Module 1: Introduction
1.1 Themes & learning outcomes
This provides you with an overview on what you will learn in this module.
Time (approximate) you will need to spend on this module: 3-5 hours.
Themes
Introduction to the entrepreneurial mindset
Understanding the key concepts of intercultural communication
Intended learning outcomes
After finishing this module you will be able to:
Discuss ideas and interpretations of entrepreneurship
Become familiar with the entrepreneurial process consisting of value creation, engaging others and learning from experimentation
Identify commonalities in entrepreneurial behaviour and intercultural competence
Learn to explain components of intercultural communication
Apply a model of analysis to the communication process taking into account the virtual context
Identify a topic from your Global Challenge to work on
1.2 Introduction
This gives you some background and context for the module’s core concepts.
To engage with the content, you will find some prompts for reflection or tasks.
Welcome to NICE!
Globally we face major challenges to preserve and enhance our environment, our well-being, and our economies in the face of rapidly changing circumstances and unforeseen obstacles. Meeting these challenges requires more than expert knowledge and technical advances: it demands new ideas, fresh thinking, and leaders with the courage and ability to instigate change. As our societies advance from information economies to innovation economies, citizens at every level will need to create value rather than simply show up for work. Creativity and innovation are permeating all aspects of the workplace. Yet most education systems remain entrenched in an educational paradigm based on filling students with knowledge without preparing them with entrepreneurial characteristics such as self-efficacy, resilience, networking, creative problem-solving, and the ability to cope with ambiguity, all of which are necessary for them to apply learning effectively in today's rapidly changing and challenging global environment. By supporting you to further develop your entrepreneurship skills, the NICE programme is helping to shape creative, innovative, risk-takers who have the ability to plan and manage projects to achieve success.
In the workplace, productive collaboration is often at the heart of success. More and more frequently, this requires communication and cooperation with people that are (culturally) different from us. Hence, there is an urgent need for people who have intercultural competencies and are confident and able to work in an intercultural setting. The structures of culture and communication that influence our behaviours are complex. The NICE programme aims to help you develop skills to identify how these structures influence your own lives and consequently how to work with people from other cultures in a positive and productive manner.
Overall, the NICE programme is designed to enhance your employability by helping you to develop a robust skill set in the areas of entrepreneurship and intercultural competence. While you develop skills in these areas, you also work with your intercultural team to create a solution to your chosen Global Challenge.
In this Training Programme, you will work through seven virtual modules focusing on aspects of intercultural competence and entrepreneurship. As you work through the modular content, you will begin to grasp and learn how to utilise these concepts in your work both within the modules and your Global Challenge. Additionally, these modules will guide you step by step to work together with your teammates to create a solution for an aspect of your chosen Global Challenge. By the end of the modules, you will have undergone an entrepreneurial process and produced a Business Model Canvas which outlines your Global Challenge solution. At the same time, you will have experienced intercultural communication and team work in a virtual environment.
What are your expectations for the NICE programme? Make a few notes and save them so you can return to them later and compare your expectations with your experiences.
Introduction to Entrepreneurship
Much of the talk about entrepreneurship tends to involve the likes of Google, Facebook, Netflix, their origins and meteoric rise in the magic wonderland of Silicon Valley. However, unpacking traditional definitions of entrepreneurship and their implications yields a more diverse picture: entrepreneurship comes in many shapes. It can indeed be about exploiting an opportunity for profit, but it can also be about finding a solution to a social or environmental problem or advancing a political cause. The #MeToo movement is an example of such a cause.
Thus entrepreneurial education can be defined as:
"...the ability to turn ideas into action. It involves creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well as the ability to plan and to manage projects in order to achieve objectives. The individual is aware of the context of his/her work and is able to seize opportunities that arise. It is the foundation for acquiring more specific skills and knowledge needed by those establishing or contributing to social or commercial activity. This should include awareness of ethical values and the promotion of good governance.” (European Parliament and the Council of Europe, 2006)
Entrepreneurship is therefore about finding solutions to problems and challenges. The definition above challenges the traditional meaning of entrepreneurship as commercial venture creation, to be replaced by the broader concept of an entrepreneurial mindset. An entrepreneurial mindset is a way of thinking about and approaching challenges and opportunities in all walks of life. In our increasingly dynamic and turbulent environment, entrepreneurial mindsets are critical for effective decision-making in government, for-profit, non-profit and/or community ventures, and by employees as well as founders.
