TMA World Worldprism Model of Cultural Differences

Introducing the Worldprism™Model of Cultural Differences

Terence Brake

Head of Learning & Innovation

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 2

Welcome

Every single day in domestic and global business:

• Productivity is lost

• Cross-border mergers & acquisitions underperform

• Negotiations fail

• Deals are lost

All because of…


Cross-Cultural Misunderstandings


Focus Questions

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Why did we feel the need for a tool like the Worldprism™?

What exactly is the Worldprism™?

How does it work?

How can it benefit you?


Why the need?

Other models of culture not business or user friendly

• Complex, confusing academic language, like:

Universalism vs. Particularism Diffuseness vs. Specificity Masculinity vs. Femininity Uncertainty Avoidance

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Why the need?

Models acted as a barrier to developing cultural intelligence

We wanted a cultural intelligence tool that was simple…

But not simplistic!

For enabling increased productivity and effectiveness in the areas of:• Cross-cultural business relationships – domestic and global • Global management• Global teamwork – face-to-face and virtual

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What is the Worldprism™?

A practical tool for developing individual and group cultural intelligence at any organizational level

And… effective for working with domestic or global cultural differences

What do we mean by cultural intelligence?

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Cultural intelligence:

“An ability to recognize different cultural orientations as well as having the knowledge and skills to work with them effectively.”

And, what do we mean by cultural orientation?

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Cultural Orientation:

“A tendency in a group to share ways of feeling, thinking, and behaving.”

There can be many types and levels of ‘group’:

• Nation• Organization• Division• Profession• Team

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REASONING

RELATING

REGULATING

CULTURAL LENSHistory │ Geography │ Language │

Religion

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Looking through the TMA Worldprism™

Dimension 1: RELATINGExpectations on how to interact appropriately with others

Task

Impersonal. Let’s get down to business. Rules before relationships.

Relationship

Personal. Can I trust you? Are you loyal? Relationships before rules.

Explicit

Meaning is stated directly. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.

Implicit

Meaning often has to be inferred from what is said and not said and body language.

Individual

Me before we.

Group

We before me.

Cultural Orientations


Dimension 2: REGULATINGExpectations on how to manage our work together

Risk Taking

Make change happen; act decisively. New is good.

Risk Avoiding

Avoid change. Steady, but sure. Stress continuity.

Tight

Be punctual, control time. Time is money.

Loose

Be flexible, go with the flow. Things will happen in their own time.

Shared

Distribute power and authority within the group.

Concentrated

Focus power and authority on specific people in the group.

Looking through the TMA Worldprism™Looking through the TMA Worldprism™



Dimension 3: REASONINGExpectations on how to think about problems and present solutions

Linear

Analytical, step-by-step process toward solution.

Circular

Focus on exploring and integrating perspectives in a relatively unstructured way.

Facts

Emphasis on data and concrete experiences.

Thinking

Emphasis on reasoning, concepts, and logic.

Simple

Focus on essentials with little context.

Complex

Focus on developing a detailed, contextual understanding.

Looking through the TMA Worldprism™Looking through the TMA Worldprism™




Before Moving On…

No right or wrong orientations

All orientations have advantages / drawbacks

Cultural intelligence involves ‘switching’ between orientations

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How does the Worldprism™ work?

Completion of Worldprism questionnaire produces a personal cultural orientations profile

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How does the Worldprism™ work?

● Your Profile

● Your Colleague: Zhang Wei

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How can using the Worldprism™ benefit you?

• Greater awareness of differences leading to increased adaptability

• Reduced misperceptions and misunderstandings leading to increased productivity

• Better preparedness working with customers, colleagues, partners leading to higher performance Comparison country profiles in TMA World’s Country Navigator

• Better preparedness for cross-cultural teams leading to more successful collaboration

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Close

• Increasing cross-cultural interaction in business

• Must compete and collaborate across cultural distances

• Urgent need for cultural intelligence – up, down and across organizations

• Cultural inflexibility and misunderstanding leads to mistrust which leads to missed opportunities. None of us can afford these.


Contact us at [email protected]

Get in touch!

Please visit our website

www.tmaworld.com

TMA World is a leader in developing talent for the global workplace.

Thank you for your participation

mailto:[email protected]


TMA World is a leader in developing talent for theglobal workplace. Across 50 countries we applya blend of experiential workshops and e-learningmethodologies to enable individuals at all levels tolead and collaborate across distances and difference:

Develop leaders - who possess appropriate global mindsets and competencies

Engage global teams - to collaborate seamlessly and support international growth

Achieve consistency - across cultures, methodologies and management

Harmonize cross-border relationships - both internally and externally

Unify your people - to enable the free flow of ideas and skills globally

To find out more about how we can help you address your learning and development challenges, please contact us at [email protected] or visit our website www.tmaworld.com

London New York San Francisco Hong Kong Singapore Bangalore Moscow

About TMA World


Written by Terence Brake, President, TMA World-Americas

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The work revolution is here and now! This blog builds on

the work of my new book - Where in the World is My Team? by discussing the

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Enjoy!

http://www.tmaworld.com/news-

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TMA World Worldprism Model of Cultural Differences