Intercultural Meeting
"Stellen Sie sich vor, eines Tages kommen sie in Ihre Firma, und diese ist „plötzlich“ Teil eines international
agierenden Konzerns. Sie haben selbstverständlich Englisch zu sprechen, die Eigenheiten der
Entscheidungsfindung des Managementteams der Muttergesellschaft zu kennen, es wird vorausgesetzt, dass
Sie wissen was da „zwischen den Tönen“ gesagt wird und wie Sie sich zu verhalten haben. Plötzlich laufen
Meetings nicht mehr streng strukturiert mit Tagesordnung und Wortmeldungen ab, sondern eher formlos,
scheinbar unverbindlich, trotzdem scheinen die neuen stets lächelnden Kollegen genau zu wissen, um was es
geht und was da entschieden worden ist."
Althauser U., 1996
Why?
According to a survey, 75% of people in leading positions find meetings relatively ineffective. When it comes to
intercultural meetings, the following complicates the matter further:
• Difficulties in understanding due to differences in ability to speak the language
• Culturally influenced different ways of working, problem-solving methods and decision-making processes
• Different strategies for resolving conflict influenced by culture
• Diverse notions of time and space
• Culturally influenced diverse attitudes and expectations
Objectives:
• Really understanding each other
• Get to know other ways of working
• Find a common denominator, i.e. define new rules of the game
• Achieve more effective, goal oriented, time-saving and sustainable results
The workshop comprises the three levels of a discussion:
• Content
• Organisation
• Relationships
At the content level:
Focused on information, knowledge, opinions, ideas, objectives or problems – everything which the participants
bring to the meeting.
For mutual understanding at this level, of central importance are:
• Language of the communication
• To understand and be understood correctly
• Methods of resolution in dealing with the matter of language
At the organisational level:
Deals with the way in which working together in meetings is structured and organised (spoken and unspoken
rules, norms, methods), so that the objective of the meeting can be achieved.
Including for example:
• Invitation/notification, agenda and minutes
• Course of events and facilitation
• Time management
• Decision-making and implementation planning
• Rules for communication
• Behavioural norms and dresscode
Subjects which have not been clarified at the organisation level, frequently have a negative effect on the relationship level
At the relationship level:
The way in which the participants treat each other in working through the contents of the meeting (group dynamics)
At the relationship level:
• Supporting and opposing
• Feelings and attitudes
• Expectations
• Dealing with disturbances and confusion
• Feedback, praise and critisism
• Level of trust and candour
Cultural differences at the relationship level often lead to irritation and frustration and can escalate to communication breakdown
For this workshop you can select;
• An open workshop (max. 10 – 15 participants)
• An In-house workshop
• A specific culture or a multicultural context
• German or English
• The duration: 1-2 Days
• Virtual meetings may also be offered on request
Please contact us:
contact@global-bridge.com
Tel.:+ 49 (0)89-590 438 20