Mod 4 Part 1

Module 4 Part 1 - Psych 126 - Developing Cross-Cultural Competency

Five Bookmarks:

"All people smile
in the same language."

(You can find all the course learning objectives by clicking the bookmark called Expected Outcomes on the Psy-126 Internet Syllabus.)

4.	- page 269 - Define ethnocentrism and write a paragraph explaining its controversial effects.
5.	- page 271 - Define cultural sensitivity and explain its role in becoming a multicultural worker.
6.	- page 275 - Learn the cultural mistakes to avoid with national culture groups of people.
7.	- page 279 and page 280 - Explain the purpose of diversity training. Within the diversity umbrella, list 20 group and individual characteristics that make persons different.

Class Activities:

1st	Using small groups, complete the NASA Exercise - Part II.
2nd	Complete Learning Objectives #4, #5, #6, and #7.
3rd	Meet with your country group.

1st Using small groups, complete the NASA Exercise - Part II.

NASA Exercise - Part II

1. You will be formed into several "country teams" consisting of five to seven persons per team. Listen to the directions read to the teams by the instructor.

You can lower your team's chances for success by trying to solve the entire problem by yourself.

You can improve your team's chances for success if teams members specialize in pre-conceived roles (like those mentioned by Dubrin on page 85), and who then reconvene to assemble their results through consensus. Thus, teams who "specialize" can improve team results if each team member concentrates different aspects of the same problem initially, and if logical analysis is used to sort out and weigh the possible solutions for relative merit. Consensus is difficult to reach, but it can dramatically improve upon results. For that reason, learn to tolerate and to welcome differences of opinion. The best solution seldom comes easily. You should be suspicious of results that have not been painstakingly arrived at, through your defense of your own rankings.

Consider assigning some persons to be:

Explorers - those who speak to people in other fields to gather ideas.

Artists - those who stretch the imagination by answering "What if..."

Judges - those who evaluate ideas according to their logical merit.

Lawyers - those who negotiate in order to arrive at a solution.

Resource keepers - those who monitor the clock and keeps progress recorded.

Leader(s) - those who initiate on behalf of others. (A leaderless team is often ineffective and unable to achieve desirable results.)

Then arrive at a group consensus for the ranking of each item given you for the moon rescue mission.

Avoid coin flips, averaging, voting, and other methods which reduce conflict. In fact, expect and welcome conflict and controversy! These may be the signposts to an improved solution.

Settle differences on the relative merits of the underlying logical reasons presented for favoring one item over another.

After all groups have finished, your instructor will provide you a solution, and a method for comparing your individual achievement with your group achievement.

Note whether or not your group members have exceeded anyone's individual scores by working together successfully.

Comment on what you have discovered about your ability, and about the ability of a group working together to achieve solutions.

Comments:

The name of your "Country Team:" ________________

Your name: ________________

Your team members and roles taken:

Members	Roles assumed

NASA Exercise Group Worksheet

Instructions to be read by the instructor:

"This is an exercise in group decision making. Your group is to employ the method of Group Consensus in reaching its decisions. This means that the prediction for each of the 15 survival items must be agreed upon by each group member before it becomes a part of the group decision. Consensus is difficult to reach. Therefore, not every ranking will meet with everyone's complete approval. Use the green space below to write down one or two logical reasons for your group's decisions. Try, as a group, to make each ranking one with which all group members can at least partially agree. Here are some guidelines to use in reaching consensus which should be read and emphasized twice:

Guidelines to Use in Reaching Consensus

1.	Avoid arguing for you own individual judgments. Approach the task on the basis of logic.
2.	Avoid changing your mind only in order to reach agreement and avoid conflict. Support only solutions with which you are able to agree somewhat, at least.
3.	Avoid "conflict-reducing" techniques such as majority vote, averaging, or trading in reaching your decision.
4.	View differences of opinion as helpful rather than as a hindrance in decision making."

