Successful International Joint Venture Teamworking

09.30-10.00 Introductions and objectives for the day

10.00 - 10-45 Know Yourself: What are your cultural values and behaviour? What is "normal" behaviour? Why we behave in the way we do - an introduction to cultural awareness.

The Iceberg and the Onion. Your Own Preferences Questionnaire - participants sculpt where their preferences are on the 5 Keys to Culture - Relationships, Communication, Time, Truth, The Human Condition. Discussion on the differences and how these differences can be bridged in joint venture teams. What cultural differences hinder the team from achieving its objectives?

10-45-11.30 Know Them: Facts ---> Attitudes ---> Behaviour (F.A.B.): a model that helps you to understand your international JV partners, their cultural values and their business practices. What are the key cultural differences and similarities that affect the way we work?

11.30-12.15 - Intercultural teambuilding exercise - a cultural game where joint venture teams have to work together in an unfamiliar cultural context, learn each others' rules and business practices, and adapt their style. It's fun, involving and has serious lessons about your own willingness to adapt to different teams/cultures, and about avoiding assumptions that your cultural rules are necessarily the best.

12.15-12.30 Review and learning from the exercise

12.30 -13.30 Lunch

13.30 - 14.00 Know How They See You: What image do your joint venture partners have of your culture? How does this help/hinder effective teamwork? What are the stereotypes, positive and negative they might have of you and your culture? How can you accentuate the positive and modify your behaviour to overcome any negative stereotypical views?

14.00-15.30 Know How to Work with Them Effectively both Face to Face and Remotely: How should you communicate with your international partners in order to avoid misunderstandings? How explicit or implicit will their communication be? How can you adapt your style to ensure you communicate successfully with them?

Breaking the ice and building rapport. Remote Conflict exercise: Conflict with remote teams. Participants give their case studies and propose solutions. Discussion, role-play and feedback. Advice on managing conflict in international teams International English exercise: What is International English and how do you use it with your international counterparts? How can non-native speakers of English control the discussion? Discussion and exercise. E-mail exercise: participants to review remote written communication and identify differences in style in written communication

15.30-15.45 Break

15.45-16.15 Toolkit for working successfully with your international joint venture teams. Participants use the tools and skills they have learned during the day to come up with a list of do's and don'ts to enable them to work successfully with their international JV teams

16.15-16.30 Action Planning, Summary and Evaluation