This article is a thought leader in advance of the Club of Amsterdam's 'Summit for the Future on Risk' on May 3-5 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Author: Finn Drouet Majlergaard
How come that companies, who have been doing business internationally for decades suddenly fail? And how come that companies who wouldn't have had a chance 25 years ago suddenly become a global success?
This paper deals with the links between cultural awareness, corporate strategy and performance. It is based on my 15 years of experience in international business management, academic research in this field and experiences from our company Gugin, who helps corporations in Europe, US and Asia improving their international businesses.
But lets look at why it has become so important to take different cultures into consideration.
Globalisation
Cultural awareness has become important due to increased globalisation. The global political structures have changed. We do have a United Nations that almost all countries respect and honour and the post war division of the world has changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. New countries have been born and we have a more diverged political picture. We create political/economical relations in new ways e.g. the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) process, which is a direct result of these changes. By 1992 East Asia accounted for 24 percent of global production. By comparison, the EU accounted for 35 percent and North America for 28% of global production. According to World Bank figures from 1991 - 1993 growth of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in East Asia averaged 8.7 percent. On the basis of growth rates recorded during 1978 - 1991, many economists including those from the World Bank projected that East Asia's GDP would overtake that of North America and EU in 2010.
Economically we are emerging as well. Europe is turning towards larger entities with common currency, one Central Bank and merges and close collaborations between stock exchanges. ASEAN is another good example however different. But since its foundation in 1967 a lot has changed. Evolving relations between the EEC/EU and ASEAN have lead to a lot of initiatives, such as joint ventures in the exploration of AEAN resources, the possibility of EEC participation in ASEAN manufacturing activities and the mobilisation of capital for financing ASEAN projects.
Technologically the Internet has made it possible for companies to market themselves virtually everywhere and enabled the companies to establish inexpensive global infrastructures. And when you need to go abroad it is less expensive than ever before, so we travel much more than 20 years ago.
So from both a political, economical and technological point of view we are encouraged to discover cultures we have only little knowledge about. For the adventurer it is good news but for international corporations it might as well be bad news.
We have been working with two types of companies: Those who want to expand their international business in either Asia or Europe and those who have tried and faced a lot of challenges they didn't predict or could even imagine. We like the first group very much, because we can help them become successful before they make any serious mistakes, however it is more interesting to look closer at the last group - those who tried and didn't have their expectations met.
You can download the full article as a *.pdf: below
Biography
Finn Drouet Majlergaard (41) is the founder and managing partner of Gugin International Business Development operating globally with offices in France and Denmark. He holds an MBA from Henley Management College and is currently studying DBA at International School of Management. He has worked internationally through his entire professional life with companies like IBM, CSC, Arthur Andersen Business Consulting. He is a regular guest professor at Bangkok University and Copenhagen Business School but he spend most of his time helping companies around the world to succeed internationally. He has an unorthodox way of thinking and he likes to provoke in order to get his messages through. Finn will be speak at the Summit for the Future on Risk in the "Cross Cultural Competence" session.
|
|
by Judie Haynes
Simple awareness on the part of mainstream staff members will help them deal more effectively with cross-cultural dissension. As ESL/bilingual professionals we need to teach strategies which help our colleagues understand the role culture plays in the behavior and reactions of second language learners and their parents.
Understanding and interpreting the cultures of second language learners is an important part of the ESL/bilingual teachers' role. Helping classroom teachers to do this is even more of a challenge. Misinterpretations are bound to occur on both sides. Whenever a mainstream staff members thinks an ESL youngsters' behavior seems unwarranted, bizarre, rude, or in some way unexpected, it's possible that this is a sign of cultural misunderstanding. And it is the ESL/bilingual professional who is called upon to unlock the cultural puzzle.
Can ESL/bilingual or classroom teachers learn all there is to know about the various cultures in your school? No, of course not!
Effective staff development courses are a way ESL/bilingual professionals can help mainstream staff members better interpret the cultures of the diverse student populations in your school. The objectives of a staff development workshop would be to give participants:
- an awareness of how much culture affects language acquisition and behavior
- the discernment not to interpret the behavior of others through the eyes of their own culture
- insight into their own culture
- the tools to "unlock" cultural puzzles
Download these activities for your next staff inservice.
