According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2039, the working-age population of the U.S. is projected to be comprised of more minorities than any single-race group. Moreover, globalization has continued, with the number of multinational companies having doubled in the past 20 years. What this means is that businesses and employees in the United States will increasingly come in contact with businesses and employees from many different cultures, and the changing population demographics in the United States will inevitably create a more ethnically diverse American work force.

Because communication styles, managerial approaches, and attitudes toward time and interpersonal relationships stem in part from individuals' cultural backgrounds, communication problems in the workplace are inevitable. Thus, for a modern workplace to function efficiently, employees must achieve a degree of cultural literacy, particularly with regard to how they communicate with one another.

This course defines culture and explains the manner in which culture can affect workplace attitudes and behavior. You will learn how to analyze your own personal culture and how your culture affects your expectations of yourself and others in the workplace, particularly within the context of communication. Most importantly, you will acquire the techniques for correctly reading and responding to workplace behaviors rooted in cultural differences.

TARGET AUDIENCE
Business Professionals

TIME TO COMPLETE
60 minutes

PURPOSE
To teach business professionals techniques for improving communications in increasingly diverse workplaces.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this course, the learner will be able to:

• define culture;
• recognize different cultural values, as expressed in workplace behavior and work styles;
• identify the ways in which cultural values influence workplace communication;
• learn to observe behavior neutrally without forming judgments;
• recognize cultural differences in forms of nonverbal communication;
• identify and respond to cross-cultural miscommunications in the workplace; and
• implement techniques of successful communication across cultures.

TOPICS COVERED

1. The Definition of Culture
2. Cultural Values that Shape Workplace Behavior
3. Hierarchical v. Flat Organizational Structure
4. Task Orientation v. Relationship Orientation
5. Process Focus v. Goal Focus
6. Low-Context Culture v. High-Context Culture
7. Fixed-Time Orientation v. Flexible-Time Orientation
8. Humanistic v. Mechanistic Employees
9. Practicing Flexing Skills in the Workplace
10. Nonverbal Communication: Oculesics, Haptics, and Proxemics

FORMS INCLUDED
Cultural Attitudes Inventory

ACCREDITATION
HR CERTIFICATION INSTITUTE
This program has been approved for 1.0 recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute. For more information about certification or recertification, visit the HR Certification Institute homepage at www.hrci.org.
(The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of this program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute's criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.)