Transcript Unit-14 PDF

ERASMUS+ PROGRAMME, KEY ACTION 2
CAPACITY BUILDING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Furthering International Relations Capacities and Intercultural Engagement to

Nurture Campus Diversity and to Support Internationalisation at Home
(FRIENDS)
Unit 14: Intercultural Communication: culture as a

frame for communication
Part 1
Prof. Aleksandra Kuzior
TRANSCRIPT
Our today’s lesson will be about intercultural communication. However, to talk about
intercultural communication, we first need to think about what culture is and what
communication is. Culture is an ambiguous term, various representatives of the sciences
interpret it in different ways. Culture generally provides a certain framework for
communication, because communication is embedded in the thinking and behavior patterns
characteristic of a given culture. It is difficult to clearly define the term culture. More than
four hundred definitions of this term appear in the literature on the subject.
The very term "culture" comes from Latin and was originally associated with farming or
animal husbandry. At that time, it meant transforming the natural state of natural
phenomena into a state more useful to man. At present, however, it is most often understood
as the whole of the spiritual and material achievements of society. Culture can be defined as
the totality of the products of people, both material and non-material: spiritual, symbolic,
such as patterns of thinking and behavior. For the first time in this sense, the term was used
by Cicero, who in his work Disputationes Tusculanae used the phrase cultura animi to define
the first concept of philosophy in literature:
„What without you would be not only us, but what would human life be? You founded cities,
you brought distracted people to social life, you united them among you first through shared
housing estates, then through marriages, and finally through a community of speech and
writing. You are an inventor of laws, a teacher of good manners and order.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication 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. 1
There are many definitions of culture, often divergent and even contradictory. So
significant are the words of the German philosopher Johann Herder, who in the 18th
century wrote in the foreword to "Thoughts on the philosophy of history": "There is
nothing more indefinite than the word culture."
However, it is worth getting to know other definitions of culture. For example:
Edward Burnett Tylor said „Culture, as civilization, is a complex whole that includes
knowledge, beliefs, art, morality, laws, customs and other abilities and habits acquired by
people as members of society”
Ruth Benedict said „Culture is a complex whole containing habits acquired by man as a
member of society”
Bronisław Malinowski said „ Culture is an integral whole consisting of consumer tools and
goods, creative principles of various social groups, human ideas and skills, beliefs and
customs”.
Ralph Linton defined – culture as a "configuration of learned behaviors and their results,
whose components are shared and passed on by members of a given society”.
Paul Herbig – stated that culture can be defined as “the sum of a way of life, including
expected behaviour, beliefs, values, language and living practices shared by members of a
society. It consists of both explicit and implicit rules through which experience is
interpreted”.
There have also been many studies on the definition of culture. Therefore, certain definition
groups have emerged.
Group A: Descriptive definitions. The definitions included here represent the classic form of
early ethnological definitions.
Group B: Historical definitions. The definitions placed here emphasize the tradition factor as
a mechanism for transmitting cultural heritage.
Group C: Normative definitions. These definitions emphasize compliance with human
behavior norms, patterns, values and models.
Group D: Psychological definitions. Psychological definitions focus on mental mechanisms of
culture development. They analyze learning mechanisms, forming cultural habits,
internalizing the norms in force in a given community and values recognized by that
community, as well as the impact of culture on the formation of individuals' personality. The
main emphasis is on learning and imitation as processes of learning culture.
Group E: Structural definitions. The definitions collected for this type are mainly interested
in the structure of a specific culture, and thus its essential elements and their internal
connections. There are four categories of cultural elements: material-technical, social,
ideological and psychological (regarding feelings and attitudes).
Group F: Genetic definitions. These definitions focus on the problem of the genesis of culture,
