Managing diversity in teams.................................................................................. 25
8.2 Multicultural teams’ strengths, weaknesses and conditions for excellence ............ 25
8.3 During the stages of group formation: challenges and opportunities for culturally
diverse teams .................................................................................................................. 26
8.4 Global leadership: the GLOBE project .................................................................. 26
8.5 GLOBE dimensions/cultural competencies ........................................................... 27
8.6 GLOBE leadership clusters ................................................................................... 28
8.7 GLOBE leadership and values .............................................................................. 28
Harari’s book – Sapiens (a brief history of Humankind) ....................................................... 30
, 1 Culture, communication and global citizenship
1.1 What is Culture? Visible and invisible culture
According to interculturalist Edgar Schein, culture consists of layers (like an onion).
1. Artefacts of culture:
This is the outer layer. These are the first thing you
notice when entering a new country. They are easy to
perceive and nice to know, but intercultural
communication is not going to be about artefacts.
2. Norms and values:
This is the second layer. They are (un)written standards
of correct, desired behaviour. What are the norms? The
values express what we think is good or right. They are
not as visible as artefact and take some time to notice
and learn them.
3. Basic assumptions:
This is the deepest layer. They are abstract and invisible. We learn them very young and
we are unaware of their influence. Yet the perception of the world around us and the
judgements we make about others, are shaped or distorted by them. Intercultural
communication is about bringing basic assumptions of our own culture to our awareness
and to recognise the basic assumptions of other cultures. This is so we can
communicate creatively and more effectively with people from other cultures, to use
cultural diversity at work as a source of inspiration and growth, and to achieve cultural
synergy.
1.2 Definition of culture
Culture (with capital C): literature, art, music, theatre, museums and architecture.
culture (with little c): the familiar way we think, feel and behave. How we learned
this and share the meaning of it with other members of our
society.
There are several definitions of culture, below you can see four of them. The one in bold
(Geert Hofstede) is the one chosen by the book.
1. Edgar Schein “a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned
as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal
integration, that has worked well enough to be considered
valid and therefore to be taught to new members as the
correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those
problems.”
2. Mijnd Huijser “a group’s set of shared norms and values expressed in the
behaviour of the group’s members.”
3. Fons Trompenaars “Culture is the way in which a group of people solves
problems.”
4. Geert Hofstede “Culture is the collective programming of the human
mind, which distinguishes the members of one group or
category of people from another.”
