Search results

Introduction: The world has become a global village with the development of globalization, technology, transportation opportunities, and socioeconomic living conditions. Multinational, multicultural businesses have been formed with the effect of globalization. Tourism activities have also gained a global dynamic. People from different cultures travel to different geographies for different purposes, and this highlights the need for managers and employees of tourism businesses to adapt to people from different cultures and multicultural environments.

Aim: In order to achieve success in intercultural communication, it is necessary to work with employees with a high level of intercultural sensitivity. Respect for different cultures without prejudices is very important in hotel businesses to provide quality service. For this reason, the high level of intercultural sensitivity of the employees in tourism businesses, which have a multicultural structure both with their customers and managers, will significantly affect their competitiveness in the sector. The aim of this study is to examine the intercultural sensitivity level of department managers working in hotel businesses according to some demographic features.

Method: The data collected via a survey were analyzed with statistical software. Frequency, percentage, etc., descriptive analysis and difference tests were performed.

Result: Intercultural sensitivity levels of hotel managers were examined according to some demographic characteristics. It was revealed that intercultural sensitivity levels of the managers working in hotel enterprises who participated in the research were far from ethnocentrism.

Implication: In the research, it was found that those who received tourism education respected intercultural differences more than those who did not receive any tourism education, and that they were affected by intercultural interaction more than those who did not receive any tourism education. For those working in the tourism sector, the recruitment of qualified personnel who received tourism education is important in order to achieve intercultural communication.

Originality of Study: The research was conducted on the department managers working in 4 and 5-star hotel enterprises in Marmaris and Bodrum districts of Muğla Province. There are a very limited number of studies in terms of determining the intercultural levels of employees and managers in hotel enterprises and examining them according to demographic characteristics. The research achieved results supporting similar studies. It is deemed significant in terms of determining according to which variables the concept of intercultural sensitivity differ and achieving results that can be generalized. Furthermore, the results which emphasized the importance of intercultural communication in the recruitment of the employees who received tourism education within the sector were also obtained.

This chapter analyzes the impact of intercultural academic experiences on students in the areas of intercultural sensitivity and multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills.

Cottey College’s mission statement includes a clause about educating students to be useful members of a global society (Mission, n.d., para. 1). Toward achieving the mission, each of Cottey College’s second year students is offered an international experience over spring break that is largely paid for by endowed funds. For spring break 2015, the author of this chapter and a colleague offered a trip to Thailand. To participate, students were required to take part in a Step into the World!: Thailand course that was intended to prepare them to successfully navigate, and later reflect upon, their experience abroad. The trip portion of the course spanned 10 days. To measure what impacts the course may have had, students were asked to complete a pre-course and post-course survey, the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (Fritz, Möllenberg, & Chen, 2002), and to complete journal entries and a personal impact statement by which their multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills were assessed.

Analysis of the results suggests the Step into the World!: Thailand course had a positive impact on the majority of students’ intercultural sensitivity and multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills.

The findings support the importance of intentionally combining inside and outside of the classroom experiences to enhance student outcomes.

Problematic attributes of providing development aid in International Service-Learning (ISL) placements exist with its paternalistic implications. Broadening the discussion of ISL by shifting the focus toward prioritizing the incorporation of goals of cross-cultural learning and fostering cultural humility addresses these problematic attributes. Approaching ISL placements with a learning mindset inverts the service-learning model by emphasizing learning over helping. Additionally, cultivating a deeper self-awareness and learning from the host communities prior to offering service encourages cultural humility, enhances the ability to remain open to different perspectives, and sustains engagement as a lifelong learner. A framework for developing international education experiences with a systems-oriented approach is proposed: one that acknowledges the interdependent relationships with others in global social and economic structures. The proposed framework applies Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity and Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti’s HEADS UP educational tool for critical engagement in global social justice issues. Transformative learning theory guides the process of perspective transformation and invites students to critically reflect on their own values, assumptions, and cultural beliefs. The intent is to establish a model for ISL placements which invites respectful collaboration across cultural differences and imbalances in power relations.

A group of tourism and hospitality students from a Danish university were on a study trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. During a company site visit, their program was disrupted by an unexpected extra speaker following an unplanned social event. The Danish group leader decided to stay with the original program even if it meant declining the hospitality of their hosts.

Purpose –– This chapter shows the connection between the reality of intercultural communication training and its importance to the development of intercultural communication competence, symbolised by the Rainbow Model of Intercultural Communication Competence.

Methodology/approach –– 405 useable questionnaires (response rate=19.4%) were used from 56 German MNEs in a convenience sample of companies in the high-tech industry that are suppliers for the automotive, aviation, optical and chemical industry.

Findings –– German MNCs provide traditional intercultural communication training sparingly to expatriates, but with adjustments depending on the target country. Only 41% of training recipients deemed the training helpful for their mission. Non-traditional training methods are administered more consistently.

Practical implications –– The Rainbow Model of Intercultural Communication Competence should guide the implementation of customised intercultural communication training efforts.

Social implications –– Assisting expatriates in their development of intercultural communication competence via intercultural communication training fulfils the social responsibility of multinational enterprises.

Originality/value of chapter –– This chapter provides guidance to human resource specialists in the international arena to design and implement customisable intercultural communication training programmes for expatriates.

Indian businesses are expanding to other parts of the world, and companies from across the globe are setting up businesses in India. For executives – both foreign and Indian – to thrive in India and abroad, it has become just as important for foreign executives and expatriates to understand India as it has become imperative for Indian executives to gain a global perspective. As a result of this fast-changing scenario, the demand for coaching is rising in India. This chapter seeks to understand the dynamics of being a European (German) Life Coach in India who also happens to be a woman. It explores cross-cultural coaching in India and attempts to provide some pointers on how to navigate through cultural differences, understanding cultural intelligence/cultural quotient, gaining intercultural sensitivity and helping clients with cross-cultural conflict resolution.

Students entering higher education often lack a sense of cultural awareness and a basic understanding of what diversity, multiculturalism, and intercultural competence (ICC) have to do with their future goals. Ironically, student populations tend to be diverse in and of themselves. Yet the critical element that is often missing is their ability to interact across these differences, to confront (and engage with) their discomfort in the face of something new and unfamiliar. Getting students to overcome this discomfort so that meaningful learning and critical skill-building can take place is challenging for a number of reasons. Students are typically more motivated to expend effort in a course if they can recognize and appreciate the value and relevance that the material may have on other areas of their lives, most notably their professional pursuits. This appreciation can best be cemented though the use of active, rather than passive, learning strategies. This chapter introduces strategies for the intentional design of a classroom environment that will engage students and promote the development of ICC. Activities and assignments designated as promoting the accumulation of specific knowledge (K), the development of particular skills (S), or the exploration of certain attitudes (A) are shared.