1

Gabriele Abermann / Ingrid Gehrke

The Multicultural Classroom - A Guaranteed

Intercultural Learning Space?

115: Successful Internationalization of Higher Education

Abstract

Alongside student mobility, 'Internationalization at Home' has become an important strategy to achieve internationalization. Classrooms reflect this trend in their increasingly international and diverse student set-up. Leveraging the benefits of the multicultural classroom, however, requires qualified teachers that can accommodate different learning, communication and conflict styles. This paper relates this issue to research on the impact of studying abroad on intercultural learning. It discusses relevant success factors and outlines areas for further research.

Keywords:

Multicultural classroom, intercultural learning, intercultural competence, communication styles,

learning styles, diversity, professional development

1. Introduction

Among the various measures taken to achieve internationalization, student mobility still seems to be

the prime instrument. An increase in the quantity is often equated with a growth in quality. Apart from

few programmes, where a study or work placement abroad is an integral obligatory curriculum

component, many students cannot participate in mobility schemes, not least those who study part-time

or have family obligations. Institutions and programmes have therefore regarded 'Internationalization

at Home' as an alternative strategic concept (Beelen 2007, Beelen / Jones 2015). The most recent

Bologna Monitoring Report (BMWFW 2015a) as well as the Fachhochschulentwicklungs- und

Finanzierungsplan for 2017/18 (BMWF 2015b) explicitly mention courses in English as a strategic

internationalization measure: "ausländische Studierende [können …] als Vermittlerinnen und

Vermittler von Kultur, Sprache und akademischen Gepflogenheiten ihrer Herkunftsländer für die nicht

mobilen inländischen Studierenden und Lehrenden fungieren (BMWFW 2015a: 42). The question,

however, needs to be raised whether courses taught in English with some international students

attending will automatically create an intercultural learning space and result in a higher intercultural

competence level. This paper relates this issue to research on the impact of studying abroad on

intercultural learning. It discusses relevant success factors and outlines areas for further research.

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2. The Myth of Exposure and the Pivotal Role of the Teacher

Evidence seems to dismantle the myth of the automatic acquisition of intercultural competence

through exposure to and immersion into a new cultural environment (Bennett 2009; Bridges 2011;

Vande Berg et al. 2012; Weber Bosley / Lou 2011). In the most comprehensive of these studies, the

Georgetown Project, only one US study-abroad programme out of 61 could boast a significant

intercultural competence gain in its participating students. Reflection and cultural mentoring were the

cornerstones of success in this particular programme, which makes intentional accompanying

facilitation activities the key success factors for the cultural learning process (Vande Berg et al. 2009).

Can these findings in the context of study-abroad programmes about facilitation and cultural learning

also be applied to the learning taking place in a multicultural classroom setting at home? A number of

studies carried out in the US, UK and Australia seem to confirm that the mere exposure to an

international student body in a classroom will not automatically translate into intercultural learning.

Furthermore, these studies showed the rather discouraging results that negative attitudes towards

students from other backgrounds have not changed much for the better over the last two decades.

Only where deliberate intervention measures inside and outside the formal curriculum were taken,

such as peer mentoring, was a change in attitude discernible (Leask / Carroll 2011). In this context it is

also interesting to note that both teachers as well as students tend to overestimate their own progress

and achieved level of learning, as "gains in levels of intercultural competence development mostly are

self-reported and the perceived levels of intercultural competence often are higher than the actual

levels" (Gregersen-Hermans 2014:9). So what are the factors that lead to a conducive learning

environment in the multicultural classroom? Are they comparable to those mentioned for the cultural

learning abroad experience?

As early as 2000 Teekens pointed to the teacher as the pivotal figure for a successful multicultural

classroom (Teekens 2000, see also Berardo / Deardorff 2012; Lauridsen / Cozart 2015; Leask 2015;

Van Gaalen / Gielsen 2014). Apart from the linguistic proficiency – in most cases English – teachers

must have a defined level of intercultural competence to integrate a variety of learning, communication

and conflict styles. Groups with diverse members can either be more productive when their diversity is

leveraged or utterly fail when this aspect is ignored or even suppressed (Barta 2011; Distefano /

Maznevski 2000; Halverson / Tirmizi 2008; Hunt et al. 2014; Schmid 2010, 2014). In the multicultural

classroom, the teacher needs to be able to identify cultural differences, address incidents in a

culturally appropriate and sensitive manner, separate personality and cultural issues and facilitate the

achievement of the defined learning outcome for all students in the class through appropriate task and

assessment design. This set of competences is of course called for in addition to the teachers'

academic qualification and has usually not been taught during their own academic training. In

accordance with Deardorff's process model of intercultural competence (2006, 2009), this requires that

the teacher has the appropriate attitudinal, cognitive and behavioural skills and competences for

providing a learning space that accommodates such a diverse student set-up. Figure 1 shows in more

detail what this implies. Intercultural learning is an ongoing process and competence is manifested in a

3

specific intercultural encounter and therefore relative to the parameters that define this situation. For

the multicultural classroom this entails awareness on the part of the teachers about their own

orientation towards cultural difference in relation to the concrete student set-up.

Figure 1: The Deardorff model of intercultural competence (Deardorff 2009:33)

It is obvious that teacher training and an institutional mechanism are necessary to ensure that only

qualified and well prepared teachers are in charge of multicultural classrooms. It would be highly

recommended that these teachers have gone through an intercultural learning process – for example,

as part of a study abroad experience – themselves. Institutional practices, however, do not traditionally

reflect this necessity in their recruitment or staff development policies as the academic profile is still

often only characterized by a teacher's research and publication record or potential. It is also a

common delusion that language proficiency in English qualifies a teacher for the multicultural

classroom. Even a teacher with a sound pedagogic background and ample classroom experience may

struggle with this task, as proven strategies for homogeneous groups will not be easily transferable or

may even fail when indiscriminately implemented with diverse groups. Left alone, teachers may

become frustrated and attribute stereotypical characteristics to certain groups of students. The

multicultural classroom should therefore not be an isolated silo, but reflect a shared attitude among

faculty members towards the learning potential of diverse groups in any discipline. Beelen and Jones

4

put this succinctly when calling for comprehensive staff development at departmental levels with the

aim to internationalize "existing, discipline specific learning outcomes within the home curriculum for

all students, [and a focus] on appropriate pedagogy and associated assessment" (2015: 70).

This also leads to a further relevant factor, the integration of intercultural learning not only at the

individual course level, but in the curriculum and in the overall institutional policy. A coherent approach

hinges on the alignment of content with learning strategies and assessment methods and their proper

implementation in the classroom. As the implementers at the operative level, teachers need to be

involved in all phases of this process. Dealing with diversity is a key competence for a graduate in any

discipline and a reality of the workplace environment. Taking employability, but also personal and

professional development seriously, it is the responsibility of teachers, curriculum designers and the

university at large to provide a learning space and define learning outcomes that enable the

achievement of this competence.

3. Classroom Management and the Intercultural Learning Space

The Bologna focus on student-centred learning has become an important didactic orientation in the

universities of applied sciences’ sector in Austria, where active student involvement in group projects,

presentations, discussions and peer reviews are encouraged. Students coming from a background

with high power distance, strong institutional collectivism, but low assertiveness (House et al. 2004)

and having a high context communication style (Hall 1981) may not easily cope with this approach and

will require guidance and sufficient time for adaptation. Anecdotal evidence is mirrored in the

narratives of the notorious 'Spanish' student not showing up for group project meetings or the

'Japanese' student who never speaks up in these meetings and is 'obviously' not interested or cannot

contribute anything. The question is not who needs to adapt to whom, but how can diversity be utilized

to increase intercultural learning for all students in a classroom.

It is the teacher's obligation to provide space for negotiating common ground and planning activities

that will integrate different learning and communication styles. Learning activities, assessment

methods as well as the role the teacher adopts in the classroom setting will therefore need to be

carefully chosen and their impact has to be taken into consideration (Bennett 2012; Carroll 2015;

Deardorff et al. 2012; IEAA 2013; Gibbs 2006; Paige / Goode 2009). Pasarelli / Kolb (2012) have

identified four main roles a teacher can take on and have characterized associated teaching and

learning strategies. These roles comprise the coach, facilitator, subject expert, and standard

setter/evaluator as exemplified in Figure 2. In correlation with these roles, teachers can put their focus

on the learner, the knowledge, the subject, or on activities. The beliefs underlying each role affect the

goals, teaching styles and classroom practices a teacher favours. Teachers unaware of their own

preferences may assume that they treat everyone equally and thus fairly, whereas actually they

discriminate unintentionally against certain groups of students.

