Cross Cultural Training Example
Allegheny Technology, Inc. (ATI) expressed a need for a cultural training for Abu Dhabi, UAE. We put together an outline of our training titled: Doing Business in the UAE: Lessons Learned and Best Practices to share with their executives. This training course was custom designed to be directly relevant and useful to their management team attending a trade show in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Custom Designed Training Program Organization
- A one-day training for a group of 20-30 participants
- A needs assessment (This was completed before the training session and helped the trainers design a program based on the participants’ cultural knowledge, to fit not only the individual but the entire group.)
- Training material for 20-30 participants
Cultural Awareness Training Outline
- Understanding the Middle Eastern culture with a focus on the UAE
- Basic realities foreigners face when doing business in the UAE
- Protocol (business cards, pronouncing names, banquets, gifts, etc.)
- Middle East culture and ways of communicating: insights essential to success
- Cultural nuances, values, and norms
- Etiquette
- Do’s and Don’ts
- The Religion of Islam: religion, faith, and its impact on daily life
- Role of women in the Middle East, more specifically in the UAE
- Face to face interaction, email, and phone interaction
- Verbal and non-verbal communication techniques
- Understanding values, beliefs, habits, traditions of the culture, and appropriate behavior
- Safe conversational topics, etc.
- Building relationships
- Doing business in the UAE
- Building international teams
- Managing international transactions
- Enhancing global competence
- Leadership development
