ComprehensiveBusinessEnglish (13).pdf

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1、Source:English Language Adaption EditionExperiencing Business English Coursebook3,published by Higher Education Press Limited Company,Copyright 2020.Standard Bank overcomes culture shockFromFinance WeekIt is increasingly common for multinational businesses to send employees oninternational assignmen

2、ts,but without the right cross-cultural skills,staff will often struggle.Wayne Mullen,Head of Learning and Development at Standard Bank,discusses the impactthat cultural challenges can have on employees relocating to another country.In order to besuccessfully transferred,employees must understand th

3、e host-country culture,he argues.Colleagues from different countries might share similar professional knowledge andskills within a single international organisation,but their ways of working,social skills,bodylanguage and ways of doing business are likely to be completely different.They many havedif

4、ferent patterns of behaviour which need to be understood and appreciated in order foreveryone to work together successfully.For example,while it may be acceptable for Chineseoffice workers in Hong Kong to use the door-close button on a lift no matter how manypeople are also getting in,doing such a t

5、hing in London would make people extremelyangry.It is common for South Africans to ask personal questions of their counterparts shortlyafter being introduced,while a British colleague may perceive this as impolite andinappropriate.Latin Americans need for personal space is much less than that of the

6、ir Britishcolleagues.Global companies should never underestimate the effect that culture can have oninternational assignments.Cultural awareness is much more than simply knowing about acountrys history and geography.It is about understanding how and why cultures workdifferently.It is also important

7、to understand your own cultural make-up in order to workmore effectively,maximise teamwork and strengthen global competence.The Standard Bank group operates in 38 different countries,and its London office alonehas 56 nationalities.This wide range of nationalities needs to communicate effectively ino

8、rder to work as one team.The bank recognised that in order to hormonise workingpractices within its culturally diverse office,it needed to provide foreign workers with ameaningful understanding of British business culture and communication styles.It alsoneeded to offer practical support which allowe

9、d employees to cope with the challenges ofliving and working in an unfamiliar environment;their reactions to day-to-day issues such asthe weather,public transport and social etiquette are often the most visible manifestations ofcultural shock.Standard Bank has engaged Communicaid,a European culture and communicationskills consultancy,to design a tailored training solution which introduces delegates to someof the key cultural differences that they are likely to face in the UK.