Intercultural Training Courses

Business
Business: Country-Specific Cultural Training (60+ Countries)

This training program heightens awareness of cultural differences and identifies the skills needed for effectively addressing differences, both socially and professionally, across cultures. The course helps managers at every level of the organization accomplish international goals and objectives by providing tools to anticipate and recognize specific cultural behaviors that impact performance. This program is designed for corporate groups or individuals and is customized to fit country-specific needs.

Objectives:

• Heighten awareness of cultural differences
• Provide the tools to anticipate and recognize specific cultural behaviors
• Facilitate the process of accomplishing international goals

Compare and Contrast Country/ Culture Comparisons

This course is designed for corporate groups or individuals whose job performance would benefit from an understanding of another culture. Through a series of ‘compare and contrast’ exercises, employees begin to gain a better appreciation of their own culture and that of the target culture on several key dimensions. The behaviors, customs, and values of one culture are compared and contrasted with another, to better understand the impact these have on the social and professional interaction among employees, contractors, customers and suppliers from these countries.

Objectives:

• Increase self-awareness of one’s own and other cultures
• Discuss the importance of language use, interpretation needs, and communication style
• Determine what adjustments to expectations and behaviors might be necessary for successful interaction with other cultures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Communication
Communicating Effectively in a Multicultural Workplace

This course discusses key factors impacting multicultural business communication and provides practical tips for improving communication.  Topics include: the theory of contexting; speaking and writing for non-native speakers; language structure and clarity; recognition of cultural variables and barriers to understanding; the advantages and disadvantages of various communication media; and the importance of advance preparation and timing.

Objectives:

• Understand how culture affects communication style, processing, and behavior
• Gain new skills for successful intercultural communication in face- to- face and virtual modes
• Increase productivity by learning how to adjust assumptions and expectations for different cultures

E-mail Etiquette with a Cultural Focus

This customized workshop examines the challenges we face when we communicate across cultures via e-mail, without the assistance of facial expressions and non-verbal nuances.  E-mail Etiquette with a Cultural Focus helps create an understanding and awareness of concerns ranging from privacy and security to face-saving and clarity.  In addition, the program will provide guidelines for conveying a professional image within and outside of the company, and will help develop the critical skills necessary for communicating what is intended to avoid misunderstandings in a multi-cultural workplace.

Objectives:

• Understand the challenges faced when communicating from one culture to another via E-Mail
• Develop critical skills that are necessary for communicating what is intended
• Learn tips to prevent misunderstandings in a multi-cultural workplace

Presentation Skills Across Cultures

This course provides guidance as to how to develop a highly effective presentation for a multi-cultural audience so that information is quickly gained and retained. Presentation design, materials, and delivery are addressed. In addition, tips for effective visual aids, engaging story-telling, and interactive activities are shared to help make every presentation a dynamic and effective one.

Objectives:

• Know how to create highly effective presentations for a multicultural audience
• Learn tips on presentation design, materials, and delivery
• Understand how to help the audience gain and retain information

Thought Process and Ethics Across Cultures

This course examines how thought processes differ across cultures and how these differences influence one’s ethics and values.  Program highlights include a review of how educational philosophy lays the foundation for problem solving and thought process; how the structure of a language impacts thought process; contrasts between analytic and holistic thought processes – Asian and Western; group versus individual preference for learning and decision-making; and the advantages of diverse perspectives in business.

Objectives:

• Learn what impacts the thought process
• Examine how the thought process differs across cultures
• Understand how to deal with various ethics and values across cultures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diversity
Diversity Awareness

This training program is customized, based upon a completed needs assessment. The interactive presentation identifies the benefits diversity brings to an organization, as well as the potential risks when diversity is overlooked.  Diversity Awareness increases self-awareness and awareness of the “other” by examining the various groups comprising the workforce, in terms of culture, ethnicity, race, gender, age, opinions, beliefs, etc.  The impact of bias and diversity-related conflicts are discussed, and tools for implementing change are provided.

Objectives:

• Increase self-awareness as well as insight and awareness of the “other”
• Illustrate how cultural background, perceptions, assumptions and stereotyping influence our responses to various groups of people
• Motivate participants to become a diversity “change agent”

Globalization Cross-Cultural Awareness

This interactive course examines the theory of identifying target cultures and raises awareness of one’s own cultural orientation in order to understand that behaviors are not right or wrong, good or bad …just different. Some of the topics included are: history and how it impacts values and behavior, geography and differences in regional mentality, and the role of cultural attachment.

Objectives:

• Raise awareness of one’s own culture and other cultures
• Understand how history and geography impacts one’s behaviors, customs, and values
• Develop increased tolerance and acceptance of other cultures

 

Managing Global Diversity

This course recognizes workforce issues and trends relating to diversity and provides insight into how the perceptions of various cultures affect the role of managers and management. Cultural differences in the perception of authority, hierarchy, and motivation; accepting responsibility; sharing information; and giving and receiving feedback are addressed.  In addition, the leadership skills, necessary for gaining and maintaining respect across cultures, are discussed.

Objectives:

• Understand the concept of management for each representative culture
•  Gain leadership skills and strategies for responding to bias, discrimination, prejudice, other diversity issues
• Improve management performance in a multicultural workplace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Multicultural Teams
Building Effective Cultural Teams

This course examines the impact that cultural receptivity has when developing multi-cultural teams. Topics covered include: the stages of team development; organizational and cultural factors that impact team development; creating a shared sense of direction; building constructive relationships; defining the expectations of leadership; and learning how to accept and utilize differences within the group.

Objectives:

• Address perceptions and stereotypes
• Understand the organizational and cultural factors that impact team development
• Build and maintain a multi-cultural team where differences are accepted and celebrated

Working with Cultural Differences

This cultural training course provides insight into how various cultures view the role of managers and management. In addition, increasing awareness of other cultures and identifying the benefits of working in a diverse environment are addressed to motivate workers and encourage performance improvement and productivity.

Objectives:

• Provide insight into how various cultures affect the role of managers and management
• Gain intercultural skills to improve management performance
• Motivate participants who work in a diverse workforce