P r o g r a m s ::.

Cross Cultural Partnership ( Workshop Examples )

Building Western / Asian Cross-Cultural Partnership
 

The following agenda will be tailored to the specific countries you wish to focus on.

A. Workshop Rational
Working with people from different cultures is commonplace in today’s international business world.  Joint ventures, inter-departmental teams, project teams, task teams, virtual teams – all depend on effective co-operation between people from different cultures for their success.  Hence, it is vitally important that executives involved in these teams develop a high level of multi-cultural skills.  Audits are regularly done to identify technical and financial problems when they occur; yet we seldom audit people and cultural issues that can have an enormous impact on business effectiveness and profitability.  The workshop will enable participants to develop expertise in PMCG’s 4 skills - “DETECT”, “AUDIT”, and “RECONCILE” cultural issues, as well as develop expertise in face-to-face “CONNECTOR” skills. 

• CULTURAL “DETECTIVE”
  investigating relationship, team, project and organisational issues
• CULTURAL “AUDITOR”
  identifying and analysing cultural patterns influencing projects
• CULTURAL “RECONCILER” 
  developing skills to integrate, reconcile and improve cultural issues within teams and organisations
• CULTURAL “CONNECTOR”
  improving “face to face” cultural connecting skills

Numerous case studies drawn from workshop leader Philip Merry's 31 years consulting experience in 33 countries. A mixture of content input and interactive/experiential exercises, will enable participants to gain a real appreciation of culture's influence on communication and the ability to apply the learning to their business. The culture audit for the workshop is based on the work of Dr. Fons Trompenaars & Dr Charles Hampden-Turner (THT) authors of the award winning best seller "Riding the Waves of Culture" – the number culture one model used in business today. The research work – begun originally in Shell - hi -lights the cultural differences between 51 countries, and is internationally acclaimed for integrating culture and business issues; it has won a variety of international awards Participants will receive a copy of the book, as well as a personal culture profile which gives vital personal learning as it allows participants to compare their profile with typical Asian or Western cultural values. The profile also indicates the group’s cultural profiles against individual group members can compare themselves. A review of the book says: - "(Riding the Waves of Culture has) an extraordinary database from which to draw recommendations for innovative management practices stemming from cultural differences. This is the "hot" new "global" business book, an essential resource." Philip Merry has been the Asian partner of Trompenaars for 8 years – and in his work with a variety of Global Companies he has adapted the model to Asian situations.

B. Workshop Outcomes – these will be adjusted to suit your organisational needs
By attending this workshop you will: 

• Master trans-cultural skills vital for business success
• Become aware of your own culture values and where they come from
• Understand the mind of your Asian/Western partner
• Learn to reconcile cultural differences
• Clarify the key differences between Asian and Western values and their impact on business
• Improve teamwork between staff from different cultures
• Understand how to select and develop Asian staff for Western settings
• Understand how to select and develop Western staff for Asian settings
• Gain insight into how culture affects technology transfer
• Understand cultures' influence on national economic development
• Understand country "image" and its impact on Global success
• Understand protocol of working in Asia
• Understand the dynamics of culture shock and how to avoid it
• Receive a personal cultural profile based on the THT culture model  

C. Agenda (other issues can be added based on your organisational needs)

• Cultural Business Drivers – participants examine what are the cultural issues in their own organisation
• Components of Culture – the 3 levels of culture focussing on where our cultural values come from and how they are learnt
• Culture and profitability – participants examine how culture impacts their ability to make money. Many companies do not understand how lack of cultural awareness is affecting the bottom line either through lost sales/partner opportunities, or lack of internal efficiency caused by mis-communication between as colleagues from different cultures
• Cross Cultural leadership competence – participants understand the primacy if cultural understanding as a key leadership skill in today’s “connected” world  
• Detecting, Auditing, Integrating and Connecting Cultural issues – participants develop competence in the 4 key cross cultural skills
• Selecting and developing leaders for cross cultural competence – often selection decisions of all types are made with little attention being paid to the issues of both the cultural background of the selector and the candidate 
• Differences between Asian and Western leadership styles – participants examine the many problems caused because of different perceptions of “east and west”
• Working in Asia – participants examine how to work effectively with the different cultures of Asia (participants choose the countries for focus)
• Asians working with other Asians – participants focus on the clashes that can sometimes arise between Asians
• Culture Shock – participants understand the components of culture shock, how it can affect performance and how to combat it
• Causes of conflict between cultures – participants examine how different approaches to dealing conflict can often make the conflict worse, and learn how to “flex” their style
• Culture's effect on negotiations – participants work on a situation which has broken down due to cultural misunderstanding and develop a effectiveness
• Joint Ventures success – all of the research on partnerships indicate that the major problems are caused by lack of understanding both the national and corporate cultures – participants examine the impact on their own company partnerships
• Human resource policies and motivation across cultures – participants examine the different drives of cultures and how to tap into those drives to ensure optimum performance
• Cross cultural communication – examination of the intricacies of direct and diplomatic styles in all of its verbal and non verbal forms
• 42 tips for doing business with other cultures
• 50 tips for managing and being managed by other cultures
• 3 Step Model for business success across cultures : -
  • Step 1. Be aware of your own cultural conditioning
  • Step 2. Understand and Respect the differences in the other culture
  • Step 3. Reconcile the differences
• 7 D Model indicating key Differences between Cultures
  • Rules - one universal rule or special circumstances?
  • Work Behaviour - individualistic or group harmony?
  • Emotions - reserved or more freely expressed?
  • Level of Involvement – partial or whole?
  • Status - what you are or what you do?
  • Control - Internal or External?
  • Time - Synchronic or sequential?