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Figure 2: Teaching roles (Pasarelli / Kolb 2012: 153)

Depending on their background, students may have been familiarized in the educational system with

only one particular role. Being confronted without preparation with different or even diametrically

opposite roles, their practiced and proven learning strategies will suddenly be seen as deficient, often

aggravated by a lack of fluency in English. The teacher in the multicultural classroom has to find out

what perception of a 'good' teacher and related expectations about efficient learning students bring

along. It is not sufficient to know students' nationalities as "student groups will differ, one from another

and individuals will differ within those groups" (IEAA 2013:8). Carroll (2015) provides a range of

questions and culturally appropriate methods to elicit this information. Accordingly, the teacher will

have to flexibly switch roles and adapt the classroom design to foster the learning process for all. As a

precondition the teacher has to become aware him/herself of the culturally preferred role s/he is taking

on within a familiar and mono-cultural setting. Self-awareness of role expectations and applications

seem to be a learning process the teacher has to undergo him/herself at first.

Additionally, it is necessary to make local students see the benefit of cultural learning for their own

professional and personal development. (Edmead 2013). Otherwise, local students will often see

attempts at integrating foreign students as a waste of time or even a "threat to achieving learning

goals, especially if those goals are not clearly linked to the interactions [with foreign students] required

to achieve them" (Leask / Carroll 2011: 650). As a consequence, only if intercultural competence is an

integral component across the curriculum and a defined learning outcome, for which students are also

assessed, will local students be more likely to engage with non-local students.

6

Creating a supportive intercultural learning space includes careful task design and varied assessment

methods that will not unfairly cater for one group of learners only. While the priority given to active

engagement is an important facet of student-centred learning, it has to be planned and implemented

carefully in the multi-cultural classroom. Figure 3 shows a variety of learning activities along the

continuum from passive to active learning. These activities correlate with specific assessment

methods.

Figure 3: Learning activities around Kolb's learning cycle and their degree of active student

engagement (Pasarelli / Kolb 2012: 154)

Students socialized in the context of passive learning will need empathic support and

acknowledgement of their background so as not to withdraw for fear of failure or loss of face. More

time needs to be set aside for facilitating group work. Especially the phases of forming, storming and

norming in teambuilding need structured guidance. Groups need to identify their expectations and

individual strengths, find ways to agree on inclusive work procedures and conflict protocols, determine

group-appropriate meeting and decision-making styles and above all, use respectful and appreciative

communication (Halverson / Tirmizi 2008). Methods like brainstorming, for example, could be replaced

or complemented by brainwriting. Silence could be strategically used to encourage participation.

Repetition and recapping could become a routine to confirm understanding. Agreements would not

only be done orally, but also in writing, to point out just a few possibilities. Planning and facilitating

group work needs to be spread across the curriculum with increasing complexity so that experiences

of intercultural learning build on each other and skills are consolidated. In the end, all can profit.

Teachers will broaden their pedagogic repertoire and increase their didactic competence with diverse

groups. Students will learn how to communicate across cultural boundaries, which prepares them for

their future workplace environments. Institutions will better fulfil their promise of graduate employability

and fostering mature citizenship. However, all this does not happen automatically. It comes at a cost -

if taken into account and invested in, it will pay off; if ignored, it will produce frustration and anger.

7

4. Conclusions

Research shows that the benefits of the multicultural classroom can be leveraged, if at least the

following three aspects are guaranteed:

- Defined international and intercultural learning outcomes throughout the curriculum

- Flexible teacher roles and a well-designed learning space

- Interculturally competent and pedagogically qualified staff

Making resources available and strategically developing teachers' qualifications, for example through

special trainings or teacher mobility schemes, need to be part of the overall institutional

internationalization strategy and embedded at all levels (Gregersen-Hermans 2014, Walenkamp et al.

2015). Developing the intercultural skills in teachers so that they can create appropriate multicultural

learning spaces needs to be one of the key objectives of an institutional staff development

programme. Furthermore, the "purposeful integration of international and intercultural dimensions into

the formal and informal curriculum for all students within domestic learning environments" (Beelen /

Jones 2015: 69) needs to be reflected on in appropriate learning outcomes (Aerden 2015). Little

evidence on the impact of such a strategy is yet available. Further research is therefore called for,

especially on factors that facilitate the achievement of intercultural and international learning outcomes

(Matej 2014). Assessment instruments like the Intercultural Development Inventory (Hammer 2009) or

the memo©factors adopted in the recent Erasmus Impact Study (Brandenburg 2014) could be used

for determining the current orientation towards cultural differences of teachers and students in the

multicultural classroom as well as their progress of learning. Anecdotal evidence, questionnaires or

other such formats need to be complemented by research methods grounded in sound and proven

theoretical models such as the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensibility (Bennett 1993) or

Deardorff's Model of Intercultural Competence (Deardorff 2014, Gregersen-Hermans 2014, Paige /

Goode 2009).

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Synergies in marketing management

5

ContentsExploring Emotional Intelligence Trait Enablers for Knowledge Sharing: An Empirical Study 7Nóra Obermayer-Kovács, Edit Komlósi, Cintia Szenteleki, Erika Viktória Tóth

The Role of Theory of Planned Behavior on Entrepreneurial Intention of Greek Business Students 23Charitomeni Tsordia, Dimitra Papadimitriou

The Reality Gap – How Enterprises Perceive Intercultural Management 39Gabriele Abermann

The Study of Realistic Job Previews for the Position of Recruiter in Poland: Qualitative Research Results 53Tomasz Ingram, Alicja Siga

Comparative Analysis on the Influence of the Economic Crisis on Education in some European Countries 63Marian Zaharia, Cătălin Popescu

International Journal of Synergy and Research

Editors:Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Agnieszka Sitko-LutekSenior Editor: Dr. Binshan LinAssociate Editors: Dr. Zbigniew Pastuszak Dr. Anna Rakowska

ISSN 2083-0025Volume 4Number 1

2015

International Journal of Synergy and Research

Vol. 4, No. 1, 2015

The Reality Gap – How Enterprises

Perceive Intercultural Management

39

The Reality Gap – How Enterprises Perceive Intercultural Management

Gabriele Abermann FH-Prof. Mag. DrFachhochschule Salzburg GmbH

Salzburg University od Applied Sciencegabriele.abermann@fh-salzburg.ac.at

Abstract:Purpose – The article documents the findings of semi-structured interviews with human resource managers and project leaders, mostly from Austrian enterprises, on their attitude towards the relevance of intercultural management and the measures they have taken to address this issue. Methodology/Approach – The interviews were conducted in the context of the EU-funded university-enterprise project SKILL2E, aimed at designing and promoting cultural mentoring at the enterprise as a means to sustainably raise awareness and competence for an increasingly globalized workforce. Findings – While a large majority attested to the relevance of intercultural management, only a small portion actively engaged in activities to recruit and integrate employees with diverse backgrounds. Additionally, a number of enterprises indiscriminately equated induction or buddy programmes with cultural mentoring. It also became evident that the potential of transnational student placements as a recruiting instrument and a learning opportunity for both universities and enterprises has not yet been fully realized.Originality / Value – This case study demonstrates the gap between the perception and attitudes of enterprises in regards to diversity issues and the actual implementation status.Keywords – human capital, globalization, intercultural competence, mentoring, sustainability, higher education.Paper Classification – Case Study.

1. IntroductionThis paper documents the findings of 65 enterprise interviews focusing on the integration of employees and work placement students with diverse cultural backgrounds. The interviews were carried out between November 2011 and December 2014. This case study was initiated and partly carried out within the context of the EU-funded university-enterprise project SKILL2E1 with members from Austria, Finland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, UK and US. The consortium comprised seven universities and five enterprises as well as a number of associated enterprises in these countries. The project participants came from diverse fields ranging from business, tourism, language studies, education, forest technology and IT to consulting, the service industry as well as a chamber of commerce. The main objective of the project was to

1 A detailed description of the project and all reports can be found at www.skill2e.fh-salzburg.ac.at.

International Journal of Synergy and Research

Vol. 4, No. 1, 2015p. 39–51

DOI: 10.17951/ijsr.2015.4.1.39

40

IJSR4,1

design a support structure for students to sustainably secure the added value of a work placement abroad.

From the university experience it was evident that students were well supervised in terms of their domain-specific knowledge and skills in their work placements. However, there was little focus on leveraging the skills gain through exposure to another culture and even less through dialogue between universities and enterprises on how to address this issue. Recently, it seems, not least through our project results, that attention is shifting towards quality aspects in student mobility and how the acquisition or enhancement of transversal skills can be measured, secured, and properly capitalised on in the labour market (Brandenburg, 2014; CIMO, 2014; Colucci et al., 2014; EMA, 2014; Ripmeester, 2014).

A main tenet of the SKILL2E project was to involve all three stakeholder groups – university staff, students, enterprises – in designing any supportive measure intended to facilitate practical implementation, to consider enterprise reality, and thus to provide sustainability beyond the project life time. In the SKILL2E project, preparatory and post-mobility workshops as well as a guided intercultural reflective diary, the use of an assessment instrument and cultural mentoring at the enterprise side were identified as effective intervention measures. At the time of the project start in 2010, there was no evidence that cultural mentoring had been already high on the agenda in European enterprises. In order to get a closer insight into current practices, additional enterprises were interviewed on their attitude towards a culturally diverse workforce apart from those which were already part of the consortium or had participated in project workshops.

