Cultural Gaps

The highly practical self-help guide to optimize the performance of individuals working in an intercultural environment. Readers will learn how to mitigate unconscious bias to create inclusive organizations and how to use key cultural dimensions to communicate and cooperate in intercultural teams. Addressing the unique challenges of influencing across cultures and managing international projects, this is an indispensable toolkit for a key competence in business. Bridge The Culture Gaps provides readers with a framework for developing key skills essential for effective global collaboration in the VUCA world. These include reflecting on experience, understanding the nature and impact of culture and the importance of diversity for business success. Readers learn how to mitigate unconscious bias to create inclusive organizations, and to use key cultural dimensions to communicate and cooperate in intercultural teams. It addresses the challenges of leading diverse teams, influencing across cultures and managing international transformation projects, as well as making international assignments successful.

Focus on unreached people groups and the emergence of a global church have not yet eliminated massive gaps in the spread of the gospel. Differences between Hindu and Christian traditions account for the uneven reception of the gospel of Christ among Hindu peoples. Contextualization, best practices, and movements to Christ are central discussion points in response. In Cultural Gaps, H. L. Richard brings Benjamin Robinson, a forgotten nineteenth-century pioneer missionary, back into this conversation by reviving his memoir, In the Brahmans’ Holy Land, with a new foreword, extensive footnotes, and a new introduction. Robinson’s experiences in south India in the 1880s remain relevant, particularly his attempts at authentic interreligious encounter and his struggle to adequately integrate into the Hindu context. Robinson did not stop at language acquisition, cultural study, or personal relationships, but felt called to adapt his lifestyle further, trusting in God’s help. Although his engagement with Hindus was cut short by health problems, he had a deep humility, an unflagging commitment to learn, and an exemplary sense of inadequacy for a high calling. Robinson’s honesty regarding personal struggles with the perplexity of understanding Hindus relates immediately with current realities. His memoir raises important questions about faithful service and trusting God for an outcome that may still be yet to come. The path forward for better cross-cultural engagement is clearly present in the life and thought of this significant pioneer.

An international business expert helps you understand and navigate cultural differences in this insightful and practical guide, perfect for both your work and personal life. Americans precede anything negative with three nice comments; French, Dutch, Israelis, and Germans get straight to the point; Latin Americans and Asians are steeped in hierarchy; Scandinavians think the best boss is just one of the crowd. It's no surprise that when they try and talk to each other, chaos breaks out. In The Culture Map, INSEAD professor Erin Meyer is your guide through this subtle, sometimes treacherous terrain in which people from starkly different backgrounds are expected to work harmoniously together. She provides a field-tested model for decoding how cultural differences impact international business, and combines a smart analytical framework with practical, actionable advice.

Are you fascinated but frustrated by cultural differences? Have you stood on the edge of cultural gaps and wondered how on earth to bridge them? Don't worry, you are not alone. Working across cultures can be very challenging, both professionally and personally, but these cultural gaps can be bridged. Cultural Chemistry combines strategy with knowledge, introducing you firstly to the Four R's - an easy, four-step process for simplifying and improving your cross-cultural partnerships - and then exploring cultural differences, by meeting people and hearing stories from all over the world. Whether you are a business traveller, an expatriate, have global clients, work in a multi-cultural team or are simply a holiday maker who wants to dig deeper, Cultural Chemistry will teach you; Why reflecting on our own culture is so important How to make a great first impression Why our assumptions about people are often completely wrong Why what we say isn't always what is heard How to be an effective manager and motivator, whatever the culture Cultural differences don't have to be difficult. By learning more about cultural variances and being prepared to turn off our cultural cruise-control, we really can make our international encounters both more rewarding and more enjoyable. About the Author: Originally from the UK, Patti McCarthy is a 3CK (third-culture kid) who has lived and worked on five different continents. Through her business, Cultural Chemistry, she provides coaching and training to organisations wishing to embrace the opportunities which cultural diversity provides. She is also a regular media commentator and public speaker on the impact of cultural differences on everything from business expansion to childcare. She lives with her husband, her two dogs and her three children, who were all born in different countries."