Watch this video to learn more about entrepreneurial thinking:
Thinking entrepreneurially means embracing and evaluating risk as crucial to success. While it is not about risk-taking per se, it is about understanding the level and extent of risk associated with decisions. People with an entrepreneurial mindset understand failure and its evaluation as an opportunity to learn rather than the traditional perception of failure as the opposite of success. It encourages perceiving processes in terms of “problem-solution fit” based on empathy and discovery, and the generation and selection of creative solutions which can be tested and revised.
Skills, attitudes, and behaviours that define an entrepreneurial mindset include the following:
Initiative and self-direction
Risk-taking and learning from iteration & experimentation
Flexibility and adaptability
Creativity and innovation
Critical thinking and problem solving
Teamwork and collaboration
Curiosity and beginner’s mindset
Many of these skills and attributes are naturally acquired and strengthened by engaging in an entrepreneurial project: when you learn by doing but may not be aware that you are learning. In the NICE programme you will challenge yourself by stepping out of your comfort zone, practising things you may not be familiar with, and discussing different viewpoints. For example, you may have to engage directly with customers and users requiring you to listen and reflect about the outcome of your group project.
In addition to the skill set, you will be introduced to some valuable tools and knowledge in entrepreneurship that will help you achieve your goals.
Introduction to Intercultural Communication
An entrepreneurial mindset as that described above consists of many different elements, including networking, mobility and working in in a fast-changing world. Teamwork and collaboration take place in a context in which there are potentially no (cultural) borders; this means that intercultural communicative competence and cultural awareness are to be developed to foster sound cooperation and communication.
In a world marked by the increased mobility of populations, both physical and virtual, the emphasis on interpersonal communication in intercultural settings is ever-increasing. Interpersonal communication is a form of communication that involves a small number of people interacting with one another, who can therefore adapt their message and tone to others and receive immediate feedback from them. In intercultural settings, nonverbal and verbal communication emphasise the differences between cultures, for the way we act and the things we say (as well as the way we say things) tells others whether we belong to a certain culture.
Watch this video to learn more about intercultural communication:
Working on an entrepreneurial challenge with people from the same background is already difficult. Yet, trying it across different cultures in a virtual environment is even more challenging, hence the requirement to tune in to where your teammates are coming from (literally and figuratively).
Skills, attitudes, and behaviours that define a skilful intercultural communicator include the following:
Recognising the components of communication
Understanding the meaning of culture
Being aware of the different competences to be used when communicating
Developing awareness about the barriers to intercultural communication (such as stereotyping)
Developing awareness towards key issues such as identity and language
Recognising that any communication is potentially intercultural
Considering the variables influencing communication and the concept of continuum
In this module and the overall course, you will be introduced to a practical model providing some principles useful to the development of skills and methods appropriate to working in intercultural settings and intercultural teams.
1.3 Warm-up
Here is an exercise to get you started!
The topics of entrepreneurship and intercultural communication are united by many things. One of them is being in an unfamiliar context.
Step 1: Your experiences
Think about the last time when you were in an unfamiliar context. For example, when you took a trip to a foreign destination or when you were in a place where you did not understand the language spoken around you. What was fun or challenging during that experience? What was unexpected? Did your plans/prior knowledge work out? What worked and what did not?
Write down your experiences, feelings, and reactions.
Admitting that you are (or were in a particular situation) out of your depth is part and parcel of stepping out of your comfort zone and into a learning space. This is a huge step forward so well done!
Step 2: Now work together!
Building on the previous task, think about the qualities of an entrepreneur.
First, individually take five minutes and write down all the character qualities, which, in your opinion, define an entrepreneur.
Don’t think too hard, just write down the words that come into your head.
Then, as a team, look at your individual answers and create a word-cloud (e.g. using this tool). Share the word-cloud with each other.
Finally, discuss the word-cloud:
What are the main themes? Are there any unexpected responses? Did some of you highlight the same points?
Also discuss why you think certain qualities are important. Are there differing opinions? Are there commonalities?
Take notes of your discussion.
Have fun discussing the qualities of an entrepreneur!