2. MethodologyAs the consortium actively involved enterprises at all project stages, it was neither seen as relevant nor feasible within the two-year project life time to carry out a systematic survey on the issue of the integration of a diverse workforce. Getting a snapshot of the enterprise’s practices in each consortium region was, however, regarded as useful for the design of the SKILL2E Model. Therefore, it was decided to use semi-structured interviews with pre-formulated questions that all involved consortium members agreed on during a project meeting. The objective behind this approach was threefold: i) in line with the principle of involving all stakeholders, the interviews were carried out in most countries by students and documented in transcripts; ii) apart from the consortium, students were thus able to raise their own awareness and sensitivity towards issues of diversity; in the case of part-time students, sometimes even in their own companies; iii) a closer personal contact with these enterprises was seen as an opportunity to identify enterprises that might be interested in participating in the project in workshops, as associated partners or in offering placements for international students.

The interview questions agreed upon by the consortium, focused on the existence and concept of (cultural) mentoring, the integration practices of new employees and potentially international students, the role of diversity management, and the use of assessment instruments in this context. In Austria, the interviews were carried out as

The Reality Gap – How Enterprises

Perceive Intercultural Management

41

part of an assignment in the course Cross-cultural Management, held by the Author herself, in the Master programme Business Administration at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. The questions were translated into German by the Author of this paper and students had already acquired background knowledge on fundamentals of culture, intercultural communication and cross-cultural management before conducting the interviews. They had also received information on the SKILL2E project. Students were advised to basically keep within the limits of these questions but were free to ask for further details or related aspects. The majority of the students did not ask additional questions as the transcripts show.

Students could select their interview partners themselves provided that these would either be human resources managers or in a related position where they would actively be confronted with these issues in their daily business. No other criteria or restrictions on enterprise selection would be applicable. The rationale behind this approach was to increase student initiative and motivation. As mentioned above, in a number of cases part-time students actually interviewed representatives of their own companies.

The following figures show the geographical distribution and the business sectors of the interview partners. As can be seen in Figure 1, most enterprises are located in the greater Salzburg region (not including the neighbouring Germany). The vicinity and/or student home towns account for roughly 14% of interview partners from Germany, which, with a few exceptions, were also in the Bavarian border region to Salzburg. Two companies are South Korean due to the fact that one exchange student from Korea participated in the course and one part-time student works for a Korean company. About 30% of the Salzburg-based enterprises were part of an international group. Figure 2 confirms that the sectors the companies operate in, reflect the typical mix of the Salzburg region with the service sector and its various subcategories are quite prominent. Companies also varied much in size, but with a substantial portion in the SME range.

Greater Salzburg Region

Austria except Salzburg

Germany

Other Figure 1: Enterprise geographical

distribution

42

IJSR4,1

In line with the interview instructions, the majority (almost 40%) of the interview partners were human resources managers. Slightly over 20% comprised CEOs, respectively branch managers or company owners. The rest were mostly department heads or project leaders.

3. FindingsThe following sections provide an overview of the most relevant findings. As these are based on interview transcripts, mostly in German, statements have been grouped according to their general idea, not their exact original wording.

3.1. Mentoring and new employee integration In the interviews, enterprises were asked, if they had an active mentoring programme. On purpose, no definition of mentoring was provided. Almost half of the enterprises (45%) indicated that they had one. When asked to provide details of this mentoring scheme, it was obvious in ten cases that this was an induction programme or personal coaching, not mentoring in its true sense (Connor and Pokora, 2009; Conway, 1998; Meginson and Clutterbuck, 2005; Ragins and Kram, 2007; Shea, 2001). Thus, the percentage of enterprises in this sample offering mentoring is less than 30%. As in some cases no details were documented, this figure might actually be even lower. In only two cases, the mentoring scheme was explicitly related to ethnic diversity. In the other cases, mentoring referred to career advancement, mostly for high potentials, executives or women. Over half of the interviewees, regardless whether they thought they had an active mentoring programme or not, mentioned the integration of new employees and conflict solving as situations where mentoring would be relevant. Career development was only mentioned by 14% as it can be seen in Figure 3.

0 5 10 15 20 25

Public

Banking / Insurance

Retail

Service

Production

Figure 2: Enterprise sectors represented

The Reality Gap – How Enterprises

Perceive Intercultural Management

43

Asked what they associated with the term 'Cultural Mentoring', over half of the interview partners referred to better understanding of other cultures, effective communication among these or synergistic use of cultural diversity. Communicating the local or company culture to employees with a different ethnic background or the support for these employees was mentioned by roughly a third. Further statements, each below 5%, included developing intercultural or language skills, respecting different cultures, minimizing conflict, equal treatment or minority mentoring. 5% said they had no idea what such a concept could involve.

3.2. Work placement offers for international studentsAs Figure 4 exemplifies, almost 70% of the enterprises offer work placements for international students and in quite a number of cases, students from specific countries are preferred. In these cases, the desired country of origin is related to business connections, mostly major or intended new markets, location of branches or important cooperation partners. Recruiting among a wider talent pool was also mentioned as a motivating factor. Countries named were the EU-members Finland, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK as well as China, Hong Kong, Russia, Serbia, and the USA. An interesting facet was mentioned by a German retailer who stated that placement students must wear culturally neutral attire. So, they would, for example, not be permitted to wear a head scarf.

In terms of integrating students into the enterprise, only few interview partners commented on this aspect. Of those who did, almost all mentioned that it was the immediate superior who would introduce the students to their tasks. One interview partner stated that students only have access to a more comprehensive support or even mentoring if it is already certain that the student stays in the company after graduation. It can be assumed that other enterprises also think along these lines. Among the reasons

0 5 10 15 20

learning from different culturesIntegrating them

communicate company culture /values

career development

conflict solving

integration of new employees

Figure 3: Situations where

mentoring is seen as relevant

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mentioned for not offering work placements for international students were: small size of the company, lack of resources, language barriers, no appropriate projects or no work placement offers in general.

3.3. The role of and approach towards diversityOf all enterprises interviewed only five, respectively 7.5%, reported that their staff do not include employees with a culturally diverse background. The countries of origin of the diverse workforce cover a wide range, in one case up to 160 nationalities. As Figure 5 demonstrates, there is a strong focus on Eastern and South-Eastern Europe including Turkey among those countries explicitly mentioned. This is not surprising as Austrian enterprises have been very active in that region, especially after the fall of the Communist regimes and the opening of the markets there. Austria also has traditionally often acted as a hub between the East and the West. Rather unexpectedly, Asia-Pacific countries including China, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, or Australia constitute the second-largest group. Interestingly, one interview partner referred to the company's diverse workforce not only in terms of ethnicity but also religion and sexual orientation. While no question was asked with respect to the positions of the culturally diverse workforce, there were, on the one hand, references to either low-level positions, such as cleaning, warehousing or construction or, on the other hand, to high potentials or managerial jobs.

Almost 90% of the interviewed managers regard a diverse workforce as an advantage. Figure 6 lists the reasons for this attitude. Improved communication and client service (30%), getting or integrating different perspectives (31%) and a better understanding of other cultures (24%) were among the most often mentioned reasons. 9% attributed this fact to the labour market situation, again both at the low and high-level ends of job ranges.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

yes no not indicated

Figure 4: Work placement offers for international students

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Only three interview partners clearly denied an advantage to diversity on the grounds that in recruiting, such differences are not relevant, only the job qualification matters. In contrast to the general positive attitude towards diversity, only 60% see a role for diversity management. Even fewer reported that they have actually already taken any concrete measures, some said that they have just started or are planning to address this issue. The small size of the enterprise, a lack of time and the already used argument that only the motivation, qualification or performance counts, were given as reasons.

As mentioned above, in the SKILL2E project an assessment instrument, the Intercultural Development Inventory (Abermann and Eder, 2012; Hammer, 2009; Hammer, 2011), was used to measure the change in orientation towards other cultures after a work placement abroad. The consortium, therefore, wanted to find out, whether

Eastern and SouthernEuropean

Asia Pacific

South America (mostlyBrazil)

UK

US

Africa

0 5 10 15 20 25

problem solving / increased competence

recruiting necessity

language skills

understanding other cultures

different view points / perspectives

better client communication and service

Figure 5: Countries of origin of

diverse workforce

Figure 6: Advantages of a diverse

workforce

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any such instruments were already common business practice. Figures 7 and 8 document the actual usage of an assessment instrument, respectively the expression of interest in its future implementation.

