Who Should Attend?

Employees preparing for an assignment in South-East Asia 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 Australia.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand South-East Asian 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 South-East Asian mindset, work practices, decision-making processes and negotiating styles
• Strike the right balance between personal and 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 Australia

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 South-East Asian culture

• A multifaceted sub-continent between the Pacific, the China Sea and the Indian Ocean
• Thousand-year-old civilizations boasting an impressive heritage
• The impact of Western domination
• The social and political context, the economic environment
• A Parliamentary democracy, part of the Commonwealth
• The educational system

3. South-East Asian values and behaviour patterns

• Family values and a sense of community
• The important role played by religion and spirituality
• A sens of honour
• The status of South-East Asian women: a complex situation
• "Never judge a book by its cover"
• The importance of age and status

4. Practical day to day information

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

Module 2 : Successful professional integration in South-East Asia

1. The Sout-East Asian corporate world

• Smalls businesses and multinationals
• South-East Asian managers: a combination of various influences
• The marketplace, employment and staff turnover
• The role of national and local authorities

2. Effective communication with the South-East Asians

• Learning to listen and to decipher implicit messages
• Banter, greetings and etiquette
• The importance of networking
• Local languages and English used for business

3. Working with South-East Asian teams

• Effective management adaptability, distance and self-control
• Building trust and confidence
• Allowing others to save face. Dealing with touchy and sensitive people
• The role played by social activities outside working hours

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the South-East Asians

• Giving relationships that personal touch
• Becoming a fearless negotiatior : the noble art of haggling
• Acting, reacting, anticipating and avoiding
• Written contracts, their interpretation and implications

5. Final handy tips

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