Critical incidents are brief descriptions in which there is a misunderstanding, problem or conflict arising from cultural differences between interacting parties or where there is a problem of cross-cultural adaptation. Your critical incident should be based on personal experience. It can deal with any subject as long as it discusses a situation in which you interacted with members of another culture and in which misunderstandings were caused by cultural differences or you had to use your cross-cultural skills to prevent misunderstandings from arising. To write this critical incident you should follow the following five steps (based on Fowler & Mumford, 1995):
1. Identify the event or situation as clearly as possible, the problem to be solved, the issue involved, etc.
2. Describe the relevant details and circumstances surrounding the event, so that the readers will understand what happened. (What? When? How? Why? Where?)
3. List the people involved: describe them and their relationships to you and to one another (Who?)
4. Describe your own role in the situation (that is, what you did and how you acted) and identify the particular cultural differences and/ or cross-cultural skills or skill involved. How well or badly did you understand the situation? How well or badly did you use the skill involved? What would you do differently next time? Describe your interpretations of the events.
5. Write an analysis of the incident
Assessment criteria:
• Logic and flow of argument;
• Ability to present your findings clearly and succinctly;
• Application of key relevant theories and concepts;
• Research skills and use of data to support the analysis;
• Recommendations and tradeoffs identified in analysis;
• Relevance to the topic;
• Effective overall strategy, adequate introduction, body, and conclusion;
• Presentation: word limit; layout; referencing and bibliography.