Apr 30

Do You Have What it Takes to be a Global Player?

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management No Comments »

The global marketplace is an extremely competitive world where intercultural skills are no longer just an advantage but a requirement.  As companies increasingly ask their employees to work on a global scale to stay ahead of the game, they need to ensure they select people not only for their technical skills and international experience, but for their intercultural skills.

Globe 2dem10 i Do You Have What it Takes to be a Global Player?

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Employees who have extensive international experience will often have an increased awareness and understanding of other cultures and how they must adapt their style, but they may not always have the skills to adapt their style or cope with the cultural differences they encounter.  By providing employees opportunities to get international experience while at the same time supporting them with intercultural training, they will develop the intercultural competence required for international success.

So why is international experience so beneficial?  Whether through an international assignment, short business trip, training course or voluntary experience, international experience exposes people to different cultures and situations.  The more people interact, understand and integrate into other cultures, the more they will have opportunities to develop their intercultural skills and awareness.  A one-week holiday in Madrid with British friends might give you an insight into a different culture, for example, but it will not help you to develop the deeper skills and know-how to work effectively internationally.  A long-term international assignment in Singapore, on the other hand, will be much more valuable.

Toby Fowlston, Director of Commercial and Professional Services at Robert Walters, pointed out in an article by The Evening Standard that: “Overseas experience on a CV is seen as a definite positive by recruiting managers as it demonstrates a more rounded and broader knowledge”.  Employees with international experience bring with them a pool of potential new strategies, skills and perspectives which can add tremendous value to any global organisation.

Spending time abroad exposes you to different approaches to managing everyday matters in the social as well as the business sphere.  International experience alone will not give you intercultural competence however, so it is important that you actively keep an open-mind, ask questions and develop your understanding of the culture throughout the experience to understand the cultural differences at play and how they influence the business and social environments.

By combining international experience with intercultural training and an active curiosity about the culture, you can develop the following key areas.

Problem solving
Decision making, an integral part of problem solving, can be closely linked to hierarchy within a business.  Middle management tends to make decisions in flat hierarchy structures, while senior managers usually make decisions in top-down hierarchical structures.  Cultural attitudes towards hierarchy will influence how organisations are naturally structured and how people with seniority or experience are treated.  Regular exposure to other cultures through short-term visits or international assignments can help you to see different approaches and attitudes like how hierarchy impacts business so as to be better prepared to adapt your own problem-solving techniques when working internationally.

Communication
Some cultures prefer a direct communication style and use negative criticism as a means of constructive guidance.  In other cultures, quite the opposite is true and indirect communication involves consideration and moderation.  What is regarded as acceptable for some could be interpreted as inconsiderate and offensive by others.  There is no right or wrong to these styles as both clearly have their advantages and disadvantages.  International experience supported by intercultural training can help you to understand and appreciate different communication styles so that you can better anticipate any variation of approach, formality or directness in future global interactions.

Language
Fluency in a foreign language is a crucial skill that allows you to improve relationships and networking abroad, making you and your organisation more competitive in the global marketplace.  While English is the most common language of global business, it is important to understand your foreign counterparts’ language too where possible as not doing so can put you at a significant disadvantage.  If, for example, you are in conducting a meeting with some Chinese counterparts for the first time, you could lose power and credibility and even hurt your relationship if you cannot show an attempt to say a few key expressions in Mandarin.  While you will probably not be expected to speak it fluently, you can create enormous opportunities by showing an interest in the language and using it to build trust.

Intercultural competence is vital for anyone operating in the global marketplace.  It opens doors to new experiences, career opportunities and greater international performance.  The combination of international experience and an intercultural training course can solidify and enhance your ability to operate effectively on a global scale.  Through developed problem-solving, communication and language skills as well as cultural understanding and sensitivity, you will be more equipped to avoid cultural faux-pas and create opportunities where others may not be able to.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2013

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Feb 06

Leading across Cultures: Five Secrets of the World’s Top CEOs

Cross Cultural Training, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

CEOs around the globe are increasingly finding themselves working in more complex situations. With the development of more advanced technology, travelling and virtual communication are much easier and cheaper. The world is quickly turning into a ‘global village’ in which leaders can interact more closely with their teams and peers. Although working internationally has become more frequent and in most cases easier than before, leading across cultures can still be quite challenging for a number of reasons.