As Figure 7 shows, only six enterprises confirmed that they use such an assessment instrument. Of these, three were described in terms of personal meetings and appraisal interviews, one referred to statistics on the number of female employees and one to a code of conduct test. Only one company evidently uses an instrument, the “Great Place to Work”2 survey, carried out by an external consultant that comprehensively addresses diversity. Roughly a third expressed interest in such an instrument, whereas only a few interview partners provided reasons why they were not interested in using one. In their opinion, culture cannot be measured, personal meetings are preferable or it

2 Details on this survey are available at http://www.greatplacetowork.com/our-services/assess-your-organization.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

yes no not indicated

05

101520253035

yes no not indicated

Figure 8: Number of companies expressing interest in an assessment instrument

Figure 7: Number of enterprises using an assessment instrument

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would actually be discriminating against employees of a different ethnic origin, if such an instrument was used.

4. ImplicationsConsidering the high percentage of enterprises with culturally diverse staff in the interview sample and the almost unanimous positive attitude towards cultural diversity, it is noteworthy that only few have actively already taken measures to address this issue or even to leverage the benefits as documented in two McKinsey publications (Barta, 2011; Hunt et al., 2014). According to these studies, enterprises with women or foreigners in their board have performed significantly better, especially during the economic crisis. Along these lines, the Vienna-based research institute IBW estimates the annual financial losses of Austrian enterprises when ignoring diversity and not utilizing the competences of employees with a migratory background at 7.7 billion Euros (Schmid, 2010; 2014). In a globalised economy and an increasingly heterogeneous society, it should be evident that even regionally operating smaller and medium-sized enterprises are confronted with cultural diversity, be it through suppliers, clients / customers or the workforce set-up.

On the basis of these interviews, it seems that there is a significant gap between attitudes of managers, who almost all see the benefits of diversity, and current organisational practices. Diversity management, which, of course, does not only relate to ethnic origin, but also to religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, and race, has obviously not yet become mainstream. In the face of the demographic changes and the ensuing forecast of a lack of qualified workforce, it could be expected that Austrian enterprises would be more proactive in this respect. Lack of time or resources, reasons mentioned for not tackling this issue, seem rather short-sighted when considering long-term consequences.

Of those enterprises interviewed that are export-oriented and internationally operating or cooperating, however, the larger portion has already implemented some measures. Nevertheless, even among them there seems to be some confusion as to the kind of scheme they actually apply. Induction programmes, coaching and mentoring are often used indiscriminately. Equally, the goal of the measures does not always seem clear as reflected in a statement by one interview partner, who referred to the person acting as a mentor as “a colleague from the same department …[who] helps to integrate as long as it's necessary, but actually it's not defined. In three months everything is ready and accommodated”.3

Very few enterprises have established formal and structured mentoring schemes. In the majority of the cases, the support is confined to organisational and administrative aspects like finding accommodation or help in dealing with bureaucracy and authorities. This support is clearly valuable and there may actually be some informal mentoring going on, but its potential does not seem to be fully utilized.

3 This is the original wording as the interviewing student was an exchange student and the inter-This is the original wording as the interviewing student was an exchange student and the inter-view partner, though Austrian, agreed to use English for communication.

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Furthermore, in many cases, the assigned person who supports the integration of new employees is quite often the immediate superior. Intertwining functional hierarchies and mentoring is not usually seen as conducive (Conway, 1998). Evidently, European policy-makers have paid heed to this fact as the new Erasmus+ learning agreement for traineeship4 testifies, which the sending university, the students and the enterprise must sign, when students do a work placement abroad. It is now required that the enterprise not only has to nominate a project supervisor, but additionally also a mentor. In the explanatory notes, it is stated that this mentor in the enterprise should not be an immediate superior. No data on the actual implementation are available at this point as this requirement has only been introduced in the academic year 2014/15. It is to be doubted that true mentoring will be offered to placement students, especially if companies do not foresee that the student will turn into a permanent staff member on graduation (see section 3.2 above). This is definitely understandable when seeing mentoring only as a one-way street, where the enterprise invests and the mentee profits. Where mentoring is seen as a learning process with mutual benefits (Matuszek et al., 2008) as was conceptualised in the SKILL2E project (Tigerstedt and Fabricius, 2012), the enterprise may also profit through building organisational intercultural competence and thus leverage the innovation and problem-solving potential of the wider range of perspectives of a diverse workforce.

Placement students could act here as intermediaries or as pilots, so that staff can get familiar with aspects of the student's culture, especially regarding communication and conflict patterns. Notwithstanding, individuals have their own specific personalities and never represent a culture as such, but the confrontation and active integration with "otherness" could gradually result in a more open and productive atmosphere. This may help attract young talents across national boundaries and thus better match labour shortage with job seekers. Those few enterprises in the interview sample, which have already been actively recruiting placement students with a view to building linguistic and intercultural competence, will certainly have a competitive edge over others.

Another result that was quite surprising was the fact that despite the plethora of quality management tools and the quantitative or qualitative indicators that enterprises use to assess their performance, only two companies reported the usage of any kind of diversity assessment instrument. Certainly, caution needs to be exercised in using such an instrument, as reliability and validity need to be given (Deardorff, 2009; Paige, 2004). However, when embedded in a comprehensive and strategic approach, such instruments may trigger and facilitate reflection, a basic skill in building intercultural competence (Deardorff, 2006) and may support documenting progress. Equally, these instruments may raise awareness and sensitivity for the advantages of cultural diversity, but also the necessity for actively addressing it. Ignoring or even finding it "discriminating", as one interview partner put it, to see cultural diversity as a relevant human resources factor prevents enterprises from reaping the benefits of diverse teams and having strategies in place to counter culturally induced conflict (Distefano and Maznevski, 2000; Lane et al., 2009).

4 This form is available at http://ec.europa.eu/education/opportunities/higher-education/doc/learning-traineeships_en.pdf.

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So what is the role of universities in this setting? Universities can contribute here by sharing their research in this field. This will, however, only have an effect if the findings reverberate in the workplace reality and are translated into concrete, feasible and realistic measures. This will require policy-makers at regional, national and European levels as well as the worlds of research, education and work to cross boundaries and to cooperate. In the words of the Managing Director of Rold Group S.p.A, Ms Laura Rocchitelli, this means that "companies need to shift their 'lens' from a short vision to a long vision; that academia needs to become more open towards companies; that teachers have to be closer to companies so they understand business processes" (Andersen and Humpl, 2014, p. 27). Such collaborations have recently received more attention as reflected in the EU initiatives of the Business Forum or the Knowledge Alliances5. It is, however, not clear to what extent first results like the "Handbook for Cooperation" (Hague and Tirati, 2013) reach audiences outside the immediately involved enterprises and those that already cooperate well with universities.

5. ConclusionAs described in the methodology section, it has to be stressed that the enterprises interviewed do not constitute a representative sample, as they were selected by the personal preference of the student interviewers and not on the basis of defined criteria. Nevertheless, it seems safe to say that in the greater Salzburg region, the potential of cultural diversity has not yet been fully utilized. While recognizing the role of diversity, there seems to be a discrepancy between acknowledging its relevance and actually putting this knowledge into practice, not least the opportunities of mentoring in this context. Intensifying the dialogue between universities and enterprises, especially with regard to student placements, could be a driving force for facilitating the move forward in this direction. A recent impact study on university-business cooperation confirmed "that the bringing together of students and existing employees served to raise the knowledge levels of employees as well as students" (Healy et al., 2014, p. 40). European policy makers have started important initiatives with the Business Forum, the Knowledge Alliances or the new focus on transversal competence acquisition in student placements, but (pro-) active involvement and strategic, long-term thinking of enterprises and universities are called for to close this reality gap.

ReferencesAbermann, G. and Eder, R. (2012), ”Intercultural competence assessment”, SKILL2E project report,

available at: http://skill2e.fh-salzburg.ac.at/fileadmin/documents/Reports/SKILL2E_DEV0102_Assessment_Instrument_Selection_Report_2012_05_31.pdf (accessed March 10, 2015).

Abermann, G. and Tigerstedt, C. (2012), ”Cultural Mentoring – Challenges and opportunities: A trigger for sustainable intercultural competence gain in student placements abroad”, in Dominguez, N. and Gandert, Y. (Eds.), 5th Annual Cultural Mentoring Conference Proceedings: Facilitating Developmental Relationships for Success, University of New

5 Information on the EU initiatives for university-business cooperation and related reports are available at http://ec.europa.eu/education/tools/university-business_en.htm.

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Mexico, Albuquerque. Andersen, T. and Humpl, S. (2014), ”Proceeding report: Universities, businesses & co: Together

we can. Strategic Inter-sectoral partnerships for economic and social change and growth, Rome 2–3 October 2014”, European Commission, Brussels, available at: http://www.ubcforum-italy.com/ (accessed March 10, 2015).

Barta, T. (2011) ”Vielfalt siegt! Warum diverse Unternehmen mehr leisten”, McKinsey&Company, Köln, available at: http://www.mckinsey.de/sites/mck_files/files/Vielfalt_siegt_deutsch.pdf (accessed March 10, 2015).

