50 Activities for Achieving Cultural Competence

−375 −

Culture‐

Specific

Info.

Generic

Generic

Generic

Timein

Minutes

2min.per

person,10

setupand

debrief

30–45

20ormore

Group

Size

Upto16

8tothe

capacityof

theroom

6tothe

capacityof

theroom

Target

Audience

Individualswithsome

travelorintercultural

workingexperience

Participantsatadiversity

orcross‐culturaltraining

Anewgroupstartinga

trainingprogram

Purpose

(Keywordsarehighlighted)

Toopenaninterculturaltrainingprogram,

andusetheintroductionstobegina

discussionofculturaldifferencesandhow

theyaffectusinourworkordailylives.

Thisactivityallowseveryonetoseethe

similaritiesaswellastherichnessofthe

differencesinthegroup.

Toinvolvepeopleinthediscussionof

cu

ltu

raloriginsandbackgroundinalowrisk,

engaging,andinstructiveway.

Author

Simons

Kelley

Hopkins

Type

ICEBK

ICEBK

ICEBK

Page

3

7

11

Nameof

Activity

CoupsandFaux

Pas

SeeDifferences

andSimilarities

Whereinthe

worlddoyou

comefrom?

ActivityLocator

Thefollowingchartcanhelpyoulocatetherightactivityforyourtrainingobjectives.Mostofthecolumnsareself‐explanatory.Wehavehighlighted

somekeywordsinthePurposecolumntohelpyougetaquickoverviewofwhateachactivityaddresses.Inaddition,intheCulture‐Specific

Informationcolumn,someitemsarelabeled“gen

eric.”Thismeansthattheactivitydoesnotcontainspecificinformationaboutoneormorecultures

(butthatthedynamicoftheactivityissuchthatiteitherdoesnotrequiresuchinformationor,inmostcases,whatculture‐specificinformationis

involvedisprovidedbythetr

ainerorth

eparticipantsthemselves).Wehavenotedtheword“specifiable”incaseswhereitmightbepossibleoreven

necessaryforthetrainertoaddinformationspecifictothecultureorculturesheorsheisaddressing.

Keytothetypesofexercisesbysection:

 COM  = PartIIB − Communi

cationICEBK  = PartI − Icebreakers

 CSPEC  = PartIII − CulturespecificLANG  = PartIV − Languageandinterpretation

 CDYN  = PartIIA − CulturaldynamicsLDandTM = PartV − Leadershipandteambuilding

 EXandAC = PartVI − Expatriationandacculturation



TIME  = PartIIC − Time

No.

1.

2.

3.

50ActivitiesforAchievingCulturalCompetency



−376 −

Culture‐

Specific

Info.

Generic

Generic

Generic

Generic

Generic

Generic

Generic,

specifiable

Timein

Minutes

30

15–45

30–60

60

15–30

60or90

75

Group

Size

Anysize

4to20

Upto30

Upto30

Anyziegroup

Upto12

Groupsof

3to5

individuals

Target

Audience

Generic

Generic

Generic,teams,and

groupsintheprocessof

beginningtointegrate

Generic

Peopleworkingin

anothercultureorwith

colleaguesfromanother

culture

Internationallymixed

groupsofpeople

Generic

Purpose

(Keywordsarehighlighted)

Tobecomeawareoftheholidayspracticed

bydiversegroupsandexplorehowthese

affecttheworkplaceandinterpersonal

businessrelations.

Participantsbecomeawareoftheirown

identitiesanddevelopappreciationof

othersinrelationtooneself.Buildsasense

ofteamandclarifiesexpectationsabout

eachotherandthetrainer.

Toexperien

ce

thedynamicsofbeingan

insideroroutsidertoaculturalgroup,and

todevelopempathyforbothsituations.

Introducetrainingparticipantstoone

anotherwhileexaminingstereotypes,first

impressions,andculturalassumptions.

Experienceworkinginanotherculture,

thinkinginasecondlanguage,orwork

wherethereareunfamiliarru

le

s.