State your point of view
Participants state their attitudes and beliefs about multiculturalism in the U.S. in a non-threatening way. This activity can easily be modified to meet the needs of individual groups or districts.
What is...?
See what the participants in your workshop know about ESL. There are two activities in this PDF file; one for ESL professionals and one for classroom teachers.
Communication game
Most Americans who have not lived or gone to school in another country do not understand what it feels like to come to the United States and function in a strange school setting. Give workshop participants the experience of not being able to make themselves understood through this lively activity
Stand up and be counted
This is a demonstration of how we are all members of a minority at one time or another. At the end of this exercise, ask participants which items they were reluctant to stand up for and why. Discuss how it felt to be standing alone or with only a few other people. Of course, the items in this activity can be changed to meet the needs of your audience.
Is the American ugly?
Adapted from the work of Hsu, an antropologist who spent half his life in China and half in the U.S, this activity will show participants how Americans are viewed from the outside. Hsu found Americans obsessed with privacy. However, we don't seem to value privacy to the French with our unfenced yards, open office doors and the windows of our homes facing the street. It all depends on who's looking.
Cultural quiz
This is a lively activity where participants develop cultural insights into the behavior of second language learners in their classrooms. It is a favorite activity for staff inservice programs. Divide participants into groups of three or four and provide each group with a cultural scenerio. Have groups discuss what they think is causing the problem in their scenerio and present their conclusions.
What's in a gesture?
Gestures are an important element when exchanging ideas or information with people from other cultures. Learning how gestures can affect cross-cultural communication is another favorite with mainstream teachers.
Multicultural me
This activity shows how we all identify with different groups at different times. Participants should write their names in the center circle and then write five different groups with which they identify in the outside circles. Examples of the different kinds of groups that can be named are race, religion, gender, age, profession, language, town, neighborhood, school, and beliefs. After the group has finished this activity, you might want to have them share when they felt proud to be a member of one of their groups and when it felt uncomfortable.
Truth of Stereotyp
South American culture is featured in this activity. Have your audience read the scenerios and decided if they agree or disagree.
Take the Elevator!
Have you ever heard anyone say "They're in the U.S. now, let them do it our way." This activity demonstrates how deeply ingrained our cultural behavior is and how difficult it would be to change it.
Exploring Prejudice and Bias
Have participants in your workshop discover their own prejudices in a non-threatening environment. This activity provides an anonymous way for people to express themselves freely. The results will surprise you.
Myths of second language acquisition
There are many misconceptions about how a second language is acquired. Address these myths with this short quiz. Some of the responses will surprise even the most savvy participants. This activity has been updated.
Keep an arms-length away
Have you ever heard of the American "bubble?" Most Americans feel most comfortable when people keep an arms-length away during conversations. Try this out with this activity.
Second language sensitivity
This is a dynamite activity for demonstrating to participants what it is like to sit in a classroom while someone lectures in an incomprehensible language.
|
|
http://www.theprovince.com/Life/Anti+racism+training+required+exclusively+white+Justice+brass/1367582/story.html
OTTAWA -- The Justice Department, confronting public allegations that it drives away visible minorities by denying them promotions and other opportunities, is requiring hundreds of managers nationwide to take anti-racism training.
The "national diversity awareness initiative" is part of a broad effort to change a departmental culture that a former government lawyer described as "toxic" when he testified at a Senate hearing on employment equity in the public service.
Mark Persaud, who came to Canada from Guyana as a refugee in 1983, told the Senate committee last year that he quit the Justice Department in 2003 because he was fed up with the "overt racism and discrimination of employees."
The department, which denied at the time that it had a problem, now acknowledges that it needs to address the fact that employees in the top salary brackets are almost exclusively white.
Justice Canada will begin this spring to hold up to 22 weekend workshops for managers in major Canadian cities and attendance will be mandatory, said Donna Miller, an associate deputy minister.
As many as 660 managers will be required to attend.
"The department has always been committed to diversity," Miller said. "What happened last year I think gave up a boost in how we focused on this."
Persaud, who joined the Justice Department in 1993 after graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, drew national headlines in February 2008 when he slammed the department's track record.