1.4 Advice & “know-how”
Here you will find relevant advice, know-how, tools, models or examples that help you think differently about the module’s themes, how they can be approached and what they mean – so basically the theory behind the concepts and ideas. Read through it carefully and take your time to work on the small tasks.
In the previous warm-up exercise, you have identified experiences that you associate with the words ‘entrepreneur’ and ‘entrepreneurship’ more broadly, as well as some feelings linked with being in an unfamiliar context. Bravo! This is one of the things which unites the topics of entrepreneurship and intercultural communication.
Now let's look at two important topics related to this:
the entrepreneurial mindset and effectuation
components of communication
Entrepreneurial Mindset: Effectuation
Although the discourse around entrepreneurship in the public domain is often about maverick individuals striving in pursuit of opportunities, the reality is usually less clear-cut. Entrepreneurship is full of ups, downs and dead-ends rather than the steady road to success that it is often portrayed as. There are several ways to approach this journey. One of them is to practice effectual reasoning - asking: "what can I do with what I have right now?"
Watch this video to get an in-depth explanation of this entrepreneurial mindset by Professor Saras D. Saraswathy, a leading researcher on entrepreneurship:
Through conversations with successful entrepreneurs Professor Saraswathy identified 5 principles for effectuation that characterise the entrepreneurial mindset:
Bird-in-hand (start with your means)
When expert entrepreneurs set out to build a new venture, they start with their means: who I am, what I know, and whom I know. Then, the entrepreneurs imagine possibilities that originate from their means.
contrasts with... Pre-set goals or opportunities: causal reasoning works inversely by assembling means after a goal is set.
Affordable Loss (focus on the downside risk)
Expert entrepreneurs limit risk by understanding what they can afford to lose at each step, instead of seeking large all-or-nothing opportunities. They choose goals and actions where there is upside even if the downside ends up happening.
contrasts with... Expected return: causal reasoning first targets a return, then works to minimise associated risk.
Lemonade (leverage contingencies)
Expert entrepreneurs invite the surprise factor. Instead of making “what-if” scenarios to deal with worst-case scenarios, experts interpret “bad” news and surprises as potential clues to create new markets.
contrasts with... Avoiding surprises: causal reasoning works to minimise the probability of unexpected outcomes
Patchwork Quilt (form partnerships)
Expert entrepreneurs build partnerships with self-selecting stakeholders. By obtaining pre-commitments from these key partners early on in the venture, experts reduce uncertainty and co-create the new market with its interested participants.
contrasts with... Competitive analysis: causal reasoning presumes that competitors are rivals to contend with.
Pilot-in-the-plane (control vs. predict)
By focusing on activities within their control, expert entrepreneurs know their actions will result in the desired outcomes. An effectual worldview is rooted in the belief that the future is neither found nor predicted, but rather made.
contrasts with... Inevitable trends: causal reasoning accepts that established market forces will cause the future to unfold.
For detailed explanations of the 5 principles, please click the following link to download the handout: Handout on effectuation.
Components of Communication
As you have already experienced in team discussion at university, in a work setting, or even with friends and family, it is as much about what you communicate as well as how you communicate. Communication is everywhere, consequently we must develop awareness and be aware of some key elements that might influence the communication process. Communication is both verbal and nonverbal, in fact the majority of communication is nonverbal.
Pitfalls in verbal communication include the misinterpretation of translation, discourse patterns, communication styles, while nonverbal communication is more than gestures. Other competences to consider are attention to timing, space, objects, clothes, smell, touch, etc.
See the video below for further insight into how we use language and how miscommunication can occur:
Individual values and behaviours strongly influence communication, and we communicate in different ways from others. Therefore, in the process of communicating we must be open to signals coming from our brain, heart and intuition to fully understand what is happening.
Remember to consider the diverse factors that may influence your interactions such as:
Viewpoints
Values and belief
Thought processes
Customs and culture
Appearance
Expectations
Communication style
Language usage
Verbal and nonverbal communication
Social norms
Roles & relationships
Business interactions
Concepts and ideologies
The video below addresses the impact of our assumptions on how we communicate:
The following list (Dell Hymes’ "SPEAKING" model) may help you gain further awareness of the various elements that interact as we communicate:
S - The physical Setting
S - The cultural Setting
P - Who the Participants are
E - Our aim (Ends)
A - What we say, the language/expressions/competence we use to communicate (Acts)
K - Mood, tone, manner (Key)
I - The Instruments we can use to communicate
N - Norms, how we interpret and interact
G - Category of event (Genre, i.e. lecture, chat, job interview...)
