Making students aware of their own cultural values and intercultural competence by means of a culture competence awareness project and an intercultural e-mail project Marinel Gerritsen (Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands) Teaching, Acquiring and Applying Intercultural Competence Centre for Business Languages and Intercultural Communication at the Johannes Kepler University Linz 21 September 2012 1

Course Intercultural Communication

• First year Bachelor Business Communication Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen • Lectures for more than 200 students • 7 weeks, 5 hours a week • Students are expected to spend 40 hours on the course (5 ECTS points) • The lecturer was allotted 90 hours 2

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Course Objectives

To give our students insight into 1. The differences between cultures in values and the possible consequences of these differences for international Business Communication 2. Their own values 3. Their intercultural competence

Teaching tool: assignments that measure values and intercultural competence of the students via the digital learning environment (Blackboard)

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Six basic values (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck) 1. Human nature 2. Human Relations Collectivism-Individualism + Context Power distance Particularism-Universalism Neutral-Affective Achievement 3. Activity Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity-Feminity Indulgence-Restraint (6th value of Hofstede is not yet incorporated ) 4. Time Past, present, future Polychrony-monochrony Confucian Dynamism 5. Space Personal space Private-Public Specific-Diffuse 6. Person-Nature 4

Assignment 3 I feel most comfortable where People sympathise with the underdog and tend to be jealous of the success of others 1 2 3 4 5 People admire the top-dog and blame the unsuccessful At work, people are motivated by a pleasant work environment, warmth and “cosiness” 1 2 3 4 5 People try to reach consensus at work and colleagues are not supposed to compete against one another 1 2 3 4 5 Both men and women can be modest, tender and concerned with quality of life issues 1 2 3 4 5 Lovers look for intimacy 1 2 3 4 5 At work, people are motivated by clear-cut targets and strict accountability to demonstrate their level of achievement People see confrontations as positive and fruitful; one should compete or die Men are supposed to be assertive and focused at material success, and women are supposed to be more modest and concerned with quality of life issues Lovers look for emotional support 5

Press to submit

Your answers

Your answer to assignment 3 is: 37 6

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Intercultural Communication 2011-2012 Results assignment 3: Masculinity (N=202) 8

Results assignment 3: Masculinity (N=202)

• 0=feminine, 100=masculine • Mean of the whole group 35.9 (last year 34,4) • Range 10-75 (last year 5-60) • Standard deviation 10.96 (last year 10.65) • Hofstede (2001), Hofstede, Hofstede, Minkov (2010) for the Netherlands: 14

Don’t forget your own score!!

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Example of an examination question designed to test the students’ familiarity with their own scores and the consequences of those scores Imagine that you have to write an annual report for your company together with a person from Austria who has the values given below. Describe the problems you would expect to encounter on the basis of the differences between his or her values and yours. Refer to your own values resulting from the Blackboard assignments you completed during the course.

. Communication style: low Individualism:55 Power distance: 11 Masculinity:79 Uncertainty avoidance: 70 Monochrone Confucian dynamism: 31 10

These assignments related to values give the student insight into

• Their own values • Individual variation within a country • Consistency over time for a given value and changes in values • Methodological problems of previous surveys 11

Intercultural Competence: A validated test developed by Karin van der Zee and Jan Pieter van Oudenhoven (2000)

• Cultural empathy • Open-mindedness • Social initiative • Emotional stability • Flexibility 12

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a digital learning environment • Advantages – An individual approach is possible – Whether 20 or 1000 students are involved the work load for the lecturer is the same – Once the assignments are installed they can be used as often as necessary – The project results in an extensive data base • Disadvantages – Analyzing the data for the whole group is sometimes time consuming – It requires a great deal of work to integrate the tool in a digital learning environment 13

What our students “ wrote” in their evaluations about the assignments “I like the fact that I know now on which aspects of my intercultural competence I still have to work”.

“It was very interesting to gain an insight into my own values. I asked my boyfriend to do the test too and when we compared the results we both realized why we sometimes have problems with each other”.

