Lecture 7: explanation integration task

Case: looking for Belgian culture.

linklist for this lecture (selection):

http://www.expatriate-online.com/moving/Belgium/culture/culture.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemings

http://www.expatica.com/source/forum_thread.asp?channel_id=3&thread_id=13673

You can retrieve some information for your country/region as well:

• expatriate-online: maybe something similar is available for your country; look for forums (like expatica) and personal experiences, rather than general information. Stress is on: social interaction and communication.
• Wikipedia: could be interesting for you as well.
• Of course: if you look for personal experiences, make sure that you handle them as such in your portfolio.

If you have information you would like to share with your fellow students, mail me (even if it is only an annotated linklist). I'll put them on this blog.

Next week: integration week

Next week is the first integration week for NE.

For all of you (i.e. not only for NE, but also for OM and International Students), I will reserve next week's session (14 November) for questions and answers about your integration task.

Lecture 6: Intercultural leadership

I would like to give some examples of possible differences between "Western" style and an other culture's style of communication. I know that there could be a problem of overgeneralizing, but if I do, please correct me in the comments section.

Communication with people from the Middle East:
- Be patient. Recognize the Arab attitude towards time and hospitality;
- Relationships are much more important than the company (face to face vs. phone);
- Body language and flowery speech;
- Honour: no doubts/criticism in public.

Differences between Japanese and American style:
- No confrontation - confrontation;
- Group - individual(istic);
- Indirect - direct.

Examples of (intercultural) leaders.
- Why are they leaders? Why are they intercultural leaders?
- What is positive about their leadership?
- What is negative about their leadership?

Try to answer these questions (feel free to use the comments section for that) for:
- Malcolm X
- Adolf Hitler
- Ernesto Che Guevarra
- Saddam Hussein
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Joseph Stalin
- Jo Lernout & Pol Hauspie

If the world was a village of 1,000 people

In the village would be:

- 606 Asians
- 138 Africans
- 114 Europeans
- 51 North Americans
- 86 Latin Americans (Central and South America)
- 5 Australian/Oceanians

There would be:
- 335 Christians
- 218 Muslims
- 151 Hindus
- 60 Buddhists
- 38 Chinese Folk Religionists
- 57 People Practicing other Religions
- 142 Atheists or Nonreligious

(Source: Bureau of the Census, 2004)
(Quoted in: Lustig & Koester, Intercultural Competence. Interpersonal communication across cultures, Fifth Edition, Pearson Education, 2006, p. 5)

Lecture 5: Intercultural leadership

Over the last 100 years business and social life have been changing quite dramatically. Especially in the last 15 years, communication has become more and more multicultural (web). If we want to communicate these days, we really need to be interculturally prepared.

How NOT to adapt?
- learn all about target culture: is not realistic, cf. economic "window of opportunity".
- Mimic, adapt as much as possible: is not realistic either, impossible, even insulting.
- Prejudices - cultural superiority

How to adapt?
- Leaders are excellent communicators
- Understand communication (+ link communication-culture)
- Active view on cultures
- Avoid prejudices
- Cultural awareness -> open attitude
- Careful transmission of information
- R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
- Find things in common and common objective(s)

Perhaps the most important question of today's lecture:
What are our common things and common objectives? (People in the classroom described themselves as: Belgian, Macedonian, Portuguese, Flemish, Muslim, Spanish, Christian, Chinese,…)

To get started:
- common objective: reach the level of intercultural competence
- common objective: building up a network of (new) friends in order to be able to contact them again in the future.

Other things we have in common and/or common objectives? Add them in the comments.