In LO2250 Joel DiGirolamo and Bernard Girard wrote:
|> >From my personal experiences I have tried to make people from foreign
|> countries feel welcome here in the states. I do this in a number of ways.
|> If the person is family oriented and informal I often invite them to my
|> house for dinner which does wonders for cementing a relationship and
|> building a rapport. For others that may be more formal I tend to invite
|> them out to eat. The time spent together helps to find some common ground
|> off the "work" turf in a more relaxed atmosphere.
This is an excellent example of being respectful to people on
their own terms!!!
|>
|> As for being in a foreign country, I've found that at least attempting to
|> speak their language and continually asking questions about their culture
|> gives them a feeling that we are not there just to rape, pillage and
|> plunder. Occasionally I am invited to someone's house, but not often. I
|> guess we Americans tend to be more casual...
For me, this is another example of being respectful and can be
applied whether one is in another country or one is having people
from another country as collegues/staff/supervisors in one's home
country.
Observe, watch, and listen. Many people rely on a single
cultural informant to gain insights into how they should be the
exec in the informant's country. This is an option but must be
taken with caution. One must also find out how accurate and
honest the informant is.
What information is and is not getting through and why? What
filters has the informant used in transferring opinions and
interpretations? - are key questions to consider.
-- Jay Wisecarver, REDD BARNA (Norwegian Save the Children) [But the comments are mine and my responsibility only.] Preferred| wisecj@mozart.inet.co.th |Alternate| jay.wisecarver@wov.com | 7 :::: 7 Be careful when slinging mud, you might lose ground!