Topic outline

  • Course Introduction

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    • Time: 28 hours
    • CEUs: 2.8
    • Free Certificate

    We live in an increasingly globalized world. Technology enables us to do business just as easily with our neighbors as with a businessperson thousands of miles away from us. Knowing how to navigate cultural differences is an increasingly valuable skill that will make you a more valuable employee and leader. Encounters among members of different cultures frequently fail simply because of basic cultural differences, such as the importance of time, proper greetings, or even the use of eye contact. This course is designed to help you identify ways to become a better communicator in these sorts of intercultural situations. You will learn about barriers to successful communication that involve cultural differences. You will also learn more about your own communication style and how it can be developed to facilitate more successful intercultural encounters.

    While some information is presented from a Western/U.S. perspective, the information in this course can be applied to other cultures. You should consider how your culture fits in terms of interacting with other cultures. This course builds on other communication courses. You will learn to apply various skills that you have developed in other courses, including the ability to analyze an audience and the context of the communication in an intercultural encounter. Likewise, skill and insights into message development and the ways in which different groups receive and interpret messages will take on new meaning when applied in an intercultural context. Much of the information in this course will refer to the pioneering work of Geert Hofstede and his cultural classifications. Hofstede is one of the foremost influential scholars in the discipline of cultural studies, particularly organizational culture. His pioneering work, such as the cultural dimensions theory, has been the basis for subsequent research and the growth of the field and understanding of how members of differing cultures interact.