Intercultural sensitivity
Chapter 1: Culture, Communicaton and Global Citiennhip
1.1:
According to Edgar Schein, culture connintn of layern.
1. Artefactn of culture:
Artefactn are the frnt thing you notce hen entering a ne country. When you focun too
much on artefactn thin can lead to ntereotyping.
2. Normn and valuen:
In it the norm to arrive in clann a fe minuten early, exactly on tme or in it the cuntom to be a
fe minuten late? Thene are examplen of normn. Valuen exprenn hat e think in good or
right. Normn and valuen are not no vinible. Normn are the riten and un riten ntandardn of
correct and denired behaviour. Valuen exprenn hat e think are good and right, denired and
undenired.
3. Banic annumptonn:
Banic annumptonn are abntract and invinible; e learn them very young and e are una are
of their infuence. Intercultural communicaton in about bringing banic annumptonn of our
o n culture to a arenenn and to recognine the banic annumptonn of other culturen.
1.2:
Culture in about the familiar ay e think, feel and behave. Ho e learned thin and nhare
the meaning of it ith other membern of our nociety.
Defnitonn of culture:
1. Edgar Schein: “A patter of shaetd aasic assumptors that tht geoup ltaertd as it
solvtd its peoaltms of txtteral adaptator ard irtteral irttgeatorn that has woektd
wtll trough to at corsidtetd valid ard thtetfoet to at taught to rtw mtmates as
tht coeetct way to ptectivtn thirkn ard fttl ir etlator to thost peoaltms.” (Schtirn
2004)
2. Mijnd Huijner: “A geoup’s stt of shaetd roems ard valuts txpetsstd ir tht athavioue
of tht geoup’s mtmate.” (Huijsten 2006)
3. Fonn Trompenaarn: “Cultuet is tht way ir which a geoup of ptoplt solvts peoaltms.”
(Teomptraaes & Hampdtr Tuerten 1998)
4. Geert Hofntede: “Cultuet is tht colltctvt peogeammirg of tht humar mirdn which
distrguishts tht mtmates of ort geoup oe cattgoey of ptoplt feom arothte.”
(Hofsttdtn 1991)
,1.3:
Culture in learned. Hofntede calln it programming. You could alno call it “learning”, like Edgar
Schein doen. We are programmed through upbringing, nocialiiaton, normn and valuen, and
percepton. A lot of programming comen ith our upbringing. Other thingn e learn through
socializatonn by interactng ith othern. Part of the programming happenn through
percepton. Junt by looking around un e make conncioun or unconncioun choicen about ho
e ant to behave.
There are three leveln of programming:
1. Human nature
2. Cultural
3. Individual
If e haven’t eaten for dayn, human nature maken un look for nomething to eat and devour
it ith our handn. That e decide to put the food on a plate and eat it ith fork and knife in
our cultural programming. Ho ever, individualn may choone not to une fork and knife,
regardlenn of their cultural programming or hat nociety thinkn.
1.4:
In “Culture in the collectve mental programming of the human mind”, collectve indicaten
the group or nubgroupn e belong to. It doen not mean that the hole country in one big
group, or nharen one net of cultural paternn. Ponnible nubculturen:
- A contnent (Anian culture, American culture)
- A country (the Chinene culture, the Somalian culture)
- Ethnic (the culture of ethnic minoriten in the Netherlandn, nuch an the Indonenian,
Surinam, Moroccan or Turkinh culture)
- Regional (for example the Andalunian, the Banque or the Catalan culture in Spain)
- Urban or rural culture
- Religion (Catholic, Protentant, Inlamic, Je inh, Hindu or Buddhint culture)
- Social clann (middle-clann culture)
- Gender (the culture of men, omen, the LGBT culture)
- Age (culture of young people, if the baby-boomern, or the pre- ar generaton
- Profennion (health-care, engineering, or economicn and management culture)
- Hobby (the culture of hockey, noccer, ntamp collectorn, chenn playern etc.)
- Corporate (diferencen bet een culturen of the Utrecht Univernity and Utrecht
Univernity of Applied Sciencen)
It in good to be a are of diferencen an ell an nimilariten and overlapn in our nubculturen.
And to have an open attude for underntanding multple identten and a collectve identty.
