developing cultural fluency in global organisations

Thinkglobalgrowth.com

Developing Cultural Fluency in Global CorporationsKeith Warburton – CEO TGG



Format• Think Global Growth• Why is cultural fluency important• Cultural fluency and profitability• Inherent commercial cultural bias• The importance of relationship building• Day-to-day impact of cultural issues• Improving cross-border communication• Virtual working• Final Thoughts


Think Global Growth Ltd

• Dedicated to helping clients work more effectively across the boundaries of geography, market conditions and culture:– Global Cultural Fluency & Awareness– Global Market Entry (outbound & inbound)– Global Supply Chain– Global Marketing Solutions– Global Outsourcing


Why is cultural fluency important• We all work in an increasingly globalised world• In larger organisations, most people in most functions

deal with people from other cultures• Each country develops its own slightly unique

approach to the way in which ‘things are done’ locally• Knowing the similarities and differences in the way in

which ‘you’ do things and ‘they’ do things can bring enormous efficiency advantages

• The similarities are where bridges can be built; the differences are where problem areas will be found


Cultural fluency and profitability• Global cultural knowledge and awareness and not just

a ‘nice to know’, they are a ‘need to know’• Left unattended, culturally differing approaches to

everyday tasks can engender enormous internal inefficiencies in any international business

• The biggest impact of culturally different approaches to day-to-day issues are that they slow things down internally and alienate externally

• Anything that slows things internally down will cost you money


Inherent commercial cultural bias• Every time you interact with a colleague, client or

stakeholder from another culture you carry an ingrained cultural bias

• You have been programmed to think that the way things are done in your country is the ‘right’ approach

• Your counter-party, however, equally believes that their approach is correct

• Always remember that you are wearing a pair of ‘cultural spectacles’ which colours your interpretation

• You need to try to take those spectacles off


The importance of relationship building• Some cultures put business before relationships• Other cultures put relationships before business• Relationship-first cultures don’t really want to do

business with you unless and until they have decided you are the type of person they want to do business with in the long run

• The vast majority of the world fall into the relationship- first camp (Asia, ME, South America, Africa, Eastern Europe etc)

• Cultural fluency is key to relationship-building


Day-to-day impact of cultural issues• Cultural differences impact on every area of business

but some key areas are:• Approach to meetings• Decision-making processes• Company structures (hierarchy, matrix etc.)• Attitudes to contractual agreements• Leadership styles• Views on ethical and unethical behaviour• Communication styles and methodology


Improving cross-border communication• Cross-border communication difficulties are not simply

caused by the fact that people have different first languages

• They are caused as much by the style of communication used in different cultures

• What is considered good communication style in one country will often be viewed as very poor communication style in another – and vice versa

• Developing a deep awareness of these differing approaches id vital to inter-personal relationships


Virtual Working• Employees are increasingly being asked to work in

cross-border, cross-cultural, multi-language teams across the boundaries of culture, geography, language and technology

• This is a difficult ask• People need help to adapt to this new working

environment otherwise massive inefficiencies will inevitably creep in

• Good quality, focused training is vital


Final Thoughts• The development of cultural fluency is vital in any

international organisation.• People need to become aware of the significant

impact cultural issues can have on the profitability of their company

• They then need specific knowledge of different cultural approaches in different geographies

• Finally the organisation needs to wok out how to factor these issues into their core processes

• TGG can help your organisation work smarter


Questions? [email protected]


developing cultural fluency in global organisations

Documents