Brandenburg, Uwe (2014), ”The Erasmus impact study. Effect of mobility on the skills and employability and the internationalization of higher education institutions”, European Commission, Brussels, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/study/2014/erasmus-impact_en.pdf (accessed January 15, 2015).

Colucci, E., Ferencz, M., Gaebel, M. and Wächter, B. (2014), “Connecting mobility policies and practice: Observations and recommendations on national and institutional developments in Europe«, EUA, Brussels, available at: http://www.eua.be/px (accessed January 15, 2015).

Conway, C. (1998). Strategies for Mentoring, A Blueprint for Successful Organizational Development, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester.

Connor, M. and Pokora J. (2009), Coaching and Mentoring at Work, McGraw Hill, Glasgow.Deardorff, D. (2006), ”Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student

outcome of internationalization”, Journal of Studies in International Education, 10, pp. 241–266. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1028315306287002

Deardorff, D. (2009). ”Implementing intercultural competence assessment”, in Deardorff, D. (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Communication, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 477–491.

Distefano, J. and Maznevski, M.L. (2000), ”Creating value with diverse teams in global management”, Organizational Dynamics, 29:1, pp. 45–63. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(00)00012-7

EMA (2014), ”Erasmus Mundus Graduate Impact Survey”, available at: http://www.em-a.eu/fileadmin/content/GIS/Graduate_Impact_Survey_2014.pdf (accessed January 15, 2015).

Hague, E. and Tirati, S. (2013), ”Guidebook on cooperation models between the business world and educational providers”, available at: http://www.europemobility.eu/download/publications/008-BOOK-A4-TC2-CooperationModels-web.pdf (accessed March 10, 2015).

Hammer, M. (2009), ”The intercultural development inventory”, in Moodian, M.A. (Ed.), Contemporary leadership and intercultural competence, SAGE, Thousand Oaks, pp. 203–217.

Hammer, M. (2011), ”Additional cross-cultural validity testing of the Intercultural Development Inventory”, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, pp. 474–487. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2011.02.014

Healy, A, Perkmann, M. Goddard, J. and Kempton, L. (2014), ”Measuring the impact of university business cooperation”, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, available at: http://bookshop.europa.eu/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/EU-Bookshop-Site/en_GB/-/EUR/ViewPublication-Start?PublicationKey=NC0214337 (accessed March 10, 2015).

Hunt, V., Layton, D. and Prince, S. (2014), ”Diversity matters”, McKinsey&Company, London and Atlanta, available at: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/why_diversity_matters (accessed March 10, 2015).

Lane, H.W., Maznevski, M.L., Deetz, J. and DiStefano, J. (2009), International Management Behavior: Leading with a Global Mindset, 6th ed., Wiley, Hoboken, NJ.

Matuszek, T., Self, D.R. and Schraeder, M. (2008), “Mentoring in an increasingly global workplace: facing the realities and challenge”, Development and Learning in Organizations, 22:6, pp. 18–20. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14777280810910311

Megginson, D. and Clutterbuck, D. (2005), Techniques for Coaching and Mentoring, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Amsterdam.

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Paige, M. (2004), “Instrumentation in intercultural training”, in Landis, D., Bennett, J.M. and Bennett, M.J. (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training, 3rd Ed., Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 85–128. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452231129.n4

Ragins, B.R. and Kram, K.E. (2007), The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research, and Practice, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Ripmeester, N. (2014), “International businesses: Consumers of global talent?”, Internationalisation of Higher Education, Vol 1., pp. 22–34.

Schmid, K. (2010), “Außenwirtschaft & Humanressourcen: Herausforderungen infolge der Internationalisierung”, IBW, Vienna, available at: http://www.ibw.at/components/com_redshop/assets/document/product/fb152.pdf (accessed March 10, 2015).

Schmid, K. (2014), “Mehrsprachigkeit und Internationalisierung: ungenutzte Potentiale?”, Presentation at the conference 'Mehrsprachigkeit und Wirtschaft', Linz, 26 September 2014, available at: http://www.linz.at/images/Mehrsprachigkeit-Internationalisierung_Mag.Schmid_Linz.pdf (accessed March 10, 2015).

Tigerstedt, C. and Fabricius, S. (2012), “Cultural mentoring concept”, SKILL2E project report, available at: http://skill2e.fh-salzburg.ac.at/fileadmin/documents/Reports/SKILL2E_DEV0302_Cultural_Mentoring_Report_2012_06_30.pdf (accessed March 10, 2015).

Biographic NotesDr. Gabriele Abermann is Professor of English and Intercultural Communication at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. She has served as Vice Rector and as Director of International Relations and has been seminal in building the institution’s partner network. Dr. Abermann holds a doctorate in English language and literature and has extensive teaching experience in Austria and abroad. She has coordinated the university-enterprise cooperation project SKILL2E, which aimed at enhancing the intercultural competence acquisition of students on transnational placements and intensifying the dialogue between universities and enterprises. She has also acted as a national Bologna and now EHEA expert.

1

Evaluating the Double Loop Learning of Cultural Competence

Steven Henderson, Southampton Solent University, United Kingdom

Maria Tabuenca-Cuevas, Universidad de Alicante, Spain

Rosalyn Baldonado-Eder, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria

Gabriele Abermann, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria

Introduction

Intercultural Competence and Double Loop Learning

SKILL2E is a European project funded by the European Commission and comprised of

six higher education institutions (HEIs) and four enterprises across the European Union

complemented by the expertise of one HEI and one enterprise from the USA. SKILL2E

stands for Sustainable Know-How in Intercultural Learning in Student Placements and

the Knowledge Transfer to Enterprise. As the name implies, a core idea of the project

is to enhance the intercultural competence of HE students during their international

workplace placement. To this end, the project offers four supportive interventions to

travelling students:

a) a well-tested online assessment instrument which assesses the initial cultural

orientation of participants

b) a pre-departure training module based on students’ cultural orientation

c) online support to encourage self-reflection

d) cultural mentoring.

At an early stage in the design of the SKILL2E model, it occurred to the academics

involved that intercultural competence was a special case of double loop learning. That

is to say that genuine cultural competence requires more than the adoption of a series

of isolating routines that reduce the turbulence caused by intercultural incompetence.

Rather, cultural competence, like double loop learning, requires reflection and

experimentation to understand and rectify the actions that lead to reoccurring

problems. By way of illustration, consider the following student experience written in a

diary:

“Great fun today. Went in to a cafe for lunch and waited for ages before someone

served me. Then they brought me the wrong food. Took some sorting out – won’t go

back there gain”.

2

A trivial incident, no doubt, but the underlying issues are apparent. The individual

concerned has insufficient intercultural skills to observe that his service expectations,

either of time or process, are deficient, or that his language skills create confusion

rather than lunch. The incident is passed off as “fun” rather than a problem that he has,

there is an implication the cafe is at fault and finally the solution reached is to have

lunch elsewhere.

The intention of the SKILL2E interventions is to help students identify such experiences

as indicative of a problem – a manifestation of intercultural incompetence. For

example, differences in habits at meals are identified as a source of cultural confusion

during pre-departure training and this is followed as an item in the reflective diary. A

cultural mentor, following up on the diary entry or through discussion, should help the

student understand how their insensitivity to cultural difference creates the

uncomfortable experience. Thus, the student begins to reflect on such experiences

and learns to accept rather than ignore or avoid the cultural discontinuities. It is the

learning process, rather than reproduction or mimicry of the current culture that is the

heart of intercultural competence. This implies that during work placement, students

should have the opportunity to test, evaluate, reject or validate existing knowledge,

values and norms and create new cognitive frameworks to help them solve future

problems. In terms of intercultural competence, SKILL2E intervention measures have

been designed to support students in ensuring acquisition of benefits from intercultural

encounters and that the competence acquired can be transferred into other cultures

and contexts. Thus double loop learning is an implicit (if hitherto latent) prerequisite.

This paper proceeds by outlining – albeit briefly – the nature of the SKILL2E

interventions so that the reader can follow the context more clearly. The argument then

outlines workable, measurable routines for double loop learning and intercultural

competence. These two routines are then combined into a grid that can be used to

analyze the experiences of students into intercultural learning spaces. The paper then

develops a methodology for placing such experiences into these spaces. The findings

are then discussed, and some conclusions offered.

SKILL2E Interventions

The Skill2E model includes a number of interventions which assist students in their

quest for improved intercultural competence. These steps are illustrated in figure 1 and

a brief description of each step will be then discussed.