explain its origin. These definitions are divided into two groups: concerning the internal
development of culture, the emergence of some (higher) forms from other earlier forms
(considered lower) and the problem of the emergence of culture from nature and the
relationships, differences and opposites between these definitions.
Group G: Incomplete definitions. This group includes definitions that do not match any of the
above mentioned.
There are several main fields of culture. Among them are mainly:
o Material culture: human creations, technique and practical skills.
o Spiritual culture: beliefs, knowledge, all kinds of literature, art, including: fine arts,
theater, music, film, fashion, as well as everything that belongs to the products of
the mind, for example, philosophy.
o Social culture: moral norms, ideology, participation in cultural life, social and
cultural norms.
o Language culture / word culture: ability to efficiently use a language in
accordance with the standards in force in a given community and the
requirements of a given communication situation.
o Political culture: value systems and behavior patterns (politicians, parties) taking
part in the exercise of state power or aspiring to that role.
o Physical culture: behavioral system and activities related to care for human
physical development.
As I mentioned before, culture is a set of human creations, habits, customs and language as
the frame of communication. Communication is the exchange of statements (linguistic and
non-linguistic) between two people in order to exchange thoughts, feelings, attitudes, etc.
We can talk about different types of communication, distinguishing interpersonal, social and
intercultural communication. The tool of communication is language, meaning conventional
signs system. Verbal communication is often accompanied by nonverbal communication. We
talk about communication when the sender transmits a message to the recipient and the
recipient actively listens or joins the communication process, expressing their opinions,
thoughts, views, or answering questions - then we deal with the process of communication.
However, for intercultural communication, we always have to consider language codes. The
proper use of these codes is largely determined by cultural, social and personal factors. The
cultural aspect conditions the ways of communicating in different cultures, the social aspect
reflects the differences occurring within a given society. This applies, for example, to the
jargon of a specific group (e.g. student bustle), or to acceptable differences in non-linguistic
expressiveness of men and women.
There are three types of codes: language, para-language and non-language. The language
code includes models of sounds (phonemes) containing the rules for creating individual
speech sounds, rules for creating larger significant entities from phonemes, a set of words
present in a given language and words in larger entities (phrases and sentences). Knowledge
of these rules allows to build longer texts thanks to knowledge of rules for combining
sentences into longer wholes.
The para-language code includes components that occur only while speaking and that
modify the meaning of a given spoken message. Hence, the use of a specific intonation means
that the same statement may become a question or a negation.
Non-language code are touch and vision, which are associated more with the reception of
characters transmitted by the sender. This code is associated with motor expression and
reception of speech, determines which distances and manner of placing interaction
participants are acceptable or expected, and also determines the permissible duration of
gaze, handshake, permissible delay or duration of the meeting.
In the era of globalization, the cultures of individual societies intertwine. Modern
information and communication technologies allow people from different cultures to
communicate.
International education is also developing. People travel around the world and acquire
education in various countries of the world.
Is it obvious that good intercultural communication requires a good command of the
language of communication. But for effective intercultural communication, some framework
is needed, which was defined by Darla K. Deardorff.
Deardorff proposed the Pyramid Model of Intercultural Competence. The Pyramid is based
on knowledge, skills and attitudes and shares many problematic components.
Attitudes: In the pyramid proposed by K. Deardorff, three attitudes take the lead: openness,
curiosity and respect. Openness and curiosity imply a willingness to risk and go outside the
comfort zone. What's more, curiosity underlies more creative ways of transforming
differences into possibilities, while openness allows perception from more than one
