Table of Contects/Introduction
Part I -Icebreakers
Icebreakers are generally short activities whose purpose is to introduce people to
one another and involve the participants in the topic or theme of the training
meeting or seminar. Psychologically, they turn the participants' attention away
from the flow of other activities in which they have been engaged and "bring
them into the room" where the new focus will be on intercultural interactions
and learning.
1. Coups and Faux Pas
To open an intercultural training program, and begin a discussion of how
cultural differences affect us in work or daily life.
2. See Differences and Similarities
This is an introductory activity for a cross-cultural or diversity training session. It
is best used after a round of formal participant introductions and an overview of
the training program and procedures. This activity allows everyone to see the
similarities as well as the richness of the diversity in the group.
3. Where in the World Do You Come From?
To involve people in the discussion of cultural origins and background in a low
risk, engaging, and instructive way.
4. Celebrations
-To help participants understand the meaning of holidays practiced by
diverse peoples and countries
-To explore how these observances can affect the global workplace, as well
as interpersonal business relations.
5. Identity
Enable participants to get to know each other more deeply than in
traditional icebreakers by having them reflect individually and interact
with each other
- Establish what members of the group have in common, and build a sense
of teamwork
- Help participants realize and appreciate what is unique about themselves
and each other as they start to work together
- Clarify the expectations that group members might have about each other
and about the trainer
6. Insider-Outsider
We all experience being both an "insider" and an "outsider"
- Insider feelings and behaviors tend to be positive and lead to good
teamwork. (Exception: Insiders can become bored because they are "too
much" like everyone else.)
- Outsider feelings and behaviors tend to be more negative, and tend to
interfere with teamwork. (Exception: Outsiders can feel "unique" or
"special"-especially if they and others value their differences.)
- We don't have to be, look, or act alike in order to feel included.
- Using empathy-remembering how we felt as an outsider-can make us
more effective in helping someone who feels like an outsider to start
feeling included.
7. Silent Interview
-To introduce training participants to each other - To examine stereotypes and first impressions
- To examine what cultural assumptions people make on first meeting
Part II-Culture-General Activities
The term "culture-general" is used to indicate the area of professional study that
assists us in dealing with the dynamics of culture as they appear in all cultures.
The purpose of cultural-general activities is to raise awareness and promote
understanding about how individuals from one culture might experience
working, visiting, or living with individuals who come from a different cultural
background, and to provide a mental framework and useful tools for continuing
this learning.
A. Cultural Dynamics
This set of activities is particularly useful for introducing individuals and groups
to how a culture works-the things that tend to trip us up when we first begin to
work in intercultural environments. The activities are about how we
automatically perceive and deal with differences from an ethnocentric
perspective, leading us to fresh awareness of the true nature of these differences.
Finally, they tell us how we can engage each other successfully and use these
differences to mutual advantage.
8. Working in Unfamiliar Surroundings
This exercise will help participants understand what it is like to work in another
culture, think in a second language, or start a new job where the rules are
unfamiliar. It also creates awareness for co-workers as to what it is like to work in
or learn a second language.
9. Who Am I? Who Are You?
This activity is designed to facilitate understanding of one's business
counterparts, based on the principle "Let them talk."
At the end of the activity, participants will have:
- actively examined their personal needs in relation to working with a new
set of colleagues
- obtained a better understanding of their new colleagues
10. Response to Differences Scale
Participants will learn a new model of how to bridge differences (the fourphase
model)
- They will better understand how one's approach to differences affects
interactions with others
- They will experience first-hand the power of dialogue and the importance
of creating explicit group processes that enable all group members to
contribute to accomplishing a task
11. Cultural Awareness through Self-Reflection
To promote self-reflection in each participant, making their cultural identity
more flexible and open to rational control so that they can interact more
harmoniously with people of other cultures.
12. Building with Differences
This activity introduces participants to the high- and low-context framework of
Edward Hall, and explores the opportunities and challenges found in cultural
differences.
13. The Stereotype Gallery
This activity helps groups to work together more successfully on international
projects.
14. In Other Worlds: An Intercultural Space Fantasy
This activity engages up to four individuals or groups in the preparation and
discussion of a cultural report about the people of a fantasy planet, using an
environmental profile of the planet assigned to them.
B. Communication
Communication is a major concern in most businesses today. The ways people
communicate with one another affect an organization's business relationships. It
has been shown that, in general, quality in relationships inspires quality in the
workplace.
