Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Polski
-
- Introduction
- What is culture?
- Culture is like an Iceberg
- Culture and its core elements
- What is intercultural communication?
- Which are the challenges in intercultural communication?
- Transnational communication skills
- Enhancing cultural awareness for transnational communication
- Choosing adequate communication strategies
- Intercultural Conflict Management
- Stumbling blocks in Intercultural Communication
- Which are the elements that may lead to a conflict situation?
- Conflict strategies
- Conflict prevention
- Working on the intercultural image of the organisation
- What is the “image” of an organisation?
- Why should you adapt the image of your organisation to cultural premises?
- How can you work on your intercultural image?
- Quiz
- External resources
Introduction
Culture is “the way in which a group of people solve problems” – Fons Trompenaars
As a volunteer or volunteer organization on the way to working internationally you may encounter some challenging situations when working with people from other cultures. The way of communicating may seem “strange” to you, or the way how your international partners approach tasks may be different. This module on Intercultural Communication will help to solve problems you may encounter by taking into account the cultural background of your counterparts.
Bild von Gordon Johnson auf Pixabay
Learning outcomes
The Module on Intercultural Communication in Transnational Work covers four main topics.
The first topic is about “Culture”. In this unit you will learn about three definitions of the term “culture” in relation to the volunteer context. The unit will help you understand how culture can be visualised and it will introduce you to the concepts of “cultural dimensions” which represent core elements of cultures. You will have a closer look at how the cultural dimensions are related to volunteer work and you will explore where cultural dimensions show and how they can be detected in volunteer work.
The second topic is about “Intercultural Communication”. This unit will introduce you to the concept of “Intercultural Communication” by approaching a definition in the first section of this unit. You will learn about some challenges on the verbal, non-verbal and value level when interacting with people from other cultures. The second section “Transnational Communication Skills” you will discover useful skills other than speaking foreign languages for effective transnational communication. You will understand the fundamental importance of intercultural awareness that enables to react to the specific needs of the intercultural communication situation.
The third topic is about “Intercultural Conflict Management”. This unit will introduce you to some challenging elements in Intercultural Communication. You will learn what can be the reason(s) for miscommunication and you will analyse different approaches cultures have towards conflict strategies. You will also receive useful tips how conflicts can be prevented.
The fourth topic is about creating an “Intercultural Image” for your organisation. This unit will show you why it is important to work on the image of an organisation also in the non-profit sector. It will introduce you to the reasons why it is helpful to consider cultural aspects when working on the image of an organization. You will learn about some particular aspects related to culture you should consider on your way to internationalisation.
The duration of the module is estimated at 12 hours.