He told the committee that all the non-white lawyers he knew eventually left Justice because they were tired of being stuck at the bottom of the career ladder. They didn't get the best files, were passed over for promotions and lacked mentors, he said.
Deputy Minister John Sims, in a letter last year to the Ottawa Citizen, refuted Persaud's allegations by writing that the department "does not tolerate discrimination or racism in any form" and offers "a fair and welcoming work environment."
Sims was not available for an interview, but Miller acknowledged that the department recognizes there are too many visible minorities in the bottom pay rungs.
The Lawyers Weekly newspaper, however, reported last year that 88 per cent of visible minority lawyers in the department work in the two lowest salary tiers, compared to 71 per cent of white lawyers. Visibility minority lawyers are also absent from upper management.
Senator Don Oliver, a black Nova Scotian, said he has built of a sizable file of complaints against the department from the many letters, faxes, emails and letters he received after the Senate hearings. A common theme, he said, is a feeling that promotions "always go to the white people."
Oliver said that reaching targets for minority hirings and promotions should be a factor when awarding managers' bonus pay.
"Justice has a lot of work to do," said Oliver, who singled out other departments and agencies for their stellar work in recruiting and advancing minorities, including Health Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Canada Revenue Agency.
He said he spoke to Sims after the Senate hearings and he said the deputy was surprised by the negative reaction he received from his letter to the editor.
Miller said the workshops are part of an overall effort toward a cultural shift in the department. Other measures include mentoring programs for racial minorities and developing programs to identify management material.
"There's no question we're not there. This is a work in progress," she said.
But Miller said the department's hiring of visible minorities improved considerably last year, jumping to 13.1 per cent of the staff at the end of 2008, up from 11.6 per cent less that a year earlier.
Persaud said that the workshops will be a "useless exercise" unless a message of change is sent from the top levels of the department.
"I think almost anything should be tried," said Persaud, who is now head of the Toronto-based Canadian International Peace Project.
"They have failed abysmally to acknowledge there is a problem or secondly, to do anything about it."
He said he once attended a mandatory anti-racism seminar for government lawyers and "I recall the hostility of my colleagues" at being forced to participate.
"These are lawyers who should be upholding the highest standard of public service," said Persaud.
"If the Department of Justice cannot clean up its act, then I shudder to think what is happening in other departments." |
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20081229/ts_csm/abeaker
By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo – Mon Dec 29, 3:00 am ET
New Bedford, Mass. – Jeremy Kennefick and Geoffrey Gailey are both new science teachers, one a career-changer, the other fresh out of graduate school. Both are teaching in high-poverty districts, where the needs are greatest. And both are surrounded by a rare level of support – financial incentives, mentors, and groups of other new teachers to consult with as they grow in the profession.
It's no easy task to recruit people with proclivities for science into schools – and to keep them long enough to nurture a talent for teaching. But over the next decade, schools will need 200,000 or more new teachers in science and math, according to estimates by such groups as the Business-Higher Education Forum in Washington. Already, many districts face shortages: In at least 10 states, fewer than 6 out of 10 middle-school science teachers were certified when the Council of Chief School Officers compiled a report last year.
"We desperately need more qualified ... science and math teachers, because of retirement,... overcrowded classrooms ... and people teaching out of [their] field," says Angelo Collins, executive director of the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF) in Moorestown, N.J., which offers fellowships for teachers in these fields.
The United States is not only facing a dearth of future homegrown scientists and engineers, she and others say, but increasingly, everyday citizens need science literacy.
The programs supporting Mr. Gailey and Mr. Kennefick are small, but their approach is likely to reach a much larger scale if President-elect Barack Obama is able to carry out his education proposals. He wants 40,000 scholarships to draw undergraduates and career-changers into high-needs schools. He would put special emphasis on science and math teaching. And he's praised teacher-preparation programs that offer a high degree of mentoring.
A former mortgage loan officer, Kennefick majored in psychology and has coached youth basketball leagues. He saw science teaching as a more fulfilling option, and then happened across Teach! SouthCoast, a partnership between the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth College, and several school districts, including that of New Bedford, where he now teaches eighth-grade science at Normandin Middle School.
