24 Mar 2018

2018
Cross culture and language pitfalls When an Englishman goes to China, he knows that he is on alien territory. The obvious part being that the people speak a different language and he is unlikely to understand a single word. But unfortunately for cultures like UK and US, when people come and interact with Indians, this is not so. With largely decent English-speaking skills, it is so...
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24 Mar 2018

2018, CrossCulture
Cross Culture and its challengesOne of the most important differences across cultures is that of hierarchy. Cross culture understanding or misunderstanding can stem simply from this one dimension* of culture. Hierarchical societies have a clear ranking of authority in the society. It's the ascribing of power to the higher authorities by the lower. This hierarchy exists in the society - a...
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22 Mar 2018

2018
Cross culture understanding comes with a bit of awareness and empathy.Working with another country culture is not easy.Just because you speak the same language does not mean you are saying the same thing. When working as a team, say with Indians, here are three vital things to remember - 1. Don't jump to conclusions It's okay to ask questions. Sometimes you may not realise why are person...
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21 Mar 2018

2018, CrossCulture
A ROUND UP OF THE BEST CROSS-CULTURAL CONVERSATIONS In the past week I have been talking (to those who cared to listen) about Cross-cultural Conversations and their significance in the workplace. Today it's worth looking back at each of them and seeing what they spoke about. Click on the links below to read any of the posts We started with how important cross-cultural conversa...
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21 Mar 2018

2018, CrossCulture, Training
Cross-cultural communication can literally make or break a team. In a workplace without borders, increasingly every function in a large organisation has a global team. Large US corporations have a back-end team in Europe. European organisations may be working simultaneously with the US and India. And some may have a team that consists of members from China, India, Germany and the US. Whi...
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19 Mar 2018

2018, CrossCulture
There are many way to look at Cross-Cultural Communication. But one possible way is to look at it going horribly wrong. And sometimes pictures can say it better than words. Worth looking at communication landing you in a soup. Literally. Close the culture gap Of course, you could also look at getting a deeper understanding of how to close the culture gap and work towards a globa...
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18 Mar 2018

2018
Much of cross-cultural communication rests on understanding of the culture. India is often knows as the culture of celebrations. And what better than today to talk about it. It's day for celebration! And a new year celebration at that. Today marks the new year for many communities in different parts of India. Gudi Padwa for some, Ugadi for others, Cheti Chand for still others. Gove...
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18 Mar 2018

2016
Cross culture is the unspoken issue in many a  global collaboration. When global conglomerates seek out Indian talent to work with them, a lot of attention is focused on quality of work and cost arbitrage. But there is one important aspect that gets left out. Here's an example. A large Dutch financial organisation is seeking to outsource its IT business to a large multinational ...
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16 Mar 2018

2017, 2018, CrossCulture, Training
Cross-cultural communication or the lack of it could well be the missing ingredient in a ‘dream team’ you set up.   The truth is – the world is not as flat as it seems. And while a President somewhere is busy trying to build a wall, what he does not realise is that there is really no need to do so. A wall already exists. Everywhere in fact. Especially when two cultures come together. Wha...
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16 Mar 2018

2018, CrossCulture
Cross-cultural communication can make friends. And it can make... well...enemies. Or not friends. Here's one memorable conversation I've had with someone. This young man was an Indian working in Germany. He had been there for almost 8 years when I met him to do a cross culture workshop. In an informal dinner he talked about his challenges studying, living and working there. While h...
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