perspective, which is invaluable when negotiating and mediating cultural differences. These
three attitudes are the basis for the further development of knowledge and skills needed to
develop intercultural competences.
Knowledge: When discussing the knowledge necessary to understand intercultural
competences, we must also remember about cultural self-awareness (i.e. how culture
influenced identity and worldview), culture-specific knowledge, deep cultural knowledge,
including understanding other worldviews, and sociolinguistic awareness.
Skills: The skills that emerged from this pyramid concerned the processing of knowledge:
observation, listening, evaluation, analysis, interpretation and relationship. The
development of global knowledge is changing so quickly that it becomes necessary to use
key skills to obtain and process information, while moving away from relying solely on
knowledge itself.
Internal Outcomes: Attitudes, knowledge and skills create a solution that is characterized by
flexibility, adaptability and empathy. We should define empathy here as understanding the
behavior and feelings of others, and responding appropriately to meet their needs, not acting
the way others want. This solution includes aspects that characterize the individual as a
result of acquired attitudes, knowledge and skills necessary to some extent to apply
intercultural competences.
External Outcomes: A summary of attitudes, knowledge and skills, as well as internal results,
is demonstrated through individual behavior and communication. External results show
how effective and appropriate this person is in intercultural interactions. Such behavior and
communication become visible external effects of intercultural competence.
Intercultural communication can be seen as a process that Darla K. Deardorff characterized
as follows: This process model of intercultural competence, although it contains the same
elements as the first pyramid model of intercultural competence, presents the complexity of
acquiring intercultural competences in outline of greater motor and process orientation
occurring between different elements. This model means a transition from a personal level
to an interpersonal level (intercultural interaction). As in the pyramid model, it is possible
to move from attitudes, or attitudes and skills, and knowledge directly to the external result,
but the degree of adequacy and effectiveness of the result may not be as high as after the end
of the entire cycle and it starts again. A unique element of internal and external results is also
maintained thanks to this process model, and in fact it would be possible for the entity to
achieve the external result of appropriate behavior and communication appropriately and
effectively in intercultural situations without fully achieving the internal result of the change
in the reference system. However, the degree of relevance and effectiveness would be more
limited than if an internal result were achieved. This process model also demonstrates the
ongoing process of intercultural competence development, which means it is a continual
process of improvement, and as such, one may never achieve ultimate intercultural
competence. As with the pyramid model, the attitudinal element in this process model is the
most critical, and as such, attitudes are indicated as the starting point in this cycle.
In order to communicate effectively in a globalized world, intercultural competencies should
be developed. What are the intercultural competencies?
“Intercultural competence is the ability to develop targeted knowledge, skills and attitudes
that lead to visible behaviour and communication that are both effective and appropriate in
intercultural interactions.” Intercultural competence cannot be acquired in a short time. It is
a long-term process consisting of the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
Activities supporting the development of intercultural competences can be used not only in
the area of learning, but also in the area of organization of ventures that support intercultural
dialogue. The European Commission declared 2008 the Year of European Intercultural
Dialogue. The basic goal was to respect cultural diversity and promote individual cultures.
The assumptions of intercultural dialogue are focused on important ethical values such as:
equality, solidarity, social justice, values promoted also by the concept of sustainable
development, which assumes respect for the dignity of each person and human communities
around the globe, regardless of skin color, religion, nationality or ethnic. It promotes an
attitude of tolerance and mutual understanding for building a better future.
Intercultural dialogue in a globalizing world is a must. This statement, although obvious,
must be often recalled and repeated so that everyone realizes this necessity and approaches