He's receiving a $5,000 scholarship – funded by a federal grant – in exchange for teaching in the district for at least three years. Twice a week, he takes classes with a group of 20 who will earn their teaching licenses within a year.
"It's a heavy load," says Karen O'Connor, who oversees several such programs at UMASS's Center for University, School, and Community Partnerships. But the principals needed math and science teachers right away, and the new teachers have told her, "I wouldn't trade it for anything, because I could apply exactly what I was learning the very next day in my classroom." They continue to receive mentoring in their second and third years.
Strolling between desks, Kennefick takes an eighth-grade class through the key differences between plant and animal cells. "Any of you guys use aloe moisturizer? Aloe has a high content of vacuoles," he says, explaining the parts of a plant cell that store water, salts, and proteins. Soon he's got the kids working in groups to fill in a worksheet.
It's "100 percent different" from his first week of teaching, he says. "I came in thinking I would teach the same way I was taught" – by lecturing. Now, he's learning how to reach students who learn visually or through hands-on work.
Kennefick's class includes a boy excited about marine biology and a girl aspiring to be an obstetrician. It's an area where gang recruiters compete for students' attention, he says, and each day is a challenge.
Principal Jeanne Bonneau sees the benefit of Kennefick's "real world" experience. In addition to his love of science and of kids, "he has a great work ethic ... and good organizational skills," she says.
Most teachers who leave the profession do so not because of pay primarily, Ms. Collins says, but because they feel isolated, or the working conditions in their school are poor, or they start to see it as a professional dead end. In addition to tuition assistance and summer stipends, the KSTF fellowship tries to address those issues in its extra professional-development support for new teachers like Geoffrey Gailey.
He arrived at The Engineering School, a high school in Boston, with a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in teaching from Cornell University. But classroom management in his biotechnology classes has been the biggest learning curve, as it usually is at the start.
To illustrate natural selection, he gave students "critters" with forks for mouths, and had them try to pick up uncooked rice. Then he gave some of them spoons, to show that the critters who could get more rice would live and pass that trait on to future generations. "My first-period class got a little out of control and there ended up being rice everywhere," he says.
Now he's reflecting on how to improve the labs to keep students focused. He can tap peers and mentors for ideas.
The KSTF fellowships can be renewed for up to five years and $150,000. Out of 128 awarded since 2002, fewer than 20 individuals have left teaching, Collins says. By comparison, about a third of new science and math teachers typically leave the profession within three years.
|
|
March 01, 2007
Immigrants to Canada are finding it hard to integrate into the society of their adopted country, facing various barriers ranging from credentials not being recognized to being undervalued in work, according to recent surveys.
The failure for recognizing foreign credentials have prevented most skilled new immigrants from being employed on their expertise. A lot of doctors, nurses, and professionals end up with working as taxi-drivers, waiters or waitresses and laborers. This has resulted in a much higher poverty rate among the immigrants group than the local population.
A Statistics Canada report released last month said although the government hiked the ratio of more highly educated immigrants since 1993 in a bid to improve the newcomers' financial situation, new immigrants continue to be one of the poorest groups of the country, whose low-income rates have risen to more than 3 times higher than local-born Canadians after 2000.
The report examines the economic welfare of immigrant families and individuals and assesses their financial situation since 2000. It finds that in 2002, low-income rates among immigrants during their first full year in Canada were 3.5 times higher than those of Canadian-born citizens. Two years later, the low-income rates were 3.2 times higher. Both numbers are higher than that in the 1990s.
Even if an immigrant enters into the workforce with his (her) foreign credential successfully, it is very often that he may not feel so valued as his local colleges, a new survey has found.
Nearly 50 percent of visible minority respondents with foreign educational credentials felt their employers did not recognize their credentials as being on par with Canadian equivalent degrees, diplomas or certificates, said a study by Catalyst Canada and Ryerson University which was released Wednesday.
The survey is based on the response of 6,000 people working as professionals, managers or executives at Canada's 500 largest firms. Participants, who have an average of 20 years' work experience, included visible minority and white/Caucasian employees, both male and female.
Visible minority professionals who felt undervalued were the least satisfied in their jobs and the most likely to consider leaving the country in search of other opportunities, the study also showed.
