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10 Ways to Learn More about Other Cultures

1. Ask the Employee Sometimes the best way to find out about another culture’s norms is to ask employees from that culture to teach you about it. You’ll get a better response if you make your request a real search for information, not an accusation. Also, choose someone who has some degree of acculturation and ask specific questions, such as the following: What are the biggest differences between Philippine and U.S. American cultures? What are some of the most difficult adjustments you have made in living here? What do you wish your co-workers understood about your culture? What does it mean in your culture when a person...? 2. Ask Colleagues from Other Cultures If you don’t get enough information from your employees, ask fellow managers who are from the cultures you are trying to learn about. These colleagues can be invaluable cultural informants who can teach you about subtle but often powerful cultural norms that may be causing misunderstandings. From their management perspective, t...
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Learning Other Cultures

Cultural intelligence is an essential skill for graduates. The rapid increase of globalization over the past few years means that record numbers of business school graduates now interact with significantly different cultures on a daily basis as they take international assignments or join globally distributed teams. This has created an acute need for employees, managers, and organizations to become more cross-culturally competent. This need is exacerbated by the fact that 42 percent of overseas assignments are judged to be failures, according to a June 4, 2013, article on QZ.com. Previous research from INSEAD’s Manfred Kets de Vries yielded the worrying statistic that failure rates range anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent, with destination playing an important role in success or failure. Furthermore, expatriate assignments are known to be expensive, sometimes costing more than three times an employee’s annual salary. The cost can be even higher if the assignment is deemed a failure....
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How to Improve Cross-Cultural Communication in the Workplace

It’s no secret that effective communication is central to the success of any organization, regardless of industry. But in order to truly understand what it takes to communicate effectively, you must first understand the different cultural factors that influence the way people interact with one another. Our world is more interconnected than ever before, a fact that has given rise to many changes in the ways that businesses and organizations operate. Workplaces are more diverse, remote teams are scattered across the country or around the world, and businesses that once sold products to a single demographic might now sell to a global market. All of these factors have converged to make cross-cultural communication a vital part of organizational success. Here’s a look at why cross-cultural communication is important in the workplace, and the steps you can take to overcome cultural barriers and improve communication within your organization. What is Cross-Cultural Communication? Cross-cultur...
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10 Steps To Become More Open-Minded

Open-mindedness is the ability to be less judgmental and more inquisitive, introspective and considerate. Open-minded people may be viewed as more honest and reliable since they tend to consider multiple perspectives before reaching a decision. In this article, we discuss what it means to be open-minded, the benefits of having an open mindset and how you can work on building this ability. What is open-mindedness? Being open-minded means you are willing to look for and think about other perspectives. An open mindset is a belief that other people should be free to express their beliefs and arguments even if you do not agree with those views. Open-mindedness is often used as a synonym for being tolerant and not prejudiced.  Open-minded people can fairly value experiences, beliefs, emotions, goals or arguments that may not align with their own. Open-minded people tend to be good listeners who strive to understand how other people perceive situations. They see differing opinions as valu...
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How To Identify Your Strengths in the Workplace

  What are workplace strengths? Workplace strengths consist of several soft skills that professionals can apply to any workplace environment, industry or job. Professionals use these strengths to develop healthy workplace relationships with their coworkers and complement more technical aspects of their position. 10 examples of strengths in the workplace Here are 10 example areas of strengths at work that you can apply to your professional duties: Dependable Dependability characterizes someone reliable and loyal. In the workplace, a dependable employee is on time, and their coworkers can always rely on them for help or guidance. Their supervisor knows they can rely on them to exceed their expectations or take on extra workloads. Flexible Flexibility describes someone who can quickly adapt to changes. In the workplace, a flexible employee can quickly learn new procedures, and most importantly, take on these new changes in an optimistic manner. They can also serve as role mo...
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