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Answer Upon - In 21st Century as Global Market is Shrinking... Cross Cultural Adaptation is a Must!
Over the next ten years throughout the western world and particularly in countries like Australia, Canada and the United States there will be an increasing number of businesses for sale as the baby-boomers move into retirement. As a result there will be an increasing number of bargains amongst the businesses for sale as the supply and demand equation tilts in favour of new business owners. Already in Australia prices of businesses have fallen according to the BizExchange Index – a quarterly report on the price of businesses for sale in Australia.It is commonly known that most new businesses fail within the first 2 years, and yet people continue to choose starting their own business over buying a going concern. While this may be the only option if you are doing something that has never been done before, it is certainly not the case for most businesses. There are hundreds of businesses for sale listed on bizexchange.com.au and other similar websites.Ideally you want to buy a business for less than it would cost you to create one, and one in which your input can have an immediate positive impact. These opportunities are easier to find than many people think. Owner operated businesses have their own lifecycles of establishment, growth, plateau, and eventually decline. Buying a business in the later half of its life-cycle can provide great opportunity to add value, provided you can get in while the customers are still happy. With many of the baby boomers entering their retirement years, there is likely to be a continual stream of these opportunities for the next five to ten years.A quick look at the major hurdles for new businesses also clarifies why buying a business can be a better way to go. Here are the top five:1. Establishing a customer base 2. Internal systems & procedures 3. Market awareness and credibility 4. Premises and staffing 5. Cash-flowThere is no doubt that the top 3 are the reason why franchising is such a growing industry as this is generally what a franchise is offering. How
How to address backlash
Bennett recommends several approaches to addressing backlash:
· Cultural Self-Awareness: Help employees develop cultural awareness, including (if applicable) identification of European American ethnicity versus stopping at a more specific cultural self-awareness (such as Italian or Irish).
· Recognitio
What is risk assessment?A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of your workplace, to identify what could cause harm to people, so that you can decide as to whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm from being caused.Work accidents and work related ill health, can ruin lives, and seriously affect your business also, if output is lost, machinery is damaged, insurance costs increase, or you have to go to court.You are legally required to assess the risks in your workplace.The important thing you need to decide is whether a hazard is significant, and whether you have taken satisfactory precautions to minimize the risk.If you are a small firm owner, and you are confident you understand what is involved, you can carry out a risk assessment yourself. You do not have to be a Health and Safety expert. If you are a larger firm, then you may want to assign a responsible employee, safety representative or safety officer to carry out the task. You can also obtain advice from outside companies, who have specialised in this type of work.What is Hazard and Risk?A hazard means anything that can cause harm. To give you a basic idea, think of chemicals, electricity, working at heights etc etc.A risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody will be harmed by the hazard.There are five steps in a risk assessment:Step 1. Look for the hazards.Step 2. Decide who might be harmed and how.Step 3. Evaluate the risk and decide whether the existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done.Step 4. Record your findings.Step 5. Review your assessment and revise it if required.Do not overcomplicate matters. In the majority of firms in the commercial, service and light industrial sectors, the hazards are few, and those that do exist are fairly obvious. Checking them is mainly a matter of common sense, but also a required and necessary action.You probably know already, whether you have machinery that could cause harm, or if
In 21st Century and in the era of Knowledge Based Industry when global market in shrinking cross culture adaptation is not only a MUST but is only a mantra to succeed. In my previous two employments, we had 15 and 24 nationals respectively from different countries and many of our people from India go on Deputation to other countries and many of them face challenges to cope-up with the cultural change…behavioral change.
Understanding Intercultural Sensitivity
Why you need to go out, India is a country with “Diversity in Culture”. This diversity is the result of the coexistence of a number of religions as well as local traditions.
The beautiful temples of south India, easily identifiable by their ornately sculptured surface, in the desert of Kutch, Gujarat, on the other hand, the local folk pit themselves against the awesome forces of nature, in the extreme north is the high altitude desert of Ladakh, Local culture is visibly shaped by the faith - Buddhism - as well as by the harsh terrain.
With over one billion citizens, India is the second most populous nation in the world. It is impossible to speak of any one Indian culture, although there are deep cultural continuities that tie its people together.
In its quest for modernization, India has preserved its ancient civilization and never lost sight of the ideals that gave her strength through countless centuries. Science and technology has been steadily raising the living standard and prosperity of its people, but the nation of more than one billion people - one sixth of humanity - continues to live with some of its traditional values that go back 4,000 years and more. See this synthesis of tradition and modernity on your India Travel itinerary.
