INTERCULTURAL SEMINARS
Heath R. Watkins, Director
Human Resources Department
March 10, 2013
The Marketing Department has been conducting surveys of our worldwide
offices, foreign customers, and prospective foreign customers over the last
several months. Information received through the use of mailed
questionnaires has made us aware of an urgent need to improve our
communication skills at the international level. Therefore, we are going to
conduct a series of seminars to focus on intercultural awareness issues. This
report addresses the process involved in developing the seminars, the
instructional approach to be used, the seminar content that will be provided,
and the schedule for conducting the seminars.
PROBLEM
Some incidents have been reported to us in which we have failed to
negotiate contracts with foreign customers and prospective foreign
customers because of serious breakdowns in communication. Some of these
setbacks have been the result of conscious negative acts on the part of our
employees. However, the main culprit seems to be lack of awareness of
cultural differences and lack of appreciation for the nuances that reflect
these cultural differences. Indeed, there are almost unlimited possibilities for
misunderstandings, insults, miscues, and avenues for people of good intent
to miscommunicate. These issues must be addressed immediately to
preclude any future breakdowns in communications.
INTERCULTURAL SEMINARS
Three-day seminars designed to improve intercultural communication skills
will be held at regional sites in the United States and in selected foreign
cities where we have offices:
Beijing
Hamburg
Madrid
Melbourne
Oslo
Rio de Janeiro
Tokyo
Warsaw
It will be our intent that all employees who have direct contact with people
from other countries will participate in these seminars over a four-month
period. Depending on the success of these seminars, the programs will be
made available to others in the company who express an interest in
acquiring or enhancing their cultural awareness. Any future seminars will be
scheduled on an as-needed basis during the upcoming calendar year.
It would be unreasonable to assume that a small team of people from our
company would have the breadth of knowledge needed to conduct these
seminars in eight foreign cities. However, Celeste Fuhrmann, Robert Driscoll,
and Han Lee have agreed to work together as the coordinating team for this
effort. Ms. Fuhrmann, Mr. Driscoll, and Mr. Lee will be soliciting volunteers to
work with them in their areas of expertise. They hope to gain representative
views and opinions for the purpose of molding an impressive array of
seminar topics. Please contact one of these individuals if you believe you
have the necessary background and/or experience and would like to
volunteer.
Each of these individuals has worked over the past two months with the
managers of our international offices as well as with natives in specific
countries to formulate a preliminary plan for these in-service programs. Their
plan will use the expertise of our employees who have had negotiating
experience in each country and who have knowledge of local customs as
demonstrated by natives. We are confident that through this team approach,
everyone will gain an understanding of problems not only from the position
of our company but also from the perspective of those with whom they
conduct business.
BENEFITS OF ATTENDING THE SEMINARS
Besides the obvious benefits that seminars such as these provide, invited
speakers will lead discussions on a variety of topics to provide answers to
questions such as the following:
How can I develop a good working relationship with other colleagues?
How can I avoid offending people?
Do I need to adapt to another peoples culture when I travel abroad?
Is cultural stereotyping harmful or helpful?
How do people from different cultures approach the decision-making
process?
How can we improve international cooperation?
It is our hope that the seminars will help all participants gain a much greater
awareness and understanding of the cultural environment in which they
work. We believe the seminars will assist all participants in avoiding cultural
mistakes that might be costly to the company. Finally, for those employees
who frequently work in one of our foreign branches, the seminars will enable
these people to adapt much more quickly to the cultures of the country in
which they work.
