relocation
Author: Future Manager Research Center Every year several companies decide to transfer one or more managers abroad, a phenomenon that has certainly enhanced following the increasingly frequent internationalization of companies. International assignments tempt many employees, especially the more adventurous, as to have the total control of the situation it is not enough to have a perfect command of the foreign language of the target country. The reasons why a company decides to relocate its employee are among the most disparate: first of all, the desire to have a trusted man across the border who monitors an international branch knowing that he will always serve the interests of the headquarter. Secondly, this allows optimizing the communication with a foreign branch by entrusting it to a colleague who shares their same culture. Often and willingly, the international manager carries out the task of training local staff according to the policy of the parent company. Generally speaking, we are talking about transfers that can be short or long term mostly the times vary from 1 to 5 years, a period that can be considered more than sufficient to guarantee professional maturation and growth for the Expat that has the opportunity to test himself in new and unknown contexts thus covering an almost strategic role. Given the prospect of growth, which is potentially huge, there has been an evolution in the choice of the ideal profile to transfer: if before a middle-aged manager with great experience was preferred, now the trend is to send young talents already accustomed to travel, so that they acquire new skills and this can cushion some business costs. However, the scenario that occurs is quite complex, since the organizational and managerial aspects of transfers require particular attention. In fact, companies must have a “secondment policy” that takes into consideration the employee’s remuneration package that may need to be revised and modified. Not to mention the contractual, tax and social security aspects supporting the departing manager, elements that vary from country to country. Especially if the companies are small or medium-sized, there may be the need to rely on specialized consultants to whom it is very useful to rely in order not to run into management and administrative mistakes that would be decidedly annoying.
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Author: Future Manager Research Center Being misunderstood, in everyday life as well as in the workplace, is part of our normality. Things get complicated when, in a professional environment, we relate to interlocutors who come from countries very far from ours and with different cultures and customs. In the world of economic interests, even a small and unfortunate misstep could compromise the success of a venture. In a reciprocal way, words and situations that for some may seem “normal”, for others could be cause for intercultural misunderstandings. Even the funniest jokes can become the source of relational discomfort or even conflict. During a hypothetical business trip, gestures are also essential. In the United Arab Emirates, even if you are left-handed, always use your right hand to say hello, as the left hand is considered the one used only for personal hygiene. In Japan, on the other hand, it would be preferable to avoid the handshake altogether, but if the gesture comes automatically you can rest assured because no Japanese will back down, they are used to relating with Westerners, but avoid in all ways to cough or blow your nose in public. In the United States, it is not necessary to knock on a bathroom door to make sure it is busy because it certainly is, since it is a good habit to leave the door open before leaving. In Finland it is not polite to ask at what time a business dinner will take place if you have been invited, just wait for the person who organized the meeting to give all the necessary information. In short, there are many curious customs, whether true or false. There is a business etiquette, a kind of unwritten law, that can be decisive in one sense or another. The simple solution is to make use of Cross Culture‘s individual or corporate services so that you can never be unprepared, thus managing your interests in the best possible way, politely, politely and without giving up the sense of humor that can be decisive.
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Author: Future Manager Research Center Thanks to globalization, international companies now have the opportunity to attract talent from all over the world, thus forming teams made up of members from different countries and cultures. These culturally heterogeneous groups are an advantage due to the opportunities and diversification they offer, but are often very difficult to manage because of the “cultural gap”. Given the different languages, traditions and ethnicities of these teams, misunderstandings can arise which in turn can lead to unprofitable attitudes. To avoid this type of situations, companies have the opportunity to train their employees on cross-cultural issues, thus nourishing their knowledge and sensitivity to the topic. Cross-cultural training is a type of specific training that aims to create a work environment in which everyone feels comfortable collaborating with people from all kind of backgrounds. Cross-cultural education aims to bridge the cultural gap by ensuring that the team understands the differences of the other components in order to allow active and conscientious communication that avoids misunderstandings. The achievement of a cross-cultural awareness and the usage of coaching as a way to solve these kind of issues can help people to understand each other better, thus leading to a more relaxed atmosphere where everyone feels free to be their selves in respect of others. If properly and cautiously implemented, a multicultural environment within a company can be very productive thanks to the differences in employees that will drive the business towards innovation. Moreover, a workplace whereby the relationships among employees are peaceful leads to an increase of the quantity and the quality of performance.
