BUSINESS ESSENTIALS
Intercultural Business Communication and VUCA
INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND VUCA
Contents Why Cambridge Advance Online?
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Course summary
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What you will learn on the course?
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The learning journey
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Learning breakdown
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Course modules
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Meet your tutor
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Technical requirements
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Course certification
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We are delighted to offer this exciting programme of short online courses for professionals, giving you the opportunity to harness the latest research, innovation and thinking that the University of Cambridge has to offer. Cambridge Advance Online brings together the academic strength of the University, and the publishing and assessment strengths of Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment, allowing you to develop your skills and specialise in emerging areas that address global challenges. Our certificated courses will reflect the Cambridge experience and values, with low student to tutor ratios and academically rigorous standards. They will allow you to engage directly with academics at Cambridge and are centred on rich interaction between students and subject experts. Each course will offer you the opportunity to join live sessions with academics and interact in collaborative exercises with learners worldwide. The University of Cambridge is committed to supporting lifelong learning and, through Cambridge Advance Online, has invested in the latest education technology to provide professionals with the very best experience wherever they are in the world and at any stage of their career. We look forward to welcoming you onto one of our courses and to our global community of learners.
Professor Graham Virgo
Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education)
advanceonline.cam.ac.uk
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Welcome to Intercultural Business Communication and VUCA
Why Cambridge Advance Online?
INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND VUCA
Welcome to Intercultural Business Communication and VUCA Businesses and organisations worldwide have been faced with the reality of VUCA, an environment that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, for at least two decades. The recent pandemic has only added to the list of challenges leaders are facing. Intercultural competence is high on the list of skills needed to deal with VUCA by no longer being seen as a ‘nice to have’. It is an emerging set of skills that is required in every workplace with diverse teams and in international organisations and businesses. Generic management or communication courses tend to be ‘Western-oriented’ and based on implicit cultural assumptions about what is ‘good management’ or ‘effective communication.’ English as a medium of communication also poses certain challenges for both non-native and native speakers alike. Intercultural competence is becoming even more critical in the age of the remote digital working where it has become even harder to work with people and connect, build rapport with new contacts and manage existing teams. In addition, the pandemic creates a world that is more divided, and the situation is only getting worse. Countries are becoming more distant, and it affects people’s opportunity to experience cultural differences first-hand by immersion. This course draws on interdisciplinary research to provide the participants with the necessary awareness, know-how and practical skills needed to become more effective at intercultural interactions. Although we acknowledge that culture doesn’t equal country, generation, profession, gender or organisational differences and be equally (if not more) prominent, the course examines how nationality may affect how we think and behave – and therefore communicate, manage, and collaborate. Intercultural competence does not only enhance leadership but also responds better to a VUCA workplace that requires agility, resilience, and collaboration and communication skills.
Kasia Lanucha, MA Intercultural Trainer and Coach
advanceonline.cam.ac.uk
Timetable:
September | January | April | June
Subject area:
Business Essentials
Format and length:
8 weeks | 6-8 hours per week
Price:
£1,800
Intercultural communication is interdisciplinary and examines how communication between cultures and social groups is affected by different values, attitudes and beliefs. It is an emerging competence required in every workplace with diverse teams and in international organisations and businesses. The pandemic has created a world that is more divided, and the situation is only getting worse. Countries are becoming more distant, and it affects people’s opportunity to experience cultural differences first-hand by immersion. This course explores the impact of VUCA, which has been used extensively to describe the new reality during and post-pandemic: an environment that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Participants draw on various models to analyse their own experiences in order to develop a personal development plan to address effective interactions at work in the face of these significant challenges.
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Course summary
INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND VUCA
What you will learn on the course?
– Define VUCA and examine the challenges it presents to today’s workplace – Assess how developing intercultural competence adds value to the VUCA world
By the end of the course, you will be able to: – Assess the impact of VUCA on today’s workplace. – Define culture and critique several cultural models. – Explain the effect of cultural differences on interactions. – Identify individual and cultural preferences for working practices and demonstrate the use of empathy when evaluating others. – Define the culture adaptation process and develop a strategy to foster effective interactions at work. – Assess the opportunities and challenges of using English as an international working language and develop strategies to use it in an effective and inclusive way. – Apply inclusive teamwork and/or leadership skills to successfully complete tasks in a multicultural workplace. – Evaluate and apply experience and knowledge to create a personal development action plan.