The study warned that as within a decade, visible minorities will account for one-fifth of Canada's total available workforce, the findings raise serious concern for Canada's global competitiveness.
"If our final research confirms that this group is most likely to seek opportunities outside of Canada, the implications for competitiveness, economic growth and productivity could prove to be significant," Catalyst Canada's executive director Deborah Gillis said Wednesday.
In a bid to help new immigrants integrate into the society, the government announced Wednesday it would invest 3 million Canadian dollars (2.5 million U.S. dollars) to study why skilled immigrants have trouble finding the right jobs.
The study will attempt to identify barriers encountered by immigrants and figure out strategies to overcome them, said Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Monte Solberg.
"What is needed now is money to fund and expand these existing and proven programs and projects." The immediate creation of a central body to speed the recognition of foreign trained professionals' experience is also needed, said Olivia Chow, a parliament member from the Opposition New Democratic Party (NDP).
|
|
Published: Friday, February 20, 2009
From genocide to bigotry, the 2009 Social Justice Regional Conference, being held today and tomorrow at the University of the Fraser Valley, aims to enlighten valley residents and create discussion.
District teacher associations from Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley and Surrey, along with the B.C. Teachers' Federation, are sponsoring the event.
Seminar topics include animal welfare, violence and sexual orientation.
Jean de Dieu Hakizimana, an Abbotsford resident and Rwandan genocide survivor, will be one of the speakers at a conference on social justice at the University of the Fraser Valley today and tomorrow.
Abbotsford District Teachers' Association president Rick Guenther said the BCTF sponsors regional conferences on a regular basis, but this is the first time it has been held in Abbotsford.
"Because social justice covers such a wide spectrum, the speakers, the topics will vary from year to year," said Guenther. "It will provide opportunities for people to think about the world around us."
Jean de Dieu Hakizimana, an Abbotsford resident and survivor of genocide in Rwanda, spoke about genocide at last year's conference and will present again this year.
He said the fight against genocide and any other social injustice should start at the community level.
"I believe social justice is a grass roots effort," Hakizimana said. "For me it's very important for the community to be inclusive."
The learning should start at a young age, he added, because children are able to process information well and should have the tools to form opinions.
"Young people are so advanced - I can't believe it," said the former board of education candidate. "Education should be open to everything so when people grow up they can decide what's important to them."
It may a challenge to bring new topics into the light of day, as there seems to be too much narrow-mindedness in Abbotsford, he said.
"You can not get voted in if you talk about social justice," said Hakizimana. "There's a long way to go."
While the Abbotsford board of education had a change of heart and decided recently to offer the Social Justice 12 in the city's high schools, starting this September, Guenther said the recent letters to the media about the class by Abbotsford residents have been a letdown for him.
"It's bigotry at its finest. It's very disappointing to see that," he said.
Guenther added individual schools are in the process of deciding whether they will offer the course based on student willingness and teacher availability.
Along with Hakizimana, conference presenters will include UFV professor Martha Dow and keynote speaker Alex Sanchez, who will talk about faith and sexuality.
The conference is open to everyone. Program information is online at www.bctf.ca.
© Abbotsford Times 2009 |
The Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity Awards Ceremony started in 2003 to recognize the best practices of Fraser Valley organizations, initiatives and businesses in recognizing the diversity of our community. Each year, we look forward to receiving nominations from individuals, organizations, schools, businesses and programs that work towards building an inclusive community, providing their clients/ customers with accessible environments, and having reflective workforces for all. Cultural diversity includes but is not limited to age, abilities, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual-orientation and socio-economic background. For more information regarding the nomination process, please see the CDA nomination form.
The event will be held at the Ramada Plaza & Conference Centre in Abbotsford (36035 North Parallel Road). The evening commences at 6:00 pm, March 6th, with cocktails, followed by entertainment, keynote address and finally the awards ceremony.
It is an annual event organized by the Abbotsford Community Services (a non-profit organization in British Columbia) in partnership with Clearbrook Library, Mission Community Services and Chilliwack Community Services.This annual event has been a resounding success with over 400 people attending each year.
