Lekcja 4: Cross-cultural awareness

I’d like to start today’s lesson with a short quiz. Below are portraits of managers from two different countries. Can you guess which country they come from?

Managers from the first country:

? generally attend business schools

? communicate easily and informally at work

? admire the qualities of a leader

Managers from the second country:

? have gained their experience in state-owned enterprises or are competitive self-starters

? work very long hours and expect their subordinates to do so

? are extremely innovative, optimistic and determined

The descriptions were taken from an English course book published in 2000. The first portrait depicts an American manager, the second a Polish manager. If you guessed correctly, my congratulations, as I would have a problem in guessing which country each manager comes from.

I would say the descriptions today seem a bit old-fashioned. The lesson from the course book focuses on cross-cultural awareness in the business world and the importance of understanding and communicating in an international environment. Today, global businesses still face a challenge in learning how to cope with corporate culture clashes. Cultural issues are quite complex and companies need to acquire intercultural competence in order to work effectively.

How is intercultural or cross-cultural competence know-how implemented in business? First of all, cultural competency is critical for anyone working either internationally or in a multicultural environment. Secondly, cross-cultural knowledge helps people understand their prejudices and preconceptions. Thirdly, cultural awareness leads to dialogue which leads to understanding which results in trust. Finally, cultural competency helps people think outside the box and not along pre-set lines or stereotypes.

[link=http://d52.rp.pl/audio/vol3/lekcja4.mp3]Wersja audio[/link]

[ramka][srodtytul]Vocabulary[/srodtytul]

[b]Word-of-the-week[/b]

think outside the box – is a catchphrase used to refer to looking at a problem from a new perspective without preconceptions (myślec poza schematami)

[b]Glossary: [/b]

subordinates – people who have a less important position than you in an organization (podwładni)

depicts – to represent or show something in a picture or story (przedstawiać)

awareness – knowledge that something exists or experience of a particular thing (świadomość)

clashes – a conflict especially of views or interests (konflikt, rozbieżność)

implemented – to put a plan or idea into operation (wykonywać, wdrażać)

prejudices – an unfair and unreasonable opinion or feeling, especially when formed without enough thought or knowledge (uprzedzenie)[/ramka]

[ramka][srodtytul]Practice makes perfect[/srodtytul]

Complete the gaps with words from the text

One of my first decisions as a new manager was to give a raise to my loyal …………………………….

Before we ………………our ideas we need to sit down and brainstorm possible problems.