Flexible thinking model

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 867.

Flexible thinking stops people judging others' behaviours negatively too quickly. It makes people more open and interact more positively with each other and creates a stronger foundation for cooperation and mutual learning - all with the simple step of trying to understand the world from the other person's point of view.

1 Which ability does Storti say can produce real benefits for those working internationally?

2 What does flexible thinking stop people doing, according to Storti?

3 How can flexible thinking improve cooperation between people?

1.12. Study the language you can use to exchange opinions, and to encourage others to think more openly and ‘flexibly' by considering alternative perspectives. Match each heading to the expressions. What phrases can you add to say the same things?

Evaluating different perspectives Asking for the opinion of others Giving an opinion Generating multiple interpretations Deciding what to do

1 4..........................................................

I tend to think that... This makes a lot of sense if we assume that...

From my perspective ... If this is the case, then you're right that...

2 5..........................................................

What do you reckon? Given what has happened, I think it would be best if ...

How do you see it? In the circumstances the best thing to do is to ...

3…………………………………………………

Could we look at it another way and say that... ?

Just putting myself into her shoes, maybe ... ?

HERE ARE 10 PRINCIPLES TO BE GUIDED WITH WHEN WORKING IN AN INTERCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT (e:info@kwintessential.co.uk) DO YOU THINK THE LIST IS EXHAUSTIVE?

1. Be Patient: Working in an intercultural environment can be a frustrating affair. Things may not get done when expected, communication can be tiresome and behaviour may be inappropriate. Patience with yourself and others helps move beyond such issues and address how to avoid similar incidents in the future.
2. Establish Rules: Sometimes if working in a truly intercultural team it may be necessary for all to take a step back and set down some ground rules. i.e. how do we approach punctuality, meetings, communication, emails, disagreements, etc? It is always a good idea to try and develop the rules as a group rather than have them imposed.
3. Ask Questions: When you don't understand something or want to know why someone has behaved in a certain way, simply ask. Asking questions stops you making assumptions, shows the questioned you did not understand them and helps build up your bank of intercultural knowledge.
4. Respect: The foundation of all intercultural communication is respect. By demonstrating respect you earn respect and help create more open and fruitful relationships.
5. The Written Word: Sometimes people who do not have English as their mother tongue will read more proficiently than they speak. It is a good idea to always write things down as a back up.
6. Time: Not everyone in the world thinks "time is money". Understand that for many people work is low down on the priority list with things like family taking a much higher precedence. Do not expect people to sacrifice their own time to meet deadlines. It is good practice to always leave a bit of spare time when considering deadlines.
7. Humour: In an intercultural environment one man's joke is another's insult. Be wary of differences in the sense of humour and also the acceptability of banter and the like in a business environment.
8. Always Check: The easiest way of minimizing the negative impact of intercultural communication is to check and double check. Whether agreeing something or giving instructions, a minute spent double checking all parties are 'reading from the same sheet' saves hours of work later on down the line.
9. Be Positive: When faced with incidents of an intercultural nature steer clear of blame and conflict. Stay positive, analyse the problem areas and work as a team to build strategies and solutions to ensure the same never occurs again.
10. Self-Reflect: A good intercultural communicator not only looks outwards but also inwards. Take time to reflect on your own communication, management or motivation style and see where you can improve as an individual.

USING WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED ABOUT CULTURE IN GENERAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AS A STARTING POINT GIVE YOUR OWN EXPLANATION OF WHAT SHOULD BE MEANT BY LINGUOCULTURAL DIFFERENCES. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE MEANS, INCLUDING PHONETIC MEANS, IN DISTINGUISHING CULTURES? Give examples.

ОТСКАНИРОВАТЬ!!!

1.13. Discuss one of two case studies of intercultural misunderstanding. Group A, turn to

Case A on page 76. Group B, turn to Case B on page 78. Consider the following questions.

• What do you think is happening in each case?

• Which cultural, personality and business factors could be important?

• Flow are the people involved seeing things? Are they thinking flexibly or inflexibly?

• Decide on a recommended course of action to move each case forward in the best way possible. Present your case and recommendations to the other group.

Compare your recommendations with the short case summaries on pages 64-65.