Previous speakers have included The Honorable Iona Campagnolo, Lieutenant Governor of BC, The Honorable Steven Point, Lieutenant Governor of BC, Mike Harcourt, Former Premier of BC and Lloyd Axworthy, Chair of Global studies at the Lieu institute, Nazanin Afshin-Jam and Lesra Martin.
http://www.abbotsfordcommunityservices.com/assets/client/File/CDA/CDASponsorshipPackage2009.pdf |
|
President Obama may have smashed the ultimate political barrier to African Americans, but his presidency and the deepening economic crisis are creating the perfect storm for white supremacists intent on swelling their ranks.
Racist extremists have been energized by Obama's election, hoping to exploit an Obama backlash among whites who resent having a black man in the White House.
Neo-Nazi David Duke says Obama will be a "visual aid" for angry white Americans and will provoke a backlash among relatively mainstream whites that will "result in a dramatic increase in [the] ranks" of extremists. Many other hate group leaders agree.
That backlash was evident in the aftermath of the election as scores of racially charged incidents – beatings, effigy burnings, racist graffiti, threats and intimidation – were reported across the country.
"There's a real fury out there in certain quarters," said Mark Potok, director of the SPLC's Intelligence Project.
White supremacist groups boasted of a post-election surge of new members as well as overwhelming traffic to their websites. At least two hate groups – Stormfront and the Council of Conservative Citizens – said their websites crashed because of heavy traffic. Stormfront also claimed to have gained thousands of new members immediately after Obama was elected on Nov. 4. The League of the South, a neo-secessionist group, said it saw a surge in phone calls from potential members and that its web traffic increased sixfold.
Even before the election, racial rage began to break out across the country. Effigies of Obama appeared hanging from nooses on university campuses. And angry supporters of John McCain and Sarah Palin reportedly shouted "Kill him" and "terrorist" at a campaign rally. Racist graffiti targeting Obama abounded.
Law enforcement agencies say Obama has received more threats than any previous president-elect. Two suspected assassination plots already have been broken up – one involving two racist skinheads in Tennessee – and, just before Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration, a Wisconsin man was arrested for threatening to kill Obama in an Internet posting.
At the same time, the economic meltdown is helping to create the conditions in which racist extremist and militia groups typically thrive, often by scapegoating minorities and by stoking fear and division among those who are harmed by events beyond their control or understanding.
Neo-Nazi Jeff Schoep may have offered the clearest vision of how the economy can be exploited.
"Historically, when times get tough in our nation, that's how movements like ours gain a foothold," the leader of the National Socialist Movement told USA Today. "When the economy suffers, people are looking for answers. … We are the answer for white people."
The Obama era comes after years in which white supremacists have successfully exploited the immigration debate – both providing racist propaganda that seeps into the popular culture and benefiting from the vilification of Latino immigrants. Mainly as a result of the bigotry and xenophobia surrounding the immigration debate, the number of hate groups operating in the United States has risen by nearly 50 percent – from 602 to 888 – since 2000.
Now, these groups have begun to turn their attention to Obama – distributing racist propaganda, filling Internet message boards with threats and messages of hate, and, in some cases, taking more direct action against minorities. Here is a sampling of racial incidents reported in the wake of the election:
- Police in Riverside County, California, said five attacks on minorities were likely related to the election and were believed to have been carried out by a local white supremacist gang.
- In Shreveport, La., a black man wearing an Obama T-shirt was brutally beaten by a group of white men screaming "f--k Obama" and "n-----r president." The attack left the man with a broken nose, broken eye socket and broken tear duct, requiring multiple surgeries.
- In Springfield, Mass., a black church was burned hours after the election was called for Obama. Authorities later arrested three white men.
- In Staten Island, N.Y., a black teen was bloodied and bruised by two white teens who shouted "Obama" while pummeling him with a bat and pipe.
- In Rexburg, Idaho, second- and third-graders on a school bus chanted "assassinate Obama."
- In Torrance, Calif., swastikas and racial slurs were spray-painted on homes and cars of people who displayed Obama signs or bumper stickers.
- In Milwaukee, a poster of Obama with a bullet going through his head was discovered in a police station.
- In Maine, a sign at a convenience store invited customers to join a betting pool on when Obama would be assassinated. The sign said, "Let's hope we have a winner."
|
|
|
