SUMMARY OF THE PARTNERSHIP

There is a growing awareness that cross-cultural skills development is needed to face the challenges of globalisation on labour markets. To succeed in a work place abroad, no matter if it is during studies or later as a job seeker in a foreign environment can be very challenging. In order to succeed in both, knowledge about working cultures is a necessity.

During work placements abroad, students get to see different habits, customs, ways to communicate, values, ways to approach things, occupational health care, after-work activities etc at work places. These and many more make up what is called Working Culture.

The students at our schools would benefit greatly if they could enlarge their own thinking, i.e. realise that the way how things are done in their own country is not the only way, but that there are many possible approaches. It would be good to help them be open to new things and ways, to differences, to help them not be ethnocentric.

Our partnership is composed of organisations in vocational education, and working culture is connected very closely to the colleges’ every day life. Each partner will take on a specific area of the work according to the common plan made in the kick off meeting in Finland.

The starting point is that students and teachers visit a work place – including schools – in a foreign country, keeping their eyes and minds open. Also, we have to bear in mind that there are differences in working cultures within one and the same country. In this project we are, however, more interested in whether there are typical, culturally bound features in working cultures.

The aim in this project is that some of the features to be studied, will be already defined at the time of applying, but our purpose is also to be open for the fact that during the process, participating teachers and students introduce factors that are essential from their point of view. By doing like this, Finns as the coordinator, try to make sure that there is room for cultural diversity.

The tangible outcome of the project (DVD, brochure or equivalent) can be utilised as material in language and cultural preparation for students who will have their work placement abroad. This is very much needed at least in Finland. Intangible outcomes would include an increase in cultural knowledge and experience, the ability to implement cultural knowledge within organisations, developed communication, tolerance towards cultural diversity and differences, and better quality of on-the-job periods abroad and at home.

First Project Meeting in Mikkeli, Finland - 2 - 6 November, 2009




In Mikkeli only teachers participated to review and finalise the schedules determioned in the application and plan the next two years' tasks. We also decided to use the abbreviation "WoCu"  for the project name.

The objectives were:
- description of Working Culture, that is what themes or factors make up work culture
- evaluation form made by Hungarian partner reviewed and finalised
- participants learn to use Moodle
- participants visit a Finnish work place

Themes or Factors Making up Working Culture:

Geert Hofstede (the Netherlands)

  • Low vs. high power distance: The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally
  • Individualism vs. collectivism
  • Masculinity vs. femininity: value placed on traditionally male or female values
  • Uncertainty avoidance: the extent to which members of a society attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing uncertainty
Fons Trompenaars (the Netherlands)

  • Universalism vs. particularism: What is more an important, rule or relationships?
  • Neutral vs. emotional: Do we display our emotions?
  • Specific vs. diffuse: Is responsibility specifically assigned or diffusely (loosely) accepted?
  • Achievement vs. ascription: Do we have to prove ourselves to receive status or is it given to us?
  • Sequential vs. synchronic: Do we do things one at a time or several things at once?
  • Internal vs. external control: Do we control our environment or are we controlled by it?

    Blueprint for the Working Culture Presentations :
  • Some of the themes can be observed, some have to be interviewed, and some of them can be photographed (if allowed). Students use the form developed for this project.
  • The observations and questionnaires are made during work placement in home country.
  • One presentation per country, it has to be completed before week 12 / 2010.
  • Power Point presentation with photos, videos, texts, sounds.
  • The project will use a common logo designed by students that is made in each country, then the logo will be selected in Italy during week 12 / 2010.
  • In Italy, all three presentations are shown and compared and reflected, and after visiting Italian companies the experiences, similarities and differences are studied and noted down. This list is a preliminary outcome of WoCu. The final outcome will be an analysis of the similarities and differences in the working cultures in our three countries.


    Preparations for Project Meeting in Italy:
  • Italian partners compile a questionnaire in electronic form to be used by the students at work places. The questionnaire will be ready by Christmas 2009, available in the Moodle.
  • The students in each country will prepare a slide show of minimum 8 and maximum 16 slides based on the questionnaire, by February 2010. The students visit several companies, but only one presentation will be made in each country. This presentation is then introduced in the next project meeting in Italy.
  • Students for the project meeting in Italy are selected before Christmas 2009.

    We also visited two Finnish workplaces: Jeven Ltd. and Pietarinpirtti Elderly Care Home. Thanks to our very friendly and welcoming hosts, we gained lots of useful information about Finnish working culture, finding lots of similar but also different features compared to the Hungarian one.
dátum: 9/02/2009

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