Cultural Sensitivity Training

[jams]

Today my wife had to attend cultural sensitivity training to better work with her colleagues in Malaysia.

She learned....
-They prefer indirect communication
-They prefer small talk before getting down to business
-She was told not to be animated
-She was told not to directly communicate bad news
- If you eat with them don't leave anything on your plate
-Don't pass anything using your left hand
-Don't be judgmental

Now lets have some fun....
Here counterparts in Malaysia were going through the same training about Americans. What do you think the workshop facilitator in Malaysia said about us?

[Jamo]

We're waiting.....

[jams]

I wish I knew or had a video of it.
I am sure it went something like....
-Americans like to make important decisons over lunch and/or dinner with lots of beer.
-Americans like to talk on the phone while texting and surfing the web and occasionally focus on their work.

[tcrist]

I had to make a call to Dell support a while back. Not sure where the tech was but he did not speak english very well. In I.M.'ing him back and forth I typed the phrase "FYI". He told me that there would be no foul language in our communication. I asked him what I said that was foul. He said that "FYI" is slang in his country for something bad. I appoligized and said that I would not type that again.

So, as a heads up, Watch what shortcuts that you type in to other countries also.

[392cobra]

Dell Support - FYI'em

[FWB]

all i can say is......where they eat!

[Dan40]

In Germany 'thumbs up' means good as it does here. And the first finger and thumb in a circle with 3 fingers flying also means good here. I was having dinner with a businessman I dealt with in Germany. He also happened to own the restaurant we were dining in. The chef had to come out as the boss was there and me being the guest he asked how everything was. I gave him the "good" sign of the finger and thumb in a circle. He reacted like I punched him in the stomach. Driving down the road I almost cut a guy off, as he passed he gave me the circle finger sign. Seems it means Azzhole there!

[jams]

Good one hand signs can be tricky.

I have been lucky, people have been saying I number 1 for years.

[Buzz]

Dan, I hope you didn't stick around for dessert! I can just picture Herr Chef muttering "I give you ze a$$hole" as he whips up a special serving of black forest cake.

[Dan40]

n

Originally Posted by Buzz

Dan, I hope you didn't stick around for dessert! I can just picture Herr Chef muttering "I give you ze a$$hole" as he whips up a special serving of black forest cake.

I had already eaten the raw bacon they call 'ham!' Luckily the meal was finished when I insulted the chef.

Had one of my sales mgrs. along on one trip. There is the required after dining 'glas of Schnapps.' The glasses are always marked with the liquid measure on them. Usually 2 cl. One place served the drink in a larger glass, 4 cl. He said, "Not sure how long I'll run on 4 cylinders!"

[Tommy]

Following some troubling racial incidents in the Air Force in the early seventies, the higher ups mandated racial sensitivity training for everyone service wide. It consisted of a day long program that attempted to show that the majority's culture wasn't the only culture that mattered. One portion attempted to demonstrate institutional racism by administering an IQ test that most white people failed. It included terms most familiar to inner city black people. For example, it asked about the jheri curl. That turned out to be a hair style popular in black communities. I took the training just before being reassigned to another base. .... When I arrived at my new base, I soon found myself scheduled for the same training. I protested that I had already done it, but there was no notation in my records, so I had to go again. When it came time for the 20 question institutional racism test, the best score by another white person was five correct. The best score by a black person was thirteen. I got nineteen correct. The instructor had a hard time making his point about institutional racism, and I never mentioned that I had seen the test just two month earlier.

[Wayne Maybury]

Canadians tend to not want to hurt other people feelings so we may be overly polite especially when dealing with someone for the first time. Many years ago I learned that when dealing with Americans, get to the point right away. You are not going to hurt their feelings, they want to know what's going on, even if it is bad news. There will be lots of time afterwards for chit-chat but get the business cleared up first.

Wayne

[Maurice Johnson]

My father used to tell my brothers and me to always polish the toes of your shoes if you think your about to run out of polish. First impression count , he said. On the way out the door, the decision has been made, so the heels don't count.

[Dan40]

Originally Posted by Wayne Maybury

Canadians tend to not want to hurt other people feelings so we may be overly polite especially when dealing with someone for the first time. Many years ago I learned that when dealing with Americans, get to the point right away. You are not going to hurt their feelings, they want to know what's going on, even if it is bad news. There will be lots of time afterwards for chit-chat but get the business cleared up first.

Wayne

That all depends on whether you are buying or selling!!

[Scott S]

I dated a British girl years ago and while being playful I told her the I was going to whack her on her fanny. I was quickly told that across the pond the fanny is in the front..

Scott S

[Jamo]

kinky.......

[Dan40]

Originally Posted by Jamo

kinky.......

No!,,,,,,,,,,Thats when you use the whole chicken!!


Oops, kinky is when you use a feather.
Perverted is when you use the whole chicken!

[Buzz]

My parents became friends of an American family who lived on a large yacht when I was about 10. They had a dog named fanny - ugliest dog you ever saw. Growing up with the Brit usage of the term (and being 10 years old), I used to wonder if they called it that because it was so friggin' ugly.