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Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title style Learning About Asia to Succeed in Asia: Culture as a Risk...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleFocus of this session Cultural Competence B C Behavioural A
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleCultural differences make business more complicated
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleCultural risks in many common business activities
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title style Good /neutral relations Behaviour wrongly explained Negat...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleChallenge and opportunity Culture adds complexity and risk...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleUGM Cultural Risk Mitigation Tool
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleFor business success, you need to … Understand Australian ...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleIceberg analogy visible values communication preferences
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleIndividual……Group 0 20 40 60 80 100 Individualism 90 20 14...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleEquality……Hierarchy 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Hierarchy 36 80 ...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleAustralian thinking: anti-deference 12 • Direct, familiar ...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleAustralian English reflects the culture 13 • Australian En...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title stylePart of the cultural legacy 14 Behaviour fairly similar ac...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleBeing indirect can serve useful purposes
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title stylePutting options forward START START END END
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleProblem-solving approach
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleAnger, annoyance
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleDifferent perspectives, different strengths Australian app...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleDefining cultural competence Success = making adjustments ...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleSome common challenges for Australians What is NOT said Im...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title style6 practical things you can do 1 • Listen more 2 • Practise...
Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title style abbeys.com.au Amazon margaret@ugmconsulting.com
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Margaret Byrne - 2015 AICD Conference - Learning about Asia to Succeed in Asia

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It’s now generally accepted that Australia’s future is intimately bound up with Asia. There are economic, strategic and obvious geographic reasons why this is so. Consequently, the conversation has shifted from the out-dated, ‘Will you engage with Asia?’ to the current, ‘How can you engage to best advantage?’ It’s a reasonable question. While the Asia-Pacific region is rich with opportunity for Australia, it’s also fraught with complexity and cultural risk. Things can go wrong, and sometimes do. The challenges faced by Australian organisations in Asia are like complex and interwoven puzzles. The key that unlocks the solution to these puzzles is cultural competence.

While this new Asian century is certain to present Australia with significant economic, strategic and social opportunities, it is already bringing challenge and risk as well. Cultural differences run deeper and are more pervasive than many realise. For example, the obvious differences in communication patterns, soon encountered when you work in Asia, reflect deeper and subtler cultural differences in cognitive style. In addition, although cultures change, this happens slowly and in ways that tend to reflect a society’s particular historical traditions. All this means that Australia urgently needs to build greater cultural competence: an integrated set of attributes, insight and skills for effective collaboration with Asian colleagues and counterparts. Taken together, such skills support both individuals and organisations in addressing the challenges and mitigating the risks that are the inevitable companions of opportunity. If professionals across all sectors can succeed in this task, then Australia will possess a unique competitive advantage and a sound platform for future security and prosperity.

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Margaret Byrne - 2015 AICD Conference - Learning about Asia to Succeed in Asia

  1. 1. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title style Learning About Asia to Succeed in Asia: Culture as a Risk factor © UGM Consulting 2015 Beyond 2020 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 20th May 2015 Dr Margaret Byrne UGM Consulting
  2. 2. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleFocus of this session Cultural Competence B C Behavioural A
  3. 3. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleCultural differences make business more complicated
  4. 4. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleCultural risks in many common business activities
  5. 5. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title style Good /neutral relations Behaviour wrongly explained Negative evaluation Stereotypes activated Trust eroded Motivation falls Intolerance of small errors Relationships, reputation and results all jeopardised Low cultural competence damages trust
  6. 6. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleChallenge and opportunity Culture adds complexity and risk. Competence manages complexity and reduces risk.
  7. 7. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleUGM Cultural Risk Mitigation Tool
  8. 8. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleFor business success, you need to … Understand Australian cultural preferences Understand ASEAN cultural preferences Bridge the gap between the two 8
  9. 9. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleIceberg analogy visible values communication preferences
  10. 10. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleIndividual……Group 0 20 40 60 80 100 Individualism 90 20 14 26 32 20 20 20 27 43 Aus China Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Asian Avg. Global Avg.
  11. 11. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleEquality……Hierarchy 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Hierarchy 36 80 78 104 94 74 64 70 73 55 Aus China Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Asian Avg. Global Avg.
  12. 12. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleAustralian thinking: anti-deference 12 • Direct, familiar language even to senior people
  13. 13. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleAustralian English reflects the culture 13 • Australian English • Use of abbreviations • Australian humour
  14. 14. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title stylePart of the cultural legacy 14 Behaviour fairly similar across most situations
  15. 15. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleBeing indirect can serve useful purposes
  16. 16. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title stylePutting options forward START START END END
  17. 17. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleProblem-solving approach
  18. 18. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleAnger, annoyance
  19. 19. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleDifferent perspectives, different strengths Australian approach Asian approach Direct Indirect Truth Harmony Independent Reciprocal
  20. 20. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleDefining cultural competence Success = making adjustments that are: practical realistic appropriate effective (even partially) 20
  21. 21. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title styleSome common challenges for Australians What is NOT said Implying and inferring Absence of ‘yes’ and the ‘casual yes’ Avoiding questions
  22. 22. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title style6 practical things you can do 1 • Listen more 2 • Practise picking up hints, inferences 3 • Focus on rapport and trust 4 • Clarify meaning 5 • Share intentions 6 • Strike a balance: be yourself & adjust!
  23. 23. Click to edit Master title styleClick to edit Master title style abbeys.com.au Amazon margaret@ugmconsulting.com

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