Diversity Summaries
- That's Not the Way I See It
- Creating a Culturally Proficient Organization
- Global Perspective Seminars
- Creating a Culturally Proficient Organization
That's Not the Way I See It
Conversations on Diversity in the Workplace
Now is the time to decide how we will embrace diversity to stay resilient and competitive in both the local and global marketplace. The purpose of this program is to explore personal and organizational responses to the issue of diversity and evaluate their appropriateness as they relate to the challenges and opportunities facing the organization.
During this highly interactive session, we will use a variety of methods to learn the importance of diversity in the workplace and participants will arrive at their own conclusions on how they can help make this happen. Some of the teaching tools used are: Jane Elliott's, A Class Divided; The Diversity Lifeline; powerful activities focused on the issues of stereotypes and labels; the LDP (Leading Diversity Profile) and a variety of other activities that explore attitudes toward people who are different. At the end of the day, participants walk away with a defined diversity action plan that identifies both their personal and organizational steps toward change. A module on leadership is included when organizational leaders take the class.
"That's Not the Way I See It: Conversations on Diversity in the Workplace", is a workshop that keeps you perched on the edge of your seat, immersed in learning and sends you off as a change agent for diversity.
Primary Objectives:
- Have a working definition of diversity, culture and inclusion
- Understand the business benefits behind a diverse organization and how it relates to competitiveness in the global marketplace
- Feel the emotion and power that comes into play between dominant and non-dominant groups of people
- Experience the impact of stereotyping and racism
- Learn the various emerging dimensions of diversity
- Possess a defined action plan, which relates to the manager's role within the change process of a diversity initiative
Article: Diversity Is Even More Important in Hard Times The New York Times 02/14/2009
Creating a Culturally Proficient Organization
In the new millennium, it is politically correct to talk about issues of diversity. There is no need to debate whether diversity is an issue. Instead, we must decide how we will respond to diversity both now and in the future.
Cultural Proficiency is a relatively new approach in diversity development. The Cultural Proficiency Model provides a framework for individual and organizational change. It relates to the policies and practices of organizations, as well as the values and behaviors of individuals.
The Cultural Proficiency Model focuses on individual performance as well as organizational policies and practices. Building a culturally proficient organization requires informed and dedicated employees, committed and involved leadership and a solid investment of time. This training session is the first step in the change process. It's a journey of discovery and commitment which often turns into a life changing experience.
Primary Objectives:
- Understand the components of the Cultural Proficiency Model through facilitated discussion, hands-on experience and interactive activities
- Examine past experiences with diversity and evaluate how those experiences affect current beliefs and behaviors
- Learn the value of diversity within the context of a business model
- Apply the main tenets of the model to individual behavior and corporate culture
- Create an action plan that can be applied on both a personal and organizational level
[1] Cultural Proficiency, Randall Terry
Global Perspective Seminars
Emerging economies, like India and China, represent the future of American business. They comprise the majority of the world's population, supply the most cost-effective labor, and present a largely untapped consumer base for U.S. products and services.
But there's a problem. Americans in general know virtually nothing about the developing countries where they'll work, the diversity of people with whom they'll collaborate, or the flexibility required to adapt to increasingly fluid market dynamics. And the world knows it. Now there's a solution: Global Perspective Seminars.
These ILS seminars explain the changes in the world, the forces behind those changes, and the backgrounds of emerging nations your people are encountering.
By giving employees an understanding of the people and places in which they are increasingly connected, we help organizations increase productivity and retention and use capital more efficiently. We also facilitate development of the global mindset needed to build relationships across cultural boundaries, which helps the bottom line.
How Are They Different From Traditional Culture Courses?
Providing training about cultural rules is important. However, without a context for why it is important, or how those cultures fit into the big picture, this type of training can be ineffective. Furthermore, due to shifting geographic advantages, the country with which you are working today may not be the one you are working with in the future. An understanding of the world as a whole provides the context for working with diverse groups in multiple locations in an age when having the flexibility to adapt is critical.Primary Objectives:
- Knowledge of the changes in the world and the forces behind those changes
- Understanding of emerging nations, like India and China
- Contextual framework for anticipating and adapting to opportunities, no matter the location or cultures involved
- Tools and the global mindset necessary for effective international teaming
These Global Perspective Seminars are available:
Making Connections: An Introduction to Globalization and Our Changing World is an overview of changes that are occurring in the world today as well as the forces behind those changes. This session gives your employees the context for understanding why they should learn more about the world and how to more effectively work with the people and places with which they are increasingly connected.An Introduction to India and China applies patterns of globalization and forces of change to India and China, which comprise almost 40% of the world's population and whose rising consumer class and economic capabilities have grabbed the world's attention. Participants will gain a better understanding of the potential, and the pitfalls, of these two emerging nations.
Making Connections: An Introduction to Americans and the United States: a perspective on who Americans are and how their geography and history shaped them. This course was designed for Indians working for a Fortune 100 retailer at their offshore facility in Bangalore, India. However, cross-cultural communication is a two-way street, and it is also valuable for American based employees to gain insight as to how their behavior and cultural characteristics affect the behavior of others towards them.