Intercultural Competence: The six major sources of conflicts in Düsseldorf - Seminar / Kurs von English & Intercultural Communication

In an increasingly globalized business world, contact between people of different cultures has become very common. However, the fact that people can speak to each other using a shared foreign language – i. e. English – does not guarantee communication, understanding or agreement.

The aim of this seminar is to increase cultural awareness, discover the idiosyncrasies of your own culture, and understand how your culture is perceived by members of other cultures. Furthermore, your level of sensitivity and tolerance towards members of different cultures will increase, you will learn about the most common sources of misunderstanding and conflict, and find ways to communicate, collaborate and accomplish your goals despite different cultural values.

Contents (2-days)

• Cultural Awareness – Definition of “Culture”, cultural identification,  self-image, stereotypes and expectations
• Intercultural Differences – Comparisons of cultures (empirical findings), cultural dimensions, values, norms, behaviour and standards
• Main Differences – The six most important differences between cultures that lead to misunderstanding and failure of business relations and joint ventures
• Consequences of different cultural socialization on work life – Expectations towards leaders, decision-making processes, meetings, communication, attitudes towards women, concepts of time
• Prevention of Conflicts, Strategies and Solutions, Special Requests
• Standard Target Cultures: Europe, USA, China, Japan, India, the Arab World. Particular countries on request.

The Increase of Intercultural Competence:

• Intercultural sensitivity and cultural awareness
• Discovering the idiosyncrasies of our own culture
• Learning the six major sources of intercultural conflicts and misunderstanding
• Finding strategies communicate, collaborate and accomplish one's goals despite different cultural values.