Meeting Neustockimages i Leading across Cultures: Five Secrets of the World’s Top CEOs

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CEOs today must demonstrate a unique combination of skills to effectively lead a global organisation to international success. In addition to core leadership skills, CEOs need other intercultural skills ranging from cultural adaptability and awareness to global communication and language skills. Global leaders with a suite of intercultural skills and knowledge will be better placed to harness and manage cross-cultural differences, no matter their cultural background or the territory they work in.

A recent article in the Guardian highlighted five skills that 70 chief executives around the globe demonstrated:

  • Passionate curiosity – interest in understanding any and every situation through questioning, listening and talking with those involved
  • Battle-hardened confidence – ability to face new and unpredictable situations with confidence
  • Team understanding – understanding of their teams – the dynamics, objectives and challenges they face
  • Simple mindset – ability to make quick and concise actions
  • Fearlessness – lack of fear for future development and the improvement of current situations

These are just a few of the skills global leaders should demonstrate for international success but there are a number of other competencies that global leaders need in order to make an even greater impact on their global teams and objectives. Some of these include:

  • Openness – an open attitude to new ways of thinking, working and behaving
  • Cultural adaptability – ability to adapt their own behaviour and judgements to different situations
  • Emotional strength – a positive attitude to life and the ability to ‘bounce back’ when things go wrong
  • Perceptiveness – ability to identify cues that are not evident in verbal language and accurately interpret and understand them
  • Cultural understanding – ability to research other cultures and increase their knowledge about traditions, values and attitudes in that environment

This is just the start of a list which could go on for pages. The important thing is for leaders to recognise that they will be required to adapt their style and skills and not just stick to the core leadership skills that may have worked so well for them before when leading across cultures .

So whether it’s having a passionate curiosity or cultural adaptability, CEOs of today’s global world need to be able to apply their skills to different cultural contexts. In doing so they will not only be able to effectively influence international communication processes but they will further break down interpersonal boundaries resulting in tremendous value for both the leader and the organisation on a global scale.

Competencies above have been taken from a number of sources including The International Profiler

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2012

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Jun 03

Working across Cultures: the Challenges of Virtual Communication

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector 3 Comments »
Business Woman on laptop 2 quavondo i Working across Cultures: the Challenges of Virtual Communication

© istockphoto.com/ Quavondo

Virtual communication is a vital asset for international business. It allows business people to hold international business meetings without having to move from their offices. It also eliminates the need to spend time and money on travel and reduces the frustration that can result from it. Virtual communication is also an excellent way of bringing together people from a variety of cultural backgrounds who offer a number of diverse perspectives and opinions that can help international organisations harness skill and knowledge from around the world.

  

Although virtual communication has a huge number of advantages, it also presents an array of challenges for a wide group of people around the world. Many people recognise that virtual communication prevents us from sharing any non-verbal communication such as gestures or facial expressions. However what they do not realise is that for many cultures, the non-verbal part of the message is actually one of the most important aspects of communication.

Virtual communication can present challenges for a vast majority of people, but it can be even more difficult for individuals in cultures that strongly emphasise relationships. When doing business with counterparts in southern Europe or South America, for instance, you may find they experience difficulties when using virtual communication. You may also find that they feel frustrated by not having the possibility to socialise directly with their international counterparts. The lack of physical contact like a pat on the shoulder or a firm handshake can also make them feel that there is definitely something missing in the message they are sending to their counterparts.

Virtual communication can also be difficult when it involves people with a different communication style. Low context communicators who rely a lot on the meaning of words, such as North Americans, are likely to find it difficult to communicate virtually with high context communicators, like Indians, who will tend to deliver part of their message with silence or non-verbal signs. In this particular case, the virtual method of communication itself becomes an obstacle.

 

Chinese businessman with cellphone i 425x283 Working across Cultures: the Challenges of Virtual Communication

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How can virtual teams overcome these difficulties? Meeting face-to-face every now and then seems to be one of the most appropriate solutions however it can be impractical and expensive. Team members are often located on different continents and moving every member for the sole purpose of having a face-to-face meeting where they can socialise and build relationships is usually unrealistic for international organisations with an eye on the bottom line.

The use of ‘friendly’ means of communication can be a good alternative to help your teams to socialise. For example, using video conferencing helps to put a face to the name and allows people to see non-verbal communication. Creating special channels of ‘small talk’ for the team such as a dedicated virtual chat room on the corporate intranet can give people the opportunity to have more informal conversations.

