Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Ivory Coast and their partners

Benefits of Attendance

This seminar aims at significantly improving the ability of the participants to meet the challenges of living and working abroad. The objective is to enable them to identify the stumbling blocks that lie ahead and to be able to adapt and integrate in Ivory Coast.

At the end of this training, participants will have acquired insights and techniques to:

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Ivorian context and culture
• Analyse situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating more effectively
• Reduce and manage the symptoms of culture shock
• Understand Ivorian mindset, work practices, decision-making processes and negotiating styles
• Strike the right balance between personal et professional lives

Programme Outline

Module 1 : Successful personnal integration in Ivory Coast

1. Cross-cultural awareness : the key to a successful expatriation

• Taking stock of one's own cultural baggage
• Culture shock and the integration process
• Identifying and going beyond cultural stereotypes

2. Key aspects of Ivorian culture

• A west African nation with extensive resources
• A patchwork quilt of ethnic communities
• A country divided by religion
• The impact of French colonisation
• A delicate political situation
• An underlying climate of xenophobia

3. Ivorian values and behaviour patterns

• The family as a social bedrock
• Propriety and appearances
• Ivorian women: mistress in their own homes despite the stereotypes
• Passion and emotions
• Respect for elders and for status
• A tradition of solidarity and mutual assistance

4. Practical day-to-day information

• Focus on the host town
• Transport, administration, housing, security, hygiene and healthcare
• Social life, leisure activities
• Schools, extracurricular activities, sport

Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration in Ivory Coast

1. The Ivorian corporate world

• A hierarchical and paternalistic company structure
• Major differences between the public and private sectors
• Nepotism, privileges and favouritism
• The role of national and local authorities

2. Effective communication with the Ivorians

• A highly demonstrative communication style
• The impact of social and family-based networks
• The deceptive simplicity of using the French language

3. Working with Ivorian teams

• Effective management: reserve and diplomacy
• Building trust and confidence: tolerance, respect and moderation
• Making the most of organisational factors
• Bringing people together: encouraging the emergence of a team spirit

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Ivorians

• Conveying an air of wisdom and expertise
• Meeting influential decision makers
• Patience and perseverance
• Spotting tacit agreements and disagreements
• Written contracts, their interpretation and implications

5. Final handy tips

• Caution, patience and humility
• Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code
• Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion
• Humour: a double-edged sword