15. Communication Continuum
To identify the range of communication style-preferences in a group
- To allow participants to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their
own and others' preferred styles in the workplace
- To help them see the value of having and using all three styles
- To explore the advantages of using a preferred style of communicating,
rather than having to adapt to a workplace cultural norm.
16. Mixed Messages
- To increase knowledge about different communication patterns based on
culture
- To reduce the possibility of stereotyping or misinterpreting another's behavior
17. The Transcultural Communicator
This activity introduces participants to an analytical instrument that they can
subsequently use to prepare themselves for cross-cultural communication and
negotiation situations.
18. Forced Choices
Forced-choice exercises challenge participants to be both interactive and
introspective. They require participants to make a choice, take a stance, or put
their stakes in the ground about some topic, issue, or challenge.
19. Conducting the Intercultural Meeting
Intercultural meetings can be less frustrating, more productive, and even
educational if the participants understand the culturally based dynamics of their
interactions. The exercise here is intended to help people become aware of the
assumptions and customary behaviors they and others bring to meetings, and to
help them begin to think about ways to conduct meetings that are most likely to
draw on the potential contributions of everyone present.
20. Networking across Cultures
In this activity, the participants will:
- Increase their awareness of the benefits that come from diversity in social
networks: different social surroundings, different educational
backgrounds, different genders, etc.
- Learn to use networks better to meet organizational challenges
- Get fresh insights about the role of culture in a global economy and a
networked world
- Recognize that today more and more individuals can be considered
multicultural, because of the variety of cultural influences and choices that
have shaped their personalities and life experiences.
21. Where Is My Order?
It is the purpose of this exercise to help participants evaluate their written
communication skills as they relate to several important international cultures.
Specifically, participants will:
- Test their multicultural written communication skills
- Understand where they need improvement in their written
communication skills
- Explore the differences in multicultural written communication
22. Describe and Draw: An Information-Exchange Game
This activity explores some of the pitfalls involved in giving directions or
instructions as well as following them. While these pitfalls exist even when both
parties share the same language and cultural background, they are harder to
overcome when the speaker and listener are from different language or cultural
backgrounds.
23. What Is It? What Is It For?
- To simulate the difficulty in understanding elements of culture, such as
words, legal or financial concepts, etiquette, negotiation techniques, etc.,
when they are taken out of context
- To encourage participants to question their assumptions when working
with individuals from other cultures
- To encourage participants to consider the possibility that others see the
world differently than they do, and that this will influence the
communication proces
C. Time
Perhaps no area of intercultural interaction is as frustrating as the differing ways
in which people from different cultures perceive and use time. What we consider
to be 'enough time' and 'the right time' are often taken from attitudes and
values that are often radically different from those with whom we are doing
business or interacting socially-attitudes that we are usually unaware of.
24. What Time Is It?
To demonstrate that different cultures hold different concepts of time.
25. Time and Space
To enable learners to use available resources to develop a mental map of global
time zones and the relative location of different countries around the world in
which they are doing business. This core knowledge and awareness enables the
whole organization to work positively and effectively as an international
business.
26. Managing Time across Cultures
By providing the participant with specific information about how time is
perceived and organized in the country of interest and by facilitating discussion
about the implication of differences and development of coping strategies, the
participant will be better prepared to avoid time-related misunderstandings and
to successfully accomplish his or her business objectives in the designated
country.
- To make the participant aware of how culture can impact attitudes about
time
- To provide the participant with specific information about what typical
daily, weekly, and holiday or vacation schedules, are like in a designated
country, and how these compare to corresponding schedules in their
home country
- To facilitate discussion about the strategies that the participant may need
to employ to adjust to differences in how time is perceived and managed
(in a business environment) in the country of interest
Part III-Culture-Specific Activities
As human beings, we are very much alike, but we are also quite different. For
example, we all want to be respected, but the words, gestures, and attitudes with
which respect is shown in one culture can go unseen or even be perceived as
insults in another. We all want to succeed in our work and our business with
others, but the ways in which we go about achieving this can be radically
different.