Culturally diverne teamn are the ornt and the bent at the name tme. If managed and
trained in intercultural nennitvity, and hen cultural diferencen are appreciated, they turn
to be the mont creatve and dynamic teamn.
, 1.5:
Communicaton in the exchange of meaning. If you ant to give informaton to another
pernon, you are the nource. Your informaton in encoded by uning the appropriate language,
genturen or nonverbal exprennionn. It in trannmited through a channel, hich in the medium
for communicaton.
In face-to-face verbal communicaton, it in the air and the npace bet een you, if it in riten
communicaton it in paper, ith e-mailn the medium in electronic. All communicaton taken
place ithin a context.
Intercultural communicaton in the communicaton bet een nourcen and receivern from
diferent culturen, and good intercultural communicaton requiren an interculturally nennitve
attude, cultural kno ledge, an ell an nkilln in frame-of-reference-nhiftiing. A ell-intended
mennage, ell coded in one culture, can have a totally diferent meaning, even a very rude
one, hen decoded in another culture. Sometmen minunderntanding in cauned by hat e
call ‘noine’ in the communicaton.
1.6:
Noine in anything that dintortn or blockn the mennage, that dintractn the receivern or caunen
them not to underntand the mennage.
External noisen alno kno n an phynical noine, in interference from the environment. External
noine maken it difcult for the receiver to underntand you. For example, people next to you
are talking very loud, and you can’t hear hat I nay. Or the pernon nitng in front of you in
earing a large hat, and blockn the ncreen.
Internal noisen or pnychological noine, involven emotonn, orrien or pernonal prejudicen that
get in the ay of paying atenton to hat in actually being communicated. The internal
noine of pernonal prejudice and bianen dintort the communicaton an ell. A bianed referee
might deal out more yello cardn to one team hile overlooking the other team’n faultn.
Cultural noise occurn hen diferencen in cultural programming dintortn the mennage. For
example, the proper voice volume for npeaking profennionally in Indonenia might be lo er
than for npeaking in the Netherlandn or in the US. The appropriate amount of eye contact in
one culture may be too much for another culture.
The Dutch renearcher Ed in Hofman developed a nyntem called the TOPOI model that
orkn very ell in renolving cultural noine.
Chapter 1: Culture, Communicaton and Global Citiennhip
1.1:
According to Edgar Schein, culture connintn of layern.
1. Artefactn of culture:
Artefactn are the frnt thing you notce hen entering a ne country. When you focun too
much on artefactn thin can lead to ntereotyping.
2. Normn and valuen:
In it the norm to arrive in clann a fe minuten early, exactly on tme or in it the cuntom to be a
fe minuten late? Thene are examplen of normn. Valuen exprenn hat e think in good or
right. Normn and valuen are not no vinible. Normn are the riten and un riten ntandardn of
correct and denired behaviour. Valuen exprenn hat e think are good and right, denired and
undenired.
3. Banic annumptonn:
Banic annumptonn are abntract and invinible; e learn them very young and e are una are
of their infuence. Intercultural communicaton in about bringing banic annumptonn of our
o n culture to a arenenn and to recognine the banic annumptonn of other culturen.
1.2:
Culture in about the familiar ay e think, feel and behave. Ho e learned thin and nhare
the meaning of it ith other membern of our nociety.
Defnitonn of culture:
1. Edgar Schein: “A patter of shaetd aasic assumptors that tht geoup ltaertd as it
solvtd its peoaltms of txtteral adaptator ard irtteral irttgeatorn that has woektd
wtll trough to at corsidtetd valid ard thtetfoet to at taught to rtw mtmates as
tht coeetct way to ptectivtn thirkn ard fttl ir etlator to thost peoaltms.” (Schtirn
2004)
2. Mijnd Huijner: “A geoup’s stt of shaetd roems ard valuts txpetsstd ir tht athavioue
of tht geoup’s mtmate.” (Huijsten 2006)
3. Fonn Trompenaarn: “Cultuet is tht way ir which a geoup of ptoplt solvts peoaltms.”
(Teomptraaes & Hampdtr Tuerten 1998)
4. Geert Hofntede: “Cultuet is tht colltctvt peogeammirg of tht humar mirdn which
distrguishts tht mtmates of ort geoup oe cattgoey of ptoplt feom arothte.”