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
"Global diversity is the recognition and development of skills to deal with differences on both international and domestic fronts." –Dr. Milton Bennett
How can we help employees in our organizations succeed in an increasingly complex workplace? Our function is to clarify what cultural competence is and why it is needed, and to help employees enhance understanding of their own culture, and increase their intercultural sensitivity and competence. In 1986, Bennett created the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, which shows a progression of stages people may go through in developing intercultural competency. Since then, he has partnered with Dr. Mitch Hammer of American University to develop the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). (The inventory is a set of statements that allows an individual to assess his/her developmental stage of intercultural sensitivity according to the DMIS. This tool is valuable because it measures people's ability to experience difference in relatively complex ways).
Why there is Resistance…Tool to understand resistance
Development of intercultural competence does not come without a struggle; some employees will protest these efforts. Bennett's model helps us understand that the basic form of resistance is a defense response. People who respond to diversity efforts in this way are often moving from the model's first stage of intercultural sensitivity, denial (a failure to recognize that cultural differences exist) into the second stage, defense (recognition of differences). Often, people at this stage may express concern about reverse discrimination. "Recognition of the fact that differences do exist carries a threat," he says. The reaction is to defend one's self. Bennett recommends listening carefully to the person's fears and to help them understand how the organization will continue to extend opportunities to this person's cultural group, even as efforts expand to include other cultural groups.
The model predicts that as time goes by, people can move from defense (stage two) into minimization (stage three). "With minimization, there's more recognition that we're dealing with people that are different, but there's still resistance to that idea," Bennett explains. "The belief is that somehow if we are more open in making sure that equal opportunity exists, everyone should be grateful and follow a set of rules." Someone in this stage may say, "Why can't we all just be Americans?" A person at this stage hopes that we will all converge into a single cultural position. Of course, this position assumes people are able and willing to shed their culture and take on American culture.
How to address backlash
Bennett recommends several approaches to addressing backlash:
· Cultural Self-Awareness: Help employees develop cultural awareness, including (if applicable) identification of European American ethnicity versus stopping at a more specific cultural self-awareness (such as Italian or Irish).
· Recognition
After crossing a river, get as far away from its bank as possible and move on. When an invading force of the enemy is crossing a river, never engage it in the midst of the river itself. Rather, let half of its force cross the river first, then attack it so that you can gain the advantage. If you are eager to attack an invading enemy, never engage him at the point where he plans to cross a river. For a commanding view and to ensure better chances of survival against the enemy, occupy high grounds. Never move upstream to engage an enemy. These are the principles for deploying troops in marine battles. - Chapter Nine, Sun Zi Art of War Above are the principles when engaging enemies in marine battles. Let us look at how these principles can be applied to business.Business Application After crossing a river, get as far away from its bank as possible and move on. The reason why we need to get as far away from the bank after we cross the river is because we do not want to trap ourselves between the body of water and enemy’s troops. If we do, we cannot move forward or backward.In business, before you venture into overseas market, detailed planning is required, especially in the area of marketing. You have to quickly establish a ‘beachhead’ in the targeted market and try to capture as much market share as possible (analogous to getting away from the bank). If you are not able to capture enough, you might be forced out of business by competitors easily. When an invading force of the enemy is crossing a river, never engage it in the midst of the river itself. Rather, let half of its force cross the river first, then attack it so that you can gain the advantage. If you are eager to attack an invading enemy, never engage him at the point where he plans to cross a river.The reason why we engage the enemy when half of its force is crossing the river is because firstly, he would not be able to attack you with his full strength.Applying the principles above in business, if you are not
With over one billion citizens, India is the second most populous nation in the world. It is impossible to speak of any one Indian culture, although there are deep cultural continuities that tie its people together.
In its quest for modernization, India has preserved its ancient civilization and never lost sight of the ideals that gave her strength through countless centuries. Science and technology has been steadily raising the living standard and prosperity of its people, but the nation of more than one billion people - one sixth of humanity - continues to live with some of its traditional values that go back 4,000 years and more. See this synthesis of tradition and modernity on your India Travel itinerary.