27. Global Management Skills
This activity will help participants assess their multicultural management skills
with respect to several important global cultures, and help participants recognize
how values influence our communication across cultures. Specifically,
participants will:
- Test their 'multicultural management' skills
- See how their cultural assumptions can differ from those of others
- Understand how they need to improve their knowledge about
other cultures and skills related to 'multicultural management'
28. Cross-Cultural Dialogues
To illustrate how cultural differences create misunderstandings in
communication
29. Identify Your Priority Values
To develop an understanding of individual cultural values and how differences
in cultural values can affect business relationships. Specifically, participants will
be able to:
- Identify their personal cultural values
- Contrast personal cultural values with national cultural values
- Discuss differences and similarities in cultural values
30. Germany, Britain, and the USA - Values and Behavior Patterns
This activity examines the behavior and 'attitude drivers' in business in several
cultural groups and why they exist. It allows the participants to contrast their
own values and behavior patterns with those of their counterparts.
At the end of the session, participants will:
- be aware of how their values affect their attitude and behavior
- understand key differences between their own and their
counterparts' values and behavior patterns
- better understand their counterparts' behavior
- learn to adjust their behavior to get their message across to their
counterparts constructively
31. Giving Gifts
In this exercise, participants will learn:
- The significance that specific gift items have in different cultures
- That giving certain gifts might send unintended messages in other cultures
- That some gifts, if given in certain countries, are considered inappropriate
32. Doing Business in China
Based on a real case study, this exercise serves to introduce participants to some
of the specific pitfalls of communication and etiquette that are important to
recognize and respond to when doing business with the Chinese.
33. Arguing Asparagus
This activity uses a short literary selection:
- To introduce an appreciative inquiry of values and behaviors found in
another culture
- To examine some of the less obvious rules of disputation in urban French
discourse
While this activity stands on its own, it is also a good example of a process that
the trainer can replicate using other short pieces of literary material that capture
the more sophisticated aspects or nuances of a culture or an intercultural
interaction
34. Japanese Business Protocol Quiz
This activity is useful as part of a larger training program on Japan, or even as
part of a culture-general program. The objectives can vary, depending on the
audience and the training, but might include:
- to test and enhance the participants' knowledge of Japanese
business customs and etiquette
- to raise participant awareness of the immense differences among
cultures, by introducing them to codes, customs, and practices of
another culture
- to increase participant understanding of the importance of knowing
about those customs in order to minimize the chances of real
failures of communication
35. The "ma" Game
- To teach the importance of "ma" (pause) in conversation
- To make westerners comfortable in their use of "ma" and help them
communicate more easily and accurately with Japanese colleagues
- To teach the playful concepts of "batsu,""pege," and "kawaisoo"
36. Saudi Arabia Critical Incident
To provide the participant with a real life example of a business interaction
and provide him or her with an opportunity to identify possible cultural
misunderstandings
- To test a participant's understanding of what has caused the cultural
misunderstandings. After reading a trigger story the participant is asked to
identify which parts of the incident are culturally based, and how culture has
impacted the business interaction. The ensuing discussion can be an
indication that:
¨ learning still needs to take place in order for the participant to understand
how to handle himself or herself well in the target culture
¨ learning has taken place and the participant has an understanding of
possible strategies for interacting with the target culture
- To have the participant analyze a cross-cultural business interaction,
determine the culturally relevant issues, and suggest alternative approaches
that would produce a more desirable outcome
- To provide the participant with an opportunity to apply what he or she has
learned to his or her own business situation
Part IV-Language and Interpretation
Communication is particularly challenging when we must work face to face with
people whose language we do not understand. Today the numbers of such
people are increasing. They are our employees, our customers, and consumers in
business. They are our patients and staff in healthcare delivery. They are the
children in our schools, and their parents. They are the clients of our social
systems and our public safety and emergency services.
37. Life in Another Language
To offer participants a short, safe real-life experience about what it is like
to be spoken to in a language one does not understand, and to be expected
to respond
- To explore their feelings and behaviors when placed in this situation
- To encourage greater understanding of and empathy with clients,
subordinates, and others who might have limited understanding of
English.
38. PVC Magic
To help participants recognize and visualize how an interpreter functions
- To explain the three common styles of interpreting and their advantages
and disadvantages
- To review the ethical commitments professional interpreters make, so that
the participants can see how to support them in doing their job ethically
39. Interpreting: Your Turn
- To show participants how mentally taxing and depersonalizing
interpreting can be
- To demonstrate to participants the importance of keeping their
communication short and simple when working through an interpreter
- To introduce participants to the experience of being an interpreter
- To allow participants to learn and practice the skill of physical positioning
Part V-Leadership and Team Development
Multicultural teams, on-site and virtual, are becoming the norm within today's
global business enterprises. Under the pressure to perform and compete,
conflicting cultural styles can become most painful and costly. Leading an
organization of this nature is often like conducting an orchestra: Not only do the
instruments differ, but the performers are often looking at a different score.
