Connie Yuan is a professor in the Department of Communication and the Department of Global Development at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Professor Yuan teaches and conducts research in the areas of organizational communication and intercultural communication. She is particularly interested in studying knowledge management through the development of social capital and the adoption and usage of information and communication technology. Professor Yuan’s recent research has focused on examining cultural differences in cognition and decision making; for instance, the different ways in which American and Chinese people react to climate change initiatives and obtain health information. She has also explored how differences in communication styles between the East and the West influence the effectiveness of intercultural collaboration and expertise sharing. Trained in both Taoist and Buddhist meditation tradition, Professor Yuan has been meditating almost daily since 2012.
Navigating Diversity and Cultural DifferencesCornell Course
Course Overview
The social sciences emphasize three elements when it comes to navigating diversity and cultural differences. The first is cognitive: Do you know what to do? Another is affective: Can you feel for others? The last is behavior: Can you carry out the appropriate behavior? This course explores various dimensions of diversity and cultural difference. It starts by providing an introduction to several scholarly approaches that you can use to identify the intercultural dynamics at play within your organization. You'll also look at a variety of ways that business leaders effectively manage intercultural conflict and use this during your meditation to reflect on your own strategies for managing conflict.
The mental rehearsal that mindful meditation allows us is a jumping-off point, and from here you'll look at many East/West cultural comparisons. Through instruction and exercises, you will have the opportunity to expand your focus beyond geographic, national, education, and racial differences to cultural comparisons that are relevant to personal situations. As you engage in meditation, you will explore the connectedness of humanity across cultural differences. Finally, you will explore stories of companies that grew to command a global presence to see how a diversity mindset — or lack thereof — affected innovation. This will include reflection on your own attitude toward inclusiveness and how it can enable positive change.
You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:
- Using Mindful Meditation to Strengthen Relationships
Key Course Takeaways
- Identify intercultural dynamics within organizations
- Manage intercultural conflict in your teams
- Develop a diversity mindset to enable innovation
How It Works
Course Author
Who Should Enroll
- Individual contributors
- Managers
- Executives
- Global leaders
- Business leaders
- Entrepreneurs
- Anyone in a collaborative role, specifically interculturally
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