The following incident provides a great case study for the influence of cultural differences.

Guillaume Rey, a French waiter, was sacked from his job in a Canadian restaurant for being ‘aggressive, rude and disrespectful’

A common misconception held by many is that cultural awareness is a skill.

You either have or you don't have, or, at the very least, is a skill that can be learned through training.

Did you know the Japanese have over 20 ways to say 'sorry'?

If you plan to do business in Japan, you need to get up to speed with how apologies work in Japanese culture.

Why focus on 'culture' in the workplace?

Why do we need to look at 'culture' specifically?

As with any people, the Arabs look to the past for their sense of identity.

Arab history is tied to tribalism and the nomadic life of the desert.

Self-awareness is fundamental in raising cultural competence.

If you are unable to understand yourself, it will be very difficult to understand another.

Why do we focus on culture in corporate training? Is it really all that important?

Understanding the role culture plays in our lives is very important.

Doing business in the Middle East?

Then you need to understand the role of honour in the Arab world.

Online training for cross-cultural skills is in high demand. So why are corporate training stakeholders turning to e-learning?

Traditional face-to-face training has become more of a challenge over the past 15 or so years.

Essential to any sort of cultural awareness training are the two key concepts of stereotypes and bias.

As we touched on in an earlier blog, a common trap many of us naturally fall into when we are working in a cross-cultural situation is to let our own cultural lens get in the way.

We all know that a positive customer experience (CX) drives repeat business, increased turnover and higher profits.

Companies who work hard to ensure their customers have a positive experience certainly reap the rewards of their efforts.

Did you know that Indians form the second largest group of immigrants in America, with Mexicans taking the top spot?

Although Indian expats may enter the US with a typically high level of education under their belts and a strong work ethic, they often find cultural differences between the US and India quite a challenge.

To understand Japanese business culture, it's essential that you first appreciate Japanese cultural values.

Why?

Being a good host is a central part of life in the Middle East and it is an underpinning value that everyone in the region shares.

The roots of this can be found in the tribal system whereby treating guests well is traditionally a way of gaining honour.

If you work in Learning and Development, then it’s likely you know about the 70-20-10 Model.

If not, then it can be simply summarised as the work of three academics in the 80s who used extensive research to establish optimal learning conditions.

The training world is evolving at an incredible pace.

Indeed, discussions of blended learning by L&D professionals have quickly moved beyond ‘why do we need it?’ to ‘how do we do it?’

If you’re off to Thailand for business or moving there as an expat, then we have compiled some essential cultural facts to give you an insight into Thai culture before you go.

By understanding the culture, you are best placed to get the most out of your time in Thailand and to make it a memorable experience for all the right reasons.

Love for the royal family is deeply ingrained in Thai culture.

You can’t help but see pictures of the recently deceased King and his newly appointed son wherever you go in Thailand.

Many people doing business with Saudi Arabia are usually surprised to find that the date in Saudi Arabia is over 500 years behind that of dates in the West.

Why is the date different in Saudi Arabia?

We spend most of our time here working on serious cultural stuff, such as, how to negotiate successfully with the Americans, or, how to give good service to American customers.

Every so often however, we feel that need to go off at a tangent and indulge in some of the quirkier aspects of culture!