The cross-cultural project
aims at organizing training that extends the cultural dimension theory to offer an original solution to soft skill challenges.

 

 

Motto:
“Your culture is like your nose. You cannot see it yourself whereas everybody else will perceive it and think it is peculiar if it differs from theirs. You can always follow your nose. But when you finally get close to something, the nose tends to get in the way,”
says Gert Jan Hofstede

 

 

What is “culture”?

Our own culture is the glasses through which we perceive the world, while we are not aware of wearing them. Moreover, culture also refers to the way we handle our problems, and how we solve them. As for our project, culture applies partly to national cultures, but the same emphasis is placed on the following cultural layers:

– individual

– community

– organizational

– gender-based

– social stratification-based

– generational.

 

In this sense, culture shapes all that we do and how we do it: our activities, our products, our communication and cooperation style, our decision-making mechanisms, our leadership attitudes, our relationship with time.

 

 

What do we mean by a cross-cultural (or intercultural) approach?  (or intercultural)

Cross-cultural or Intercultural Communication Project is designed to help the participants to perceive their own cultural glasses and thereby become more aware of their own operational mechanisms and their communication style (co-operation competence).

This self-awareness is the basis for understanding other cultures, recognizing the glasses of other cultures, and thus consciously creating effective communication.

What is the purpose of the cross-cultural training project?

The aim is to manage conflicts arising from the following reasons:

– Misunderstandings

– Value systems – Cultural programming

– Prioritizing tasks

-Time management

– Hierarchical relationships

– Motivation

– Delegation

– Leadership roles

– Decision-making mechanisms

 

What are the methods of training?

Individual: Coaching Methods and Consulting.

Group: Training, World Café, team coaching, team building.

 

 

Cooperative style test

It is a common element of both the individual consulting and the group training that the development starts with a co-operation style test, which defines the co-operation profile of the participants. The results of the test are indicative of the areas to be sensitized/developed. The test explores the types of (cultural-based) conflicts, it does not provide a labeling classification instead, it describes characteristics. The end result is a cooperative profile that makes communication and co-operation style interpretable along the particular dimensions. Additionally, by statistical methods, the test also defines the co-operational profile and the characteristic value system of the organizational unit or the organization as a whole. For example, important differences between national cultures, individuals, generations, gender, organizational units, managers, and subordinates can become visible and tangible.

 

 

Training

In the first part of the training, participants will get acquainted with the dimensions which characterize the individual, national, gender-based, etc. cultures, and then they learn to recognize and interpret them. Then the cooperative model is presented by which the participants will be able to locate and better understand themselves, their partners, and colleagues. They are provided with information on how to negotiate, decode messages, determine their own and others’ behavioral norms, how to resolve or avoid (culture-related) conflicts.

With the “immersion” techniques in the course of the training, the participants gain knowledge by first-hand experiences, they also acquire the cognitive knowledge at the level of emotional involvement and become more sensitive to each other’s needs. This training strategy uses a solution-centered approach that helps to form common goals, common language, and create a common culture.

 

 

How do we differ from traditional training strategies?

Traditional soft skill training approaches often ignore the importance of cultural socialization or cultural features.
For instance, a business strategy that has been effective in the United States should not be immediately and directly implanted into another country without taking into account the local culture.
Also, from a psychological perspective, the concise and high context wording – or even the silence itself – is usually a feature of an introverted personality, while in the cultural perspective it can be a learned communication characteristic of a given group.
The co-operative competence program works on a different level, it interprets the interpersonal interactions along the so-called cultural dimensions. During the training the good/bad dichotomy dissolves, values ​​become more relativized. Sensitization involves a change of attitude that has an immediate impact on the relationships and communication of the participants.

 

 

Popular cultural training themes

 

Intercultural training
Learning about cultures and how to recognize and manage national cultural differences.
(We recommend this training to multinational companies, international teams,
international negotiation, relocation, before visit to/from another country.)

 

Relocation & integration training by team coaching methods
Supporting the integration of ex-pat workers to be able to better manage cultural shocks and conflicts.
(We recommend it to local groups receiving ex-pats, foreigners, or local professionals leaving the home country.)

 

Diversity & Inclusion training
Developing receptivity toward different cultural groups.
(We recommend this program to support organizational changes which aim at achieving a more diverse work environment or after meeting the quota would like to leverage on the diversity of the teams and creating fusion teams.

 

Our training programs are tailored to the specific needs of the customer, therefore, we encourage you to request a free consultation with our team.