Learning to cope with corporate culture clashes
The dos and don'ts of travelling abroad are a potential minefield for the unprepared traveller. If you spit in Singapore, you could end up in prison. Spit with gusto in the US, where spitting is a competitive sport in many states. And by the way, never ask an Arab how his wife is.
The Centre for International Briefing has spent the past 40 years preparing the wary traveller for such pitfalls. Though it may sound like a covert operation for aspiring secret agents, what the Centre does is prepare travellers for encounters with new social and business customs worldwide.
To date, over 50,000 people have passed through its headquarters at Farnham Castle in Surrey. Now the centre has opened its first office outside Britain in Blackrock. ``There are two broad tracks to our training programmes,'' explains Ray Bowman, Marketing Director of the Irish office. ``One covers business needs, the other social etiquette. For example, business travellers abroad need to know how decision-making works.''
In Asian cultures, most of it takes place behind the scenes. In China, it may be necessary to have the Government involved in any decisions taken. And in India, the person you are meeting may be several days late for your scheduled appointment.
Greetings, gestures and terms of address are all potential hazards abroad. While we are familiar with the short firm handshake in this part of the world, in the Middle East the hand is held in a loose grip for a longer time. In Islamic cultures, showing the soles of your feet is a sign of disrespect and the reason crossing your legs will cause such offence.
The difference between understanding a culture and ignoring its conventions can be the measure of success or failure abroad. Ray Bowman tells the story of the British employee asked to post a letter by her Indonesian employer.
``She knew the letter was too late for the six o'clock post, so she decided to hold it until the eight o'clock one. Her boss saw the letter on her desk and sacked her for not posting it immediately. In Western cultures, we believe in empowering people and rewarding them for using initiative, but other cultures operate on the basis of obeying direct orders.''
John Doherty, International Marketing Director with the IDA, explains how you can innocently talk yourself into trouble at a business meeting in Japan: ``For them, the most senior person at a meeting will say nothing, or very little, and the person doing the most talking is not very important.'' Doherty has spent 12 of his 16 years with the IDA working abroad in the USA, Germany, South-East Asia and Japan.
In a country like Japan, the notion of personal space which we value so much simply has no meaning, he says. With a population of 125 million condensed into a narrow strip of land, private space for the Japanese is virtually non-existent. You can't worry about your personal space in a packed train when people are standing on your feet.
The Centre for International Briefing offers scheduled programmes for over 150 countries and intensive tuition in 25 languages. ``Many of our clients are major companies such as Marks & Spencer, KLM Airlines, Alfa Laval and Electricite de France,'' says Ray Bowman. The secret agent connection may not be so wide of the mark after all; Bowman reveals that many clients enrolling on their programmes do so under assumed names, to protect their identity from rival companies.
Small operations, individual travellers and families also use their services. ``It is very important service for families,'' he says, ``because the opportunity to relocate abroad may offer exciting work prospects for one member of the family, normally the man. For the wife, it may be very different, and she may find the whole experience isolating and depressing.''
However, the Centre reports a notable increase in the number of married female executives using its services, in cases where the husband is forced to relocate in line with his wife's new job.
It's not always an easy adjustment in a world traditionally dominated by men. One man moving to Ghana with his wife could only enter the country by adopting the status of honorary woman.
The Centre runs scheduled briefing programmes at regular intervals throughout the year and numbers are restricted to ensure small working groups. The bad news for people in Ireland is that a trip to England is necessary; schedule briefing programmes are currently held in the Farnham Castle headquarters.
But with the opening of the Blackrock office, Irish clients can avail of individually-tailored briefing sessions. These can be held in the clients' own business premises, with a team of experts calling out to the customer, or in a central location such as a hotel or conference centre.
Briefings can be organised on a one-to-one basis or for small groups. Alternatively, it may be possible to brief clients over the phone, or by fax or e-mail. Ray Bowman points out that individually-tailored packages can work out slightly more expensive.
A briefing will generally include lectures and workshops under the following headings: business and working environment, living conditions, language and communication, cultural adaption, ethics and religion, food, women's issues, health and security, financial advice and negotiation skills.
Tiptoeing through the minefield
DO ...
* Show an interest in, and at least an elementary knowledge of, the country you are visiting;
* Learn a few words of the language it will be seen as a compliment;
* Be sensitive to countries who have bigger and better-known neighbours, and try not to confuse Canadians with Americans, New Zealanders with Australians, Belgians with French;
* Familiarise yourself with the rudiments of business and social etiquette. As a starting point, learning how to greet people is very important.
DON'T ...
* Assume you won't meet any communication problems because you speak English. You may think you are paying somebody a compliment by telling them their business is going a bomb, Americans will infer you think it is going down the tubes;
* Talk about a fortnight. You'll just leave people baffled they don't use this term in the US.
* Tell somebody you are having the crack it's likely to get you arrested;
*Appear overly reserved. As Americans are generally more exuberant than their European colleagues, they may equate reserve with simple lack of enthusiasm.
