When Cultures Meet Workshop
WHEN CULTURES MEET WORKSHOP
AND CERTIFICATION
About the Workshop
The meeting of cultures comes in many forms, such as
- Whentwo organizations merge
- When an organization from one culture brings its operations to a different culture
- When two units in an organization need to interact more effectively in order to achieve a desired outcome
- When increasingly diverse populations enter the workplace
This meeting of cultures inevitably disrupts the status quo. Feelings and reactions are generated on all sides that regularly heighten interpersonal tensions and diminish overall organizational effectiveness.
When Cultures Meet addresses the pitfalls and the productive possibilities when differing cultures come together.
GOAL:
This workshop helps members of differing cultures deepen their understanding and master the process of coming together so that they are able to develop a single, unified, high energy organization. The workshop generates the knowledge and skills necessary to make the process successful, creative and enriching.
UNIQUE FOCUS:
This workshop explores the central role dominance plays in this process. The dominant culture is "the way it has always been" in the workplace or in society at large. The dominant culture has its "rules"-- generally unaware and unspoken -- regarding what are acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, manners of speech, values, ways of working, and more. And into this culture come the "others" with their own "rules". When we don't see or understand these differing cultures and their rules, we inadvertently push "hot buttons" that trigger misunderstanding and conflict, all of which derail the goals of working together.
FORMAT:
The workshop is a blend of experiential activities, reflection, and debriefing, along with strategic frameworks and application. It is comprised of two modules.
In the first, two cultures are created -- the Dominants and the Others. This dynamic simulation gets to the heart of issues faced by both Dominants and Others as these two cultures meet.
The second module focuses on issuesin which organizations with uniquely different cultures explore the possibility of developing a single more robust organization.
KEY LEARNING POINTS:
•Clarify the role dominance plays when two cultures come together.
•Identify "hot button" issues that trigger misunderstanding across cultural lines.
•Provide an opportunity to practice listening to differences rather than being triggered by them.
•Apply a road map for creating a single robust human system in which cultural differences add to the creative energy of the system.