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“WHAT MARKET FOR THE INTERCULTURAL FIELD?” a qualitative research
2015 Paola Motta for SIETAR ITALIA
OBJECTIVES •how relevant intercultural issues are for organizations •which training and consulting solutions are commonly adopted and which ones are more effective •what organizations, training companies, and free lance consultants expect about offer and service quality •what resources professionals more frequently and effectively use to present themselves as trustworthy and reliable professionals in the market and to maintain and update their competences in the intercultural field SAMPLE AND METHODOLOGY 26 interviews one hour long, 3 different outlines for the different targets : - 8 international or global companies area managers and hr managers - 9 consulting and training institutes directors - 9 free-lance practitioners (4 sietar members, 5 non members) working in the intercultural field
“What market for the intercultural field?”
CRITICAL POINTS ARISE ABOUT HOW
Cultural differences and organizations: needs, approaches and practices
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
TO DEFINE AND
SHARE
A new cultural and organizational identity
In this contamination process we need to be prepared to give up our exclusive culture
The sense of the organization and of the organizational tools:
…..especially evaluation , career and development paths
The culture of work
What time, merit, responsibility, results, data, planning, reporting, the concept of “factory”
mean, and how much they matter
TOP MANAGEMENT AND MANAGEMENT
• Workshops with President and Country Directors
• Training on Sustainability and Diversity Management
• “International travelling training paths”
• A two-year path for 52 managers from different countries
EXPATS, TASK FORCES operating in new plants
• Training about local situations
• Coaching
TEAMS
• Team sessions assisted by facilitators
MOREOVER, for different targets
• Skill matrix for each production phase in each plant
“There is a work culture impacting directly on the production process”
• Working in English, Yearly methodology classes
What support for people in the company?
solutions and practices
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
Companies usually invest in supporting high level managers and do not care
about middle management
An erratic and discontinuous commitment
Poor investments in terms of quality and quantity
A limited approach
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
company’s low commitment
Impacts on participants’motivation
This is the moment of pills,
they cost less and the time
for learning is shorter and
shorter
Some critical points
Companies notice
a different scenario
BUT:
WARNING !
we must not to mistake our being accustomed to
INTERNATIONAL SITUATIONS
for our paying attention to the INTERCULTURAL DIMENSION
Companies NOW need consultants skilled in organizational intelligence and intercultural awareness
Organizations and cultural differences:
is anything changing?
Thinking about ten years ago, there is a big change
due to a considerable turnover of managers …Our
company swept away all managers lacking
an international mindset
Able to understand the organizational context,
Willing to be in the same wavelength of
purchasers
Competent and responsive from an intercultural
point of view
not just China or South Africa
experts, but organizational
specialists in issues concerning
internationalization
FROM CATALOG COURSES TO CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS
INSTITUTES ARE GENERALLY APPRECIATED FOR THEIR STRUCTURED TRAINING METHODS, THOUGH MANY AMONG THEM DO NOT GENERALLY REFER TO ANY PARTICULAR MODEL OR THEORETICAL FRAME ABOUT ITERCULTURAL ISSUES
Service and consultancy offer and proposals:
Institutes
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
•Development paths to increase awareness : assessment, business coaching
•Ad hoc paths: context analysis, project and country culture analysis
•Customized systemic paths awareness workshops, focus groups for top
managers, team building, conventions, training the trainers
Product selling proposition
Integration of leadership models
Most FREE-LANCE PRACTITIONERS work to support people in one-to-one relationships
Moreover, they
Free-lance practitioners have strong methodologies and are well informed about models
They are used to being flexible, and adopting syncretic models: because of this approach, for all their expertise and theoretical knowledge , they often risk having poor visibility
Service and consultancy offer and proposals:
Free-lance practitioners
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
Expat preparation and support
Support activities for managers’ relocation
Coaching in international contexts and intercultural coaching
•follow international teams with team-building and team development activities
• provide organizational consultancy, working as executive committees facilitators,
supporting companies in cultural integration processes and adapting marketing
strategies
•We have our methodology: we design the project phases, and for each phase we have very powerful exercises and tools
• Work experiences become “learning histories”
•Hofstede , Country Navigator…
•We don’t refer to any specific model
•We worked our model out basing it on the best classical texts
•I use the Bennett model as a mental grid, it’s a very powerful model, which highlights the most critical points and explains many things not only
regarding cultural differences
Methods and models
Institutes Free-lancers
•I always do needs analysis and context analysis •I always start from their problems •Our work is like that of a crafstman •I consider Hofstede somewhat outdated and I have had enough of this approach •Bennett model would be interesting to propose, but is difficult… •Bennet is one of the most interesting ones, I always explain it through adaptations… •Bennett, Rosinski and Cultural Navigator models are my underline guide •I have certification for many models.. •I have a syncretic approach.
