Cross-Cultural Training for Global Business

You have been tasked by either your workplace or a government contractor (you select a company) to provide business executives with a Powerpoint presentation detailing key insights into conducting business in a specific country (you choose the country). Write to a primary audience of senior-level decision makers as well as a secondary audience of middle management employees who will be conducting business in the country of your choice.

You presentation will be 10 to 12 slides in length and will include speaker notes.

Become familiar with a specific country/culture through interviews (if at all possible) and research.

A good starting place might be http://rru.worldbank.org/businessplanet/. The webliography and the course content also have information to help you with learning about various cultures/countries. Based on your interviews and research, create a Powerpoint presentation summarizing how to perform business in the culture you selected.

Here are a few ideas to consider as you begin researching your selected culture. You do not need to include each topic. Think about your audience. What will be the best way to present this information?

• Key Customs and Courtesies Necessary for Social and Business Interaction
• Greetings
• Gestures that might be offensive
• Appropriate dress—colors that show respect, mourning, love, joy
• Interpersonal communication style—attitudes toward conflict
• Eating customs and favorite foods
• Formal meetings of men and women
• Punctuality—different approaches to deadlines and completing tasks
• Collective or individualist society
• Decision-making styles
• Attitudes toward self-disclosure
• Approaches to knowing
• Attitudes and Values, Religion
• Political aspects
• Religious aspects: prohibited behaviors, foods, tolerance—friction between religious groups
• Important cultural values, work ethic, value put on money, family
• What do they respect, value? Competitiveness or cooperative behaviors
• Politeness vs. factual honesty
• Economy
• Major products and services
• Media entertainment

Research and cite all reference materials used to prepare your proposal/report and presentation.