A Home for Culture Vultures

As Brexit negotiations commence, HR teams have an invaluable role to play in helping the businesses within which they work to positively navigate the challenges presented by our EU withdrawal.

For most international companies, Brexit makes it necessary to revise long term business strategies – with changes being far greater for companies closely connected to the EU.

For some, globalization is dangerous for cultural diversity. The fear of cultural dilution and being imposed upon by a foreign, sometimes corporate, culture drives many people to deduce that the global economy is doing us more harm than good. 

However, new research coming from academics in Morocco and Canada suggests that globalization is certainly not killing our cultures. 

:: As of this week Brexit negotiations have officially commenced.

:: The UK will be leaving the EU within the next few years.

CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ will "Improve Corporate Performance, Drive Growth, and Enhance Employee Engagement" says founding companies

In a sign of the growing importance of diversity issues within the workplace, a group of more than 150 CEOs from some of the world’s leading companies have put their names againt CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ -  the largest ever CEO-driven commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Researchers believe they have discovered a link between someone's culture and the language they use when they are telling lies.

Psychologists, led by Professor Paul Taylor of Lancaster University in the UK, have just published the findings of their research, entitled "Culture moderates changes in linguistic self-presentation and detail provision when deceiving others", in Royal Society Open Science.

If your introduction to the topic of cultural appropriation was due to a celebrity, such as Pharrell Williams, being slammed for wearing Native American headwear,  Zac Effron, being called out for sporting dreadlocks, or Katy Perry, being criticised for performing as a Geisha, then you're not alone. 

Once upon a time, cultural appropriation was something theorised and discussed solely at universities.

Accents are an amazing window onto our history.  As accents die, so too are accents born in response to changes in our environment.

In ‘The Lost Cockney Voice’ available on podcast via Radio 4 downloads, Cole Moreton talks about the unique cockney accent of his grandmother’s era.

Traditionally one of the more expensive destinations to send expatriate staff, a survey has found that the UK is now becoming cheaper for foreign companies.

The MyExpatriate Market Pay survey (published annually by ECA International) states that for the past few years the fall in the value of UK Sterling has meant that for companies outside the country, operating mainly in USD, sending resources to Britain has become around 11% cheaper.

Multicultural teams are now the norm within many of our larger companies, organisations and brands.

Challenges relating to communication, trust and morale within culturally diverse teams are common.

India, despite years of efforts by PM Narendra Modi to implement changes to the contrary, remains one of the toughest places on the planet to do business.

A highly-advanced nation in many respects, with an educated English-speaking population, a wealthy middle-class, advances in technology and an international business outlook, many from the outside approach India as easy pickings.

Researchers believe they have finally discovered why the wide, white-teethed smile is so important in American culture - immigrants and cultural diversity.

Across different cultures, a smile can mean many things.

Discover some of the more unknown aspects of South Korean culture and society!

Sometimes it's the quirky things a country or culture does that really gives us insights into the people.

“How would you explain your country's culture to someone who isn’t at all familiar with it?”

This was the question posed by OdinText to more than 15,500 people across the globe in the hope of finding some insights into cultural differences or similarities.

Girls dressing as boys is a hidden Afghan cultural tradition; not encouraged, yet, equally not taboo. 

Watching an excellent RT documentary last night, I was introduced to the incredible world of the ‘Bacha Posh’ (Persian: بچه پوش‎‎, literally "dressed up as a boy").

A warning sign with the silhouette of an Orthodox Jewish man wearing a traditional 'Fedora' hat has been found on a lamp-post in north London amid one of the largest Hasidic communities in Europe.

 At a time when the foreigner, the immigrant, the Muslim, the Jew, the Mexican, etc are being constantly vilified by some segments of our media, one should not be surprised by the increasing intolerance towards 'the other'.

The viral video of Professor Robert Kelly talking to the BBC via Skype perfectly illustrate how unconscious bias works.

When his kids break into the room and interrupt the interview, an Asian lady comes to get them - did you see a Nanny or a Mum? 

Research from Deloitte finds that diversity and inclusion in the workplace are now leadership-level issues, central to future growth and security.

Findings from the firm's 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report suggest that diversity has moved away from a predominantly HR-focused, "check box ticking" initiative to one of key strategic importance at CEO-level.

Seriously, who uses the word ‘foreigners’ as a brush reference to the diverse nationalities living in and beyond the borders of the UK? This word surely is a relic? Something from the past? 

Sitting on my perch last night in my normal nightly semi-comatose state after a hard day's work in front of the TV,  I was aroused from my stupor by the following reaction of Norman Tebbit when discussing the right of EU nationals to remain in the UK post Brexit:

Executing your uncle is not a great move in any culture.  When Kim Jung-Un accused his uncle and former second in command of being ‘anti party’ and ‘political scum’, most of our global family – regardless of culture, would likely have considered sacking his uncle (and perhaps imprisonment) as an appropriate outcome. 

Having him killed by firing squad though, made even the hardiest of us wince.

Following on from our blog on becoming a trainer, we are very lucky to be able to pick the brains of an experienced cross cultural trainer with solid experience of the intercultural field.

Joyce Jenkins, President of SIETAR UK, offers her insights and advice to three questions about getting started as a trainer or a professional in the cross-cultural training field.