3

a. Assessment Instrument

As figure 1 illustrates, the assessment instrument provides the groundwork for the pre-

departure training and reflective diary during placement. Assessment of intercultural

competence is a complicated task which requires a combination of several quantitative

and/or qualitative measures. A comprehensive review of instruments used to gauge the

intercultural competence gain in transnational placements was undertaken, searching

for: user-friendly implementation, freedom from overt cultural bias, availability in

consortium languages (either English or native language), rigor of theoretical base and

price-performance ratio. Based on these criteria, the Intercultural Development

Inventory (IDI) was selected to assess both the initial intercultural competence and the

post-internship intercultural competence gain. The IDI is based on the Development

Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) by Milton Bennett.

b. Pre-departure Training

Students are rarely mindful of intercultural competence as they prepare for their work

placements. More prosaic concerns of tasks at work, accommodation and travel are

uppermost in their thoughts. In SKILL2E, the pre-departure training consists of a locally

adapted core module. General learning outcomes for intercultural competence were

formulated for the consortium. Each partner institution designs their own training plan

and specifies the learning outcomes based on the IDI group profile of the students. The

basic goal of the training is to raise awareness and sensitize the students to cultural

differences using intercultural frameworks such as the cultural dimensions based on

Hofstede’s research (1981), Hall’s high and low context communication (1976), and the

culture shock model. For example, a student travelling from a very formal culture might

be encouraged to think about how this characteristic could be interpreted in various

new contexts before departure. This general approach can be enhanced by reflection

on their IDI scores as students should have received personal feedback on their results

Figure 1: The SKILL2E Implementation Scenario for HEIs

4

to ensure that they are aware of their developmental orientation and that they acquire

the knowledge necessary for their progression along the DMIS continuum.

c. Reflective Diary

As cultural self-awareness in its widest sense forms a key constituent of intercultural

competence, it is vital to provide opportunities for the project participants to acquire,

intensify and most importantly, practice this skill. According to Deardorff (2009,.478) "It

is therefore important to provide opportunities for project participants to reflect upon

and assess the development of their own intercultural competence.” In the SKILL2E

case, the online communication scenario “Interflection” provides the framework for

guided self-reflection during the work placement. There are a set of guided questions

are the focal point of the diary which permits the students to reflect upon their

impressions, observations, and experiences. According to Argyris et al. (1985) and

Schon (1987), this double loop learning is essential to the redesign of social structures

as well as human action. This strategic intervention enables reiterated conscious

decisions with respect to trialling context- appropriate behaviour during the

transnational placement.

The use of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) for the diary supports

individual as well as group learning by fostering interaction and the willingness to

communicate. According to Stahl et al. (2006, 419) “Computer support for

intersubjective meaning making is what makes the field unique.” This attempt to help

students make meaning of their interactions in a new culture is done gradually as the

diary starts with tasks that collect visual impressions of other cultures and progresses

with questions of increasing profoundness. These questions are based on the cultural

dimensions identified by Hofstede (2001) and are directly related to the experiences of

the participants on their placements. Students can see and share responses to the

questions. This is done to attempt to reach more multifaceted views triggered by the

questions. The tasks allow for self-monitoring and facilitate the theory of the pre-

departure training to be integrated into their daily practice. The other available tools,

such as forums, promote collaborative learning which also aides in the adaptation of

the participants into their new social environment. Intercultural competence gain is a

complex issue and is best done in authentic contexts, thus, the diary attempts to trigger

meta-reflection by asking students to reflect on the invisible boundaries (Carroll 1988)

5

of values, beliefs and attitudes in intercultural situations (Trompenaars and Hampden-

Turner 1997).

Cultural Mentoring

Cultural mentors are a key component of the SKILL2E concept for the enterprises. The

mentors are meant to help interns adjust not only to the company culture but also to the

host national culture. It is important for mentors to recognize how group processes are

impacted by culture and how intercultural communication impacts on behaviour. This

awareness is necessary for the work placement to be beneficial for both the mentor

and the intern. In order to prepare the mentor to be, it is necessary to ensure that these

people are equipped with the appropriate mindset, heart set and skill set (Bennett

2006) to actually carry out the task. This necessitates reflection of the future mentor’s

current qualification and task profiles as well as the overall intercultural and

interpersonal communication competence. The mentoring process hinges on the

relationship between the mentor and the mentee and on the specific frameworks or

conditions in which the mentoring process takes place. It is a question of knowing how

and when to ask the right questions, rather than supplying instruction or advice as

such.

d. Reassessment of Cultural Orientation

The last step is a reassessment of the process through an analysis of the reflective

diary and a second IDI test. In the Skill2E model, the expectation is that students who

have undergone all of the interventions will show a shift forward in their intercultural

sensitivity development.

Having outlined the nature of the interventions experienced by the students concerned,

the paper now begins the development of the double loop learning / intercultural

competence model by outlining the nature of both concepts.

Double Loop Learning

Double loop learning (Argyris and Schon 1978) can be understood as a reflective

problem solving routine, distinct from single loop learning which is routinely invoked in

response to problems. Thus, in the face of a problem, most individuals or organisations

will select from a range of previous, acceptable solutions until one works well enough

6

for the problem to disappear or become less serious. In previous research Argyris et al.

(1985) and Greenwood (1998) have shown that double loop learning can be defined

as: the result of reflection on the norms, values, and social relationships which

underpin human action. Double loop learning requires four distinct and difficult stages:

Stage 1. The articulation of existing theories in action (called variously, and

inexactly, mental models, paradigms and such like in the literature) that

lead to both the definition of the problem and the axiomatic solution set;

Stage 2. The creation of new meanings and understandings as a result of failure

of stage 1;

Stage 3. The derivation of new actions as a result of stage 2;

Stage 4. The generalisation of a new theory resulting success at stage 3

The processes are intended to both find new solutions to problems, and formulate the

underlying logic that explains their relative success. Argyris and Schon (1978) observe

that such behaviour is extremely rare, not only because it is both difficult and

uncomfortable at an individual level, but also because it runs contrary to many

organisational and national cultural habits. For example, the articulation of doubt

required at stage 1 is difficult in very hierarchical or polite cultures since it can be

construed as rudeness or criticism of a senior. Similarly, where power distance is

greater or organisations are large and tightly integrated, stage 3 may not follow

naturally from stage two (also referred to as role constrained learning, see Henderson

1997).

Although accepting that double loop learning is a rarity, the authors wonder if the

organisational and national cultural impediments to double loop learning affect a

placement student to a lesser degree than normal, since the cultural blinds and

constraints would not apply so severely. For example, a Spanish student on an

overseas placement to a Japanese firm operating in Wales is forced to confront an

often bewildering collage of social norms and mores that impact on the effectiveness of

tasks in hand. The placement student is in a strong position to recognise the

ineffectiveness of these single loop routines - through a mixture of bafflement and

frustration perhaps, forcing a more reflective approach which can be shared with the

host organisation through the mentor. It is frequently the case that outsiders see things

more clearly (Deal and Kennedy 1982), until they have assimilated the cultural norms

and paradigms.

7

Naturally, the use of double loop learning here may invoke and throw into relief many of

the same discomforting experiences of alienation and confusion that double loop

learning generates at the individual level, but the result of such a process should be the

development of competences to deal with cultural displacement. That is to say, the

development of cultural competences and the ability to carry out double loop learning

might been seen as symbiotic. Therfore, this paper briefly reviews the literature on

cultural competence, observing similarities with the literature on single and double loop

learning. The paper then outlines a method for capturing and interpreting the

experiences of students taking overseas placements as part of the SKILL2E

programme and discusses the findings obtained.

Cultural Competence

As the concept of culture can be difficult to define, there are also many definitions of

cultural competence. To begin, Fitzgerald (2002) identifies general cultural competence

a context-bound, practice-based, awareness, knowledge, attitude and skills concept.

Other researchers, like Ramburth (2000), define it as an understanding and

acknowledging of similarities and differences in a first step that is followed by taking

action to address the issues of difference. Trahar (2007) states that effective

intercultural encounters that foster sensitive learning require a personal, intimate and

empathetic approach. However, even though there are many models for the

development of cultural competences only the two adopted for the SKILL2E model

(Abermann 2011, Tabuenca 2012) will be discussed in greater detail.

The Milton Bennett Model

In the article “Becoming Interculturally Competent”, Bennett (2004, 62) starts out with

these words:

After years of observing all kinds of people dealing (or not) with crosscultural situations, I decided to try to make sense of what was happening to them. I wanted to explain why some people seemed to get a lot better at communicating across cultural boundaries while other people didn’t improve at all, and I thought that if I were able to explain why this happened, trainers and educators could do a better job of preparing people for crosscultural encounters.

8

Figure 2: The Six DMIS Stages (Bennett 1993)

In this first extensive study it became apparent that there were two clearly different

groups of people characterised by their world view. The first group, categorised as

ethnocentric, is characterised by “the experience of one’s own culture as “central to

reality.” (Bennett 1993, 62). The second group, categorised as ethnorelative, has a

world view where one’s culture is one of many possibilities viable (Bennett and Bennett

2004). These two large groups were also subdivided by different experiences in a

sequential manner: Denial, Defense and Minimisation are ethnocentric, while

Acceptance, Adaptation and Integration are ethnorelative. In the Bennett Model, in the

ethnocentric stage, people go first from denying cultural differences to then defending

their own culture, to finally trying to find the similarities between cultures in the

minimisation stage. The next three steps, which are part of the ethnorelative stage,

include the acceptance of the differences between cultures and the adaptation and

integration of the new cultures without losing one’s own culture. This model is shown

below.

