Aims

This module has the explicit aim of helping students to prepare for effective and competent interpersonal communication in intercultural workplace settings. Specific module aims include:

• To develop an understanding of what ‘culture’ and ‘intercultural’ means
• To provide an understanding of what we mean by ‘intercultural workplace’
• To generate an understanding of the challenges and rewards involved in working cross-culturally
• To provide an introduction to the concepts of ‘intercultural competence’, ‘multicultural personality’
and ‘cross-cultural effectiveness’, and whether these can be taught/learned
• To explore the role of language, both verbal and non-verbal, in intercultural workplace communication
• To provide an understanding of the theory behind effective interpersonal communication, and how this
theory can be applied to everyday communication in intercultural workplace settings
• To provide an understanding of how psychological and social psychological factors influence how we
communicate with each other
• To provide an overview of key research areas and methodological approaches with regards to the
intercultural workplace, including research on working and studying abroad and/or in intercultural
settings
• To develop students’ general cross-cultural understanding and intercultural communicative competence

Outline Of Syllabus

Specific syllabus content is subject to group needs analysis. The following is indicative content:

• Unpacking of the term ‘intercultural workplace’ and discussion of what it means to work ‘across
cultures’
• An introduction and discussion of key concepts with regards to working ‘effectively’ across cultures
(e.g. ‘intercultural competence’, ‘multicultural personality’ and ‘cross-cultural effectiveness’)
• Misattribution and miscommunication in intercultural workplace settings: causes and possible
solutions
• Discussion and critical evaluation of real-life scenarios from intercultural workplace settings
• Discussion of research articles with regards to working across cultures, including a critical
evaluation of methodological approaches to the study of ‘culture’ in workplace settings
• Working effectively in intercultural workplace settings - recent research literature and case studies
from various workplace settings, including:
• ‘Working abroad’ – The role of intercultural communication in the experiences of expatriate business
personnel
• 'Crossing borders to study’ – The role of intercultural communication in the experiences of
international students
• Managing diversity in education – Communicating effectively on the multicultural, multilingual
campus, and in multicultural, multilingual classroom settings
• Intercultural communication and healthcare – Communicating effectively in intercultural healthcare
contexts, e.g. communication between health care professional and ethnic minority patients,
• Teamworking in intercultural contexts and effective participation in intercultural meetings: recent
research literature, case studies, skills and practice

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures are delivered to introduce key knowledge areas. Student-lead projects and workshops provide opportunities to practise intercultural communication skills, and discuss real-life workplace scenarios. Private study provides the opportunity to enable wider reading and critical evaluation of relevant literature, and to participate in presentation preparation.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The student group project and essay assessments complement one another:

1. The student group project assesses students’ ability to effectively work in cross-cultural teams, to
research a topic of relevance to the module content, and to prepare and deliver a professional oral
presentation.
2. The individual essay assesses students’ ability to independently engage with theory and research on
a chosen topic, and to produce a well-written and professionally presented essay.