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
"Global diversity is the recognition and development of skills to deal with differences on both international and domestic fronts." –Dr. Milton Bennett
How can we help employees in our organizations succeed in an increasingly complex workplace? Our function is to clarify what cultural competence is and why it is needed, and to help employees enhance understanding of their own culture, and increase their intercultural sensitivity and competence. In 1986, Bennett created the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, which shows a progression of stages people may go through in developing intercultural competency. Since then, he has partnered with Dr. Mitch Hammer of American University to develop the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). (The inventory is a set of statements that allows an individual to assess his/her developmental stage of intercultural sensitivity according to the DMIS. This tool is valuable because it measures people's ability to experience difference in relatively complex ways).
Why there is Resistance…Tool to understand resistance
Development of intercultural competence does not come without a struggle; some employees will protest these efforts. Bennett's model helps us understand that the basic form of resistance is a defense response. People who respond to diversity efforts in this way are often moving from the model's first stage of intercultural sensitivity, denial (a failure to recognize that cultural differences exist) into the second stage, defense (recognition of differences). Often, people at this stage may express concern about reverse discrimination. "Recognition of the fact that differences do exist carries a threat," he says. The reaction is to defend one's self. Bennett recommends listening carefully to the person's fears and to help them understand how the organization will continue to extend opportunities to this person's cultural group, even as efforts expand to include other cultural groups.
The model predicts that as time goes by, people can move from defense (stage two) into minimization (stage three). "With minimization, there's more recognition that we're dealing with people that are different, but there's still resistance to that idea," Bennett explains. "The belief is that somehow if we are more open in making sure that equal opportunity exists, everyone should be grateful and follow a set of rules." Someone in this stage may say, "Why can't we all just be Americans?" A person at this stage hopes that we will all converge into a single cultural position. Of course, this position assumes people are able and willing to shed their culture and take on American culture.
How to address backlash
Bennett recommends several approaches to addressing backlash:
· Cultural Self-Awareness: Help employees develop cultural awareness, including (if applicable) identification of European American ethnicity versus stopping at a more specific cultural self-awareness (such as Italian or Irish).
· Recognitio
Why take meeting minutes when meetings last hours? Usually poor business meeting etiquette is to blame, with poor planning and facilitation squandering valuable time and energy. Use these 7 business meeting etiquette tips to brush up your meeting skills and be more productive.1. Dinner jacket or Dinner on your jacketFirst decide on how formal your meeting will be. Advance warn attendees about special requirements, for example dress code, to ensure people understand what’s expected and can prepare accordingly.2. Too many chiefs ….. and not enough Native Americans ;>)There is a skill in inviting the right people to a meeting. Only invite bosses, and the work will never be done, so make sure you invite the right mix of decision makers, experts, implementers and stakeholders to enable post meeting action.3. …. But too many cooks spoil the brothThe flip side to inviting the right mix of people is that you may end up with an overflowing meeting room. As long as you get about 80% of who you need, you’re doing well.4. The 37 minute meeting agendaPrepare a meeting agenda in advance and circulate this to your attendees - remember that meetings can come in all different durations, so get people’s attention by having weird duration meetings. Meetings that start and finish on time (or even early!), and achieve all objectives outlined in the agenda will be appreciated by all, and will increase your chance of a better meeting next time.5. Empty barrels make the most noiseGood facilitation skills are important when you have people fond of their own voice. Use meeting ground-rules to help avoid speaking for the sake of speaking. Or maybe don’t invite them in the first place! How about introducing stand-up meetings? Brilliant for daily catch-up or review meetings, as conversations shorten when legs tire.6. Stop violent agreementAnd here’s another reason why this is a great idea….. and another… and another. Do you really need to waste time violently agreeing with each other? It might
How can we help employees in our organizations succeed in an increasingly complex workplace? Our function is to clarify what cultural competence is and why it is needed, and to help employees enhance understanding of their own culture, and increase their intercultural sensitivity and competence. In 1986, Bennett created the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, which shows a progression of stages people may go through in developing intercultural competency. Since then, he has partnered with Dr. Mitch Hammer of American University to develop the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). (The inventory is a set of statements that allows an individual to assess his/her developmental stage of intercultural sensitivity according to the DMIS. This tool is valuable because it measures people's ability to experience difference in relatively complex ways).
Why there is Resistance…Tool to understand resistance
Development of intercultural competence does not come without a struggle; some employees will protest these efforts. Bennett's model helps us understand that the basic form of resistance is a defense response. People who respond to diversity efforts in this way are often moving from the model's first stage of intercultural sensitivity, denial (a failure to recognize that cultural differences exist) into the second stage, defense (recognition of differences). Often, people at this stage may express concern about reverse discrimination. "Recognition of the fact that differences do exist carries a threat," he says. The reaction is to defend one's self. Bennett recommends listening carefully to the person's fears and to help them understand how the organization will continue to extend opportunities to this person's cultural group, even as efforts expand to include other cultural groups.