Effective remote working or management of virtual teams can be challenging, but intercultural training can help you develop strategies and skills to more effectively communicate with international counterparts. Communicaid’s cross cultural awareness training courses like Managing Virtual Teams or Effective Virtual Working can help you identify the most appropriate solutions and develop skills to effectively manage the virtual element.

Providing cross cultural training to a virtual team will make them aware of the potential difficulties of virtual working and ensure they find ways of making the most of their communication. It’s also a perfect opportunity to bring the team together in a face-to-face context, or they can do a virtual training session which will truly help them identify and deal with virtual challenges they face.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Mar 22

Challenges of Doing Business in India

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector 3 Comments »

India’s economy is one of the fastest growing in the world. It has seen an explosion in the increase of foreign business investment, outsourcing and Indian companies venturing overseas. Doing business in India offers immense benefits for international organisations, however there are a number of key cultural challenges that can create misunderstanding and conflict as well as huge direct and indirect costs to the organisation if overlooked.

Indian woman 4 i2 Challenges of Doing Business in India

© istockphoto.com/photosoup

Navigating the challenges of doing business in India can be difficult without a comprehensive understanding of Indian social and business culture. Going through cultural awareness training like Communicaid’s Doing Business in India programme will ensure you and your organisation have the right level of knowledge and skills to successfully deal with some of the following key challenges of doing business in India.

Attitudes towards Authority – Traditionally a caste society with roots in Hinduism, Indian culture places a high importance on authority and status. Communication between levels is relatively closed so valuable insight or suggestions from employees in lower positions will rarely be shared with their superiors. Without understanding the complexity of Indian attitudes to authority and how they impact business, organisations doing business in India will struggle to implement change as quickly as necessary, and fail to harness the experience and value of its employees.

Concepts of Time – India is a polychronic culture, in other words, people tend to change priorities depending on their importance and attitudes towards punctuality are relaxed. Most large global organisations require adherence to strict deadlines and fast decision-making, so they struggle to cope with the idea that when doing business in India, time cannot be controlled and is not absolute.  Cultural awareness training can help you better understand Indian concepts of time and develop strategies for dealing with them.

Adherence to Rules – India has a high tolerance to uncertainty and has created a society which runs on the basis of a set of assumptions. It generally accepts social etiquette and norms instead of rules and regulations. Even though rules do exist, the low level of adherence to them creates huge challenges for organisations setting up business in India who are required to follow a set of home-country regulations.

Building Relationships – The Indian business culture focuses a lot on relationship and trust building rather than working hard and quick towards specific business objectives.  A Doing Business in India cultural awareness course helps you to develop strategies to avoid the immense frustration, delayed projects, failure to reach tangible results and general clash as a result of different preferences for relationships and tasks and processes.

Levels of English – Most university graduates and Indians residing in major urban centres have a very high level of English. Understanding Indian English can be challenging, however, as a result of the different vocabulary and expressions as well as heavy accents. Many people are unaware of these differences and expect communication with Indians to be simple. Instead, many international organisations incorrectly interpret the Indian English they use to be a result of poor education and language skills. Being aware of Indian English can help you reduce misunderstandings and loss of time.

Communication Style – Indians have a preference for indirect, high context communication. In other words, Indians prefer to see the whole picture, place a high importance on the impact relationships, body language and emotion have on communication and will often avoid saying ‘no’. The differences in communication style can cause a large challenge to overcome for someone who is used to communicating in a more direct and low context way.

Understanding the cultural differences which exist when doing business in India is only the first step. International organisations must also understand the what, why and how behind them to develop strategies to effectively cope with these cultural challenges. A Doing Business in Indiacultural awareness training programme will help organisations maximise the immense opportunities and benefits of doing business in India while it will also help develop an interculturally competent workforce, giving the organisation a huge advantage in this fiercely competitive global world.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Mar 08

Challenges of Doing Business in Russia

Cross Cultural Training, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources No Comments »

Russian Palace 5 numbeos i 200x300 Challenges of Doing Business in Russia

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A huge country richly endowed with natural resources, Russia continues to develop both politically and economically. Russia’s cultural identity has been influenced by a mixture of ethnicities and a diverse history.

The largest country in the world, with the ninth largest population, Russia has recently established a consumer economy which is increasing business and investor confidence in Russia’s economic prospects.

 

While there are some clear benefits to doing business in Russia, an understanding of Russian business and social culture is essential to an international company’s success.