Note: This book is available in several languages: French, English. The eSourcing Capability Model for Client Organizations (eSCM-CL) is the best practices model that enables client organizations to appraise and improve their capability to foster the development of more effective relationships and to better manage these relationships. This title helps readers successfully implement a full range of client-organization tasks, ranging from developing the organization's sourcing strategy, planning for sourcing and service provider selection, initiating an agreement with service providers, managing service delivery, and completing the agreement. The eSCM-CL has been designed to complement existing quality models and sourcing frameworks so that clients can capitalize on their previous improvement efforts and meet mandated requirements. ITIL V3 suggests that ITIL be supplemented with eSCM when service management is performed in the context of a sourcing arrangement. Developed by The IT Services Qualification Center (ITSqc) and endorsed by a number of organizations including IAOP® (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals), this title represents a major step forward for professionals looking to implement Best Practice within the Industry.

Praise and Reviews "As an American who has worked in Europe for the past 3 years, I find Bridging the Culture Gap to be a practical guide for communicating and influencing across cultures. The authors use authentic and engaging anecdotes, which will help readers to understand their own culture, and other`s reactions to it in the context of everyday business."Gary Kuusisto, Director, European Learning & Development, The Gillette Company"This book gives you a practical insight into cross-cultural communication in business today, based in part on the Canning team`s deep experience in training over 1,000 managers and specialists in a unique Franco-Japanese adventure. Every International professional should find food for thought in this book."Francois Foix, Human Resources Coordinator, Renault-Nissan"Full of real-life examples and practical advice which reflects the experience and skills of its masterful but unpretentious authors."Andreas Molck-Ude, Head of Africa and Middle East Division, Munich Re"Canning offers tough and intensive training, but brilliant results. I believe this book will do the same thing for anyone looking for success in cross-cultural business."Takashi Kashiwagi, Head of Global Regulatory Approvals and Marketing Support, Aventis JapanAs globalization gathers momentum, the contact between business people from other countries is becoming more frequent. The more national boundaries a company crosses, the greater the scope for misunderstanding and conflict. To succeed internationally, it is essential to be able to break the barriers of culture, language and set patterns of thinking.Bridging the Culture Gap, written by two of Canning's most experienced trainers, is a distillation of many years' work and is based on the real-life business situations of their international clients. You'll find out how to:interpret the party linecommunicate with styleget your message acrossplay the conversation gamebe sensitive to other culturesmind your mannersavoid the usual faux paswin the dealand so much more.Packed with fascinating cases, cultural awareness scales, communication style tests and practical tips, this lively guide will help anyone - of any nationality - to become a better communicator. Whether you're planning to give a presentation to a cross-cultural group or about to negotiate with an overseas client, Bridging the Culture Gap will ensure that your cultural awareness antennae are well tuned.

At conferences and in the literature on community interpreting there is one burning issue that reappears constantly: the interpreter s role. What are the norms by which the facilitators of communication shape their role? Is there indeed only one role for the community interpreter or are there several? Is community interpreting aimed at facilitating communication, empowering individuals by giving them a voice or, in wider terms, at redressing the power balance in society? In this volume scholars and practitioners from different countries address these questions, offering a representative sample of ongoing research into community interpreting in the Western world, of interest to all who have a stake in this form of interpreting. The opening chapter establishes the wider contextual and theoretical framework for the debate. It is followed by a section dealing with codes and standards and then moves on to explore the interpreter s role in various different settings: courts and police, healthcare, schools, occupational settings and social services.

In the age of information, an essential priority in the context of international education is the development of language learning and its inconsistencies. The gap between language and education has intermittently grown through time, with mistaken assumptions about how linguistic shortcomings are being solved around the world. Research on comparative educational approaches to teaching verbiage and the foundation of future language development are instrumental in positively impacting the global narrative of dialectal education. International Approaches to Bridging the Language Gap is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of second language teaching as well as social developments regarding intercultural learning. While highlighting topics including curricular approaches, digital competence, and linguistic disparities, this book is ideally designed for language instructors, linguists, teachers, researchers, public administrators, cultural centers, policymakers, government officials, academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on the latest advancements of multilingual education.