Toactivelyconsiderpersonalneedsin

relationtoworkingwithanewsetof

colleagues,andtogainabetter

understandingofnewcolleagues.

Learnafour‐phasemodelapproachto

differencesandexperiencefirst‐handthe

powerofdialogueandtheimportanceof

creatingexplicitgroupprocesses.

Author

Lambert

and

Myers

Kulich

Stringer

Stringer

Brandt

Lynn

Saphiere

Type

ICEBK

ICEBK

ICEBK

ICEBK

CDYN

CDYN

CDYN

Page

13

21

27

31

39

47

53

Nameof

Activity

Celebrations

Identity

Insider–Outsider

SilentInterview

Workingin

Unfamiliar

Surroundings

WhoamI?Who

areyou?

Responseto

DifferencesScale

No.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

ActivityLocator



−377 −

Culture‐

Specific

Info.

Generic

Generic,

specifiable

Generic

Generic

Generic

Asian,

Hispanic,

USA,N.

European,

UK,Middle

East

Generic,

specifiable

Timein

Minutes

60

90

70

75–90

60

20

40–60per

section

(4sections)

Group

Size

10–15

Minimum10,

noupper

limit

20–50

4–16

10tothe

capacityof

theroom

15–20

4–24

Target

Audience

Corporateinternational

teamsworkingonthe

regionallevel,with

individualsfrom

neighboringcountries

Generic,teams

Generic

Generic,technologically

orientedandyounger

people

Thosehavingworkplace

colleagueswithdiffering

communicationstyles

Generic,especiallyfor

thoseinterestedinthe

impactofcultureon

communication

Individualsandgroups

whomustcommunicate

ornegotiateacross



cul

t

ures

Purpose

(Keywordsarehighlighted)

Topromoteaself‐reflectiveattitude

amongtheparticipants,makingtheir

culturalidentitymoreflexibleandopento

rationalcontrolforthesakeofharmonizing

interactionsbetweenthemselvesand

peoplebelongingtodifferentcultures.

Improvetheparticipants’skillsatobserving

culturalbehaviorusingHall’sHigh–Low

Contextmodel.

Participantsrecognizetheirownandeach

other’sstereoty

pe

s,andrealizehowthese

willdamagecooperation.

Discusstherelationshipofphysicalenvi‐

ronmenttocultureandassessthepositive

andnegativerolesofstereotypesinour

understandingofourownandothers’

cultures.

Examinecommunicationstylesofselfand

othersandidentifystrengthsand

weaknessesofthesestylesinthe

wor

k

place.

Increaseknowledgeofdiffering

communicationpatternsandreduce

stereotypingbasedonmisinterpret ation.

Introduceparticipantstoananalytical

instrumentthattheycansubsequentlyuse

toprepareforcross‐cultural

communicationandnegotiationsituations.

Author

Makariev

Halverson

Lynn

Simons

Stringer

Lambert

and

Myers

Simons

and

Hopkins

Type

CDYN

CDYN

CDYN

CDYN

COM

COM

COM

Page

61

69

79

81

97

105

111

Nameof

Activity

Cultural

Awareness

throughSelf‐

Reflection

Buildingwith

Differences

StereotypeGallery

InOtherWorlds

Communication

Continuum

MixedMessages

TheTranscultural

Communicator

No.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

50ActivitiesforAchievingCulturalCompetency



−378 −

Culture‐

Specific

Info.

Generic

Generic,

specifiable

Generic,

specifiable

Specifiable

Generic

Generic

Generic,

specifiable

Timein

Minutes

30–90

60–90+

100–120

30

45–60

30

15–20

Group

Size

12to

capacityof

theroom

10–100

4–14

20orless

2–60

1–25

20ormore

Target

Audience

Intactworkgroups,

generic

Peoplewhomustmeet

andworktogetherfrom

twoormorecultures

Generic

Businessexecutivesand

managerswhodealwith

variouscultures

Generic,personsof

differentlanguage,

groupsworkingtogether

Generic

Executives,managers

Purpose

(Keywordsarehighlighted)

Practicecommunicationskillssuchasasser‐

tion,self‐disclosure,listening,andfeed‐

backskillsinaninterculturalcontext.

