Tallinn, Estonia Learning from Web Docs 8 a New Challenge for Trainers SIETAR Europa Congress Estonia 11 September 18-21, 2013 at the Crossroads Between East and West
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SIETAREUROPA Journal June-August 2013 Contents (for quick navigation, click on the desired article) Editorial 2 Peter Franklin 3 One of the leading researchers in intercultural communications and management Tallinn, Estonia Learning from Web Docs 8 A new challenge for trainers SIETAR Europa Congress Estonia 11 September 18-21, 2013 At the crossroads between east and west Of Balance and Social Biology 15 Dimensions or Personality Types 18 Book Reviews 21 Events, workshops, 25 congresses Impressum SIETAR Europa 637 bd de la Tavernière Residence l’Argentière - Bât E F - 06210 Mandelieu la Napoule Tel.: +33 4 93 93 36 59 [email protected] www.sietareu.org SIETAREUROPA Journal - June-August 2013 Contents (for quick navigation, click on the desired article) Editorial 2 SIETAR Journal Peter Franklin 3 One of the leading researchers in intercultural communications Editorial and management Learning from Web Docs 8 A new challenge for trainers Estonia 11 The Upcoming SIETAR Europa Congress in Tallinn, Estonia At the crossroads between We devote this issue to Estonia, a nation of fascinating For our interview we’ve chosen Peter Franklin, an out- east and west contrasts, which also happens to be our host country for standing researcher and trainer in intercultural commu- the next SIETAR Europa congress. A land of forests and nication and management, who talks about some of the Of Balance and Social Biology 15 coastline imbued with a rich tapestry of history and legend, issues facing the field. What makes him fascinating, in this Baltic country is an absolute gem to discover. Read addition to his work in the British and German academic Dimensions or Personality Types 18 more from Sietar member Kati Volt, who provides us with worlds, is the passion he brings to the table, as demon- a passionate view of what it means to be an Estonian. strated in the Dialogin.com website he created and runs. Book Reviews 21 (pages 11-15) (pages 3-7) Events, workshops, 25 The SIETAR Europa board has chosen Tallinn, the capi- And Dan MacLeod, our Canadian-American correspon- congresses tal, for September’s Congress. A UNESCO World Heritage dent, takes us on a journey…back to what most of us left site known for its well-preserved Hanseatic mediaeval ar- behind when we left high school — science! (pages 15- chitecture, the old town both inspires and energizes--the 17). ideal place for exchanging intercultural experiences. For more information about this event, and to register, click on page 23. A pre-congress workshop kicks things off and the concur- rent film festival will feature “Editing Your Own Video for Work and Personal Purposes”. Sietar members Vittorio Canavese and Sergio Di Giorgi have written a delightful article on how video films are revolutionizing the internet Patrick Schmidt SIETAR Europa world. (page 8) Editor-in-chief 637 bd de la Tavernière Residence l’Argentière - Bât E 06210 Mandelieu la Napoule FRANCE Tel.: +33 4 93 93 36 59 [email protected] www.sietareu.org Page 2 SIETAREUROPA Journal - June-August 2013 Contents (for quick navigation, click on the desired article) Peter Franklin Editorial 2 Peter Franklin 3 One of the leading researchers An interview with one of the in intercultural communications and management leading researchers in intercultural Learning from Web Docs 8 communications and management A new challenge for trainers Estonia 11 At the crossroads between he study of intercultural management — how people created and manages the highly-acclaimed “dialogin.com” east and west T of different cultural backgrounds come together and website as well, providing interculturalists with a platform for “make a deal work” — has become an important and excit- forums, book reviews and articles. And with a German wife Of Balance and Social Biology 15 ing field of research. And rightly so — with the exponential and three bilingual children, he thrives at juggling British and growth of globalization, there has been a demand for a more German values--an interculturalist par excellence. Dimensions or Personality Types 18 systematic understanding of the diversity and complexity of people’s behaviors. Wanting to know more about Peter Franklin’s background Book Reviews 21 and his on-going activities, I visited him at his home in the Intercultural management is continually evolving and cer- German village of Hemmenhofen on Lake Constance. Events, workshops, 25 tainly more sophisticated than it was 30 years ago. Then, congresses researchers naively assumed that work behavior was univer- Let’s begin with your roots. What were the early expe- sal — what was true for Americans was also true for peo- riences which led