advanceonline.cam.ac.uk
Is this course right for you? This course will be of interest to, but not limited to, the following: – business owners and people working for companies with an international workforce, partners, clients or customer base, or those that intend to do so in future – participants will be based globally and drawn from a range of industries
– Define intercultural competence using a three step framework – Define culture and how it affects interactions – Assess the limitations of culture models – Analyse case studies where cultural differences have caused misunderstandings/ frustration/ upset – Apply a range of cultural dimensions to explain misunderstandings/frustration/ upset from past experiences – Assess your own communication preferences and working style in order to develop your selfawareness – Anticipate potential challenges arising from your preferences – Demonstrate an ability to use empathy in your interactions
– Identify the different stages of the culture adaptation process – Apply the describe-interpretevaluate framework to deal with unfamiliar situations – Assess the challenges of English as a lingua franca in the workplace – Analyse strategies to overcome these challenges – Define inclusion in a modern workplace – Evaluate strategies for improving interaction in culturally diverse teams – Evaluate your learning from the course and set goals for future development – Complete a SWOT analysis of your individual context and develop a personal development plan
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Key learning objectives
INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND VUCA
The learning journey 09 BUSINESS ESSENTIALS
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Cambridge Advance Online courses are delivered over 6 to 8 consecutive weeks (dependent on the programme), with each week’s content following a clear, deliverable path to help facilitate learning. Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Orientation
You will get access to familiarise yourself with our learning platform, Canvas, start networking with peers and hear from your course leader.
Week 7*
Week 8*
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3 Join our Alumni network
*The duration of the programme is dependent on the course. Please check the course summary for information regarding course length
advanceonline.cam.ac.uk
INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND VUCA
Learning breakdown
Built content
(e.g. videos, animations, quizzes, case studies, worked experiments)
1hr
1hr
Research
(e.g. reading, looking for info online etc.)
advanceonline.cam.ac.uk
Discussion
1hr
Live session
Reflection
How cultural differences have caused misunderstandings/ frustration/upset in practice and how cultural dimensions can help explain these.
What is culture?
Module 4
Cultural dimensions
1hr
VUCA and the challenges it presents to today’s workplace (including online communication challenges), definition of intercultural competence using a three step framework and how this adds value to the VUCA world.
Module 2
Introduction
Module 3
2-4hrs
Module 1
Our online courses combine several different elements to create a balanced blend of learning. Participants will be able to learn at their own pace during the week, viewing content, engaging in discussions and completing any assignments. On average, our courses take 8 to 10 hours per week.
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Values at work
How culture affects interactions (from a variety of variables, such as, nationality and organisational culture), the limitations of culture models.
Communication preferences and working styles and the potential challenges these bring, using empathy in your interactions, compromising and adapting to different situations.
BUSINESS ESSENTIALS
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Course modules
INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND VUCA
Course modules
Meet your tutor
(Continued)
13 The culture adaptation process stages and the describe-interpretevaluate framework to deal with unfamiliar situations.
Module 6
Module 5
Your toolbox
Communication across cultures English as a lingua franca in the workplace, clarity versus preserving a relationship.
Kasia Lanucha, MA Intercultural Trainer and Coach
Kasia’s ability to understand cultural struggles comes from personal experience, having been born and brought up in Poland, studied and worked in Germany, and finally settling in the UK. She believe that both understanding of different groups and their shared values and the importance of self-awareness and preferred working style of an individual is critical in becoming interculturally competent (whatever culture we’re dealing with).
Inclusion in a modern workplace, improving interaction in culturally diverse teams, dominant/minority cultures.
Module 8
Module 7
Effectives leadership and collaboration
Evaluation and next steps Evaluation and goal setting, SWOT analysis, and personal development plan.
Kasia draws from her experience from working at the University of Cambridge where I support students and staff through training and coaching. In regard to her corporate portfolio, she has delivered intercultural training and coaching at all levels of domestic and international companies, both face-to-face and online.
Credentials MA in Languages, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany Certificate in Coaching, University of Cambridge Business Culture Trainer, International House London
advanceonline.cam.ac.uk
BUSINESS ESSENTIALS
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INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND VUCA
Technical requirements
Course certification
– Sufficient internet speed and stability for video streaming (2 Mbps up/down)
You’ll be assessed using a range of modalities that emphasize realworld application of course material. On completion of your Cambridge Advance Online course, you will be eligible for a Certificate of Achievement and digital badge.
– Please see our recommendations on web browsers: https://bit.ly/2S4Qhh4
To get your Certificate you must achieve a minimum grade of 70% on course activities and your final tutor-marked project.
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If you have any questions or would like more information about our online courses, please contact our Enrolment Advisors at
advanceonlinesales@cambridge.org