Our Culture Awareness Training course will provide you with:
Our Culture Awareness Training course will be of benefit if you:
Cultural Awareness training provides an understanding of the different cultural rules and behaviors that exist, how we react to these differences and how to avoid misunderstandings to improve business and personal success. Cultural Awareness is the foundation of communication and it involves the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions.
Culture is a notoriously difficult term to define. Here are some example: ‘Culture is a fuzzy set of basic assumptions and values, orientations to life, beliefs, policies, procedures and behavioral conventions that are shared by a group of people, and that influence (but do not determine) each member’s behavior and his/her interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of other people’s behavior. Here, then, are three very different understandings of culture, but it is good to know that culture shapes how we understand that incompatibility, what actions and reactions are seen as appropriate, and what possible solutions would look like.
Culture is often compared to an iceberg which has both visible (on the surface) and invisible (below the surface) parts. Difficulties arise when the rules of one culture are applied to interpret the behavior of another with a different set of cultural rules. Failure to understand and recognize these parts of culture and the layers that compose them, as well as how they influence each other is the main reason misunderstandings occur when doing business internationally.
Cultural awareness becomes central when we have to interact with people from other cultures. People see, interpret and evaluate things in a different ways. What is considered an appropriate behavior in one culture is frequently inappropriate in another one. Misunderstandings arise when I use my meanings to make sense of your reality. It is a filter through which people process their experiences and events of their lives, which influences people’s values, actions, and expectations of themselves and impacts people’s perceptions and expectations of others.
When you step into a foreign culture, suddenly things seem different. You don’t know what to do or say. Learning about the Intercultural Communication as a starting point, you can evaluate your approach, your decisions, and actions based on a general sense of how the society might think and react to you. In particular, successful communication depends crucially on shared culture. When you have communication between people of different cultures, even if they share a common language, things can go wrong. In particular, knowledge of a language does not automatically give you the background knowledge that native speakers assume you share.
Hofstede makes the important point that although certain aspects of culture are physically visible, their meaning is invisible: ‘their cultural meaning … lies precisely and only in the way these practices are interpreted by the insiders.’ For example, a gesture such as the ‘ring gesture’ (thumb and forefinger touching) may be interpreted as conveying agreement, approval or acceptance in the USA, the UK and Canada, but as an insult or obscene gesture in several Mediterranean countries.
The basic requirements for intercultural competence are empathy, an understanding of other people’s behaviors and ways of thinking, and the ability to express one’s own way of thinking. It is a balance, situatively adapted, among four parts: knowledge – about other cultures, people, nations, behaviours and about one’s own culture. Empathy – understanding feelings and needs of other people and self-confidence – knowing what I want, my strengths and weaknesses.
In our long teaching praxis we recognise that each person prefers different learning styles and techniques. It is why we use a variety different teaching methods to get the same message across and make sure that no one is left out or falls behind. It is our way of making sure that all participants engage with all of the subject content, especially the key concepts and learning points. Our trainings consist of different sessions combining short lectures and practical exercises and involves a great deal of interaction. Simulations and team exercises aim to not only identify, but to fully understand the key differences in cultural behaviour.
In combining cognitive (didactic) and participatory (experiential) learning our relocation course program seeks to introduce to the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to live and work successfully in multicultural context.
Our methods chosen by cognitive, affective und creative dimensions of learning here.
Our Intercultural Training is a In-House Training available seven days a week, 365 days a year at your offices in any location worldwide. We usually recommend a one or two day course but can also offer a more flexible format to suit your schedule.
The training needs assessment helps us find common training programs for your group of employees. The identification of training needs is the first step in a uniform method of instructional design. We suggest to perform the assessment in form of Personal Analysis. We will start to get to know our participants and their learning needs by sending them a short questionnaire before the start of the training. However the Organizational Analysis, in form of consultation with persons in key positions, and/or with specific knowledge could be also conducted via video conferences or done by phone call, if desirable.
Suitably tailored training materials will be provided and your trainer will provide a balance of structured input and discussion of case studies, critical incidents and scenarios relevant to your own particular context. The most appropriate training format, content and approach for your Intercultural Training course will be discussed during your diagnostic consultancy.
All learning solutions are designed according to who we are training. Some participants need assistance with the new work culture, some prefer help with how to overcome mental challenges, others need to learn how to work in an international team. The finial program depends on earlier collaborative consultations and our training needs assessment results. Bellow possible training proposal.