Transcript Staff Faculty Session September 2014

CROSS CULTURAL RELATIONS AND
COMMUNICATIONS PARTICIPANT HANDOUTS
Staff Faculty Session
September 2014
CROSS CULTURAL RELATIONS AND
COMMUNICATIONS
Faculty Session
September 2014
Workshop Objectives:
Identify how aspects of your cultural identity may
give rise to some unconscious biases
Understand the meaning of culture, stereotypes
and generalizations
Learn about your cultural “hot buttons” and how to
respond to those of others in the group
Commit to taking actions to increase your crosscultural understanding, competence, and humility
Visualization Exercises: Imagine…
• Imagine that you have just
arrived at ISU from country “X”
or US community “X”.
• Consider how you experienced your
first “different people” encounters.
 Describe your first impressions of
food, smells, ISU campus; and
meeting faculty, staff and your
roommate.
 How is the classroom experience
different here vs. where you came
from?
• Take a few minutes to
• What remains your greatest
challenge?
Understanding Culture
One’s own culture provides
the “lens” through which we view the world;
the “logic” by which we order it;
the “grammar” by which it makes sense.
Avruch and Black, anthropologists
Cultures Are….
 Invisible to its members
 Much is below the surface
 Dynamic
 Heterogeneous
 Often overlap and
intersect, e.g., university
and national
 Individuals within cultures
differ
Rate Yourself! Cultural Humility,
Awareness and Competence
Cultural
Competency:
effectively
operating in
different cultural
contexts through
the development
of specific skills.
Cultural Humility:
a commitment to
self-evaluation and
the development of
an openness and
sensitivity to the
cultural identities
of people from
other groups.
1
2
3
Cultural Awareness/
Knowledge:
familiarization based on
training about or
experience with certain
cultural characteristics,
history, values, belief
systems, and behaviors
of the members of
another group.
4
5
The Biggest Practical Challenges
For Cross-Cultural Teams
Use of Time
Power Distance
Endless Debates
Attitude towards
deadlines, timelines, etc.
Attitude towards
hierarchy/authority
Consensus vs. Action;
Who decides when to
stop
Language
Loyalty
Work/Life
Balance
Trouble with accents,
fluency, meaning
Towards company,
region, division,
compatriots, or self?
Work hours, flexibility,
sacrifice
Micro-managing
Feedback
Over-analyzing
Leadership styles,
individual autonomy
Truth or diplomacy?
Group or personal?
Theory or fact?
Attitude towards risk
Decisions/No Decisions
How do we decide?
What constitutes commitment?
Sources: FWI, Hall, TMA World
Worldview is…
“Worldview” is:
the comprehensive set of
beliefs, knowledge, values,
assumptions, attitudes,
and opinions that serve as
a lens through which a
particular social group
sees, interprets, and
makes sense of the world
in which it lives.
Culture Shock: Why?
Three basic explanations:
• Loss of familiar cues
• Breakdown of interpersonal
communication
• Identity crisis
• Loss of control
Culture Shock: Signs You Need to Be
Able to Recognize
Manifestations:
 Extreme homesickness
 Avoiding social situations
 Physical complaints and sleep




difficulties
Difficulty with coursework
Inability to concentrate
Becoming angry over minor
irritations significant
Nervousness or exhaustion
How can you help?
Changes International Students Face
 Climate
 Physical and emotional impacts
 Doing without
 “They don’t have that here”
 “I can’t do that here”
 Loss of routines
 Time and energy goes to handling
basic tasks you normally don’t think
about
 Getting around
 Figuring out what’s where and how
to get there
 Unfamiliar faces
 Interacting with people they don’t
know without the support of people
they know
How can you help?
Alleviating Culture Shock:
Your Role
 Be alert for any signs of culture shock, such as, flashes of anger minor frustrations,






and excessive sleepiness, unexplained crying, change is an appetite, withdrawal,
even depression
Language caveats:
 Avoid any expressions like “touching base”, “coming out of left field”, “put your
John Hancock on it”
 Enunciate words clearly and allow a pause at the end of a thought
Can fully explain class from routines to newcomers
Help students connect to activities that might interest them outside of the classroom
Encourage students to find all forms support groups with other students who may be
at the same point and culture shock
Periodically remind students how to get help and feelings of homesickness become
overwhelming
Teach and model conflict resolution skills so that when difficult real life situations
occur they will have tools to react and in a healthy way
Diagram is used by permission from Duane Elmer's Cross-Cultural Connections (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 72).
Intercultural Hot Buttons
That Block Communication
Discussion Questions
• What are your typical reactions when you meet this
situation?
• How does this affect how you interact with that
person/group?
• What might be the cultural meaning of each of these
behaviors?
• What have you done to overcome the negative aspects
of your reactions?
Intercultural “Hooks” That
Block Communication
• Individually, circle THREE of the social/business behaviors below that you
find difficult or challenging. Rank them from 1 (most) - 3 (least).
— 1. Time boundaries and just “going with the
flow”
—
8. Getting right down to business/task without
building a relationship
— 2. Talking around the subject and arguing in a — 9. Avoiding eye contact
circular way
— 10. Not directly saying what you mean
— 3. Believing you have a “yes” decision and
— 11. Making blunt, direct statements without
being asked to revisit the idea
worrying about sensitivities of other person
— 4. Deferring to the person in the most senior
— 12. Asking personal questions
position for most decisions
— 5. Not showing up on time for a class/meeting — 13. Standing very close when talking
— 6. Making small talk and not getting to the
point
— 7. Trying many things quickly and then fixing
what did not work
— 14. Refusing to shake your hand
— 15. Putting individual needs before the group’s
needs
— 16. Insisting on explaining the theoretical
background of an idea
Responding to a Cross-Cultural Dilemma
1. RECOGNIZE
What are the cultural differences at
work in the situation?
the
2. IMPACT
of cultural differences
3. STRATEGIZE
with local
4. KNOW-HOW
to get best results
What is their impact on relevant
business activities, e.g., coordinating,
decision making, organizing, planning,
presenting?
What is the best option for moving
forward most effectively, e.g.,
accommodate to differences, assimilate,
blend?
What specifically should be done in the
situation, e.g., focus on task or focus on
relationships, communicating directly
or indirectly?
The Three “P’s” for Working
In a Cross-Cultural Environment
You don’t need to speak LOUDER because English is someone’s
second language. Instead, speak more slowly and clearly