40. How Do You Trust?
To explore the process of creating trust in a multicultural or multifunctional
group.
41. Rainbow Mission
Three different cultural groups interact with each other using color cards Red,
Blue, and Gold. Each of the three color-groups is given a mission. The group that
most successfully accomplishes its assigned mission within the allotted time
wins. The objectives of this activity are:
- to explore intercultural or multicultural conflict
- to increase awareness of diversity and one's own ethnocentric bias
- to examine the different attitudes and approaches that cultures hold when
interacting with other cultures.
- if used with the 15-minute film Rainbow War (Pyramid Films),* to consider
the solutions for intercultural conflict and discuss strategies for
multicultural teamwork
42. "Of course I know what a TEAM is! Do you?"
This activity facilitates the team-building process by making differences obvious.
At the end of the session, participants will:
- see how the idea of what makes a 'team' varies across cultures
- know that there is no one 'right way' of working together
- be in a position to define their principles for working together
43. Decisions, Decisions
To help a group examine the cross-cultural dimensions of decision-making and
prepare to work together by coming to agreement about how they will cooperate,
given their differences.
44. My Most Frustrating Culture Clash
To enhance multicultural team building across several important international
cultures. The exercise serves:
- To point out that culture clash can always occur
- To analyze why culture clash occurs, and determine how to avoid or
resolve it
- To break the ice among new team members by sharing encounters that
frustrated them personally in the past
45. Six Key Aspects of International Business Contact
The six key aspects are:
1. trust
2. success
3. working together
4. decision-making
5. commitment
6. time (punctuality, efficiency, getting down to business, etc.)
The way we as individuals and as cultures perceive these key aspects defines
what we think is the 'right' way to do things. Furthermore, it defines what we
perceive as reality.
46. Cultural Self-Awareness in Leadership Teams
Every thought, word, and behavior is either biologically adaptive or taught to us.
Learned values, attitudes, and behaviors are often taught to us before we are old
enough to know that we are 'learning.' Our first teachers are members of our
nuclear and extended families. Adults model and then articulate what we need to
learn in order to survive and be accepted by the family or community.
47. Peer Supervision
Peer supervision builds on the philosophy that one's own personal experiences
are a very rich source of learning, and that peers in a group can stimulate and
help each other reflect on experience and enhance each other's learning. The
peer-supervision instrument can be used in a variety of contexts. It is a powerful
tool to learn about cross-cultural communication and management. It can be
used as part of a wider training effort, or on a stand-alone basis. Specific
purposes include:
- Learning by reflecting on day-to-day experience
- Transfer of knowledge from a training program back to the workplace
Part VI-Expatriation and Acculturation
Today, individuals and teams are going abroad in unprecedented numbers to do
business with people around the world. Planes and trains are full of international
business travelers, and cyberspace is now filled with virtual immigrants and
expatriates - people working with and for individuals and organizations whose
cultures are often radically different from their own
48. Expatriate Role Analysis
To help prospective expatriates visualize key interpersonal roles and
relationships with key host-country counterparts
- To make them aware of the specific attitudes, knowledge, and skills
required to manage these cross-cultural relationships successfully
- To enable them to establish individual learning objectives for acquiring
appropriate attitudes, knowledge, and skills
- Alternatively, to help designers of cross-cultural training activities to
assess the learning needs of prospective expatriates
49. The Cross-Cultural Forum!
'The Cross-Cultural Forum' is an exciting and stimulating exercise that helps
create a generalized picture of a particular culture without the danger of
stereotyping the culture by one facilitator or one cultural representative.
It provides members of one culture with an opportunity to meet a number of
representatives from another culture in small discussion groups. It will allow
participants to informally exchange information and ideas, create an
understanding, and check assumptions through guided questions and answers
on such issues as:
the workplace, employment, business communication, education, relationships, family,
society, hot issues, sports, and leisure
50. Dimensions of Culture in Organizations
- To explore how organizational culture and national culture are similar
and different
- To make participants aware of how the differences impact both
individuals and the organization itself
Part VII-Editors and Contributors
Part VII provides you with short biographies and contact information for the
worldwide group of editors and contributors to this volume. Some authors
contributed a single activity, while others provided several that are interspersed
throughout the book. The Activity Locator on page 303 lists all of the
contributions by number, so that you can review other activities by the same
author.
Activity Locator
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