Globalisation is here to stay

The argument for increased intercultural understanding has never been greater
The level of globalisation seen in the last 20 years is not going to go away. Companies need to operate worldwide businesses, and they will continue to do so. Because so many multinational companies receive substantial revenues outside their home country, they cannot withdraw their current management, operations and resources without huge consequences. Substantial planning and structural changes are necessary before such decisions can be made.

In the short term, some companies might retrench and repatriate their people early. But with the current economic downturn, there may be no job opportunities back home! Other companies may choose to move their people out of 'risky' areas and relocate them to perceptibly 'safer havens'.

Twenty years ago employees were expatriated primarily to export their knowledge and skills to other countries. In today's environment, fewer expatriates are needed because companies have built up capabilities in production, marketing, technology, and management, to serve a global network which no longer has a specific home location.

As a result, the number of expatriates represents the core number of employees needed to support globalisation on a worldwide basis. Terrorist threats will not change the need for the development, exchange, and placement of key personnel globally.

The argument for increased intercultural understanding has never been greater. Working successfully in/or managing multicultural teams is a growing focus, along with long-distance management and effective communication strategies.

It is generally accepted that in Europe there is more respect for the time it takes to achieve the desired outcomes of business management programmes. In addition, there is a desire for a more thorough, in-depth exploration of issues and strategies.

A fragile, unhappy, fearful expat family may simply be pushed over the edge by all that they have witnessed. Catching these families early is a challenge to avoid the difficult consequences of an early repatriation.

Family issues will become more important as companies face increasing difficulty in filling overseas assignments with fewer willing to go. Now more than ever, family support will become paramount and forward-thinking companies will recognise this and provide the necessary emotional and factual preparation.

Mobility will not stop. People have to feel secure and their companies need to provide that protection, emotionally and physically. Without it, there can be no global workforce.

Facing the Challenge of Cultural Diversity

Face the Challenge

Developing the multi-cultural organisation: managing diversity or respecting differences?
Today's business and service organisations face a three-fold challenge. With management and employees of a variety of national and cultural backgrounds, they must:

1 enable this heterogeneous workforce to work together harmoniously toward their common goals;
2 maximise the contribution of each member of what is in fact a large team;
3 ensure fair treatment for all, irrespective of background.

Meeting this challenge demands systematic efforts on the part of these organisations, as many of them have come to realise. Whether the multi-cultural character of the company arises from its internationally mobile workforce and its local operations in various countries, or from the mixed backgrounds of a workforce in a single location, the organisation must address this diversity if it is to be successful.

DEFENSIVE OR DEVELOPMENTAL?

Every organisation has a strategic choice to make in how it will face this issue, between a fundamentally defensive approach, and one that is developmental in nature and effect.
An organisation which adopts the defensive approach treats cultural differences as hazards - a series of weak links between people in which there is great potential for misunderstanding, conflict, mistrust and even resentment. It assumes at the start that certain people are inherently culturally insensitive to others. Handling 'cultural diversity' therefore means avoiding giving offence to groups or individuals, preventing harassment, and managing grievances. It may have an implicit political objective as well, to reduce the alleged dominance of one 'culture' or another.
The developmental approach, on the other hand, first of all sees cultural differences for what they are - potentially different values, assumptions, expectations, and behaviour which people bring to business as a result of their differing backgrounds. As expressed by one prominent writer in the field, culture is "the way in which a group of people solves problems" (Trompenaars). Moreover, the developmental approach recognises that these collective tendencies reveal themselves as individual differences. Members of a team are not there to represent a 'culture' or particular ethnic group - they represent themselves.

ACKNOWLEDGING THE DIFFERENCE

In this way, handling cultural differences means recognising
1 that these differences can have a significant impact on how people of different national or ethnic backgrounds approach the day-to-day issues of business and professional life, and
2 that people want those differences, where they exist, to be acknowledged. The developmental approach begins with the more positive assumption that while people may sometimes be unaware of these differences, they are not automatically insensitive to them.

The outcome of the developmental approach is a recognition of these different perspectives as alternative ways of handling particular situations. Cultural differences are no longer hazards - they are opportunities to strengthen the organisation through shared learning, better communication, and new perspectives.

How can one tell whether an organisation has adopted the defensive or the developmental approach? After all, any organisation can use terms such as 'diversity,' 'culture,' 'differences,' or even 'inclusiveness' to its general goals in this area, whatever the reality.

For a start, the defensive approach often arises as a reaction to grievances or conflicts. The organisation may define it through policies, procedures, and public relations statements, and make it visible through initiatives and 'programmes.' 'Training' is preoccupied with reducing insensitivity, often by trying to induce certain subjects to admit how insensitive they are. To the extent that such efforts are presented positively (or in the words of one company's website, "leverage[d] for competitive advantage"), it is as a question of equal employment opportunity.

THE RIGHT ROUTE

Farnham Castle helps its clients follow a developmental route, which assumes a very different form. It often starts at a local level, on a practical basis, with an individual's or a team's efforts to improve the way people work together, or to prepare for wider international responsibilities. It tends not to be fixed in policy or procedure, but instead is most often driven by business needs and actual situations faced by people. Training is interactive, involving exchanges of impressions, experiences, and problems amongst learners. It recognises that perceived differences are as important as 'real' ones, for it is our perceptions of others that give rise to our reactions and judgements.

