What is intercultural competence?

The topic of intercultural competence became more and more important during the past years: globalisation and worldwide contacts between companies, organizations and individuals need the ability to communicate in a successful way.

Basic needs are sensitivity and self-consciousness: the understanding of other behaviours and ways of thinking as well as the ability to express one’s own point of view in a transparent way with the aim to be understood and respected by staying flexible where this is possible, and being clear and transparent where this is necessary.

Intercultural competence is the ability of successful communication with people of other cultures. This ability can exist in someone at a young age, or may be developed and improved due to willpower and competence. The bases for a successful intercultural communication are emotional competence, together with intercultural sensitivity.

The goal of assessing intercultural competence is to find out if a person has this ability or the potential for it.

Cultures can be different not only between continents or nations, but also within the same company or even family: every human being has their own history, their own life and therefore also (in a certain extent) their own culture resp. cultural affiliation (geographical, ethnical, moral, ethical, religious, political, historical).

Typical Examples of cultural differences

The perception is different and often selective:

• Expressions are differentiated according their importance: for the Inuits (Eskimos) snow is part of their everyday life, therefore many words (e. g. over 10 substantives) exist to describe it. Similarly the Zulus use 39 different descriptions (singular words) for the color „green”.
• In Arabic countries the odors (of condiments, coffee etc.) are often perceived in more differentiated ways than e. g. in northern America.
• In Asian countries the perception of time is rather past-oriented (ancestors, values), in Latin American countries as well as southern European countries rather present-oriented, and in western Europe as well as Noth America rather future-oriented.

Behavior and gestures are interpreted differently:

• Shaking the head in a horizontal direction in most countries means „no”, while in India it means „yes”, and in hindi language the voice lowers in pitch at the end of a question.
• Showing the thumb held upwards means in Latin America, especially Brazil, but also in many other countries „everything’s ok”, while it is understood in some Islamic countries as well as Sardinia and Greece as a rude sexual sign. Furthermore, the sign of thumb up may signify the number "one" in France and a few other central european countries.
• „Everything ok” is shown in western European countries, especially between pilots and divers, with the sign of the thumb and forefinger forming an „O”. This sign means in Japan „now we may talk about money”, in southern France the contrary („nothing, without any value”), in Spain, some Latin American countries, Eastern Europe and Russia it is an indecent sexual sign.
• In North America as well as in Arabic countries the pauses between words are usually not too long, while in Japan pauses can give a contradictory sense to the spoken words by the meaning of pauses. Enduring silence is perceived as comfortable in Japan, while in Europe and North America it may cause insecureness and embarrassment. Scandinavians, by Western standards, are more tolerant of silent breaks during conversations.
• Laughing is connoted in most countries with happiness - in Japan it is often a sign of confusion, insecureness and embarrassment.
• In the UK Ireland and Commonwealth countries, the word „compromise” has a positive meaning (as a consent, an agreement where both parties win something); in the USA it may rather have negative connotations (as both parties lose something).
• In Mediterranean European countries, Latin America and Sub Saharan Africa, it is normal, or at least widely tolerated, to arrive half an hour late for a dinner invitaiton, whereas in Germany and Switzerland this would be extremely rude.
• If invited to dinner, in many Asian countries and Central America it is well-mannered to leave right after the dinner: the ones who don’t leave may indicate they have not eaten enough. In the Indian Sub-Continent, European and North American countries this is considered rude, indicating that the guest only wanted to eat but wouldn’t enjoy the company with the hosts.
• In Africa, saying to a female friend one has not seen for a while that she has put on weight means she is physically healthier than before or had a nice holiday, whereas this would be considered as an insult in Europe, North America and Australia.

Why CICB

• extensive training and experience in intercultural competence and its assessing tools
• unique, actual and up-to-date worldwide overview in intercultural competence
• independent of any institution or company
• exchange of experience in seminars, on the internet and individually
• improving of sensitivity and knowledge of human character
• prevention of wrong decisions (human resources and business contacts)
• contacts of CICB to most institutions worldwide working on intercultural competence
• better results in your company by increasing negotiation- and communication-skills, intuition, improved recognition of the essentials, higher productivity and motivation.

We have worldwide contacts, we are flexible and uncomplicated, our services are individual and professional.

Aims of CICB Center of Intercultural Competence:

• reaching goals by efficient communication
• empathy and knowledge of character
• understanding of different values and ways of thinking
• minimizing of false decisions, failures, costs and expenditure of time
• optimizing success for all involved persons

Benefit from

Intercultural Competence

The CICB Center of Intercultural Competence enhances the potential and use of intercultural competence to people in internationally active companies.

Basics and Capabilities

using the power of cultural diversity

Success Abroad

achieving goals without frontiers

Integration

cooperating in different cultures

Nothing coins the image of a company as much as its ability to appropriately deal with different cultures.

This is the reason why it is so important for CICB Center of Intercultural Competence to utilize the potential of intercultural competence.

• What is intercultural competence?
• Why intercultural competence?
• Typical examples of cultural differences
• How assessing intercultural competence?