communicating across culture (diversity awareness)
According to a Career Innovation survey in (2009) showing the business impact of cross-cultural communication in corporate settings, 73 percent of respondents said focusing on cross-cultural competence had a measurable positive impact to organizations, 51 percent said it improved productivity, and 47 percent reported that it resulted in a more harmonious workplace. Trompenaars (1997) explains, “People everywhere are confronted with three sources of challenge. They have relationships with other people, such as friends, employees, customers and bosses. They must manage time and ageing. And they must somehow come to terms with the external nature of the world, be it benign or threatening.”
It is our cultural attitudes to these three sources of challenge that is at the root of cultural confusion, says:
- How we relate to people
- How we perceive time
- The impact we believe we can have as an individual
It is our beliefs about what we believe to be “true” that cause us to have embedded behaviours and views which dictate how we react and behave.
When time is taken to learn about cultural diversity, the experience of working cross-culture becomes an inspiring and motivating growth experience, rather than a frustrating communication implosion. In today’s global business world and diverse communities, this learning is must for everyone at all levels in the organisation.
Xenergie provides facilitated learning sessions – from half a day awareness raising to team coaching programmes where globally diverse teams are facilitated through an action-learning process of learning to work effectively together. Sessions are tailored to organisation situations and national cultures of interest, and objectives of these sessions are:
- To raise awareness of what culture is and how cultures collide
- To further understanding of one’s own culture in relation to others
- To explore / compare lifestyle and workplace values and how these affect behaviours
- To explore attitudes to leadership and decision making
- To provide situational and practical guidance for global teams in communicating and relating together.
Contact us with your specific enquiry, we will be glad to provide solutions to your needs.