otherness with openness, learning and trying to understand what was previously foreign.
Europe, as perhaps the most culturally diverse continent in the world, through activities
undertaken within the framework of the European Intercultural Dialogue, shows how
intercultural dialogue is possible and which paths of mutual knowledge should be chosen.
Europe contains the phenomenon of "otherness", as Z. Baumann emphasized. In turn H-G.
Gadamer considered Europe's ability to learn to live with others as a special asset. Europe
has for centuries attracted, accepted and assimilated "otherness". For this reason, Europe
can be called the birthplace of transgressive civilization.
However, Europe not only attracted "otherness" but also "exported" its culture, which is why,
according to D. de Rougemont, Europe can be assigned a globalizing function.
Activities for intercultural dialogue should not be limited to Europe's geographical space.
The whole world is one great mosaic of cultures, which means that each of us is at the same
time "the other" who wants to understand him and respect his rights. Civilization
development additionally enhances the possibility of meeting others. Whether or not there
will be a dialogue, however, depends not so much on the technique, but on the desire to learn
about the other, his culture, the values he follows, customs, rituals, and even dreams and
visions of the future. Dialogue is a conversation between two equal subjects who want to
experience openness with others through rapprochement and understanding.
Let's return to the basic elements constituting intercultural competences.
Knowledge. To develop intercultural competence, the first step is to know oneself and
understand one’s cultural identity; specifically cultural self-awareness is the ability to
understand how one’s culture influences behaviour, identity and point of view. Being self-
aware enables people to understand the world from other cultural perspectives or world
views once they learn culture specific knowledge of other communities. Culture specific
knowledge is the deep understanding of ideas, customs, and social behaviours of other
cultural groups. In particular, socio-linguistic awareness is important because knowing
when certain vernacular or body language is appropriate enables people to communicate
more effectively.
The short answer to what is knowledge would be:
• Cultural self- awareness: articulating how one’s own culture has shaped one’s
identity and world view
• Culture specific knowledge: analysing and explaining basic information about other
cultures (history, values, politics, economics, communication styles, values, beliefs
and practices)
• Sociolinguistic awareness: acquiring basic local language skills, articulating
differences in verbal and non-verbal communication and adjusting one’s speech to
accommodate nationals from other cultures
• Grasp of global issues and trends: explaining the meaning and implications of
globalization and relating local issues to global forces
Acquiring such knowledge is not easy. Although, nowadays, in the era of continuous
development of communication technologies, one can come into contact with another
culture faster. Modern people are in a constant movement, traveling on highways or real or
virtual airways. This journey allows to acquire knowledge as long as we have an open mind
and a desire to meet another man and a different culture.
Deardorff suggests that each of these skills shall be used with "patience and perseverance in
identifying and minimizing ethnocentrism", the habit of assessing other habits, beliefs and
norms from their own culture. Instead, we should "look for clues and cultural significance"
to challenge the thinking and assumptions and compare them with the thinking of the other.
Dialogue is the process of deepening understanding of others through listening, sharing, and
questioning. Dialogue is different from debate because the goal is to understand, not to win.
The skills needed for intercultural dialogue are the same skills needed for any relationship.
An acronym that is helpful to remember the communication skills described in the
Intercultural Competence Framework is LOVE:
- Listening
- Observing
- Viewing the world from others’ perspectives
- Evaluating
Knowledge alone, however, is not enough. We need to have skills.
• Listening, observing, evaluating: using patience and perseverance to identify and
minimize ethnocentrism, seek out cultural clues and meaning.
• Analyzing, interpreting and relating: seeking out linkages, causality and relationships
using comparative techniques of analysis.
• Critical thinking: viewing and interpreting the world from other cultures’ point of
view and identifying one’s own
The third constituent element of intercultural competence are attitudes.