People learning to handle cultural differences will learn a great deal when they become aware of how they are culturally viewed by others. In addition to awareness, informational briefings increase people's knowledge of possible differences between cultures. That insight in turn helps them see how apparently 'strange' behaviour has its own cultural 'logic,' as the way in which a group of people have, as we said, solved universal problems. With increased mutual awareness and knowledge, mistrust tends to evaporate and questions of cultural 'dominance' become irrelevant.

PRACTICAL BENEFITS

The practical benefits of the developmental approach are seen in their effects on management style and on the way a team works together. 'Cultural' differences are now seen as individual differences arising out of people's backgrounds. These various points of view, openly communicated, represent alternatives and choices available to the group for consideration and negotiation. A greater willingness to talk directly about differences helps build trust, facilitates decision-making and opens the way, where appropriate, to compromise.

The developmental approach, as we have labelled it, needs sound leadership if it is to take root. It will be nourished by the resources of an organisation such as Farnham Castle, which is able to offer (1) collaborative training to raise awareness and increase knowledge, (2) extensive expertise in various business cultures and in the challenges and goals of international business. The developmental approach is further enhanced by training that strengthens the skills required to handle difficult situations and to communicate effectively in intercultural settings.

DIVERSITY TRULY VALUED

None of this, of course, is to imply that organisations should not concern themselves with the indispensable goals of providing a working environment that is free of 'harassment' and discrimination, and of ensuring equal career opportunities for all. We would simply say, however, that truly 'valuing diversity' means valuing the contributions that 'diverse' individuals can make. A developmental, rather than a purely defensive, approach to dealing with cultural differences will help make that a reality.

Article by Robert Day, a senior consultant for Farnham Castle specialising in effective communication/negotiation, team development, and cross-cultural issues in international business.

http://www.intercultural-training.co.uk/

Corporate Social Resposibility

Corporate Social Responsibility
New Fad or Necessity

Organisations of the 21st century can no longer limit themselves to producing and marketing products or services without any concerns for the impact they have on society. If they want to be trusted by their customers, employees and the public at large, they have to be more socially responsible. One key issue of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which needs to be addressed is the integration of ethnic minorities in the workplace and the community.

Demographic changes
The lack of proper governmental strategies following the demographic changes of the 50's and 70's, has left many British companies struggling to this day to deal with the problem themselves. Many organisations have played a passive role in this integration process by staying within the legal boundaries and are now experiencing difficulties in that area.

A lack of consideration of differences
One of the major reasons behind these integration problems is the lack of awareness and consideration for cultural differences. People from different cultural backgrounds have different sets of norms, different sets of values and different assumptions. This means that we all have different ways of reacting to events, different ways of communicating and different behaviours. We judge the others from our own frame of reference and tend to think that "our way is the right way".

In a multicultural workforce, this can lead to misinterpretation, misunderstanding, incomprehension, mistrust and disrespect. As a result, rather than getting closer, people distance themselves from those they consider different and groups are formed on the basis of commonalities, whether it is ethnicity, colour, language etc. "Departmental ghettos" start to appear. Often, there are rivalries and tensions. In some instances, these situations can degenerate into discrimination, bullying or racist behaviours.

The law is not enough
Staying within the letter of the law is not enough for organisations experiencing these situations. It is imperative for them to resolve these issues if they want to retain a stable and productive workforce and be regarded as good "corporate citizens". Organisation can be more socially responsible by contributing to a smooth cultural integration of ethnic minorities into the workplace.

Being more socially responsible
Integration does not mean imposing one way. It means harmonising and synergizing differences. Having a clear and unbiased understanding of the context is the first step toward formulating proper integration strategies. The second step is to develop cultural awareness. Being open to differences, understanding and respecting the other's cultural background are the key elements in preparing the ground for integration. The third step is to build or rebuild trust. Finally, only when trust has been demonstrated from all sides, solutions can be discussed. It is the step where different norms and values are reconciled and tangible and intangible elements of integration are defined. Building shared ownership of the solutions is at that stage essential to reinforce trust and guarantee implementation.

These steps can take different forms; for example interviews with the various groups involved for step one, training programmes at the levels concerned in the organisation for step two and facilitated workshops for steps three and four involving all concerned or a limited number of influential representatives of each group, who can then intervene as mentors to their members.

Being proactive in the integration process of ethnic minorities is a corporate social duty which can strongly impact the community and contribute to a much more committed workforce.

During the last few months Farnham has been working with a number of clients in the development of programmes, using a training approach normally associated with supporting the integration of home and foreign workforces, to address the growing issue of multicultural tension within the domestic workforce. Because of the sensitivity of the issue, each programme has to be very carefully designed and often involves a number of programmes each with a different perspective at each level. The need to exercise corporate social responsibility is evolving in many different guises, in light of recent events, perhaps this one in particular needs our attention now.

To find out more about how Farnham Castle can help you, please email: info@farnhamcastle.com, or visit our website at http://www.intercultural-training.co.uk