CC-TT
Cross Cultural
Teaching Tools
@
The projects are funded with support from the European Commission. This
presentation reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be
held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained
therein.
About the presenter
Thomas Schmalzer is currently working as
lecturer, head of the R&D center as well as
project manager for large EU funded research
projects at the Department of International
Management at FH JOANNEUM (University of
Applied Sciences) in Graz, Austria. His
educational background is economics, where he
is currently working on his doctorate at KarlFranzens University Graz.
The R&D Center currently works in a number of
EU funded projects with a total volume of over
3,5 mill. EUR.
Thomas Schmalzer published on intercultural
differences in higher education, regional
development, internationalization of SMEs,
entrepreneurship, and cross cultural learning.
Tel.:
+43 (0)316/5453-6811
Fax:
+43 (0)316/5453-9-6811
E-mail:
thomas.schmalzer@fh-joanneum.at
FH JOANNEUM
University of Applied Sciences
Graz: 21 depts.
Kapfenberg: 6 depts.
401
337
273
254
575
179
540
558
104
610
Bad Gleichenberg: 4 depts.
• International
Business (5)
530
496
2285
428
343
929
1616
1518
1327
1142
1886
Graz
Kapfenberg
Bad Gleichenberg
/0
8*
20
07
/0
7*
20
06
/0
6
20
05
/0
5
20
04
/0
4
20
03
/0
3
20
02
/0
2
20
01
20
00
/0
1
622
• Information, Design
& Technologies (12)
• Life, Building,
Environment (6)
FH JOANNEUM
University of Applied Sciences
• In 1995 FH JOANNEUM started with four departments
and altogether 150 students. Currently about 3.500
students attend the programs which are offered at the
three locations in Graz, Kapfenberg und Bad Gleichenberg.
• FH JOANNEUM employs over 375 people in the areas of
research, teaching and administration. Another 444 people work
for the institution on an independent contractor’s basis.
• Our R&D activities (472 ongoing projects) help to accumulate a
knowledge base for the university and society in general which
improves not only our own competitive abilities, but also those of
Styria as a whole.
• Additionally, the know-how we acquire from R&D projects helps
to ensure the high tuition quality in our degree programs. As a
university, we support international cooperation in teaching,
research, and ongoing education.
International Learning
on the Rise
“Number of degree-seeking students forecast to increase
from about 2.1 million in 2003 to approximately 5.8 million
by 2020 …
…with demand for places in English speaking destination
countries forecast to rise from about 1 million currently to
about 2.6 million places in 2020”
Source: Bohm et. al., 2004
Students from India
go to …
20000
18000
Australia
16000
Germany
No. of Students
14000
United Kingdom
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Year
Source: Compiled by authors, based on data from OECD Statistics: Foreign Students Enrolled
Students from Latin America
go to…
5000
4500
No. of students
Australia
4000
German speaking EU countries
3500
UK
France
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Year
Source: Compiled by authors, based on data from OECD Statistics: Foreign Students Enrolled
The amount of students going to the USA is excluded from this figure because the high numbers (around 30.000 per Year) don’t fit into the graph.
There is no available data about the number of students going to Australia in 1999.
Implications of
cross cultural exchange
• Values, attitudes and behaviour vary in different countries.
This implies different ways of perceiving and processing
information of students on an individual and collective level.
• Many universities in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia
and the US are confronted with inefficiencies and
problems in teaching and effective student learning.
• Any effective intercultural educational setting should
therefore strive for the integration of different cultures as well
as to develop and implement new and efficient approaches
to teaching and learning.
• The growing numbers of student migration underscore the
necessity for students, professors, and administrators to
prepare for the growing challenge of intercultural
exposure in higher education.
3 Projects aiming to…
• … undertake profound research on cross
cultural differences in learning and studying
• … publish the results
• … create a sustainable and growing community
through establishing a conference series in the
field of intercultural communication competence
• … develop practical guidelines and
recommendations for students and
professors
• …provide a toolbox for cross cultural teaching
tools
Partners
• Birla, Institute of Management
Technology, Indien
• Indian Institute of Management
Ahmedabad, Indien
• Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
• FH Gelsenkirchen, Deutschland
• Kasetsart University, Thailand
• Singapore Management University
• EGADE - Tecnológico de Monterrey,
Mexiko
• Euromed Marseille, Frankreich
• Universidad de San Andres,
Argentinien
• Universidad del Pacifico, Peru
• Externado de Colombia University,
Kolumbien
Products
• Flyer  PR Teaser
• Brochure  Practical Guidelines
• Websites  Include Databases
– http://www.communicon.info/
– http://eu-india.fh-joanneum.at
– http://eu-alfa.fh-joanneum.at
• Books, Articles Academic Output
• Toolbox  Instruments and
tools for cross cultural classroom
Specific Objective
One specific goal was to create teaching tools /
methods that enable students exposed to diverse
cultures to gain awareness about and deeper insight
into cultural differences as well as to ultimately find
ways towards a more efficient collaboration through
building the essential intercultural communication
competence.
„Tell me and I'll forget.
Show me, and I may not remember.