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Author: Future Manager Research Center Information-sharing is a crucial issue for any business. In fact, an aspect that must be cultivated with great attention is the constant and mutual sharing between colleagues and employees. But it may become a real problem on multicultural teams: the more cultural distance employees perceive, the more the problem is exacerbated. How much an employee’s cultural background impacts on their ability to perform as a part of a team? An uncomfortable but real truth is that, in the workplace, people tend to trust and attribute a higher status to colleagues whose cultural backgrounds are similar to their own. As a result, members of the majority nationality group also share the most information with one another. Whereas, minorities with the most cultural differences are often attributed a lower status and information is withheld from them. This withholding can cause those from “low status” minority groups to underperform and never reach their full potential. Speaking of “minorities” or presumed minorities, a further distinction can be underlined. Discrimination, conscious or unconscious, within a company team affects groups of workers more decisively than others. In fact, not all minorities are stereotyped and classified equally: when cultural differences are apparently slight, the status of the minority group is not necessarily considered inferior to the status of the majority group, and the information-sharing proceeds without particular inhomogeneities. On the other hand, when cultural differences appear larger (i.e. when team members are not only from different nations but from different continents), the status of the minority group is perceived as being much lower than the status of the majority group and the information is less inclined to be shared with them. For a company accustomed to being global and for an employee who does not make distinctions of origin when confronted with a colleague, all this is nothing more than “discrimination within discrimination”. Naturally, if certain employees are not receiving vital business information, it will eventually have a negative impact on the larger organization. So, managers must stop these cultural biases from infiltrating their teams. Valuing knowledge sharing and diversity is therefore extremely important. Companies should actively encourage knowledge sharing among peers. Increasing the diversity of a team will also create a more open and inclusive workplace. The more cultural differences your team members have, the more likely they are to perceive themselves as one unit and the less likely it is for a majority group based on nationality to form.
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Author: Future Manager Research Center You may think that silence during a conversation, especially if it is focused on business, is disorienting, as well as it is a negative signal in the development of a business deal. Actually, it has a huge strategic value when approached to some cultures and customs in which implicit and non-verbal communication takes on a central role. If in some geographical areas, such as North America, empty spaces during corporate communication are associated with a feeling of discomfort or even disinterest; in Japan, on the other hand, the so-called chinmoku 沈黙 (silence) is crucial and full of meaning in communication: it represents a sign of respect towards your own interlocutor. If during a business meeting the Japanese counterpart you are interacting with does not respond immediately and remains silent for a few minutes, do not worry! Generally, this attitude denotes that your Japanese partners or colleagues are seriously considering and carefully evaluating what they have just heard. This is certainly a peculiar custom of many Eastern countries, which is also symptom of great wisdom, empathy and self-control, in contrast to the typical way of communicating of Westerners, that can appear almost aggressive and that can be a type of approach that risks leaving no room for reflection. Within Japanese corporate realities, executives are often inclined to adopt the practice of silence in a business context with the aim of preserving and maintaining an atmosphere of harmony and balance, especially in cases of aversion or opposition to a certain way of thinking. When dealing with a Japanese counterpart, it is essential to also know the art of kūki wo yomu 空気を読む (reading the air), in other words, it is the ability to read between the lines. Consider that usually Japanese people never directly communicate their dissent, which is why it is necessary to codify and interpret their real intentions to be able to establish harmonious and long-lasting relationships with them. It is certain that there are also cases in which silence could result in the need to stall in order to find the right way to express dissent in a kind and polite way.
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Author: Future Manager Research Center When a company wants to change and innovate, increasing diversity represents a significant challenge for many businesses. On the other side the number of diverse teams in all industries is rising because in a diverse group, every member will have a specific task, yet all of them work towards the same goal and together are able to reach great results thanks to their different backgrounds . But what is workplace diversity? When people think of diversity, they usually think of race, age or gender. However, diversity is a much wider and inclusive notion. There are two main classifications of diversity: Workplace diversity is defined as understanding, accepting, and valuing differences between people indifferently from their race, gender, age, religion, disability, as well as skill set, experiences, and knowledge. Diversity within an organization is about promoting an inclusive workforce – embracing employees of different backgrounds, ethnicities and cultural beliefs. Recruiting diversity is looking for people from different backgrounds and making the application process accessible to all that embrace different perspectives, ideologies, and beliefs in order to bring different ideas and opinions together within the organization. Many are the advantages of recruiting diversity Nevertheless managing diversity comes with its own challenges because the benefits of diversity, such as innovation and creativity, are often the result of conflicting perspectives. These conflicts often require more thorough and lengthy communication to resolve and to reach a common understanding. However as diversity enhances the competitiveness of the business both within the workforce and the organization attracting and increasing diverse talent is an important competitive differentiator for companies and gives them a competitive edge; Organizations that want to reach out to the best candidates, regardless of gender and class, should design the recruitment process to appeal to a diverse candidate base.
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