Emotional resiliency is the ability to adapt in times of stress or crises. While navigating
difference can be stressful, having an open minded attitude can help people adapt to new
situations and step outside of comfort zones. To overcome the ‘fear of difference’, developing
an attitude of curiosity, openness, respect, and discovery can become one’s attitude of
emotional resilience. CORD is an acronym to help remember the individual “strands”.
Deardorff’s framework provides deeper definitions of the different attitude “strands”.
An acronym that is helpful to remember the communication attitudes described in the
Intercultural Competence Framework is CORD:
Curiosity: be curious about difference and view it as an opportunity for learning
Openness: withhold judgement
Respect: value other cultures
Discovery: tolerate ambiguity and view it with a sense of discovery.
An important element of intercultural communication and intercultural competence is

intercultural sensitivity. Acquiring intercultural sensitivity is a process in which Benet has
distinguished:
„Denial of Difference
People consider their own culture as the only "real" one. Other cultures are either not noticed
at all or people do not even try to understand them in a proper way. People in this position
are generally uninterested in cultural differences, but in view of the difference, their
seemingly mild acceptance can turn into aggressive attempts to avoid or eliminate it.
Defense against Difference

Culture is seen as the most "developed" or best way of life. This position is characterized by
dualistic thinking we / they and is often accompanied by overt negative stereotypes. The
differences are emphasized on the principle that any difference from "we" will be ridiculed
and slandered. People acting in this way are more at risk of cultural diversity and are more
likely to act aggressively against others.
Minimization of Difference
The experience of similarity outweighs the experience of difference. People do not criticize
cultural differences in food or habits, but emphasize human similarity in physical structure
or psychological needs. People at this stage probably assume that they are no longer
ethnocentric and usually overestimate their tolerance, underestimating the impact of their
own culture.
Acceptance of Difference
Own culture is seen as one of many equally complex worldviews. People here accept the
existence of culturally different ways of organizing human existence, although they do not
necessarily like absolutely everything. They can determine how culture influences a wide
range of human experiences, and have a framework to organize observations of cultural
differences.
Adaptation to Difference
Individuals are able to expand their own worldviews to accurately understand other cultures
and behave in a variety of culturally appropriate ways. Effective use of empathy, or frame of
reference shifting, to understand and be understood across cultural boundaries.
Integration of Difference
One’s experience of self is expanded to include the movement in and out of different cultural
worldviews. People at this position have a definition of self that is “marginal” (not central)
to any particular culture, allowing this individual to shift rather smoothly from one cultural
worldview to another.”
Let's move now to intercultural learning. Intercultural learning is learning about how we see
other people who are very different from us. It concerns us. It concerns our friends and
acquaintances and how we work together to build a community of justice. It concerns the
bonds that communities can create among themselves to promote equality, solidarity and
opportunities for all. It deepens respect and promotes dignity in relations between cultures,
especially when some of them belong to a minority and the rest are majority.
Intercultural learning is an area of research (theory) and application (practice) of knowledge
regarding different cultures, their differences and similarities.
The main goal of intercultural learning is seen as the development of Intercultural
competence, which is the ability to act and relate appropriately and effectively in various
cultural contexts:
o Appropriateness, which are valued rules, norms, and expectations of the relationship
are not violated significantly.
o Effectiveness, which are values goals or rewards (relative to costs and alternatives)
are accomplished.
Of particular importance to intercultural learning is understanding cultural differences in

learning processes. Intercultural learning programs could benefit greatly from the analysis
of cultural trends in these processes.
Each community or nation is separate. For centuries it has been created and preserved
through, among others upbringing characteristic set of features. What's more, some of
these features may not be realized, even by the members of the country or community
themselves. Researcher Silvio Martinelli explained this using the iceberg metaphor. The
culture model as an iceberg shows the factors that create culture, dividing it into those
elements that are visible and those that are hidden, exist outside the ordinary
consciousness. There are definitely more the latter ones, unaware. And they form the
foundation and basis of culture. According to the culture model as an iceberg, conscious
elements of culture are:
o fine arts
o literature
o drama
o music
o folk dances
o kitchen
o dressing style.
Whereas elements of culture that lie outside (below) consciousness include:
o the concept of beauty
o patterns used to raise children
o standards and values
o attitude towards animals and nature
o patterns of relations with superiors / subordinates
o incentives to work
o ideal leadership
o ways of group decision making
o problem solving strategies
o ways of interacting
o conversation patterns
o understanding of time
o favoring competition or cooperation.
The iceberg culture model also shows how difficult it is to sometimes understand the
behavior of people from a different culture. This is because what shapes them most strongly
is carefully hidden from the eyes of a random observer. What's more, even those themselves
often do not know why they think and react in this way. Therefore, the culture model as an
iceberg encourages exploration and careful search for hidden elements. Managing an
international team requires the manager to have high professional competences, great
flexibility and the ability to approach each employee individually.
Definitely the most important element in this case is the awareness of cultural differences.
So learning the lessons from the Martinelli iceberg. What is visible - the style of dress or
technological gadgets in hand - is just a business card. Visible items. It must be remembered
that under the surface of each employee's consciousness lie the whole store of beliefs and
values, norms of behavior and thinking. It is impossible to examine them all, but you must
act so that they do not get into conflict with each other.
Intercultural Communicative Competence is an important concept that becomes more