The model predicts that as time goes by, people can move from defense (stage two) into minimization (stage three). "With minimization, there's more recognition that we're dealing with people that are different, but there's still resistance to that idea," Bennett explains. "The belief is that somehow if we are more open in making sure that equal opportunity exists, everyone should be grateful and follow a set of rules." Someone in this stage may say, "Why can't we all just be Americans?" A person at this stage hopes that we will all converge into a single cultural position. Of course, this position assumes people are able and willing to shed their culture and take on American culture.
How to address backlash
Bennett recommends several approaches to addressing backlash:
· Cultural Self-Awareness: Help employees develop cultural awareness, including (if applicable) identification of European American ethnicity versus stopping at a more specific cultural self-awareness (such as Italian or Irish).
· Recognitio
Mergers and acquisitions happen just about every business day of the year. You may not hear about many of them, mainly because they are low key companies. But, having the inside scoop on the latest and greatest mergers and acquisitions can help you to keep your head above water as well. What are these and why are they so important anyway? If you are not sure what mergers and acquisitions are, let's talk for a moment about that.In the simplest of terms, a merger is the combining of two companies. Of course, there will be rules, laws as well as a long list of contracts to cover all of the basics and then some. The acquisition is different because in this case the companies will become one, but one is buying the other. It is not a combined effort to rule together so to speak but one company out right purchasing the other. That is the most basic of understanding for what mergers and acquisitions are.They are important for a number of reasons. For example, you may be part of one of those mergers and or acquisitions. In that case, you'll want to know what is happening to you and your job. But, if you are not part to fit, you still need some information about how it all happens to effect your business. If two companies that make paper merge, and you make paper as well, will they have a larger share out there now and will that mean more dollars to spend on marketing? As you can see, this will effect your business quickly.Keeping a good eye out for when mergers and acquisitions happen is something that all good business people need to do. You will find this information readily available to you virtually when it happens on the web. You'll also find a wealth of information about the details of the mergers and acquisitions as well. Doesn’t everyone just love the gossip out there?
Development of intercultural competence does not come without a struggle; some employees will protest these efforts. Bennett's model helps us understand that the basic form of resistance is a defense response. People who respond to diversity efforts in this way are often moving from the model's first stage of intercultural sensitivity, denial (a failure to recognize that cultural differences exist) into the second stage, defense (recognition of differences). Often, people at this stage may express concern about reverse discrimination. "Recognition of the fact that differences do exist carries a threat," he says. The reaction is to defend one's self. Bennett recommends listening carefully to the person's fears and to help them understand how the organization will continue to extend opportunities to this person's cultural group, even as efforts expand to include other cultural groups.
The model predicts that as time goes by, people can move from defense (stage two) into minimization (stage three). "With minimization, there's more recognition that we're dealing with people that are different, but there's still resistance to that idea," Bennett explains. "The belief is that somehow if we are more open in making sure that equal opportunity exists, everyone should be grateful and follow a set of rules." Someone in this stage may say, "Why can't we all just be Americans?" A person at this stage hopes that we will all converge into a single cultural position. Of course, this position assumes people are able and willing to shed their culture and take on American culture.
How to address backlash
Bennett recommends several approaches to addressing backlash:
· Cultural Self-Awareness: Help employees develop cultural awareness, including (if applicable) identification of European American ethnicity versus stopping at a more specific cultural self-awareness (such as Italian or Irish).