Bennet et al. (2004) claim that any training and intervention strategy should take into

account the individual stages participants are currently in, otherwise the sequential

learning of intercultural competence will not occur. These stages are also the basis for

Intercultural Development Continuum (IDC) which is is used in the IDI test. The stages

of Denial, Polarisation and Minimisation (early stages) would be considered indicative

of a monocultural mindset, whereas participants in late stages of Minimisation,

Acceptance and Adaptation would be in an intercultural mindset (Hammer 2009). This

correlation of the models makes the use of the IDI as an assessment instrument in the

SKILL2E model particulary applicable.

9

Figure 3: Deardorff’s Process Model of Intercultural Competence (Spitzberg and Changnon 2009, 33)

Model of Intercultural Competence

Moving one step further, Deardorff (2004, 478) defines intercultural competence in

terms of its outcome:

The overall external outcome of intercultural competence is defined as the effective and appropriate behaviour and communication in intercultural situations, which again can be further detailed in terms of appropriate [author's italics] behaviour in specific contexts (appropriate behaviour being assessed by the other involved in the interaction).

There is an important shift in the concept of competence in which changes in

attitudes, knowledge and comprehension in an individual alters their world view and

this change can be seen through the appropriate behaviour in new cultural situation.

This is reflected in the loop shown below.

10

The model in figure 3 illustrates this concept of competence. The Deardorff model

provides an appropriate framework where cultural competence is learned sequentially

in a learning loop that effectively allows an individual to move from one stage of the

DMIS to the next.

As previously explained, in the SKILL2E project, one of the aims was to encourage

double loop learning using a three pronged approach: pre-departure intercultural

training to gain intercultural awareness, the assistance of a cultural mentor at the work

placement to foster intercultural learning experiences, and finally an individual on-line

diary for intercultural reflection using guided questions. The application of this approach

based on the methodology led to the creation of an expected set of correlations that

would correspond to the DMIS stages and double loop learning. These are descibed in

the following table.

Denial Defense Minimisation Acceptance Adaptation and Integration

Stage 1 Unwilling to accept cultural basis for problems

Willing to accept cultural basis for problems

Willing to accept cultural basis for problems

Willing to accept cultural basis for problems

Signals from home (or other ) culture may identify problems more readily than host

Stage 2 Culturally blind – no incentive to change thinking

Cultural problems trivial in context – reluctant small changes to perspective

Cultural problems trivial in context – willing to make small changes in perspective

Willing to accept greater changes in the direction of the host culture

Wider cultural base may make elaboration or discarding of theories less painful

Stage 3 Likely to find frustration with existing actions rather than change behaviour

Reluctantly makes small, single loop changes

Willingly makes larger single loop changes

Unwilling to move from the accepted host practices even if these are ineffective

Unwilling to retain accepted practices if ineffective

Stage 4 Limited engagement – no basis for developed

New theories likely to be pejorative to host culture.

New theories likely to emphasise customs and manners

Restatement or uncritical elaboration of existing ideas.

Cultural relativity may assist elaboration of new

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thinking. rather than deeper reflection

theories

Table 1: Impact of Bennett’s Stages on Double Loop Learning

These cells are predictions of likely behaviours related to the application of double loop

learning and gains in intercultural competence. It should be said, at the outset, that the

authors did not expect to see many, or indeed any, students from SKILL2E achieving

the highest levels. Many factors mitigate against such attainment for any student that

was not already operating at such a level – particularly the relatively short duration, the

relatively low position of the roles assigned to many students and, of course, their age

and inexperience.

Methodology

The method draws upon information sources generated by the SKILL2E intervention.

All students do the IDI test before the pre-departure training; so it is possible to see

where they are developmentally regarding intercultural competencies and how this

relates to the Bennett categories. Students are also required to maintain a reflective

diary during the placement. The diary consists of open reflections over time, together

with prescribed topics. These topics are those identified as being those likely to be

associated with cultural discontinuity, such as greeting, eating together, working in

teams, behaviour towards seniors (both in age and hierarchy for example) socialising

and so on. The diary entries could be read and analysed for intercultural competency

gain, if any, and a richer insight into the learning patterns exhibited by students within

Bennett’s stages. It needs to be stressed that the questions were designed to spark

reflection by implying more than factual recall. The reflection process in itself largely

depends on how and what students define as difficult situations or problems.

Once a sample of reflective diaries had been received from students that had

completed the programme, a protocol was developed that would enable the

researchers to infer both the stage of the student and their learning strategies. During

the preparation of the schedule, several cases were analysed, jointly and

independently, to ensure similarity of process. It is worth noting that the three

researchers were of different nationalities – causing a further level of complication and

intercultural reflection.

12

To illustrate the markers sought, and elaborate on the table above, with participants in

Denial, we would note that a student would simply not be able to grasp differences in

cultural behaviours because they are neither aware of culture nor that it produces any

differences. In other words, the participant would be oblivious to the cultural change in

location. For example, one student working in a menagerie increasingly withdrew from

the host culture and bonded with some of the animals.

The next stage is Defense, where students can either become very defensive

regarding their own culture, elevating its qualities and deciding that all others are

inferior or this reaction can be reversed and the student can perceive other cultures to

be superior to their own and turn to being overly critical. In these entries, the

incomprehension would be quite apparent as in the case of one student who comments

on the superficiality of politeness in England, saying that when people need help the

natives just walked by and she, a foreigner, had to help a man who had fallen. She

called this “false politeness”.

The next step is Minimisation, which is the level where most of the participants of the

SKILL2E project were developmentally before going on placement. At this stage,

students strive to find the commonalities between cultures and tend to gloss over the

differences. Here, phrases like: people are the same; this is just like in Spain, etc. The

student’s behaviour seeks to minimise occasions where the host culture is radically

different, by withdrawing when possible. For example, a Finnish student found her work

colleagues confusing but located peers that shared her existing predispositions.

In Acceptance, students begin to question the differences and feel a sense of

confusion as they are not sure how to adapt this behaviour into their own cultural

framework. At this stage, it is normal for students to ask questions like: Why do people

here do these activities (such as personal grooming) so openly in the UK where in

Spain this would be done more privately? And “How do I feel about doing these

activities in public”? Similarly, a student in Spain began attending bullfights reluctantly,

without much enjoyment initially, and reflected on the Spanish explanations for what

she was predisposed to judge a cruel spectacle.

In the next step, Adaptation, students try to blend/adapt cultural frameworks and they

try to see the world from other points of view albeit at times with some confusion and

13

hesitation. It could be possible to see comments that reflect the student’s interest in

incorporating actions or reflecting beliefs from the new culture into their own behaviour.

In the last step, Integration, the student would be able to understand, negotiate

meaning and behaviours in intercultural situaltions appropriately for themselves and the

recipient. At this stage, it would be possible for the student to interact confidently in

cultural encounters.

It is important to see that the student’s response and reflection, rather than the

problem, itself that is the object of analysis and the constituent of the learning space

derived. Take, for example, a receptionist praised for her swiftness at home but who is

regarded as brusque by customers when working overseas. It is unlikely that such a

student in Denial would be aware of the problem, and therefore not reflect on the

theories in action (in this case the expected cultural norms) unless it was repeatedly

brought to his or her attention. A single loop solution, perhaps training on greeting

customers and so on may fix the problem of rudeness, but may not in itself lead to an

understanding of the cultural expectations that would be necessary if the student were

to be able to develop further. A student in Defense may deflect attention away from the

problem by alluding to other performance indicators (such as processing speed) -

indeed the student may experience irritation at the time wasted with banal courtesies in

day to day interactions if these are not the norm at home. In this case the reluctance to

reflect upon the underlying causes of the problem may be reinforced by positive

feedback in other respects. A student in Minimization has greater opportunities for

reflection – having adjusted to the customs and routines of local culture, there is at

least the possibility of accurate reflections on the underlying mechanics so that novel

problem solving, and insights from his or her own culture can be deployed. These could

be single loop – the student may learn to multitask pleasantries with the mechanics of

booking in – or double loop – the understanding that the host culture expects formality

as part of respectful customer service. A student in Acceptance will have the degree of

cultural relativity and tolerance of ambiguity necessary to fit in to the host culture, but at

the same time may be unlikely to challenge elements of the culture that lead to the

problem. The sublimation of “self” might imply a reluctance to return to the emotional,

norm challenging behaviours required for further double loop learning when the

culturally acceptable behaviours create, or at least do not solve, problem by, say,

focusing on apologies and commiserations rather than sorting out a mess. Indeed, one

might be struck by the similarity of this stage to the “normal” position described by

14

Argyris and Schon (1978). Only at the acceptance end of Bennett’s cycle do we see

that a multilateral approach to thinking and feeling readily permit double loop learning,

responding to problems and contingencies in a culturally appropriate way. Note also, in

the table of behaviours below, that as the right hand end of the spectrum is reached,

the identified problems become less closely aligned with individual problems and more

closely with organisational, process and performance issues – although this might be

expected by definition.

