Intercultural Training:

Six Major Sources of Intercultural Conflicts

In an era of globalization, contact between people of different national cultures has become very common. However, the fact that people can speak to each other using a shared foreign language – usually English – does not guarantee effective communication, understanding, or agreement. In everyday working life, intercultural misunderstanding can easily escalate into interpersonal conflicts without the intercultural dimension even being recognized.

During the training, participants discover the idiosyncrasies of their own culture and its impact on members of other cultures. We will introduce the six most common sources of intercultural misunderstanding and conflicts that often lead to the breakdown of relationships and the failure of joint ventures. 

Seminar Goal:

The seminar aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to interact effectively with people from different cultures, and to leverage the benefits of diverse workplaces. This includes understanding cultural nuances, developing cross-cultural communication skills, and identifying opportunities within multicultural environments. At the end of the training, participants will realize that working in multinational environments is not an obstacle but rather a chance to grow, personally as well as professionally.

Target Group: 

Anybody working in multicultural environments, e.g., international teams or joint ventures, staff in contact with customers or suppliers of different cultural backgrounds.

The seminar is especially recommended to people in leading positions.

Seminar Contents (2-days):

• Cultural Awareness – Definition of “Culture”, cultural identification,  cultural self-image, stereotypes and expectations
• Intercultural Differences – Comparisons of cultures (empirical findings), cultural dimensions, values, norms, behavior and standards
• Summary: The Six Major Sources of Conflict – The most relevant differences between cultures that lead to misunderstanding and failure of business relations and joint ventures
• Consequences on Everyday Working Life – Expectations towards leaders, attitudes towards women, decision-making processes, formal and informal meetings, low and high context communication, dealing with time and deadlines, and more.
• Prevention of Conflicts and Building Relationships – Avoiding typical pitfalls, knowledge of taboos, building and maintaining relationships, gifts and invitations
• Managing Cultural Diversity – Discovering the opportunities of multicultural workplaces (e.g. creativity, innovation, better problem-solving) and practical strategies (addressing biases and creating a welcoming environment for everyone).
• Standard Target Cultures: Europe, USA, China, Japan, India, the Arab World.
• Special Topics and Target Cultures: Prior to the seminar, we use a questionnaire to ask participants about their previous knowledge, cultural background, target cultures, as well as any existing intercultural problems, needs and demands. The results will be considered and addressed during the training.

Trainer: Beatrix Stahlberger, psychologist and coach, with over 25 years of training experience on the issue of intercultural psychology.

Language: English

Number of participants: 1-6

Fee per Person: 1,100.-€ (+ VAT)

Interested in an In-Company Training?

The training can be flexibly arranged and take place on your premises, on ours, or online.
The cost for a 2-day training is 3,500.- € (+ 19% VAT). 
Due to the complexity of the topic, we strongly recommend 2-day seminars.

E-Mail Feedback:

“I have been working with multicultural nationalities for a couple of years and was surprised how little I knew about it. This seminar helped me to understand: the different cultures way of thinking, cultures different values and decision making process by Asian cultures. I would recommend this training to anyone who want to know how to be efficient and appropriate on global jungle”.

*****

"The instructor was very engaging and able to adapt to our individual needs. It was an interactive class so you weren't just getting talked at. I think this was key to learning the methods and tipps that I needed. I really enjoyed this workshop and found it extremely valuable based on my role. The seminar taught me a lot about how to improve my communication with my coworkers and did a good job to help me understand other viewpoints and perspectives."