Intercultural Competence A success strategy for the culturally diverse workplace

2. Intercultural Competence A success strategy for the culturally diverse workplace Human Rights in Canada A National Human Rights Conference Calgary, Alberta Sarah Apedaile – NorQuest Centre for Excellence in Intercultural Education Jason Fleming – Training Manager – All Weather Windows

3. Diversity is the mix Inclusion is making the mix work TM - Tapia “The Inclusion Paradox”

4. Linear Time/ Flexible Time • I like to be on time and expect the same of others. • What happens is more important than when it starts and ends.

5. Egalitarian/ Hierarchical • My normal is to relate to others in an informal way without the use of titles, status and other formalities. • My normal is to use titles and other formalities with people who are older than me or have more status.

6. The changing mix in Canadian communities • Social equity • Power • Intergroup relations Bennett, 2007

7. Bennett and Hammer

8. Intercultural competence is… • the ability to recognize important similarities and differences • and act in informed ways • to achieve goals through mutual understanding and mutual adaptation

10. Us and Them Historically strategies for self preservation have included: • Avoidance • Conversion – informal assimilation • Removing the other Bennett, 2007

11. “People find comfort and safety in commonality.” “Help people develop commonalities with people different from themselves so that new connections, comfort and trust can be built.” Gardenswartz, Rowe, Digh, Bennett (2003) Global Diversity Desk Reference p. 7

12. What happened? How does each person feel? What are the judgments/conclusions of each person? What is the shared goal? What is this about? My ‘normal’ and your ‘normal’

13. The “MIX” at All Weather Windows

14. Corporate Goals • Customer Satisfaction • Safety • Integrity • Diversity • Engaged team • Contribute to lives of employees and community

15. Employee Goals • Short term • Long term • Maslow’s hierarchy

16. Story 1 – Hung’s Promotability

17. Story 2 –An Unexpected Response

19. Making the “MIX” work at All Weather Windows • Chaplain • Supervisor training and support Take Informed Action

20. Principles of Lean Manufacturing # 8 “Unused human potential” • Cultural misunderstandings • Adaptation stress • Cultural conflict • Unaligned expectations • Confusion regarding • expectations

21. Traditional Supervisor Roles 1. Operational Manage the flow of work through decision making and problem solving to meet targets of production and quality. 2. Communication Serve as a two-way conduit between upper management and the general workforce as well as working with other supervisors. 3. Leadership Encourage Support Motivate Supervisor Roles Communication Operational Leadership

22. + Cultural Support Role • Additional Knowledge & Skills • Adaptation stress • Cultural adjustment • Family • Gender Roles • Status • Problem solving Supervisor Roles Communication Operational Leadership + Cultural Support

23. Intercultural Success Strategies

24. How does CEIE help organizations build intercultural communication competence? • Applied Research • Projects • Resources • Training • English in the Workplace / Intercultural Training • Consulting • Adapting materials for a diverse audience • Needs assessment

25. Hvala ARIGATO Gracias Tak Xie Xie Thank you Cam on شكرا Merci SHUKRAN

26. References • Alberta Human Rights Act • Anti Racism Training, Centre for Race and Culture (Edmonton) www.cfrac.com • Bennett, M. J. (2004). Becoming interculturally competent. In J.S. Wurzel (Ed.) Towardmulticulturalism: A reader in multicultural education. Newton, MA: Intercultural Resource Corporation. www.idrinstitute.org • Bennett, M.J. (2007) Original draft: Social justice and intercultural development: New views on campus intergroup relations, published as Developing intercultural sensitivity: A model to improve intergroup relations on campus. Leadership Exchange Magazine, Fall 2007. National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Retrieved from www.idrinstitute.org • Gardenswartz L., Rowe A., Digh P. and Bennett M. F. The Global Diversity Desk Reference: Managing an International Workforce John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Pfeiffer. 2003

27. References • Hammond, S. (2004) Managing Human Rights at Work: 101 practical tips to prevent human rights disasters. Harassment Solutions Inc. Vancouver • Human Rights Education Handbook Part 1 Section C Human Rights Resources Centre http://hrusa.org/ • Laroche L. and Rutherford D. Recruiting, Retaining and Promoting Culturally Different Employees. Elsevier, Inc. 2007 • Schaetti B. F., Ramsey S.J., and Watanabe G.C. Personal Leadership: Making a World of Difference. FlyingKite Publications. 2008 • Tapia, A. T., The Inclusion Paradox, Hewitt Associates, 2009 • Waugh E. and Louw K. (2011) . Online Workplace Language Videos . NorQuest Centre for Excellence in Intercultural Education www.norquest.ca/cfe/intercultural

28. For more information: Visit our websites: www.allweatherwindows.com www.norquest.ca/cfe/intercultural or Email CEIE: icinfo@norquest.ca