Punctuality – Russia is a polychronic culture, in other words, people tend to be flexible in the organisation of their priorities and attitudes towards punctuality are relaxed. Polychronic cultures also often feel it is more efficient to do several things at once; therefore meetings may not follow a linear agenda and may be interrupted by phone calls or people coming in. As a foreigner, you are expected to be on time to all business appointments, however social events are more relaxed and being up to 30 minutes late is acceptable. Patience is highly valued in the Russian society, try not to be mad when a colleague arrives late and do not expect an apology, they may simply be testing your patience.

Collectivism – Historically a country rooted in agricultural communes, Russia has maintained a collectivist spirit that pervades many sectors of society. The Russian affinity for the group can be seen in every day life, for example, Russians will often choose to join strangers in a restaurant, recreation is commonly arranged in groups and advice can sometimes be given to you by a complete stranger. This sense of co-operation and togetherness must be considered when doing business in Russia, especially when communicating. For example, it is important to remember to address the group rather than the individual.

Hierarchy – Hierarchy is an important aspect of Russian business culture with status being linked to age and position. It is important to be aware of the fact that usually meetings are held with people of equal status. Decision making is commonly done by the most senior employees in the company. Showing respect for seniority is essential for maintaining strong business relationships when doing business in Russia.

Personal relationships – Relationships start out quite formal within Russia but maintaining trust and a good working relationship from the beginning is invaluable for future business. When meeting someone for the first time, it is wise to address them by their patronymic name. This name is based on the name of the person’s father with the suffix “ovich” (son of) for men and either “ovna” or “evna” (daughter of) for women. The Russian language also has two forms of the word “you” distinguishing between the formal “vy” used to denote respect and the more casual “ty” used between friends.

Communication style – Russians tend to have a high context communication style. A high context preference translates to placing emphasis on relationships, emotions and body language and expecting the listener to read between the lines. Differing communication styles can often pose one of the most significant challenges for businesses working cross-culturally. When doing business in Russia remember that Russians are patient and will expect the same patience from you.

Negotiating – In negotiating, Russians often take their time and will not rush to make a decision. Russians tend to avoid compromise, which they see as a weakness and expect to either win or lose a negotiation. Therefore, expect negotiations to be tough and occasionally theatrical. Do not be surprised if you witness the occasional loss of temper, people leaving the room and threats to call off the deal, this is all part of the process of driving a hard bargain.

Russian woman dmbaker i 300x199 Challenges of Doing Business in Russia

© istockphoto.com/dmbaker

Although recognising that cultural differences exist is an important first step when doing business in Russia, international organisations must also understand the reasons and implications of these differences in order to develop effective strategies for coping with these challenges.

A Doing Business in Russia cross cultural training programme will help organisations maximise the benefits and opportunities of doing business in Russia. Cross cultural training programmes also create a workforce with a high level of intercultural competence which is a huge asset to any organisation working in a competitive global environment.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Mar 02

Importance of Cultural Awareness Skills for an International Workforce

Cross Cultural Training, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources No Comments »

The truly global dimension of the twenty-first century’s economy has redefined the playing field on which international companies compete. The ability to offer the right products and services in the right markets at the right prices is no longer the sole factor of success.

Having the right people with a high level of cultural awareness and intercultural competence is now key when working across borders and cultures. Rating cultural awareness as an optional skill can come at a cost for a company working globally. Cultural awareness is essential for all employees working across cultures.

Globe in hands Guillermo Perales Gonzalez i 199x300 Importance of Cultural Awareness Skills for an International Workforce

© istockphoto.com/Guillermo Perales Gonzalez

Cultural awareness is a skill that can be developed at both professional and social levels, and can make an overseas assignment, an international business meeting or cross-cultural negotiation a successful one. On the other hand, a lack of cultural awareness can lead to major miscommunication, and, ultimately, rejection by host-culture colleagues, clients, acquaintances and neighbours.

Arguably an asset for any major international employee, cultural awareness is particularly important for employees being sent abroad to live and work, organisations planning to merge with or acquire another company or individuals who work with counterparts and clients around the world.

Cross-cultural training programmes can ensure your employees are equipped with a set of skills and strategies to be successful when working across cultures. International assignees moving to another country might benefit from a Living and Working in cross-cultural relocation programme, whereas someone Doing business in another culture could benefit from a country-specific cross-cultural training programme for Business and Management.

By providing your employees with opportunities to participate in a cross-cultural training programme, you will increase their cultural awareness which will help them avoid the risk of major miscommunication or international failure.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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