Involve me, and I'll understand.“
Native American Saying
CASE BASED ROLE PLAY
Overview about the Method
Starting Point
Learning
Discussion
vs.
Role-play
Observation
Case
Result
Roleplay - Methodology
As an interactive approach to teach cross- cultural differences role playing
cases engage participants by placing them directly in the story.
The story and thus the case develop and come alive as participants interact
with each other. The workshop analyzes the role of culture in
communication with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Through play and the following discussion, participants gain insight into
cultural differences and recognize real life cultural and psychological
traits, they learn to identify the major cultural characteristics that
influence interactions and decisions.
They benefit by experiencing cross-cultural collaborative environments,
also through acquiring a deeper understanding of the case, the involved
people, as well as the language used.
The Case
Example
Mellopps Global, a cereals retail company from the US runs a local retail
subsidiary, among other countries, in Austria (Europe). Due to unforeseen
circumstances the subsidiary can not fulfill the goals within the annual
financial plan and incurred significant losses in the last fiscal year.
The reasons for the losses are various, as are the assumptions and opinions
within the corporation about causes and responsibilities for this severe
crisis of the Austrian subsidiary.
The currrent problems have drawn the attention of the US based
headquarter to the Austrian subsidiary. An urgent meeting is called by
the CEO of Mellopps Global in order to resolve the problems of the local
subsidiary.
Therefore the CEO, CFO, the product manager, and HR-Manager are sent to
Austria to solve the problem and bring the subsidiary back on track. A
meeting with the local representatives (country manager, marketing &
sales manager) come together to discuss open issues and next steps.
Since the company is acting internationally all representatives have different
nationalities and cultures. This leads to diverse approaches to solve the
problem.
The Case – The 6 Roles
The roles involved are:
1. CEO
2. CFO
3. HR-Manager
4. Country Manager
5. Marketing & Sales Manager
6. Product Manager
The company representatives discuss and act the case for a limited
duration. During this role-play every company member is
observed by several other participants, who take notes.
Additional Information:
Mellopps has signed a worldwide merchandising contract with Skywards pictures. One of 10 different figures from their new film
Galaxy-wars 4 is included in each package of Mellopps cereals.
Workshop Setup
The setting looks as follows:
CEO
CFO
M&S
Supervisors
Actors
PM
HR
CM
MED 1
HR 1
CM 1
PM 1
M&S 1
CEO 1
CFO 1
MED 2
HR 2
CM 2
PM 2
M&S 2
CEO 2
CFO 3
.
.
.
Observers
Example
for
a
Roledefinition
Example
CEO (Nationality: ???)
Most important for him/her is that a turn-around of the Austrian
subsidiary must be achieved by the end of the current financial year.
The easiest way to achieve this is to replace the country manager as
soon as possible with someone that he/she trusts and collaborates
in a better way. Furthermore strict cost cutting plans including lay
offs should be implemented due to the upcoming IPO next year.
Galaxy Wars Merchandising: His / her eight year old son is a great
fan of the series and likes the figures a lot.
Assumption why the local subsidiary is doing so badly: The
country manager does not perform well. Maybe this could also be
due to poor selection by the HR Manager.
Example
for
a
Roledefinition
Example
Country Manager (Nationality: ???)
Most important for him/her is that he keeps his/her current
position in the short term. In the long run he/she tries to increase
regular growth of turnover and profit, because his/her salary is
performance dependent. He/She is indifferent to the means by
which these goals are achieved.
Galaxy Wars Merchandising: Since Austria is a neutral and rather
pacifist oriented country he/she sees that toys connected to war or
violence could negatively impact on the image of the product in the
Austrian market.
Assumption why the local subsidiary is doing so badly: He/She
feels that the corporate regulations strictly dominate the business
activities and leave too little room for local adaptation and marketing
of the product.
Example
for
a
Roledefinition
Example
HR-Manager (Nationality: ???)
Most important for him/her is that people feel well and secure at
their work place. He / she thinks that life long learning guarantees
the long time success of a company and the people enrolled. Firing
employees is never a good solution and by discussing open issues
problems can be resolved.
Galaxy Wars Merchandising: He/She does not think that a
complementary product will increase the incentive to buy cereals.
Assumption why the local subsidiary is doing so badly:
Miscommunication and insufficient continual education plan within
the local subsidiary.
To Do‘s for actually
implementing this in class
• Environment:
–
–
–
–
–
Which Case Study?
Mode of Moderation?
Seating Arrangement?
Time?
Presentations &
Feedback?
– Observers?
• Role Definition:
– People involved /
nationalities ?
– Central Theme ?
– Story / Case ?
– Number of Roles ?
– Description of roles ?
– Additional Information ?
• Observation (Feedback
form):
–
–
–
–
–
Negotiation
Conflict Resolution
Group Differences
Strategy
Measures
• Presentation and
Discussion:
– Short presentations of the
roles
– Report the experiences of
the roleplay
– Auditorium and observers
are invited to add their
feedback
– Feedback templates
important
Case-Based Role Play
Questions?
Kontakt
Thanks for your attention!