· Recognitio
For many corporate reformists and progressives, The Body Shop has been the poster child for corporate responsibility toward the environment, human rights and fair trade. L’Oreal, on the other hand, has represented the evil empire, and has been harshly criticized by The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick for animal testing and other unethical practices.So it stands to figure that activists are split in their reaction to The Body Shop’s decision to be acquired by L’Oreal.In one camp are the pragmatists who accept the relationship between The Body Shop’s social welfare ideals and the profit-driven gluttony of shopping malls where the company sells its products.They’re willing to take Roddick at her word when she says that she’s “done what any founder ought to do. I have done all I can to protect the future for thousands of employees and community trade suppliers.... I do not believe that L’Oreal will compromise the ethics of The Body Shop. That is after all what they are paying for and they are too intelligent to mess with our DNA.”Even Brooke Shelby Biggs of activist site CorpWatch thinks the acquisition could be a good thing. “Maybe Roddick is right,” she writes. “Maybe a vastly expanded market will be good for the communities from which The Body Shop sources its products.”The Body Shop is, after all, a consumer business that sells stuff nobody absolutely needs. So, she figures, “if you’re going to buy Body Butter anyway, it’s good to know you’re helping women in Ghana feed their families at the same time.”In the other camp are the outraged ideologues, violently shaken from their convenient rationalization that a $732 million, publicly traded corporation existed primarily to validate their anticorporate beliefs. The UK-based Ethical Consumer threatens to lower The Body Shop’s “ethical rating,” adding the company to a list of activist group boycotts that already includes Microsoft, Bacardi, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Israel, Maxwell House, Procter and Gamble, Shell, Rolls Royce and the whole country of Canada. (stage two) into minimization (stage three). "With minimization, there's more recognition that we're dealing with people that are different, but there's still resistance to that idea," Bennett explains. "The belief is that somehow if we are more open in making sure that equal opportunity exists, everyone should be grateful and follow a set of rules." Someone in this stage may say, "Why can't we all just be Americans?" A person at this stage hopes that we will all converge into a single cultural position. Of course, this position assumes people are able and willing to shed their culture and take on American culture.
How to address backlash
Bennett recommends several approaches to addressing backlash:
· Cultural Self-Awareness: Help employees develop cultural awareness, including (if applicable) identification of European American ethnicity versus stopping at a more specific cultural self-awareness (such as Italian or Irish).
· Recognition of Cultural Capital: Prepare employees to deal with issues of privilege in a non-threatening way. Help them to identify their own cultural capital (what it means to belong to their own group and how that translates into institutional privilege).
· Establishing a Cultural Core: Facilitate an exploration of value commitment in the context of intercultural relativity.
In other words, we need to recognize that our values are culturally based. Then, we must develop the capability of working effectively with people with different values without feeling the need to give up our own values system. "I find that most diversity practitioners don’t have the ability to deal with this," He says. "[The tendency is to think] if there aren’t any basic values, which by the way are mine, how do we work and live ethically?"
Bennett envisions this model extending beyond domestic to international diversity efforts. "Global diversity is the recognition and development of skills to deal with differences on both international and domestic fronts," says Bennett.
Many organizations realize that diversity efforts involve on-going change strategies rather than one-time training events.
There is also a move toward coupling international and domestic diversity, and aligning intercultural competence with leadership development. "The danger [in these trends] of course is that international issues may be seen as diffusing other important [domestic diversity] issues," Bennett cautions. Our challenge, then, is to maintain the emphasis on domestic issues within the context of the larger global diversity effort.
Stages of Intercultural Sensitivity
In the '80's and 90's organizations have attempted to go beyond mere discrimination issues and even to "celebrate diversity." However, celebration of diversity falls far short of what is needed for effective collaboration between mainstream agencies and ethnic minority communities. For organizations or individuals to move beyond "celebration" to a real ability to work appropriately with cultural difference requires a planned sequence of development.
Bennett describes six stages of development in intercultural sensitivity. The stages provide a good framework for determining how to work with and improve the capacity for intercultural sensitivity and collaboration. Some of his stages of "cultural sensitivity" include behaviors or adaptations the authors include under the definition of "cultural competence."
1. Bennett refers to the first stage of the model as "denial." It means that people in this stage are very unaware of cultural difference. If mainstream agency staff are in this stage of intercultural sensitivity, a huge problem can be expected in the delivery of education, health, and social services for ethnic minorities, a gap that does currently exist when these groups are compared to Anglo Americans. The task for staff at this first stage of intercultural sensitivity is to recognize cultural differences that are escaping their notice.
2. Whereas in the first stage we do not "see" cultural differences, in the second stage of cultural competence we do perceive cultural differences; however, differences from ourselves or the norms of our group are labeled very negatively. They are experienced as a threat to the centrality and "rightness" of our own value system. Bennett calls this stage "defense."
3. In the third stage of intercultural sensitivity, minimization, we try to avoid stereotypes and even appreciate differences in language and culture. However, we still view many of our own values as universal, rather than viewing them simply as part of our own ethnicity. The task at the third level of intercultural sensitivity is to learn more about our own culture and to avoid projecting that culture onto other people's experience.
This stage is particularly
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