significant than ever before, especially nowadays as we are living in societies that are fast
becoming more and more multicultural and multilingual.
Michael Byram, who is a British linguist and professor emeritus from the University of
Durham, came up with a model for what he believed ICC involves. This is known as Byram’s
Savoirs and these include:
Savoirs - Knowledge not restricted to superficial (stereotypical) characteristics but
additionally about social processes and identity forming in general, and how social
interaction is manifested in a target culture. It is the knowledge of one’s culture’s practices,
products and social groups in their own culture and another culture.
Savoir-être - A curious and open attitude combined with a willingness to suspend judgment
on others and analyse personal perspective,
Savoir comprendre - Skills of interpreting and relating which do not include interaction but
rather focus on being able to use existing knowledge,. It is the ability to interpret a document,
symbol or event from another culture.
Savoir faire - Skills of discovery and interaction to bridge gaps in existing knowledge while
interacting to ensure successful communication. It means acquiring new knowledge about
a culture.
Savoir s’engager - Critical awareness to evaluate own and other’s culture
Byram argues that a curious and open attitude is a prerequisite for the development of ICC
because if there is no desire to learn from or communicate with someone with different
beliefs, values and behaviours, there will never be any development in skills or knowledge.
To check how the Silesian University of Technology deals with multiculturalism, we asked a
few questions to the Coordinator of Foreign Students' education - Dr Joanna Bartnicka.
Question: You look after students from abroad studying at the Faculty of Organization and
Management of the Silesian University of Technology. What actions are taken to familiarize
students from other countries with Polish culture? What actions are taken to familiarize
Polish students with the culture of the countries that foreigners come from? Which countries
do the students studying at the Faculty of Organization and Management come from?
Joanna: Yes. First of all, I would like to say that, actions that are taken to familiarize students
from other countries with Polish culture are of course very important. But the important is
also that a Polish teacher can have the opportunity to know traditions, habits, for example,
habits of studying, of their way of how they learn. Because Polish teachers should organize
the whole path of education according to their preferences also. So this is very important
from both for, students, for foreign students and for teachers. And actually we organize
different actions, connected to this issue. For example, at least, before Christmas we organize
a big event when we invite Polish students and foreign students. And it is a great opportunity
to get to know each other, to share information and knowledge about, culture, about
traditions, about habits and what is important that it is of course not only information about
Christian and ceremonies because we know that we have students from different cultures
with different religions.
And for us it’s also important to learn how to be tolerant before them. And yeah, it’s a great
opportunity to get to know each other. This event before Christmas is organized by our
Faculty - Faculty of organization and management. But also Salesian University of technology
organize different actions within foreigners. Students have opportunity to learn a Polish
traditions, Polish habits and some, formal aspects of studying here in Poland. We organize at
least two times a year a special orientation days where we invite the foreign students from
the whole university and we provide useful information to them about studying, about Polish
culture and traditions. We have actually many students from different cultures, countries
from different continents. We have the people from Ukraine, Germany, Spain, but also
Cameroon and Nigeria, Tanzania, India, Ghana, Suriname, Turkey. So multicultural aspect of
studying here in our faculty. We show, we see these students, we can talk with them and it is
very important also for our Polish student, to get them know better. And, we see that now
the connections between Polish and foreign student is better than before. They meet
together they talk together, they cooperate together. So I think that this communication
between them is good now.
Question: What are the future plans to develop the intercultural communication?
Joanna: Actually this year is special year because our university Silesian University of
Technology celebrates the 75 years of their existence. And in the same time, our faculty,
celebrates 25 years of the existence. And this is a next opportunity to organize some different
events. And in the few weeks we will we have in plan to organize the event, more scientific
event where Polish student will provide information about their interesting projects, some
scientific work and especially these students are from student clubs. They will invite foreign
students to cooperation within these student clubs. And this will be also opportunity to share
knowledge about the multicultural aspects. We also plan to organize some tours within
Silesia region because our region is very nice, very beautiful. And it is also great opportunity
to get to know each other within it - some social events like common tour with the
Polish students and foreign students. Thank you very much.
We also asked entrepreneurs about the specifics of working in an intercultural environment