______

Box of matches

______

Food concentrate

______

50 feet of nylon rope

______

Parachute silk

______

Portable heating unit

______

Two .45 caliber pistols

______

One box of dehydrated milk

______

Two 100 lb. tanks of oxygen

______

Stellar map (of the moon's constellation)

______

Life raft

______

Magnetic compass

______

5 gallons of water

______

Signal flares

______

First aid kit containing injection needles

______

Solar-powered FM receiver-transmitter

Your name ____________________

Compute Your Individual Score and Compare It to Your Group Score

Individual Score Column Group Score Column

Step 1
Subtract your Individual ranking of each item from the approved solution given by your instructor. Write the answer on each line below. Treat all results as positive numbers.

Step 3
Subtract your Country Team's ranking of each item from the approved solution given by your instructor. Write the answer on each line below. Treat all results as positive numbers.

- Box of matches -

- Food concentrate -

- 50 feet of nylon rope -

- Parachute silk -

- Portable heating unit -

- Two .45 caliber pistols -

- One box dehydrated milk -

- Two 100 lb. tanks of oxygen -

- Stellar map (of moon's constellation) -

- Life raft -

- Magnetic compass -

- 5 gallons of water -

- Signal flares -

- First aid kit containing injection needles -

- Solar-powered FM receiver-transmitter -

Step 2
Add together all of the residual numbers you computed in this column and write the resulting total in the green square below.

Your Individual score is:
_________________
(your name)

Step 4
Add together all of the residual numbers you computed in this column and write the resulting total in the green square below.

Your Team score is:

_________________
(your team's name)

When everyone has reported his or her Individual Score, and when the teams have reported their Group Scores to the instructor, the instructor will debrief the exercise.

Analysis of Your Role in Group Problem Solving

In the green rectangles below, write down what you discovered about your individual problem-solving ability in relation to your group problem-solving ability. Begin by answering # 1 and #2, and then answering either questions #3-6 or #7-10.

1.
Did the group achieve a better result than you did?

2.
How often did individuals within your group exceed the performance of the group?

If the group outperformed you, answer questions #3 through #6.

3.
What methods did the group bring into play which were not available to you as individuals?

4.
Did you and your team attack the problem from both ends, saving time by prioritizing from the number 15- downward as well as 1- upward?

5.
Were you and your team seemingly slow, logical, deliberative, or less haphazard in arriving at your results?

6.
Could you and your team tolerate the ambiguity of dissent?

If you outperformed the group, answer questions #7 through #10.

7.
Since you obviously knew more than your partners, why were you unable to persuade them of the effectiveness of your position during that period of time in which you were to follow the rules for achieving consensus?

8.
Do you need to be more assertive within your group?

9.
Are you either unsure of your answers, or uncertain about the level of tolerance for divergent ideas within your group?

10.
What does it take to get you to become the more effective participant when you think you have the right answer?

Conclusion to the NASA Group Problem-solving Exercise

A. You can forge stronger teams in the future by sharing (discussing) your answers above with those class members who answered differently from you.
B. Since class members will be/or have already formed country-cultural briefing teams, you should put this newly discovered knowledge to work immediately.
C. It will work to your advantage in this class to form high-functioning briefing teams.
D. What you learn to apply in the classroom will also help you to become a high-functioning team member in business and industry in the 21st century.

2nd Complete Learning Objectives #4, #5, #6, and #7.

4.	- page 269 - Define ethnocentrism and write a paragraph explaining its controversial effects.

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is ... _________________________________________________.

Ethnocentrism may lead to ... ___________________________________________.

5.	- page 271 - Define cultural sensitivity and explain its role in becoming a multicultural worker.

Cultural sensitivity is ... _______________________________________________.

Recognizing cultural differences is important because ... ________________________.

6.	- page 275 - Learn the cultural mistakes to avoid with national culture groups of people.

