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TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

Date post: 23-Jan-2015
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When the term ‘culture’ is used, an association with ‘nationality’ often follows - French, Japanese, Chinese and so on. However, this is only one dimension of human difference and taken alone may tell us very little about the complex individuals we work with. This TMA World presentation offers a quick guide to effectively leveraging all kinds of diversity within your organization. For more advice on working with difference and the other skills you and your organization require to thrive in the borderless workplace, contact us today: [email protected] or visit our website: www.tmaworld.com
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A Guide To Working With Difference Beyond Nationality Terence Brake: Head of Learning & Innovation, TMA World
Transcript
Page 1: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

A Guide To Working With Difference

Beyond Nationality

Terence Brake: Head of Learning & Innovation, TMA World

Page 2: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

2

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

Let me begin by first

asking the question,

What Is

Culture

“ ”

One of the problems inherited from the past is that when the term ‘culture’ is used, an association with ‘nationality’ often follows - French, Japanese, Chinese and so on. Nationality, however, is only one dimension of human difference and taken alone may tell us very little about the complex individuals we work with.

Page 3: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

3

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

Let me define a culture, as follows: “A culture is a group that shares experiences and characteristics that shape how its members understand and act in the world.”

Page 4: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

4

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

Common experiences and characteristics facilitate the development

and maintenance of shared assumptions, attitudes, values, beliefs and

behaviours. Some cultural groups we are born into, and others we join

or become part of during our lives.

Page 5: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

5

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

Cultural groups can be shaped by many different types of shared

experiences and characteristics, not just nationality:

Age Cognitive Style

Education

Ethnicity Gender

Language

National Origin Organization

Personality

Physical Abilities Profession

Race

Religion Sexual Orientation

Skin Colour

Page 6: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

6

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

Some believe that

putting together a team

of people with diverse

nationalities will lead to

higher levels of creativity

and innovation.

Perhaps, but to be sure

we need to look deeper.

Page 7: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

7

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

We may, for example,

have different

nationalities on a team,

but very similar cognitive

styles.

Unless we take into

account a fuller range of

differences, we may not

derive the full benefits

we want from diversity.

Page 8: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

8

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

Harrah’s Hotels, Resorts,

and Casinos are focusing

on cognitive diversity for

achieving specific and

defined business goals.

Page 9: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

9

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

Once an issue has been

designed, ‘Diverse by

Design’ teams are

formed.

They use a brain

dominance instrument to

identify differences in

thinking styles and make

sure that their teams

have different styles

represented.

Page 10: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

10

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

The kinds of diversity

needed on a team will

differ, of course, by

business objective and

context.

Page 11: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

11

Working With Difference: Beyond Nationality

The bottom line is that

today’s highly complex

business environment

demands that we adopt a

more sophisticated

approach to

understanding and

utilizing human

differences.

Page 12: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

12

Webinar Twitter Blog Viewpoints and articles

Publications Written by Terence Brake, Director of Learning & Innovation at TMA World. Our new Borderless Working e-book series

About Us

Visit

www.tmaworld.com/insights

to discover the latest

thinking from our experts

on global, collaborative,

cross-cultural and virtual

working. There you’ll find

links to our:

Page 13: TMA World Viewpoint 30: A Guide To Working With Difference

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

13

Above all we’d like to hear from you directly, so please don’t hesitate to send any comments, questions or feedback

to us at: [email protected]

Or visit our website:

www.tmaworld.com

About Us

Visit

www.tmaworld.com/insights

to discover the latest

thinking from our experts

on global, collaborative,

cross-cultural and virtual

working.


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