– James Hamilton – VP Operations and Controller at PubNub Inc. from San Francisco, USA.
And Jack Newcombe – Co-founder and CEO at New and „Co” from Los Angeles, USA.
Question: How to manage a multicultural team, what competences should

a manager have to effectively manage a multicultural team of employees?
James: Yeah, it is, it is a challenge. It's a fun challenge. There's a lot of really great things that
come up, come of it. We learn a lot about all different types of cultures and languages and
people. But it is challenging, right? Because, you know, I think for us, one of the hardest things
is, you know, we're a U S San Francisco based company, and San Francisco, even within the
U S is much, much different than other cities. Even in the U S it's very unique place. And so I
think one of the biggest challenges is just to continue as we've grown, to kind of remind
ourselves that, Know where people are coming from, you know, their cities and, you know,
not just their language being within the countries, whether the impose land or UK or in India
or South America. You know, people come from a perspective of where they've been living
and what they know. I've been exposed to it then within their country. And you know, I think
it's been really fun on one hand , learn about all the different ways that you know, different
celebrations that people have different ways and mannerisms, people have in
communicating, even different ways different countries do business. but it's hard aligning
that, right? It's hard getting, it's hard communicating that you don't, it's hard to make a rule,
right? Because what might work in Poland might be different than in India. And then if you
go open a place in Germany, it's going to be even different. So in a way, like your rules have
to be broad and flexible and open.
Question: What actions is the company taking to make employees get to know each other
better and communicate?
James: We just had one, we just had a big kickoff here in the U S so We're going to keep trying
to have people come visit each other and within their countries. So, we just had our big
annual kickoff in January where we brought in everybody. And you know, that was, I think a
really great time for everybody to meet face to face. You know, get to know each other. Just
hang out, have lunch, have a party. You really get to see people outside of just their working
mode, which is great. I think even outside of that, you know, when we bring people on, you
know, we tried to have them come up to San Francisco and spend time in our headquarters
for the majority of our employees, we also are having people go visit, you know, our offices
in the UK and in Poland.
Jack: Yeah. So that's, that's like the most, that's super important. So chemistry is, it goes
back to your question about like, liking working with each other and persuasion chemistry
is defined for me is like how much do I like working with the other person? Not necessarily
a complimentary skillset. Like they do different things, but like, do I like this person? Do I
like sitting across the desk from them? Do I like interacting with them? And it's not about,
it's a combination between like, we're attracted to people that are similar to us, but it's, it's
more just, um, it's a difficult thing to define, but you know, when you have it. So in order to
foster that chemistry, you need trust and trust is built over time. Just like spending time
together and being able to get out of the office and get to know each other on a much more
informal setting is critical to spend that time together, to get to know each other better. So
that when you do get in a situation where there might be miscommunication or, you need a
quick answer, you have that foundation of trust and you give the other person the benefit of
the doubt. So you know that they're coming, that the, that you have their best interests in
mind.
Question: Does your company organize any special meetings for employees?
Jack: Yes, yes. So, at least twice a year we have a like a summer barbecue, get together and
then we do a Christmas party. And again, it's just important to get together outside the office,
meet each other. It's a little different having somebody in Poland, but everybody else gets
together here. And it's just a good reminder in terms of who we're working with and what
we're doing and really puts everybody in a good, good mindset, going forward. Yeah, it's, it's
more the latter. It's, it's kind of like the dress code. Like people have access to, it used to be,
you go to the office at this time and you leave at this time and now people have access to
Slack and work resources all the time. At the same time, people have lives and they have
children and traffic and doctor's appointments. So I try to be very flexible and as long as
you're getting your work done, you can do it whenever want. At the same time, if there's a
meeting or you need to communicate with somebody, well then you gotta get together. So
it's a balance between the two. You're making me think the theme is more freedom, but also
you have to, reflect responsibility and professionalism with that freedom.

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ERASMUS+ PROGRAMME, KEY ACTION 2

CAPACITY BUILDING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Furthering International Relations Capacities and Intercultural Engagement to

Unit 14: Intercultural Communication: culture as a

The third constituent element of intercultural competence are attitudes.

An important element of intercultural communication and intercultural competence is

Defense against Difference

Of particular importance to intercultural learning is understanding cultural differences in

Intercultural Communicative Competence is an important concept that becomes more

We also asked entrepreneurs about the specifics of working in an intercultural environment

Question: How to manage a multicultural team, what competences should

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