Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Malaysia 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 Malaysia.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Malay 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 Malay mindset, work practices, decision-making processes and negotiating styles
• Strike the right balance between personal et professional lives

Training Approach

• A cross-cultural approach of International Mobility
• Country specific trainers
• Personalized and familiy focused action plan
• Access to the Nomad’ Network, an exclusive online tool for Akteos’ clients and experts:  find resources, exchange experiences, knowledge and insights

Programme Outline

Module 1 : Successful personnal integration in Malaysia

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 Malay culture

• A country situated at a crossroads between India and Asia
• The impact of colonialism
• A multiethnic and multi-confessional society
• A strong political authority, a dynamic economy
• The educational system

3. Malay values and behaviour patterns

• The family: a cornerstone of society
• The Islamic tradition
• A sense of hospitality and natural restraint
• The changing role of Malaysian women
• A respect for status and age
• Tolerance and courtesy
• A flexible view of time 
• A constant quest for harmony

4. Practical day-to-day information

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

Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration in Malaysia

1. The Malay corporate world

• A paternalistic tradition
• Devotion to work and personal commitment
• The impact of the Chinese and Indian communities in the business world
• The role of national and local authorities

2. Effective communication with the Malays

• Understanding discrete gestural communication
• The spoken language as a source of social cohesion
• The importance of networking
• The advantages of learning the Indo-Malaysian language

3. Working with Malay teams

• Establishing your credibility: experience and leadership
• Effective management: supervising, listening and advising
• Giving relationships that personal touch
• Responsibilities and decision-making, conflict resolution

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Malays

• Building trust and confidence outside the working environment
• Identifying decision-makers
• Time and deadline management
• 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