The value of the intercultural profession
is commonly appreciated
BUT….
…..THE MARKET IS ON STANDBY!!
• poor working opportunities, poor commitment from companies
• unfair and threatening competition
• inefficiency in self-promoting themselves
My work does not pay as it should
I meet some resistance on the part of the company, a limited view of interculture, made of dos and don’ts
…poor motivation in the classroom, which reflects a low commitment in the part of top management
Another consultant unfairly eliminated me
The HR manager has moved out, and they changed the supplier
They copied a course and made an ugly copy of it, reducing it to a quarter of it
What critical points practitioners meet
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
Self-promotion is a critical issue for many institutes :
We are more expert in technical and methodological issues than in marketing
I don’t like marketing, because I am a trainer…..
A good relationship with customers is the best tool for self promotion but....
Word of mouth basically works…But it is actually working less and less because of competitors like Country Navigator…
Freelance practitioners have a difficult relationship with their website
It’s old, it’s awful, I shoul redo it
All of them appear on LinkedIn, but generally don’ t make use of it;
they fundamentally depend on word of mouth
With a few exceptions, though aware of the value of networking , they are reluctant to build and take advantage of it
You are afraid to give your information to somebody who can steal it
Improvement areas: self promotion
institutes and free lancers
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
Ex colleagues
Intercultural
practitioner
Schoolfellows
Prospective customers
Trainers’
associations
Associations
Coach
Training
participants Students
SIETAR Former customers
Customers
Colleagues
psy association
Partners
A virtual network for intercultural practitioners
University
A good network is the environment where
experience sharing and intellectual confrontation are possible
This would allow practitioners to overcome their individualistic approach
Coachees
Improvement areas:
• A commercial attitude seems to be prevailing at SIETAR.
• It seems that inside SIETAR many people are unwilling to confront and share experiences
Good points:
• SIETAR is one of the most important resources that allows me to keep stay me up to date
About SIETAR
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
Don’t take SIETAR away from us ! … It has a lot of limits… It is like the United Nations: everyone despises it, they say it does not do anything…. SIETAR is not perfect, but it exists! It is the only thing of this kind we have in Italy!
Personal Characteristics
The intercultural practitioner: competence areas
languages
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
Communication
Intercultural
Dimension
Business and organization
Training and development
methods
Intercultural
Dimension
Business and organization
Training and development
methods
•Diversity
•Theoretical Models, Intercultural communication Principles
• Country Culture (of one’s own and of another country)
•Organizational culture, Organizational behaviour
• People management tools, Change management
• Knowledge of organizational structures, Business dynamics
•Needs analysis, training design and management, evaluation methods and tools
• Classroom and team management
•Coaching for individuals and teams; empowerment, assessment
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
Communication
Languages
•Effective Communication, Intercultural communication
• Negotiation, Conflict Management
• Virtual communication
•English
• Mother language
• Third language
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
BROADMINDEDNESS • Curiosity about people and cultures • “Voyager” attitude • Confronting, sharing, networking skills
RELATIONAL ATTITUDE • Listening skills • Empathy • Capacity to perceive subtle signs
AWARENESS • Personal intercultural experience and elaboration • Self-awareness, caoacity to generate insight
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
New kinds of projects for different targets :
The most interesting developments will occur in the factories, since Italy will no longer go ahead without immigrants
We should first think of diversity itself, before thinking of cultural diversity
We should design systemic solutions, dealing with the problem from many points of view, and using different strategies
Training should become increasingly close to companies…. Intercultural training should integrate in change management and negotiation paths …..
Professional should learn to work in a virtual dimension and be open to nonprofit organizations:
We need to become able to teach and coach virtual teams
New solutions should and could be found:
Not only coaching or training expats
Customized training would do better than catalog training, we need no general training
paola motta per SIETAR 2014
In the future : opportunities for improvement