D. Method
The workshop will be highly practical with a mixture of short content inputs and interactive/experiential exercises. Individual and group exercises will enable participants to gain a real appreciation of culture's influence on behaviour and communication. Numerous business case studies and dilemmas drawn from Philip Merry's 31 years consulting experience in 33 countries will form the basis of the practical work. Methods will include: - short lectures, interactive/experiential exercises, Individual exercises, group discussions, simulations, role-plays, and paired discussion.

E. Who Should Attend

• Teams made up of different cultures that need to improve their effectiveness
• Anyone developing regional and global strategies
• Anyone working with those from other culture where cultural partnership is important for teamwork and business success
• Asians working with Westerners
• Westerners working with Asians
• Asians needing to understand other Asian cultures
• Marketing and Sales people working in the global marketplace
• HR managers developing culture sensitive policies
• Anyone with responsibility for technology transfer across cultures

F. Participants will receive: -

1. A copy of the internationally acclaimed "Riding the Waves of Culture" which won the award for International professional practice from the American Society of Training and Development, and book of the year from the Order of Experts and Consultants on Organisations - a European Management Organisation.
2. "A Personal Culture Profile" - indicating your relation to the 7D Model
3. A copy of "The Better Business Guide to International Management."
4. Participant manual

Inter-Cultural On-Boarding
 

Starting a new job and relocating to a new country are widely recognised as two of life’s Top 10 greatest stressors.  Yet with relocations and cross-country recruitment, individuals are experiencing these major stressors simultaneously, and often with little or superficial support. For most professionals who find themselves in this situation, the first three to twelve months are make or break – both for themselves and their families.  This is typically a challenging time with plenty of opportunities for mistakes and growth – and usually in that order!  Many employers, and often the individuals themselves, underestimate the severity of dislocation and the complexity of effective intercultural onboarding.  The probability of relocation failure has been sited as above 60%.  This means that “less than 40% of expatriates succeed in their missions abroad” [1].  A significant number of expatriates are repatriated before the scheduled end of their assignments and “up to 50 per cent of expatriates who remain in their positions until the end of their assignments operate at a low level of effectiveness” [2]

Because of high level responsibilities and in order to develop global leaders internally, most companies tend to select their best performing and highest potential staff for critical international assignments.  All too often however, these companies assume that, because an individual has been a top performer in their ‘home’ country, that they will thrive and succeed in the new environment with just a cultural briefing session to orient them, followed by a bit of personal trial and error.  In other words, their top talent (and their families) get pretty much thrown to the lions.

Experience and research has shown that little, ad hoc or superficial onboarding assistance is just not enough and, in fact, represents a major business risk, especially for pivotal roles.  Organisations should not underestimate “the risk of employee derailment typically connected with international assignments; high expatriate attrition rates associated with a variety of job-and family-related factors result in significant losses of high-potential talent and negative financial return for the global enterprise.” [3]

While it’s appropriate and, indeed, critical for someone in a new culture to try their own ways of handling the new situations they encounter, they shouldn’t have to do this alone, without experienced, quality support. 

Typical situations in which someone arriving in a new culture, country or region may find themselves include:

• Underestimating the impact of culture shock and dislocation
• Applying what made them successful ‘at home’ in their new work environment – and being surprised by achieving less success
• Managing a complex team consisting of staff from diverse cultures and backgrounds who aren’t operating with sufficient leverage
• Managing teams or projects with people from different locations in a distributed, ‘virtual’ which exaggerates communication challenges
• Heavy travel schedules that only allow for limited, fragmented time in each location, leading to superficial connections and inadequate relationships with clients, staff and other key stakeholders
• Crucial business relationships or initiatives that look OK on the surface but are inexplicably going nowhere
• Deals that appeared to be progressing well but derail seemingly at the last moment
• Losing a major client or contract because important cultural and relationship issues were violated.
• Not understanding and/or handling partner and family challenges – leading to personal problems that damage family relationships and derail the assignment
• Assuming that because they previously worked in a diverse, multicultural workforce at ‘home’, that they are equipped to deal with cultures effectively in their ‘own’ location(s).

Exciting and challenging?  Yes.  Easy and quick to master?  No.  Our experience suggests that most difficulties with business deals, project, clients, joint ventures, bosses, peers and staff are due to misunderstanding in interpersonal communications and relationship building across cultures.  Profits and productivity suffer; deals and clients are lost; bosses are disappointed; colleagues are distanced; staff become disenfranchised; personal relationships are damaged; families are fragmented … and even top talent can be derailed.