Watch this video to learn more about the SPEAKING model:
Remember, even if you have an understanding of how the above components influence communication, other cultures may interact with them differently!
So what does this mean for you? While working in your team, pay attention to what is going on in terms of communication and intercultural issues. Some people may seem quieter or less confident than others to contribute - why is that? Is it related to linguistic or cultural differences? Take time to discuss with your teammates how misunderstandings can be avoided and what the participants can do to be successful when communicating with one another.
Communication is already complex in face-to-face settings. However in NICE you are working in a virtual setting where technology mediates between you. Thus, consider: How does the virtual context influence your communication? Write down your thoughts.
1.5 Resources
Here you will find further, optional references on the topics of the module. It is up to you if you want to engage with these resources.
Barna L. (1994). "Stumbling blocks in intercultural communication." L. Samovar and R.E. Porter, Intercultural Communication: a Reader, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing (337-346). PDF.
European Parliament and the Council of Europe (2006). "On key competences for lifelong learning." Official Journal of the European Union, (2006/962/EC). Link.
Hofstede, G.,& Hofstede, G.J. (2005). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind, revised and expanded(2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Link.
Kauffman, E. (2013). "Entrepreneurial Mindset." Video.
Pavan, E. (2009). Communicating in the Mediterranean Area: A Matter of Intercultural Awareness. International Journal of Euro-Mediterranean Studies, 2-1, 121-140. PDF.
Richairds, V. (2015). "Chart shows what the British say, what they really mean, and what others understand." The Independent. Link.
Trompenaars, F. & Woolliams, P. (2003), Business Across Cultures, Chichester: Capstone Wiley Publishing Ltd.
Weiler, A. (2017). "Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mindset." Inc. Link.
1.6 Challenge
In this module you have been introduced to the concept of the entrepreneurial mindset and the various levels at which communication occurs. You've been asked to reflect on the qualities of an entrepreneur and how the virtual setting of NICE impacts your team communication. You are doing great so far!
Now, let's turn to the last missing piece: your chosen Global Challenge.
This challenge and the following team assignment ask you to actively engage with your Global Challenge. This is also a great opportunity to put all your newly acquired knowledge into practice and context. So have fun!
Individually, take 10 minutes to think about the Global Challenge that you are working on.
Break down your Global Challenge into themes, subject areas, or problems that you think belong to this challenge area.
Then, use keywords to create a word cloud.
Share your word cloud with your teammates.
To prepare for your team assignment, have a look at your teammates' word clouds.
1.7 Team assignment
The team assignment is a group activity that builds on what you've learned in the module and asks you to actively apply your newly acquired knowledge while working on your Global Challenge. To complete the team assignment, your team needs to meet up online.
Finally, it is time for your team to discuss the Global Challenge you have chosen and to narrow it down to one topic of common interest.
Follow the steps to identify and agree on a topic related to the Global Challenge which you will work on for the remainder of the course.
Step 1: Discuss
As a team, look at your word clouds and discuss together:
Have you identified similar problem areas and themes?
Are there areas of common interest?
You can repeat the exercise with those common interests and create a new word cloud to refine the topic.
Has a common topic emerged?
Appoint someone to take notes on your discussion.
While you discuss, be interculturally mindful of your communication!
Step 2: Identify one problem
With your teammates, use your discussion results to narrow down the Global Challenge to one or two specific topics/themes and, ultimately, to one problem.
For example:
Global Challenge: Food
Sub theme: Food waste
Problem: Food waste in supermarkets
This is the problem your group will work to solve for the rest of the NICE online course.
Step 3: Team name
Finally, think of a name for your team that ties in with your chosen topic and the problem you wish to address.
1.8 Reflection
In this module, you engaged with brainstorming exercises and group discussions. Reflect on the processes you used to engage with them by reviewing the following prompts:
What worked and did not work?
What could be improved?
What did you learn about entrepreneurship?
What did you learn about yourself and your culture?
What did you learn about other cultures?
What was the most surprising thing you learned from others?
How will this influence your communication going forward?
Write down your thoughts.