Findings

In this section the paper outlines illustrative results from the analysis. Surprisingly many

of the individuals reviewed were in the denial, defence and minimisation categories.

Although this was anticipated to some extent, it is disappointing that so many volunteer

to work and travel abroad with such a disposition. Moreover, the competence gain is

not always evident from the reflective logs – the defense stage seems very strong –

even when it creates major problems. For example, a Spanish student teacher on

placement in the UK was initially mystified by the amount of time her colleagues spent

on pointless bureaucracy and processes (her judgement and, if she had troubled to find

out, her colleagues too in all probability) and refused to do it. This naturally caused

many “quality” issues at work and soured relationships with her colleagues. Her new

mental model consisted of negative thoughts about English people.

The grids below consist of 4 examples from the stages identified as the responses in

these categories were the most numerous. They are arranged by degree of

intercultural competence: from Denial to Acceptance.

Denial

Student1 Austrian Engineer in Germany

Denial Defense Minimisation Acceptance Adaptation and Integration

Stage 1

Stage 2

Found the big city boring, too perfect, impersonal and cold, little or no culture,

15

everything is over-priced and limited recreational facilities available

Stage 3

Focuses on improving technical skills and non-technical ways of communicating with customers Flexible working hours suits him perfectly Worries about being part of the team was immediately dismissed as he was easily integrated Appreciates open communication Focuses on meeting performance expectations

Stage 4

The student met his own personal goals and found the placement very successful and would work for the same firm again. No cultural differences were noticed except for the “anonymity” in the big city.

This student does not demonstrate any reflections at a higher stage - all entries occur

in the defence /denial part of the continuum, and most concern technical aspects of the

work. The student does not articulate any reflections of differences in culture. On the

one hand, one could infer that the cultural differences between Austria and Germany

are small, and therefore do not prompt the double loop problem solving routines.

However, such an answer ignores the student’s attribution of cultural issues to “the city”

rather than himself. The result is the withdrawal of the student from his host

environment into the safer work place routines based around technology and team

16

goals. There are no cultural reflections as such, consequently there is little to identify in

stage four – other than new reasons for cultural disengagement.

Defense

Austrian Midwife in Switzerland

Denial Defense Minimisation Acceptance Adaptation and Integration

Stage 1

Stage 2

There are instructions for every movement made by women who had special training in managing household

Stage 3

Work procedures in the hospital are more structured and follow certain schema compared to Austrian hospitals Guidelines and standards are actively enforced, updated and discussed and midwives work exactly according to these guidelines – unlike in Austria where they gather dusts in dim corners Documentation is precise, detailed, coherent and conclusive – compared to minimal and poor documentation in Austria Lack of hierarchy in terms of communications; interns are expected to contribute to the discussions and give

17

opinions on the doctors’ decisions – unlike in Austria where a clear hierarchy is observable Difficulty in the beginning with the requirement of documenting the learning progress through a detailed portfolio and immediate feedback –but indeed find it helpful and a good thing

Stage 4

Single loop - at the end of the placement, the student views the Swiss’ precise and structured work procedures far better

All the reflective elements of the log can be assigned to the defence / minimisation

columns. The role expected abroad was much more demanding than the student

expected – greater adherence to procedure and far greater involvement in decision

making. There is no great reflection on the pros and cons of the difference outside of

job satisfaction.

This particular student exhibits a reverse defence, whereby elements of her own

culture and processes are judged pejoratively. Stage 4, the creation of new theories in

practice, consists of her understanding of Swiss practice. One can speculate on the

disruption that this will cause upon her return, where her opinion is not sought, she is

required to defer in all things and routines are less structured. In short, her cultural

displacement is likely to be transferred from host to home country.

Minimisation

Spanish Teacher in Italy

Denial Defense Minimisation Acceptance Adaptation and Integration

Stage 1

Assumes that the language and the customs are similar enough.

Has an episode on the bus that showed how courtesy towards the elderly is important in

18

Rome. Stage 2

Realizes that the food, for example selections of bread and cheese, are much bigger in Italy.

He proceeds to incorporate this courteous act in his daily routine as upon reflection decides that it’s “a good thing”.

Stage 3

Observes that double kissing on greeting someone needs to follow a different order otherwise he would end up kissing people on the lips accidentally! He makes the appropriate change.

Stage 4

Muses on the fashion of men waxing their eyebrows and spends some time deliberating whether or not to do it himself. He also notes the degree of formality in dressing and makes some changes to “blend in”.

All the student’s entries are in minimisation and acceptance. This student makes a

great effort to fit in – not just at work but in day to day interactions – on the bus for

example. His reflections are not deep – he questions very little – but is open to

experience and thinks about changes to his behaviour, politeness, clothes and even

eyebrow waxing appears on his list of possibilities.

Although quite reflective and open, his changing mental models at stage 4 are geared

towards making himself invisible, at a superficial level, at least. He does not report that

his foreign clothes and so on cause him problems at work, although given that that he

is a teacher, this may be the case.

Acceptance

Finnish Receptionist in Italy

Denial Defense Minimisation Acceptance Adaptation and Integration

Stage Finds Italian driving

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1 terrifying – road law a guide to good practice rather than something adhered to. Notes that he is glad he lives close to work so he doesn’t have to use public transport

Stage 2

Found Italian body language very confusing at first, but seems to have adapted to what Italians communicate; however, does not suggest he uses such body language himself much Seems to enjoy Italian chattiness and draws contrasts with Finnish Strong empathy with employees on short time contracts, and female co-workers, but there is little reflection on what the women themselves may think

Stage 3

Baffled by poor work ethics and avoids those who say no work and finds jobs to do

Found emotional outbursts displayed by the hotel owners initially fearful, but appreciated as a spectator sport

Stage 4

Clearly learned a great deal from the placement, and indicates a great enjoyment of the language, culture and history of Italy.

20

Has contrasted the two cultures to give himself a greater understanding and appreciation of his native country

This student seems to have taken a mature approach. In many ways, stronger

adaptation would have undermined the work placement if, say, he left work when given

permission or played on facebook. Entries in the diaries suggest the stage of

minimization moving towards acceptance, even adaptation, although this is difficult

because of contradiction between work place culture / national culture and own desire

to learn a variety of skills at work. A cultural mentor might have pushed him further on

some elements or suggested different exposure. Appreciation of own culture quite

revealing.

Concluding Thoughts

As previously mentioned, the diary analysis proved to have expected yet at times

surprising results. The grids above show a typical pattern of results. The cells that

capture our interpretation are predominantly located in one column, rather than

scattered randomly or forming some other pattern across the grid. This suggests that

the relationship between stages of intercultural competence is, in large part, coherent

with the learning model when applied to individual students on overseas placements.

Looking across the row for stages 3 and four, where double loop learning might be

observed more starkly, one is struck by its absence. It would seem that critical

reflection on the host culture and double loop learning problem solving is not the

selected strategy for a large number of students studied.

That said, there is evidence of students progressing through the stages, either through

a qualitative change in diary entries, or more evidently, thought the pattern produced

on the grids above. Where the entry spills across two columns, it is normal to see that

the column with fewest entries is to the right of the fuller column, and entries are at

stage one or two. This implies that progress is made by experiencing discontinuities

and problems rather than observing or absorbing host culture in an academic fashion.

This suggests to the authors that problem solving and recognition are crucial elements

21

to moving between stages, but that the problem is not defined in the way predicted by

double loop learning models.

Inspection of these transitions points out that the problem, as such, is the student’s

experience (ie emotional response) rather than the underlying cultural causes. This

observation carries two implications. Firstly, transition depends upon affective

responses to what feels wrong rather than intellectual judgements or empirical

observations about what is right. Behaving in a fashion that makes one feel better

(either by ignoring pointless bureaucracy or waxing eyebrows) does not require double

loop learning, neither does accepting behaviours that feel wrong (such as attending

bullfights) though use of sympathetic language.

Further these behavioural routines undermine what could be a useful bonus to the host

organisation. As outsiders, the students are able to identify and think through some

problems that cannot be easily articulated by the hosts. However, this would not

necessarily improve the student’s affective state – indeed it may jeopardize embryonic

work relationships. As such it is similar to the kinds of issues that thwart double loop

learning in the normal organisational context.

In short, our juxtaposition of intercultural competence and double loop learning routines

strongly supports our contention that the former is a specific case of the latter. Indeed,

it is so similar that the normal kinds of social and emotional routines that undermine the

benefits of the double loop approach are equally in evidence here in the development

of intercultural competences.

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