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Dr. Jaime Wurzel is the founder and
president of the Intercultural
Resource Corporation. Dr. Wurzel was born in Bolivia and has lived, studied and lectured in Latin America,
Europe and the Middle East. He is the author of numerous articles, and his book, Toward Multiculturalism , is widely used
in schools and universities. His forthcoming book, In the Universe of Sudden
Changes: Reflections on Cultural Identity, received the Boston University
Humanities Foundation Award. Dr. Wurzel is the
former Director of Intercultural
Studies at Boston University and is currently an
Associate Professor of Education at
Salem State College. In addition to producing all of IRC's products,
Dr. Wurzel served as the executive producer of The Multicultural Workplace,
a video produced by PBS (WGHB).
He is a permanent faculty member at the Intercultural Communication Institute
in Portland Oregon and serves on the Board of Directors of the United States Chapter
of SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research). He has consulted
and conducted seminars nationally and internationally on cultural variation, diversity, organizational development, and team-building.
Dr. Wurzel's interview on "The Edge" |
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Culture is knowledge. We live by the shared and learned information patterns
that we use collectively to generate rules and meaning.
Culture is dynamic. Because culture forms around a set of learned behaviors and norms,
new experience transforms our cultural perceptions.
Culture can lead to conflict. When disparate systems of cultural knowledge try to
coexist in the same social environment, the unresolved cultural misunderstandings that result can lead to
ineffective organizational behavior, social tension,
isolation, prejudice, mistrust, discomfort, or outbursts of emotion.
Culture can be taught. Because culture forms
around a set of conscious and unconscious learned behaviors and norms,
new experiences, presented in a systematic way can transform our cultural
perceptions and improve our everyday interactions.
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Our Mission
By employing the principles of anthropology, sociology, linguistics, psychology, educational theory, and organizational behavior, IRC:
- Produces high-quality multimedia educational and training materials designed to promote intercultural competence.
- Produces standardized or customized assessment tools to facilitate organizational effectiveness.
- Provides training to improve the productivity and spirit of working teams.
- Advances organizational change through cultural fusion.
- Links people across the classroom, across the conference table, and across the world.
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