ITM Master 1. Sem.
8007: Social competence development
           We 15.45 - 17.15 h, H 03

  Self-Image, Image, Perceived Image

  Please make three lists with five items each:

 - The five most important characteristics of your own cultural group
 (Chinese, Germans with Bulgarians adopted... ;-) ) (Self-Image)

 - The five most important characteristics of the other group (Image)

 - The five most important characteristics you believe the other group thinks your group has (Perceived Image)

 Example: A chinese student should write three lists: Characteristics of the Chinese, Characteristic of the Germans, Perceived Image of the Chinese by the Germans

You have 10 min. Please do not discuss the lists with the other students before all lists are finished.

BACKGROUND:

 Hofstede´s Five-Dimensions Model  

Culture, understood as the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms and traditions among members of an organisation or society, is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes members of one group or society from those of another.

Therefore culture is not a phenomenon in its own right. It is the difference perceived, and only then perceived, by one group when it comes into contact with and observes another one. It is important to point out that the idea of pure cultures meeting in intercultural exchanges without much knowledge about the other culture is outdated.

Today almost everybody outside a given culture has some information and knowledge about that culture, however superficial.

CULTURE AS AN ICEBERG

The foundation for most cross-cultural interpretation is the work of Geert Hofstede. He developed with the help of large-scale samples starting in the 1970s cultural index scores for five constructs:

Power distance,

Uncertainty avoidance,

Individualism/Collectivism,

Masculinity/Feminity and

Long term/Short term orientation.

These dimension are acquired through “mental programming”, learned patterns of thinking, feeling and potential acting.

Three level of uniqueness are distinguished:

The inherited universal human nature,

the learned culture specific to certain societies or groups within a society, and

the inherited and learned individual personality.

Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions with scores for China, Japan, USA and Switzerland (lowest possible score 1, highest possible score 118)

Consequences:

Example: Conflict Management - The textile dyeing

30 h face-to-face 90 h own work.

Three project presentations per participant.

Project No. 1: Each student should find a person from a country not presented in the course (Bulgaria, China, Germany) and do the self-image, image, perceived image test with him/her. The own culture is the culture of the test person, the other culture is the culture of the student. Please discuss, if possible, the results with the test person.

(Example: A chinese student is asking a Italian person: The three lists should be: Characteristics of the Italians, Characteristic of the Chinese, Perceived Image of the Italians by the Chinese)

If you cannot find a suitable person in Heide, you can do this test also by e-mail.

Each student should present his findings in a short (5-7 min.) presentation.

  Contact: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, Study Program Director
Bachelor and Master Program International Tourism Management
arlt@fh-westkueste.de, Office 2.018, Tel. 0481 8555-513
Consultation hours (during lecture period): Wednesday 11.00 - 12.00 h