BE
PRECISE

Find a quiet place to speak where there are fewer distractions
Find an on-site interpreter AND be sensitive to the dignity of the
person who needs help
 For instance, try to find someone of the same gender and age
of the person who needs interpretation so they don’t “lose
face”

BE
PATIENT
Consider how difficult it would be for you to function in a
language other than English every day


Try to walk in their moccasins
Treat others the way they wish to be treated. If you don’t know
what this looks like, check it out and ask

BE
POLITE AND
RESPECTFUL

Search for strengths and values in the way others view things

Explore common ground
Micro-Affirmations & Micro-Inequities
1. What are Micro-Messages?
Micro-messages are small, sometimes unspoken, and often unconscious messages that are constantly sent
and received that have a powerful impact on our interactions with others. Micro-messages can be either
positive or negative. Micro-messages can be human encounters and/or environmental in nature.
2. What are Micro-Affirmations?
Micro-affirmations are micro-messages that convey inclusion, respect, trust and a genuine willingness to see
others succeed. Micro-affirmations may lead to a more productive and efficient work environment where all
members feel valued and enjoy the work they do.
3. What are Micro-Inequities?
Micro-inequities are negative micro-messages that have a huge impact on organizations. Micro-inequities are
small events, subtle acts of disrespect, which are often hard to prove, covert and often unintentional, but may
lead to the perception of discrimination or harassment. Micro-inequities are frequently unrecognized by the
perpetrator.
4. When do Micro-Inequities occur?
Micro-inequities occur wherever people perceive that they are receiving differential treatment based on some
aspect of their diversity.
For example:
a rolling of the “eyes” or “sighing” when someone considered “different” is speaking
a manager walks down the hall and doesn’t acknowledge coworkers or subordinates
a staff person, usually someone of difference, shares an idea and no one responds. The same idea is repeated by
someone else and everyone acknowledges
 not paying attention in meetings when a certain person is sharing an idea
 exclusion of environmental factors (decorations, literature, artwork, etc.) that represents a certain group
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3-64
Micro-Affirmations & Micro-Inequities
Micro-Message
Response by Receiver(s)
Impact
+
Manager greets every member of team
in the morning by name.
Employees respond
positively and greet
manager in turn.
Employees have higher
morale and feel that
manager values them.
-
Manager walks by employees and does
not greet them or make eye contact.
Employees feel devalued
and ‘unseen.’
Low morale and
employees have negative
attitudes towards
manager
Global Examples of Micro-Inequities:
Words, Actions, Gestures, Tone, Snubs
• Introducing one colleague with glowing
accolades, the other with just a name
• Pecking away at a smart phone while
someone is trying to have an important
conversation
• Excluding someone from socializing
opportunities
• Taking credit for someone else’s work
or idea
• Cutting off a colleague in mid-sentence
• Repeatedly canceling meetings on
someone
• Omitting someone from an
important e-mail/communication
• Using acronyms that others do not
understand
• Exhibiting impatience because of a
colleague’s accent
• Speaking too fast and not
enunciating with someone in a
language that is not his/her primary
language
• Expecting others to accommodate
your time zone
Micro-Affirmations:
Small Behaviors That Create Inclusion
• Solicit Opinions: Find opportunities to
ask, "I'd like your opinion about…"
•
Actively Listen: Being attentive to the
speaker enhances the quality of their
message.
•
Draw in Participation: When addressing a
group, send messages that encourage
participation from everyone.
•
Monitor Personal Greeting: Be sensitive to
how you greet someone with whom you
have a close relationship in the presence of
others.
•
Respond Constructively to Differences:
When responding to someone's comment
you disagree with, show that you
understand their perspective before you
offer a different view.
• Connect on a Personal Level: Take a
few minutes to engage in a nonbusiness conversation with a
colleague.
• Ask Questions: When you have a
negative reaction to a colleague's
statement or suggestion, lead your
response with a question, not a
statement.
• Attribute/Credit Ideas: Acknowledge,
by name, the "owner" of an idea in a
meeting.
• Monitor Facial Expressions: Be
conscious of your facial expressions
while listening.
Micro-Affirmations: Small, conscious, deliberate behaviors that create inclusion