you to become an intercultural re- ple from other countries working worldwide. We now know searcher? this was fundamentally wrong. Although cultural differences Well, I was born in the port town of Dover in southeast Eng- are often hard to decipher, and may appear bizarre at first, land. We lived in Deal, a few kilometers up the coast. On a we’ve learned that cross-cultural management works. But it clear day we’d look across the English Channel and say, “Oh, requires developing a profound and dialectic understanding you can see France today.” I suppose the continent of Europe of attitudes, thinking patterns and behavior. In short, intercul- was more present in my life for me than many other Brits. tural competence. My parents were open to the outside world, though they One person who seeks to advance our knowledge while de- themselves had very little traveling experience. My mother veloping the best practices for international companies is Pe- did go on a school exchange to Dortmund, Germany in 1936 ter Franklin. Professor at the Konstanz University of Applied but it was only for a few weeks. Still, they obviously thought Sciences and co-author of the books ‘The Mindful Interna- contact with other cultures was important because they en- tional Manager’ - an expanded editionis coming out in 2014 couraged me to take part in two school exchanges with the - and ‘Intercultural Interaction’, he’s a British national who is city Koblenz. This certainly influenced my subjects at A levels, perfectly integrated with the German academic world. He when I chose English, French and German. Page 3 SIETAREUROPA Journal - June-August 2013 Contents (for quick navigation, click on the desired article) Peter Franklin Editorial 2 Peter Franklin 3 — continued One of the leading researchers in intercultural communications and management Living in the Austrian city of Innsbruck Learning from Web Docs 8 as a young teacher was Peter Franklin’s A new challenge for trainers first real intercultural experience. Estonia 11 At the crossroads between I was accepted at Cambridge University where I studied mod- That’s a question I ask myself at times. You could say that east and west ern and medieval German, Swedish and English. I expressly my interest in interculturalism developed through a number chose Swedish because I wanted the experience of learning of chance events. Of Balance and Social Biology 15 a foreign language from zero as an adult. I knew what it was like to learn French and German as an eleven-year-old but at While I was at Cambridge, I decided to spend a year in Inns- Dimensions or Personality Types 18 18, you approach the task in a different way. So, just before bruck, Austria, working as a foreign language assistant. I, like beginning my studies I went to Sweden for six weeks to start many other language teachers, had this belief that successful Book Reviews 21 learning the language. cross-cultural communication was simply a good mastery of the language. Very quickly, I learned otherwise. Events, workshops, 25 Then I went to West Berlin for four months. This was in 1974 congresses and it was an absolute eye-opener for a young man like me. I On my first day in Innsbruck, I went to the train station to pick got to know the German way of life and spent a lot of time go- up my baggage. I thought I could speak German, but the rail- ing to concerts and plays - and bars and pubs. And I worked way official spoke with a broad Tyrolean accent--I had no idea in the Wertheim’s men’s department on Kurfürstendamm sell- what he was talking about! It was a big surprise for me and at ing shirts and ties, my first real intercultural experience! the same time a good lesson in intercultural humility. You studied at Cambridge. Did you have the advantage Despite this small setback, that year teaching English to Aus- of a private school education? trian children was a wonderful experience and made me real- Not at all. I just went to normal state, grammar school. My fa- ize that teaching was my calling in life. So, after finishing my ther didn’t go to university and my mother only did a two-year studies, I took a job teaching English at a language school in course to train as a teacher. Nevertheless, my family attached Cologne. My plan was to stay in Germany for two years but, a lot of importance to education. My sister and I were encour- after 18 months, I received an offer to teach English and cul- aged to work hard, and we were the first in our family to have tural studies at the Aachen Technical University. That was an a university education. interesting intercultural experience because the city is located where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands met. After six How did you get into intercultural teaching and research years there, I was hired at the University of Duisburg, which in Germany? is close to the Dutch border.