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B.

Course Objectives

To give our students an insight into 1. The differences between cultures in values and the possible consequences of these differences for international Business Communication 2. Their own values 3. Their intercultural competence

Teaching tool: assignments that measure values and intercultural competence of the students in digital learning environment (Blackboard)

To allow our students to 1. Experience cultural differences 2. Talk about cultural differences 3. Learn to cooperate with someone from a different culture

Teaching tool: Intercultural e-mailproject

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The Netherlands and Belgium 16

The Netherlands and Dutch speaking Belgium: One language but two very different cultures

“In fact, no two countries (...) with a common border and a common language are so far culturally apart (…) as (Dutch) Belgium and the Netherlands” (Geert Hofstede 2001). 17

The Netherlands-Dutch speaking Belgium

An excellent opportunity for our intercultural project because: a. b. There are two different cultures Both cultures have the same first language (Dutch) 18

Project description for the student

1. Complete a questionnaire on your own

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19 questions/ cases with topics such as:

Symbols Rituals

Birth/ burial traditions

Values

Communicating with “superiors” Etc. 20

Examples of questions-1

• Symbols, clothing Imagine that you applied for the job of communication manager at a large bank and you have been invited for an interview. a. Describe in detail what you would wear b. Describe in detail what you believe someone of the opposite sex should wear • Rituals, holidays Give all the official holidays in your country in 2012. Start with January 1st and end with December 31st. Give the date for each holiday day and its name and then give the following information: a. What is being celebrated; b. How this is celebrated in your family; c. How this is celebrated in public.

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Examples of questions -2

• Values This is a list with eight aspects that you could require from a job. Label what you think is most important as “1”, the next most important as “2”, and so on. Have possibilities to promotion Have responsibilities Be able to show creativity Know exactly what tasks you have to fulfill Have an unlimited contract Have flexible working hours Have a cosy work room Have good relationships with boss and colleagues 22

Project description for the student

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2.

Complete a questionnaire on your own

Send the completed questionnaire to the Dutch and the Belgian members of your group

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Example of first contact message: Dutch student writes Flemish student

Hi!

--- here’s my questionnaire!

I hope to receive yours (informal form) soon too.

Byebye xxx Esmee 24

Example of first contact message: Flemish student writes Dutch student

Good morning!

Here is my questionnaire too. I have looked at your (formal form) questionnaire and it was good. I’ll start comparing our answers referring to the frame.

Regards Joris 25

Project description for the student

1. Complete a questionnaire on your own 2. Send the completed questionnaire to the Dutch and the Belgian members of your group

3. Look for differences within a nationality and between nationalities 4. Tell each other (by e-mail, msn) about the similarities and differences you find 5. Write a report (joint venture) on the similarities and differences and try to explain these referring to the theories you have been presented with during your course

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Organisational problems for teachers

• Time allocation • Evaluation system 29

What our students “ wrote” in their evaluations about the intercultural email project At first sight, the differences didn’t seem that big, but when we discussed things they seemed very big. We learned how to cooperate with people from a different culture. You have to adapt and look for compromises.

We learned a lot about cultural differences by jointly writing the report, but also by discussing things. 30

Last email contact: Dutch student mailed Flemish student

Subject: Saying goodbye, weep, weep Hi Stijn!

You’re a nice fellow to work with! (…) I think we worked together well, and that our project was a fine piece of work (…) Thanks very much for the final changes! (…) You’re crazy, but fun to work with (…) Let’s keep in touch to see what grade we get. Because that will be the real goodbye moment … when we are in (di)stress about our final result then we can mail each other … It’ll turn out all right.

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In short: Hope to have convinced you of the added value of

• Assignments that measure the values and the intercultural competence of the students via a digital learning environment & • An intercultural email project for teaching intercultural communication and arising intercultural competence 32

More information

Prof. dr. Marinel Gerritsen Department of Business Communication Studies Radboud University Nijmegen [email protected]

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