Intercultural Communication at the Workplace (1 cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Objective

After successfully completing the course
- you are aware of the factors that may influence professional practice and leadership of multicultural work communities
- you are capable of adapting and adjusting your professional behavior and actions in a culturally sensitive way
- you have developing skills to communicate and lead multicultural teams or communities of practice
- you are able to resolve disputes and disagreements at the workplace through intercultural conflict mediation

Content

This bilingual (Finnish-English) online course focuses on
- how cultural diversity and diverse backgrounds impact on and can be seen in workplace relationships and ways of working.
- in which ways employees and work communities can create shared organisational culture where differences are seen as a resource.

The main content of the course relates to the following central themes in leading and managing culturally diverse teams and communities of practice: direct, low-context and indirect high-context communication, conceptions and management of time, hierarchy, status and positioning in organisations, individual responsibility, collectivism and teamwork, as well as feedback and conflict resolution.

The course include such topics as:

- The many layers and dimensions of culture and cultural diversity
- Verbal and non-verbal communication in culturally and linguistically diverse communities of practice
- Workplace relationships, roles, status and hierarchy
- Time conceptions and their impact on work organisation
- Culturally sensitive ways of resolving conflicts

Location and time

This 1-credit course can be timed individually and taken between the 6th of October and the 28th of November. The course takes place in the Moodle environment of Karelia University of Applied Sciences.

Teaching methods

Online course. The course is divided into seven sections all containing a short introduction to the topic and a quiz. The participants can then deepen their understanding of the topic with the help of self-study materials, self-reflection assignments and/ or online discussion.

Student workload

The online course is one credit (1 cr.), which is equal to approx. 25 study hours.