Knowledge Clips
Prior to watching the following knowledge clips, we kindly ask that you read the legal disclaimer.
The intention of the following knowledge clips is to serve as an introduction, support or reference material, in addition to student contact hour lectures.
- Part 1: Assignment A – language in Context.
- Part 2: Assignment B – Language in Context.
- Part 3: Assignment C – Language in Context.
- Part 4: Hofstede Dimensions which can be reused for the other 3 assignments.
Part 1: Assignment A – language in Context.
Assignment A – Personal Essay Cultural Self Analysis
Video Examples
Part 1:
Moral Circle
A Moral Circle represents those who share one group identity & adhere to a common set of rules (Hofstede, 2009).
Dutch Perspective (spoken in English)
Dutch Perspective (spoken in Dutch)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in Polish).
Social Norms
What is a Social Norm?
Social norms or mores are the rules of behaviour that are considered acceptable in a group or society. People who do not follow these norms may be shunned or suffer some kind of consequence. Norms change according to the environment or situation and may change or be modified over time.
Dutch Perpective (spoken in English)
Dutch Perpective (spoken in Dutch).
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in Polish).
Taboo
A social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Dutch perspective (spoken in Dutch)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in Polish)
Inhibitive
Feeling uncomfortable, and not confident enough to say or do what you want.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Dutch perspective (spoken in Dutch)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in Polish)
Prohibitive
Unwilling to participate in a particular action – a violation of your moral standard.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Dutch perspective (spoken in Dutch)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Origin
Who am I? Who are we? identity; beliefs, values; personal, physical, mental, social & spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities & cultures.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Dutch perspective (spoken in Dutch)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in Polish)
Process
What is the meaning of “where”& “when”? Explores personal histories; homes and journeys; turning points in humankind; discoveries; explorations & migrations of humankind; the relationships between, & the interconnectedness of, individuals and civilizations, from personal, local & global perspectives.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Dutch perspective (spoken in Dutch)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in Polish)
Product
What is the nature and purpose of creative expression? How we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend & enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Dutch perspective (spoken in Dutch)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in Polish)
Context
How do we understand the world in which we live? Explores the natural world & its laws; the interaction between people & the natural world; how humans use their understanding of the world around them.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Dutch perspective (spoken in Dutch)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in Polish)
Impact
What are the consequences of our common humanity? Looks at rights and responsibilities; the relationship between communities; sharing finite resources with other people and with other living things; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Dutch perspective (spoken in Dutch)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in Polish)
Development
What current developments are we (you) currently engaged in?
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Hofstede Dimensions
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Part 2: Assignment B – Language in Context.
Assignment B – Peer Reflection: fostering an understanding of how your cultural identity relates to that of another student.
“to enable students to develop an awareness of themselves first, while recognizing that others are different and that others “can be right in being different” (Peel, 1997).
Video Examples
Part 2:
Narrative
The overview of a person’s life. What sort of cultural differences exist between us and why?
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Values
What are the values, mores of this person? How do these values differ from student to student?What do they have in common?
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Behaviours
Standards of behavior that are socially approved within the cultural group that is accepted by the majority.
E.g. How are power, authority & inequality are manifested in one’s own culture and that of others? How does one’s own culture regard the relationship between an individual and a group and how such a relationship is regarded by others? What is noted as prohibitive or inhibitive behavior?
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Cultural Norms
Cultural norms are the standards we live by that are morally significant. They are the shared expectations and rules that guide behavior of people within social groups. Cultural norms are learned and reinforced from parents, friends, teachers and others while growing up in a society.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Types of Norms
Mores are norms of morality. Breaking mores, (inhibitive) will offend most people of a culture.
Certain behaviors are considered taboo (prohibitive).
Laws are a formal body of rules enacted by the state and backed by the power of the state. Virtually all taboos, are enacted into law, although not all mores are.
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Respect
What is respect within yourcultural context?
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Part 3: Assignment C – Language in Context.
Assignment C –Identify and navigate the way culture influences people who work together internationally.
Part 3:
Video Examples
Identify any cultural limitations
This can include – language, cultural roles, background
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish perspective (spoken in English)
What could be perceived as either prohibitive or inhibitive issues that the organisation addresses?
How does the organisation address
issue such as:
- sexuality
- social violence
- gender identity
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish perspective (spoken in English)
Identify the Value Dimensions and how this might impact any decision processes.
- Power distance index
(PDI):
- Individualism vs. collectivism
(IDV):
- Uncertainty avoidance index
(UAI):
- Masculinity vs. femininity
(MAS):
- Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation
(LTO):
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish Perspective (spoken in English)
Cite a best practices example of the organization creating a positive solution.
E.g. ethnographic procedures
- people in their cultural setting;
- their deeds as well as words;
- the implicit as well as explicit;
- the way in which they interact with one another (social, cultural environment)
- what is said or not said?
language, symbols, rituals and shared meanings that populate their world, with the object of producing a narrative account of that particular culture, against a theoretical backdrop
Dutch perspective (spoken in English)
Polish perspective (spoken in English)
International Criminal Court Knowledge Clip:
The intention of the Knowledge Clip of the International Criminal Court navigates (1). The delicate and often prohibitive and inhibitive language and behaviour related to crimes against humanity and (2). How it establishes the rules of conduct for the many nationalities that work within the organisation. These very issues are addressed in your 3rd Assignment C, the project which will be discussed later, however important for you to learn so you can apply the theory and experience to your assignment.
Language Warning: Because The International Criminal Court uses explicit and anatomically correct language, as the role is to investigate crimes against humanity, you might feel overwhelmed with some of the language describing cases heard in the Court.
Relationship between the International Criminal Court and COIL: Why does this matter:
When students visit the International Criminal Court (ICC), they are exposed to the most visible and formal mechanisms of international criminal justice—cases of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression. These represent the extreme end of a spectrum of human conflict, where failures to recognize and respect human dignity have escalated into atrocities requiring global adjudication.
But the seeds of such injustices are rarely sown on battlefields. They begin in everyday spaces—offices, classrooms, boardrooms—where unchecked biases, stereotypes, and microaggressions accumulate. What seems “minor” in isolation can normalize exclusion, dehumanization, and silence. In this sense, microaggressions are cultural fractures: if ignored, they create conditions where larger-scale discrimination and violence can take root.
This is where the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects come in. By engaging in sustained dialogue across cultures, students actively practice noticing, questioning, and dismantling microaggressions before they harden into systemic injustice. In COIL, the act of listening across cultural lines, challenging one’s assumptions, and building shared understanding becomes a preventative practice against the kind of normalization that, left unaddressed, makes the ICC necessary.
Consequently, visiting the ICC is not just about studying international business or law—it is a sobering reminder of why cross-cultural education, like COIL, matters. The court prosecutes the worst outcomes; the classroom and virtual exchange seek to prevent them. The two experiences, paired together, illustrate a continuum: from micro-level cultural vigilance in dialogue to macro-level accountability in law. Students learn that justice is not only about punishing crimes after they happen but also about cultivating cultures of respect that stop them from happening at all.
An example of crossing boundaries:
Mr. Kukulu (Court interpreter) is from The Democratic Republic of Congo. It would be prohibitive as well as highly inhibitive for him to ever discuss with an African woman any function related to her body. Culturally this is taboo. However, because he has a very specific role (to allow her to speak in her own language, feeling safe) he interprets her narrative to the Judge without cultural bias.