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CROSS CULTURAL WORK

Current research suggests that between 60-84% of cross-border mergers and acquisitions fail (i.e. do not increase shareholder value) because of the negative impact of cultural differences. Arguably, many domestic mergers haven’t been as successful, either, due to issues between the two or more organizational “cultures” that came together. Research on off-shoring initiatives is not as extensive, but numerous organizations have also not been as effective as these endeavors, due to a lack of attention “up front” to issues of culture and culturally-driven norms and expectations.

Through our customized sessions, people better understand the importance of developing greater cultural fluency in today’s global marketplace and begin to build those skills. We identify a working definition of culture, and create a better understanding of cultural differences and their impact on behavior. Customized to industry and business needs, we help participants to better understand the communication, learning, and teamwork implications for culturally-driven behavioral or expectation differences – between two or more specific cultural groups, or with a variety of global examples.

Cross-cultural fluency is critical when working with a global team, managing any diverse group of people, developing advertising and product positioning efforts for new markets, and interacting with customers from different backgrounds. By the end of our training process, people have expanded their overall level of cross-cultural awareness and repertoire of skills so that they can be more effective both inside and outside of their organization.