MULTICULTURAL

COMPETENCE

Please follow the text and the exercises on your own paste. If you decide to do everything at once and in-depth, it will take you between 90 min on the average.

Personal exercises are marked with the following symbol:You need Internet access for some of them.

Your ability to function well within a new or global environment impacts your success as a scientist and your personal wellbeing.

Cultural Awareness is having sensitivity and understanding toward members of other ethnic groups.

That however is not enough.

To be able to succeed in today’s global and multicultural environment, you need to possess / masterCultural Competence.

Cultural Competenceis the ability to effectively operate within various different cultural contexts.

To function well in an intercultural environment you need to understand the cultural basis of your emotional responses to unfamiliar behavior and then make adjustments.

What is Culture?Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes members of one category of people from others.

- Hofstede

Personal Workout 1

Push the button to learn about the five Dimensions of Cultures

Push the button to learn how your culture compares to other cultures

Not everyone in a given society is programmed in the same way. There are considerable differences between individuals as a result of the unique experiences that shape them.

However, also important,there are attitudes and beliefs that we may be either unwilling or unable to report because we are unaware of them.

The Implicit Association Test measures exactly that-our programming as a result of culture and environment that we may be either unaware of or unwilling to recognize.

Click on the button to take the following two Implicit Association Tests:

Personal Workout 2

• Race IAT• Gender-Science IAT

Please take 10-15 min and write down your responses to the following questions- What did you learn by making the test ?- How would that help you in an intercultural environment?

Personal Workout 2

Complete the statement, `“I am a(n) _______,” rather quickly 20 times. Do not think at all about your responses. Example: I.e., I am a (wo)man, a scientist, I am XXX nationality, I am a dog lover … and so on.

This is only an example. Do not follow it literally. Write down whatever comes to your mind.

Personal Workout 3

Now look for:- individual traits- collective affiliations - ethnic identity

Do your ethic, cultural or other group affiliations come before your individual ? Which ones come first? Why is that according to you?

Personal Workout 3

Let’s reflect now on how cultures differ withYang Liu‘s Info-graphics“East Meets West”

Look at the following info-graphics and reflect on how people differ in countries you have lived in or travelled through. Which feel closer to you?

Personal Workout 4

Way of Life

Self Consideration/ Ego

The Boss (Power Distance)

Expression of Opinion

Attitude to Time

Childhood (the environment in which a child grows)

Waiting in Line

Sunday on the Street

Networking

At a Party

At the Restaurant

Dealing with Challenges

Life of Elderly People

New Things (Distance to Change/ Embracing Change)

Daily Drinks(# of cold drinks vs. warm drinks)

Vehicles

1970

2006

China Germany

Aid for Stomach Ache

Taking a Shower

Weather

Anger & Displeasure

Travelling

Take 5 to 10 min and think how you interpret the following:“A first grader should understand that culture is not a rational invention. All cultures function on faith rather than truth.“—Kurt VonnegutWhy did Kurt Vonnegut say that?

Personal Workout 5

We are all unique and therefore different. We are composed of hundreds of cultural influences and experiences that contribute to our uniqueness.

Take about 10 min and write down the top ten most significant cultural influences and experiences in your life. Recognize some of the choices which you have made in your life which have contributed to who you are today.

Personal Workout 6

Take about 5 min and think about the following statement:Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective. Martin Luther КingWhat does that mean for you personally?

Personal Workout 7

Thank you for taking the time to improve your intercultural competence.

If you have any questions on the exercises or anything else, please send them to:Natalia Blagoeva, Eudaimonia Solutionsnatalia@eudaimoniasolutions.com