TO GLOBALISE THE LOCAL, OR LOCALISE THE GLOBAL? THE QUESTION IS NOW.

Jasmina Djordjevic, PhD Faculty of Law and Business Studies Novi Sad, Serbia djordjevic.jasmina@gmail.com

SUMMARY
Aim of this workshop: show that particularly designed activities, implemented and applied gradually can enable team building in a multicultural work environment as well as help employees learn how to identify, acknowledge, integrate and tolerate cultural diversity in the immediate environment. Three carefully designed activities: several steps each, meant to help participants gain the necessary awareness of the fact that cultural differences are not negative. Results: learn how to integrate cultural difference into the everyday itinerary and make use of it in a positive way, accept and tolerate diverse cultural backgrounds and business environments which will directly influence the team structure and the company as it will become more coherent; higher productivity is inevitable as everybody on the team will work with everybody else so as to achieve their goals success and profit.

ITINERARY
Phase 1 Title Culture Activities 1. Culture briefing 2. Culture portfolio 3. Them and us 1. 2. 3. 4. Global and local Stereotypes Dimensions of business Profiling Estimated time 15 mins

Global or local?

15 mins

Brand and corporate culture

1. Brand, image and business culture 2. Models of implementation 3. SWOT analysis

15 mins

Self-evaluation test

Test

HW
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1. CULTURE 1.1 CULTURE BRIEFING

Where are you from? Do you mind questions about your culture? What is your country/ culture like? Do you like working with people from other cultures? What is the attitude to work in your culture? Have you been working in the public or the private sector? What is the private sector like in the culture you come from? What is the public sector like in the culture you come from? Are you used to an incentive plan? In the culture you come from, are you expected to conform or to diversify?

1.2 CULTURE PORTFOLIO

Fact Country/ Culture Modern
Traditional Economy Cooperation Developed Global Encouraged Flourishing Attitude to work Proactive Entrepreneurial Sector Incentives Private Public Encouraged Implemented

Yes

No

Details

Acceptance level Conform Diversify

1.3 THEM AND US

Discuss the results and the portfolios.

2. GLOBAL OR LOCAL? 2.1 GLOBAL AND LOCAL

In respect to: Focus on global Politics Economy Education Tradition Religion Family relationships Focus on local

2.2 STEREOTYPES
Business style Innovator Explorer Developer Organiser Checker Regulator Advisor Coordinator Stereotype

2.3 DIMENSIONS OF BUSINESS

Agile Organization Building organizational resilience and capacity for adaptation Clients First Creating an exceptional client experience Flawless Execution Consistency, efficiency and effectiveness of operations Getting Results A focus on goal achievement, performance and productivity Helping Others Providing a sustainable service to society It is All About People Insights into retention and engagement of employees Leading the Way Leader behaviours that influence cultural norms. Ideally suited for leadership development programs Making Ideas Happen Fostering and sustaining heightened levels of creativity and innovation Ready for Change Examining organizational change. Readiness at a systemic level Working Together Promoting teamwork and collaboration within and across organizational boundaries

2.4 PROFILING

Discuss your conclusions and try to establish some ground rules to surpass the difference between the global and the local.

3. BRAND AND CORPORATE CULTURE 3.1 BRAND, IMAGE AND BUSINESS CULTURE
Corporate culture Casual Industrial Conservative Administrative Brand Aggressive marketing Worker participation discipline Respect for colleagues Identification through products Strong customer focus Good internal communications Traditional products Traditional image Technological innovation Good design Long history Shareholder value (pos. And neg.) Environmental friendliness Advertising designed to shock Image Image of leader (individual/ group based) Company structure (flat/ hierarchical) Planning perspective (long-term/ short/term) Timing of activities (sequential/ monochronic or synchronic/ polychronic) Basis for status in company (who you are/ what you do) Decision-making process (normative/ pragmatic) Relationships with colleagues (impersonal/ personal) Dress code (formal/ informal)

3.2 MODELS OF IMPLEMENTATION

Try to suggest some ways to integrate your own cultures in a partially re-shaped form into the existing business environment.

3.3 SWOT ANALYSIS

Helpful to achieving the objective Internal origin (attributes of the organisation) Harmful to achieving the objective

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

External origin (attributes of the organisation)

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

4. SELF-EVALUATION TEST
Try to answer the following questions as honestly as you can: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. What have I learned today? Do I claim to understand cultural diversity? If yes, what is cultural diversity? Do I claim to understand people from different cultural backgrounds? How many friends do I have from other cultures? How many coworkers do I have from other cultures? What do I know about their cultures? What have I told them about my culture? Am I tolerant of other cultural backgrounds? What can I do to make my cooperation with people from other cultures more productive?

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

Jasmina Djordjevic, PhD Faculty of Law and Business Studies Novi Sad Serbia djordjevic.jasmina@gmail.com