1. Associate Professor of Leadership & Management
The La Verne Experience Goes Global:
Expanding and Deepening Cultural Competence
Deborah Olson, PhD
Associate Professor of Leadership & Management

2. Expanding Intercultural Competence
What does it mean to be culturally competent?
What competencies are linked to effective global leadership practices?
Why these are experiences that last a life time. . .

3. Understanding Differences: Their Impact on Perceptions, Choices . . .
Ethnicity/National Origin
Where are you from? What language(s) do you speak?
Occupational
Doctor, student, retail clerk, school teacher . . .
Learning approaches
Kolb: Diverger, converger, assimilator . . .
Demographic factors
Age, gender, first generation college student . . .
Life Experiences
Previous travel experiences, family background, SES

4. Dimensions of Intercultural Competence
A Mind Set
Awareness of current events in our world
Historical Perspective/Country Context
A Skill Set
Building Teams & Collaboration
Selecting and developing talented people
Managing Differences
Communicating Vision
Influencing and Leading Change
A Heart Set
Self Awareness & Reflection
Desire to have positive relationships with a broad range of people
Openness to experiences

5. Mind Set Historical knowledge/country context
Cultural practices (Confucian: Filiel Piety)
Underlying assumptions
Let’s play . . .

6. Skill Set: Collaboration

7. In Country Experiences
Breadth of Business Industry Visits (e.g. in China):
Hill and Knowlton (advertising)
Lenovo (technology, manufacturing)
Wine industry (Consumer products)
Volkswagen (manufacturing)

8. In Country: Cultural Visits
In China
Great Wall
Hutongs
Forbidden City
The Bund
Silk Factory in Shanghai
In Italy
Pompeii
The Duomo
The Coliseum and Forum
Leather crafting (Florentine boxes)
Sistine Chapel

9. Heart Set: Openness to Experiences

10. Learning Integration Journal summaries/ reflection on learnings
Visual reminders of our shared experiences: Photobooks!

11. Outcomes: Student Reflections
“…what will remain with me for years into my life will be the little comical stories of mountaineering The Great Wall.”
“All of these will fall short of my most memorable events; these are the experiences I shared, the conversations I had with my fellow explorers as we had these shared experiences that deepened our understanding of culture and of ourselves.”
“I guess what I noticed the most is how each small business seemed family owned.  As we walked through towns near famous monuments, many small businesses advertised outside of their businesses and encouraged shoppers and tourists to come in. They emphasized the "Italian" way of life. It showed their cultural pride.”

12. Outcomes: Student Reflections
“Having this remarkable learning experience will serve as a new foundation for my choices and actions now in my business, my leadership role, and personal life. My understanding of diversity and culture has deepened beyond what I imagined before I had these experiences in China! You can’t just read about diversity and think you know.”

13. Competencies of Global Leadership

14. What we know . . .
Globalization and multicultural competencies WILL make a difference
These are developable skills and abilities
You can’t get there through YouTube . . .
Make the choice to continue to learn beyond our “borders” – perceptual and cultural
Take initiative, explore – Invest in your development as a global leader; citizen of the world

15. Look for the remarkable and the subtle, it’s all there
Look for the remarkable and the subtle, it’s all there If you choose to see.
Things to think about…
Pick the right travel partner
Pick the right company
Things will happen – be flexible
Get course work done before traveling
Provide travel tips
University policies (liability issues, insurance, course requirements)
Let students have free time