by Matthew Hill
The thought of foreign workers coming amongst us in the UK can be a daunting one. It can bring up emotive issues, practical considerations and a moment of contemplation about who we are and who are they?
Fear is part of the reaction – “Will they take my job?” “Will I be able to manage them?” “Will my life ever be the same again?” One company was experiencing difficulty hiring experts in the UK…
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Watch this you tube Video: ‘Stand by Me’ sung around the world from the award-winning documentary “Playing for Change: Peace Through Music”
Thank you, George (Simons), for directing us to this!
This Diversity Day I would like to promote contemporary music as the ideal communication to show diversion and human relation. Not only because the origin of composers all over the world, but also because music is the international worldlanguage.From Sanda Ionescu
The Culture Broker
Greece has been in the headlines quite a bit lately, usually with negative connotations. And while it is true that the bureaucratic system is heavily overloaded and that the level of debt is unsustainable, some of the other perceptions of Greek business practices or the average Greek worker are not justified. As a friend of mine who recently went to Greece (to set up a joint venture) was stunned to find. Let me just share with you some of his preconceptions and some of his myth-busting moments of realisation…
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MAKE A NEW INTERNATIONAL CONNECTION
Doing business in another country is much more than flying out, staying in posh hotels and eating different food. It’s entering into a different world where everyday business events have different rules. Understanding how different peoples across the world go about their day-to-day business, how they conduct meetings, undertake negotiations, make a sales pitch – and even how they regard their boss – will help us all develop Cultural Intelligence and appreciate the value of cultural diversity.
It will make us more successful in our professional lives.
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Some years ago it was popular for OD consultants to observe that 
many US organizational culture “managed by emergency.” s. In my several ongoing engagements with US groups, after living in France for some years now, it seemed to me that people in these organizations rushed about in a constant state of urgency, “putting out fires.” I won’t tell stories at length or repeat the literature on the effects of this kind of management on planning, productivity and morale, but I do want to share an observation about it that I did not remember seeing in this kind of discussion. It is much more of a cultural and personal insight. It comes from my US soul with the perspective of living abroad for many years now. The urgency is both part of me and something I recognize in others like me….
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Individual culture shock is well-known but researchers 
suggest that Eastern European countries are showing symptoms of ‘collective culture shock‘ as they undergo a transition from their communist heritage. Post-communist countries exhibit characteristics like an irritation about authority, diffusion (mix-up) of private and business spheres, a lack of confidence and orientation, a blockade to take action, rising xenophobia and fluctuating levels of self-esteem.
These reactions are the result of confrontation with a foreign culture – in this case foreign ideology. Unfortunately, this “collective culture shock” influences management and business relations and causes problems…
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Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets.
Contact me now for better international performance and increased profits
Tel: +44 (0) 207 1936 281
Email: deborah@deborahswallow.com