While everyone has their own adaptation and mastery experiences, path and timing, the overall pattern to this process is usually predictable.  Our intercultural onboarding services, while customised to the relocating individual, are built around the following recognised transitional periods:

• The Honeymoon (Typically from Selection / Month 1): A time when people think ‘how exciting!’ but often underestimate the complexity of assimilation. Interactions are usually based on ‘home’ patterns, good intentions, and stereotypical / simplistic cultural do’s and don’ts.  Fortunately, most staff & clients excuse mishaps and mistakes.
• Turning the Corner (Typically months 2-3): This is a critical period as ‘both sides’ start to live with the reality of the changes.  By now, the individual has a more accurate picture of the complexity of the change they are facing … and, like a pendulum, may oscillate between thoughts of ‘I’m Exhilarated By The Challenges Ahead’ to ‘What Have I Taken On?”.  At the same time, staff and clients start to stop ‘forgiving’ and start forming opinions - potentially lasting ones.  Accompanying partners and children may start experiencing / expressing their own personal challenges & frustrations.
• Make or Break (Typically Months 3-9): This is a time of purposeful experimentation and conscious adaptation strategies. Signs of real progress and interpersonal success are needed for the sanity and confidence of the individual, their family and the organization.  This is an active growth period when the individual knows enough to start making a difference and forge positive relationships.  Lessons learned from active trial and error are paramount here.  Without positive progress and real wins, doubt and despondency can set in, as to whether or not the individual (and family) can ‘make it’ through.
• Consolidation Period (Typically Months 6-12): This is a time when new skills, behaviours and styles become increasingly ‘natural’ and part of the individual’s everyday repertoire.  This often includes subtle or more major shifts in personal values.  These changes can be positive or maladaptive.  During this period ongoing frustration, ‘digging in’ to retain ‘old’ ways, interpersonal estrangement (either at work or home) and even misplaced arrogance can murmur or erupt – either situational or more enduringly.  Lacklustre performance from usual star performers may also occur but go unnoticed or tolerated, without providing productive interventions.

Traditional orientation services are extremely useful in helping people settle into their new culture or country and find their way around in the first month or so.  What most relocated working individuals crave for, however, is just-in-time, long lasting, relevant assimilation assistance, tailored specifically to their unique needs.   Our coaching service for intercultural onboarding provide this missing link and are designed to provide individuals with a 1-1 personalised resource to assist their navigation through these critical periods.  This can be expanded, as needed or desired, to include the key stakeholders including organisational sponsors and family members.

 Typical benefits our clients gain from the coaching relationship include:

• Onboarding suggestions for approaching the ‘first 100 – 200 –365 days’
• Awareness of orientations that can typically be expected of the specific cultures the individual is working with - without erroneous, simplistic stereotyping
• Practical guidelines for basic ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ when dealing with particular cultures and cultural orientations
• A sounding board for asking those ‘embarrassing’ questions people feel they should have the answers to
• A realisation that ‘culture’ is learned and all individuals will have their own unique profile based on their background, experiences and free will
• A grasp of simple, practical frameworks for understanding their own and other people’s cultural orientations, preferences and styles
• Clarity as to their own cultural profile and communication preferences to serve as the base from which they view the world and operate personally.  An understanding of how these influence their own behaviour and impact on interactions with others form the foundation for effective communications and relationships
• Identification and exploration of the specific situations the individual is involved in. By working through actual work challenges, the ‘why’ behind them is uncovered to get to the heart of the presenting issue
• Specific goals that address the core issues the individual is committed to addressing
• Practical strategies to apply in real work situations and critical relationships
• The ability to work sensitively and effectively with others, while retaining their own personal style and authenticity.

Today’s workforce (and society’s) demographics are more complex and hybrid than ever before.  There is rarely any such thing as ‘pure’ culture anymore, except perhaps in the most remote pockets of the world.  These days it’s quite possible to find yourself working in Singapore with a Malaysian who … has a Chinese father and a Portuguese mother … who was educated in the United Kingdom …who has lived in Australia and mainland China …who has worked for a French and Japanese company and … who is married to an Indonesian.  Each of these cultural inputs (and other factors) is likely to have influenced the individual and their cultural profile and communication style.  Yet if meeting this person, people might make assumptions about her from their own beliefs about a ‘typical Malay’.  It is also important to understand that a Malaysian (or any other culture) who has never left their country, while likely to have had many predictable cultural influences, will definitely have unique values, behaviours and influences that make them who they are – both in line with and contrary to their ‘expected’ cultural profile. . 

Our coaching services aim to minimise naive stereotyping that can prevent true interpersonal connection and result in poor interactions and damaged relationships.  Cultural profiles and personality profiling are valuable tools that help us interprete and frame our interactions, experiences and responses with people.  These simple tools and personal insights act as vital navigation instruments, rather than straight jackets, to help individuals understand themselves and the people they come in contact with better - irrespective of their apparent culture - to  better understand their behaviour, values and operating styles, and thereby become more effective in building connecting relationships and achieving ‘win-win’ business outcomes.

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