CULTURAL ELEVATOR
Mix of Methods
•
•
•
•
•
Cases  Practical examples
Roleplay  Experience (semi-)real situations
Simulations  Awareness- and skillbuilding
Discussions  Experience and knowledge sharing
Group Work  Interaction and collaboration
• Elevator Pitch  Getting your
message across
What is an Elevator Pitch?
An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea, product, service, project,
person, or other thing and is designed to just get a conversation started.
Cultural Elevator - Rationale
• Deliver an important message
• Avoid cross cultural
misunderstandings
• Reach your goal
• Act intuitively in a stress-situation
• But still do a good job…
• … in a cross cultural environment
you are not used to
Cultural Elevator The Method
„Cultural Elevator“ – Situation I
Two years ago, you started to run a company, producing self
cooling aluminum cans. Since the productions costs are
rather high, it is only applicable for drinks (alcoholic, and
non-alcoholic) in a higher price range and not for cheap
soft drinks such as Ice Tea, Coke or Dr. Pepper. The can
can only be used once and there is no technology
developed yet that allows a refill. Your market research
shows that in
a)
Asia
b) United States
c) Europe
people seem to appreciate chilled drinks, people there are
willing to spend more money if drinks are immediately
chilled even if it is hot outside and that in summer it can be
very hot, you think of introducing this product in
a) Asia
b) United States
c) Europe
„Cultural Elevator“ – Situation II
You also heard that these preferences are hardly influenced by
the income level and in general people like this kind of
drinks. Your technology is unique and you were able to
receive a worldwide valid patent for it. But the time is
limited and you have to take the next steps rather early
before other competitors adapt the technology and enter
new markets. For this you will have to decide whether to
produce centrally and ship to all your markets or whether
you produce cans locally through subsidiaries,
franchises, joint ventures etc. To enter new markets you
need seed financing of approx. 1 Mill. USD.
Now it is up to you to sell your idea to potential investors
from
a) Asia
b) United States
c) Europe
How to prepare an
elevator pitch?
1. What’s the idea? / What is your product or service?
2. What’s the status of the idea or business?
3. What market or markets does the business address and are there any
testimonials or customer feedback?
4. Why do you believe you have the advantage in the marketplace
relative to the market needs?
5. What’s the competition in the marketplace and what is your
competitive advantage?
6. What’s the revenue model (such as “e-commerce,” or “wholesale”)?
7. Who’s the team that's going to make the business succeed? / Who is
behind the company?
8. What’s the longer term vision, the “end-game,” for the business and
the projected return on investment for investors? (some examples are:
"the business will distribute big profits to investors from cash flow by
year X", or "the business will be acquired by another company for
$XYZ")
9. What’s the total funding required to execute the business plan?
10.What amount of financing are you seeking initially and what are the
terms of investment?
Instructions for Students
Prepare a 2 minute presentation for potential investors from the
respective environments by taking into account the following
characteristics of your counter part.
1. Country culture – where is he/she coming from?
2. Business behavior – what are the negotiation rules?
3. Risk / Uncertainty avoidance – how to get the money?
4. Power Distance – is your discussion partner equal or
superior?
5. Future Orientation – do investors have a rather long term or
short term approach?
Also take into account your own presentation style!
In-Class Discussion
1. What are common aspects when it comes to
presentations for the potential investors in
different parts of the world?
2. What makes the presentations different and
in what way?
3. What are differences in respect to the
product?
4. What are the differences in the business
environment?
Example Teachers Manual for
Debriefing
selection
Intercultural Aspects
USA
Singapore
Austria
Presentation Content
Participative Leadership (flat management
hierarchies) in the proposed company
somewhat positive
ambivalent
somewhat positive
Value of the product for society
not important
very important
not important
Outlining potential risks in the plan
ambivalent due to lower
uncertainty avoidance
important to convince
about security of
investment
ambivalent due to lower
uncertainty avoidance
Production Method
Local production in the US
is preferred by customers
ambivalent
nobody cares where the
product comes from
Single Use product
Ambivalent
multiple use products are
preferred
recycling is in, single use
is out
Alcohol
Ambivalent
rather restrictive
no problem with that
Intellectual Property / Patent
Important to mention in
presentation as legislation
is strictly enforced
less important for Asian
markets as tech will be
copied soon
Important to mention in
presentation as legislation
is strictly enforced
Direct presentation approach
Positive
might feel offended
ambivalent
Formal presentation approach
ambivalent
positive due to higher
power distance
ambivalent
Trying to sell via personal approach or
product approach
focus on product approach
focus on personal
approach
focus on personal
approach
Presentation Style
Cultural Elevator
Questions?
Concluding Remarks
As interactive approaches to teach cross - cultural differences, case based
role playing cases or the “cultural elevator” engage participants by
placing them directly in the story.
The story and thus the case develop and come alive as participants interact
with each other. The workshop analyzes the role of culture in
communication with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Through play and the following discussion, participants gain insight into
cultural differences and recognize real life cultural and psychological
traits, they learn to identify the major cultural characteristics that
influence interactions and decisions.
They benefit by experiencing cross-cultural collaborative environments, also
through acquiring a deeper understanding of the case, the involved
people, as well as the language used.