เรียนรู้ที่จะรับมือกับวัฒนธรรมองค์กร clashesDos และข้อควรระวังของการเดินทางต่างประเทศจะระเบิดเป็นไปได้สำหรับนักเดินทางที่เกิด ถ้าคุณพ่นในสิงคโปร์ คุณอาจสิ้นสุดขึ้นในเรือนจำ คายรสในสหรัฐอเมริกา คายเป็น กีฬาแข่งขันในอเมริกามากขึ้น และโดยวิธี ไม่เคยถามอาหรับว่าภรรยาเป็นศูนย์นานาชาติรายงานมีเวลาผ่านมา 40 ปีกำลังเตรียมเดินทางระมัดระวังสำหรับข้อผิดพลาดดังกล่าว แม้ว่ามันอาจเสียงเหมือนการแอบแฝงในตัวแทนลับธีม ศูนย์ไม่ได้เตรียมเดินทางพบกับสังคมใหม่และประเพณีทางธุรกิจทั่วโลกวันที่ คนกว่า 50.000 ได้ไปผ่านสำนักงานใหญ่ที่ปราสาทฟรานในเซอร์เรย์ ขณะนี้ ศูนย์ได้เปิดสำนักงานแรกอยู่นอกราชอาณาจักรใน Blackrock ''มีสองเพลงที่กว้างการของโปรแกรมการฝึกอบรม, '' อธิบาย Ray Bowman ผู้อำนวยการการตลาดสำนักงานไอริช นิ้วหนึ่งครอบคลุมธุรกิจความต้องการ อื่น ๆ ที่ มีมารยาททางสังคม ตัวอย่าง นักเดินทางธุรกิจต่างประเทศต้องรู้วิธีการทำงานของตัดสินใจ ''ในวัฒนธรรมเอเชีย ส่วนใหญ่จะทำเบื้องหลัง ในประเทศจีน มันอาจจำเป็นต้องมีรัฐบาลที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการตัดสินใจใด ๆ มา และในอินเดีย บุคคลที่คุณกำลังประชุมอาจจะหลายวันสำหรับการนัดหมายที่จัดกำหนดการของคุณGreetings, gestures and terms of address are all potential hazards abroad. While we are familiar with the short firm handshake in this part of the world, in the Middle East the hand is held in a loose grip for a longer time. In Islamic cultures, showing the soles of your feet is a sign of disrespect and the reason crossing your legs will cause such offence.The difference between understanding a culture and ignoring its conventions can be the measure of success or failure abroad. Ray Bowman tells the story of the British employee asked to post a letter by her Indonesian employer.``She knew the letter was too late for the six o'clock post, so she decided to hold it until the eight o'clock one. Her boss saw the letter on her desk and sacked her for not posting it immediately. In Western cultures, we believe in empowering people and rewarding them for using initiative, but other cultures operate on the basis of obeying direct orders.''John Doherty, International Marketing Director with the IDA, explains how you can innocently talk yourself into trouble at a business meeting in Japan: ``For them, the most senior person at a meeting will say nothing, or very little, and the person doing the most talking is not very important.'' Doherty has spent 12 of his 16 years with the IDA working abroad in the USA, Germany, South-East Asia and Japan.In a country like Japan, the notion of personal space which we value so much simply has no meaning, he says. With a population of 125 million condensed into a narrow strip of land, private space for the Japanese is virtually non-existent. You can't worry about your personal space in a packed train when people are standing on your feet.The Centre for International Briefing offers scheduled programmes for over 150 countries and intensive tuition in 25 languages. ``Many of our clients are major companies such as Marks & Spencer, KLM Airlines, Alfa Laval and Electricite de France,'' says Ray Bowman. The secret agent connection may not be so wide of the mark after all; Bowman reveals that many clients enrolling on their programmes do so under assumed names, to protect their identity from rival companies. Small operations, individual travellers and families also use their services. ``It is very important service for families,'' he says, ``because the opportunity to relocate abroad may offer exciting work prospects for one member of the family, normally the man. For the wife, it may be very different, and she may find the whole experience isolating and depressing.''However, the Centre reports a notable increase in the number of married female executives using its services, in cases where the husband is forced to relocate in line with his wife's new job.It's not always an easy adjustment in a world traditionally dominated by men. One man moving to Ghana with his wife could only enter the country by adopting the status of honorary woman.The Centre runs scheduled briefing programmes at regular intervals throughout the year and numbers are restricted to ensure small working groups. The bad news for people in Ireland is that a trip to England is necessary; schedule briefing programmes are currently held in the Farnham Castle headquarters.But with the opening of the Blackrock office, Irish clients can avail of individually-tailored briefing sessions. These can be held in the clients' own business premises, with a team of experts calling out to the customer, or in a central location such as a hotel or conference centre.Briefings can be organised on a one-to-one basis or for small groups. Alternatively, it may be possible to brief clients over the phone, or by fax or e-mail. Ray Bowman points out that individually-tailored packages can work out slightly more expensive.A briefing will generally include lectures and workshops under the following headings: business and working environment, living conditions, language and communication, cultural adaption, ethics and religion, food, women's issues, health and security, financial advice and negotiation skills.Tiptoeing through the minefieldDO ...* Show an interest in, and at least an elementary knowledge of, the country you are visiting; * Learn a few words of the language it will be seen as a compliment; * Be sensitive to countries who have bigger and better-known neighbours, and try not to confuse Canadians with Americans, New Zealanders with Australians, Belgians with French; * Familiarise yourself with the rudiments of business and social etiquette. As a starting point, learning how to greet people is very important. DON'T ... * Assume you won't meet any communication problems because you speak English. You may think you are paying somebody a compliment by telling them their business is going a bomb, Americans will infer you think it is going down the tubes; * Talk about a fortnight. You'll just leave people baffled they don't use this term in the US. * Tell somebody you are having the crack it's likely to get you arrested; *Appear overly reserved. As Americans are generally more exuberant than their European colleagues, they may equate reserve with simple lack of enthusiasm.
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