1. Based on the various positions I have held, my interactions over the years have had their peaks and valleys when it comes to working with others outside my home country. There were times I worked with these individuals on a daily basis and then it would go dry for a month or two with no interaction. The interactions over the years have varied from face-to-face, email, and phone conversations. I have lived with, trained, and learned from individuals from multiple countries and backgrounds outside my own home country. The expatriate assignments have been interesting over the years. I think most people tend to think and live one way and when you find ourselves in a country that is not your own, it can overwhelming and humbling at the same time.
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One thing my organization does provide the employees is access to a Cultural Navigator website that has resources for different countries, as well as, a Cultural Orientations Indicator (COI) assessment. The COI assessment displays how you are as an individual in 3 different areas. I think by knowing where you reside in these areas and how you may need to adjust when dealing with other cultures is a huge benefit. The two major things I have learned is that you need to know a little about the culture. If you are going to interact with someone outside of your culture you need to know what to do or not to do. The Cultural Navigator is a great tool for this type of information. I have learned that culture varies, each person and culture has different cultural indicators that need to be understood in order to not offend them. Just a simple greeting can set the tone for a meeting. Also, we tend to do things differently or in a different order than other countries. Again, if not done properly we can lose contracts or millions of dollars for the simplest error. The next biggest roadblock is communication. I have learned that it can be difficult to schedule meetings or complete tasks in a timely fashion due to the communication barriers and time constraints with individuals. Managing interaction with numerous individuals in different time zones or regions can be an overwhelming and difficult task. There are times you have to give up at 2 am your time to have a meeting. Bringing all
One thing my organization does provide the employees is access to a Cultural Navigator website that has resources for different countries, as well as, a Cultural Orientations Indicator (COI) assessment. The COI assessment displays how you are as an individual in 3 different areas. I think by knowing where you reside in these areas and how you may need to adjust when dealing with other cultures is a huge benefit. The two major things I have learned is that you need to know a little about the culture. If you are going to interact with someone outside of your culture you need to know what to do or not to do. The Cultural Navigator is a great tool for this type of information. I have learned that culture varies, each person and culture has different cultural indicators that need to be understood in order to not offend them. Just a simple greeting can set the tone for a meeting. Also, we tend to do things differently or in a different order than other countries. Again, if not done properly we can lose contracts or millions of dollars for the simplest error. The next biggest roadblock is communication. I have learned that it can be difficult to schedule meetings or complete tasks in a timely fashion due to the communication barriers and time constraints with individuals. Managing interaction with numerous individuals in different time zones or regions can be an overwhelming and difficult task. There are times you have to give up at 2 am your time to have a meeting. Bringing all