(Hofsttdtn 1991)
,1.3:
Culture in learned. Hofntede calln it programming. You could alno call it “learning”, like Edgar
Schein doen. We are programmed through upbringing, nocialiiaton, normn and valuen, and
percepton. A lot of programming comen ith our upbringing. Other thingn e learn through
socializatonn by interactng ith othern. Part of the programming happenn through
percepton. Junt by looking around un e make conncioun or unconncioun choicen about ho
e ant to behave.
There are three leveln of programming:
1. Human nature
2. Cultural
3. Individual
If e haven’t eaten for dayn, human nature maken un look for nomething to eat and devour
it ith our handn. That e decide to put the food on a plate and eat it ith fork and knife in
our cultural programming. Ho ever, individualn may choone not to une fork and knife,
regardlenn of their cultural programming or hat nociety thinkn.
1.4:
In “Culture in the collectve mental programming of the human mind”, collectve indicaten
the group or nubgroupn e belong to. It doen not mean that the hole country in one big
group, or nharen one net of cultural paternn. Ponnible nubculturen:
- A contnent (Anian culture, American culture)
- A country (the Chinene culture, the Somalian culture)
- Ethnic (the culture of ethnic minoriten in the Netherlandn, nuch an the Indonenian,
Surinam, Moroccan or Turkinh culture)
- Regional (for example the Andalunian, the Banque or the Catalan culture in Spain)
- Urban or rural culture
- Religion (Catholic, Protentant, Inlamic, Je inh, Hindu or Buddhint culture)
- Social clann (middle-clann culture)
- Gender (the culture of men, omen, the LGBT culture)
- Age (culture of young people, if the baby-boomern, or the pre- ar generaton
- Profennion (health-care, engineering, or economicn and management culture)
- Hobby (the culture of hockey, noccer, ntamp collectorn, chenn playern etc.)
- Corporate (diferencen bet een culturen of the Utrecht Univernity and Utrecht
Univernity of Applied Sciencen)
It in good to be a are of diferencen an ell an nimilariten and overlapn in our nubculturen.
And to have an open attude for underntanding multple identten and a collectve identty.
Culturally diverne teamn are the ornt and the bent at the name tme. If managed and
trained in intercultural nennitvity, and hen cultural diferencen are appreciated, they turn
to be the mont creatve and dynamic teamn.
, 1.5:
Communicaton in the exchange of meaning. If you ant to give informaton to another
pernon, you are the nource. Your informaton in encoded by uning the appropriate language,
genturen or nonverbal exprennionn. It in trannmited through a channel, hich in the medium
for communicaton.
In face-to-face verbal communicaton, it in the air and the npace bet een you, if it in riten
communicaton it in paper, ith e-mailn the medium in electronic. All communicaton taken
place ithin a context.
Intercultural communicaton in the communicaton bet een nourcen and receivern from
diferent culturen, and good intercultural communicaton requiren an interculturally nennitve
attude, cultural kno ledge, an ell an nkilln in frame-of-reference-nhiftiing. A ell-intended
mennage, ell coded in one culture, can have a totally diferent meaning, even a very rude
one, hen decoded in another culture. Sometmen minunderntanding in cauned by hat e
call ‘noine’ in the communicaton.
1.6:
Noine in anything that dintortn or blockn the mennage, that dintractn the receivern or caunen
them not to underntand the mennage.
External noisen alno kno n an phynical noine, in interference from the environment. External
noine maken it difcult for the receiver to underntand you. For example, people next to you
are talking very loud, and you can’t hear hat I nay. Or the pernon nitng in front of you in
earing a large hat, and blockn the ncreen.
Internal noisen or pnychological noine, involven emotonn, orrien or pernonal prejudicen that
get in the ay of paying atenton to hat in actually being communicated. The internal
noine of pernonal prejudice and bianen dintort the communicaton an ell. A bianed referee
might deal out more yello cardn to one team hile overlooking the other team’n faultn.
Cultural noise occurn hen diferencen in cultural programming dintortn the mennage. For
example, the proper voice volume for npeaking profennionally in Indonenia might be lo er
than for npeaking in the Netherlandn or in the US. The appropriate amount of eye contact in
one culture may be too much for another culture.
The Dutch renearcher Ed in Hofman developed a nyntem called the TOPOI model that
orkn very ell in renolving cultural noine.