Mistakes to Avoid

in Western Europe

Great Britain
France
Italy
Spain
Scandinavia

in Asia

All of Asia
Japan
China
Korea
India

in Mexico
and
Latin America

Mexico
Brazil
Most of Latin America

7.	- page 279 and page 280 - Explain the purpose of diversity training. Within the diversity umbrella, identify 20 group and individual characteristics that make persons different. Pick five of these and discuss how one might manage to get along with someone who is different from yourself.

Diversity training has as its purpose ... _____________________________________.

The Diversity Umbrella

Individual characteristics that make people different.	Suggestions from my experience for getting along with people having these differences
1. _______________
2. _______________
3. _______________
4. _______________
5. _______________

3rd Meet with your country group.

Country Group Meeting

Your instructor assigns a continent to each country group. During Part Two of the course (Modules 6, 7, 8, and 9), country groups will present electronic presentations to the class members about aspects of culture and business practices that enable the United States and persons from that foreign culture to work well together. Begin to organize yourselves by considering the following:

1.	Your group should immediately select a country whose culture and business practices with the United States interest you.
2.	The next thing that your group should consider is: What aspects of culture, working together, and perhaps living abroad are worth knowing about in order that business prosper between persons from this country and persons who possess a foreign culture? (The Syllabus speaks to this requirement in the Evaluation section referring to Country Reports.)
3.	Your group can then assign its members to research and prepare materials about the aspects of living and working together which you feel are most important. You should also select a leader who should keep the instructor appraised of your progress and needs. Prepare at least one written handout to the class, and see if you can involve the class in what you are about to share with them. Consider writing to embassies for supporting materials. You may use our governmental country reports readily available on internet sites, and any other research you feel will enhance your presentation. Every team member should have an equal speaking part, and every speaking part should be supported with electronic evidence or hardcopies of materials which enable two peoples from foreign cultures to, perhaps, live in one another's countries, and to produce a business profit from working together in specific markets for products and services offered for sale.
4.	Put together a short written memo to which you can all agree, about what is to be done, who is to do what, and what kinds of electronic support you need to research or to obtain. Then appoint someone who will introduce the team members and their subject area to the class, and who will summarize your team presentation to the class.

Country we will brief on: ____________________

Team members and areas of culture and business practices each will brief on:

Name and telephone
or email

Possible Roles

* = organizer

spokesperson,
or leader(s)

:>) = computer guru

Topic or Business Practices I will research and brief on

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Class Activities

Items covered in this class session or listed as homework:

Undone Begun Completed Mentioned or
Discussed

Review/Preview
Learning Objectives

Class Activities

1st
2nd
3rd

Summary

Homework

Instructor Comments:

Student Comments:

Homework:

1.	Read Chapter 9 - Developing Cross-Cultural Competence and take the exam over Chapter 9.

- page 269 -
Complete the self-assessment to discover how well you can currently function in a multi-cultural environment.

Cross-Cultural Skills and Attitudes

		Applies to me now	Not there yet
1.	I have spent some time in another country.
2.	At least one of my friends, is deaf, blind, or uses a wheelchair.
3.	Currency from other countries is as real as the currency from my own country.
4.	I can read a language other than my own.
5.	I can speak a language other than my own.
6.	I can write a language other than my own.
7.	I can understand people who speak a language other than my own.
8.	I use my second language regularly.
9.	My friends include people of races different than my own.
10.	My friends include people of different ages.
11.	I feel (or would feel) comfortable having friends with a sexual orientation different form mine.
12.	My attitude is that cultures different form my own are equally as good.
13.	I would be willing to (or already do) hang art from different countries in my home.
14.	I would accept (or have already accepted) a work assignment of mort than several months in another country.
15.	I have a passport.
	Using the interpretation from Dubrin, I conclude that ... __________________
	Other skills or experiences which in my opinion could be important in relating to other people include ... __________________

- page 266-267 -
List six ways in which DuBrin says cultures differ from one another.

The Main Ways in Which Cultures Differ From One Another

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

"All people smile in the same language."

Link to Mod4Part1ComputeYourOwnScore