English
West meets East

Een Sino-European workshop voor zakenmensen

Wanneer het Oosten en het Westen elkaar ontmoeten, is de kans bijzonder groot dat er misverstanden ontstaan. Dat is niet alleen frustrerend voor de direct betrokkenen, maar kan ook resulteren in enorme financiële gevolgen voor bedrijven. Onze interculturele workshops maken de deelnemers als eerste bewust van hun eigen cultuur om beter te begrijpen hoe te functioneren binnen de cultuur van uw zakenpartner in het Oosten.

Interculturele workshop

Het doel van deze opleiding is het vergroten van praktische cross-culturele gedrags- en communicatievaardigheden om zaken te doen en/of om te gaan met Chinezen.

During this inter-active, multi-media workshop you will learn analytical tools to understand and possibly anticipate other's cultural perceptions, as well as other ways of thinking and behaving. On this basis behavioral and communication strategies will be developed and worked on for dealing with people from different cultural backgrounds, specifically Asian Chinese. Participants will also get to understand their own behavioral patterns from an outside culture perspective.

The prevailing aim is to understand and apply the way of thinking and behavior of other cultures and expand one's own behavioral patterns. This will be achieved through analyzing and adaption of:

  • thinking and communication patterns
  • flow of information & planning processes
  • communication of criticism, appreciation & respect
  • conflict management & conflict resolution
  • responsibilities of the individual in society
  • building and nurturing relationships
  • expectations from partners, clients and suppliers
  • etiquette and cultural sensitivity combined with language insights

Experiencing and accepting cultural differences requires the understanding of "the self" as a point of reference. Therefore, departing from different perceptions of "one's self" and "others", the participants' own cultural standards and behavioral patterns are explained. The influence of cultural factors on daily behavior and value systems are explored. On this basis comparisons are drawn between one's own cultural standards and those of people of different cultural backgrounds. Strategies for dealing with cultural differences concerning conception of time, planning, communication, hierarchies etc. are elaborated and solutions offered.

The workshop duration is 3 days with each day focusing on a specific topic:

1. Cultural Etiquette and essential language notions
2. Business Culture
3. Intercultural communication competencies

Day 1: Cultural Etiquette and essential language notions

Morning Session
Introductions the Chinese way

  • How to greet and behave while respecting Chinese values

Tian Xia - the land under the sky or the kingdom of the middle

  • A historical perspective on the current situation

The Chinese Mentality

  • A comparison and guide to different values and habits

Lunch - How to survive a Chinese meal without major damage

Afternoon Session
Notions of the Chinese languages

  • Learning Mandarin really IS easy
  • Some basic Mandarin to get by

Some rules and guidelines on general behaviour

  • When in China, do as the Chinese do
  • Dealing with unwritten rules
  • The importance of gift giving
  • Of Yin & Yang, Wu Xing and the Qi

Day 2: Business Culture

Morning Session
Turning traditions upside down

  • The awakened Dragon
  • Capitalistic socialism
  • Dealing with Chinese laws

Organizational structures

  • A look at Western and Chinese ones
  • Business Goals, Motivation; Theory and Practice

Lunch:
Eating with chop sticks part II

Afternoon session
Confucius in Business

  • Negociating the Chinese style
  • On age, siestas at work and the iron rice bowl

Tips on dealing with staff and business partners

  • Eurocentric rightousness
  • Hierarchical structures

Day 3: Inter-cultural communication

Morning session

How do we communicate?

  • Verbal communication
  • Non-verbal communication
  • Recognizing the differences between individualist and communitarian cultures

Intercultural Encounters

  • Intended vs unintended conflict
  • Language and humour
  • Phone encounters

Lunch:
Chinese eating and drinking etiquette graduation

Afternoon session

  • Participants' presentations
  • Open Q & A

Dates and venues

21-23 January 2010 Barcelona
25-27 February 2009 Stuttgart
25-27 March 2010 Vught
22-24 April 2010 Kleve
27-29 May 2010 Barcelona
03-05 June 2010 Cologne
16-18 September 2010 Arnhem


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