Tomakepeopleawareoftheassumptions

andbehaviorsinmeetings,andtolearnto

conductmeetingsthatdrawonthepoten‐

tialoftheteamorallpresent.

Map,understand,andusedi

versen

etworks

forresolvingorganizationalchallenges.

Toevaluateyourwrittencommunications

skillsanddifferencesacrossseveralimpor‐

tantinternationalcultures.

Explorecommunicationpitfallsingiving

directionsorinstructions.

Encourageparticipantstoquestionassump‐

tionswhenworkingacrosscultures;to

understandapieceofculture,suchaswords,

legal,orfinancialconcepts,etiquette,nego‐

tiat

ion

techniques,etc.,outofcontext.

Todemonstratethattherearedifferences

intheconceptoftime,basedonculture.

Author

Friend

Althen

deWaal

Elashmawi

Salimbene

Robinson

Lambert

and

Myers

Type

COM

COM

COM

COM

COM

COM

TIME

Page

129

137

145

151

155

161

167

Nameof

Activity

ForcedChoices

Conductingthe

Intercultural

Meeting

Networkingacross

Cultures

Whereismy

order?

Describeand

Draw

Whatisit?What

isitfor?

Whattimeisit?

No.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

ActivityLocator



−379 −

Culture‐

Specific

Info.

Generic,

specifiable

Specifiable

Multiple

cultures

briefly

noted

U.S.,China,

Latin

America,

Russia,

India

U.S.,Arabs,

France,

Germany,

Indonesia,

Japan,

Korea,

Spain,

Switzerland

Germany,

USA,UK

Timein

Minutes

60–90

10–20

30

35

30

85–100

Group

Size

1–25

1–8

20orless

Upto20

20orless

12to

capacityof

theroom

Target

Audience

Peopleworkingin

organizationsinvolvedin

internationalbusiness

Relocatinginternational

assigneesorbusiness

professionalsdoing

businessinanother

country

Businessexecutivesand

managerswhodealwith

variouscultures

Individualswhomust

communicatewith

peopleinorfromother

countriesorcultures

Businessexecutivesand

managerswhodealwith

variouscultures

Monocultural

gr

oups

fr

omGermany,USA,or

UK,ormixedgroups.

Adaptableforany2of

these3countries.

Purpose

(Keywordsarehighlighted)

Toenablelearnerstodevelopamentalmap

ofglobaltimezonesandtherelative

locationofcountriesaroundtheworldin

whichtheyaredoingbusiness.

Learnhowcultureimpactstimeandcreates

ascheduleandstrategiesthatworkinthe

countryorcultureinwhichoneisworking.

Aninstr

ument

testsmulticultural

managementskillsacrossavarietyof

culturalgroups.

Toillustratehowculturaldifferencescreate

communicationmisunderstandingsin

specificcultures,U.S.,China,LatinAmerica,

Russia,India.

Toidentifypersonalculturalvalues,

contrastthemwithnationalcultural

values,anddiscussgeneraldifferencesand

similarities.

Clarifythebehaviorandattitudedriversin

businessindiffere

nt

culturalgropus,and

thereasonsthattheyexist.

Author

Pirie

Bing

Elashmawi

Storti

Elashmawi

Lynn

Type

TIME

TIME

CSPEC

CSPEC

CSPEC

CSPEC

Page

177

181

191

195

217

221

Nameof

Activity

TimeandSpace

ManagingTime

acrossCultures

Global

Management

Skills

Cross‐Cultural

Dialogues

IdentifyYour

PriorityValues

Germany,Britain,

andtheUSA—

Valuesand

BehaviorPatterns

No.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.