Serbia - Working and dealing with the Serbs
Benefits of Attendance
The aim of this seminar is to significantly improve the participants’ effectiveness in their professional relationships with the Serbs, enabling them to be operational right from the start.
At the end of this training, participants will have acquired insights and techniques to:
- Be aware of their own cultural baggage
- Fully understand Serbian context and culture
- Analyse possible situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating
- Reduce stress and misunderstandings
- Decipher and understand Serbian decision-making and negotiation processes
Training Approach
- Exercises and case studies based on the experience of participants in the company
- Personalized action plan and cross-cultural strategies
- 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 : Understanding cultural differences
1. Intercultural awareness, the key to success in international business
- Taking stock of one's own cultural baggage
- The basics of effective intercultural management
- Identifying and going beyond cultural stereotypes
2. Key aspects of Serbian culture
- From Greater Serbia to Yugoslavia to “Little Serbia”
- The painful road leading to the creation of the modern state of Serbia
- Serbia’s late and fragile transition to democracy
- A delicate but promising economic situation
- A multiethnic society, the challenges of European integration
3. The impact of values and behaviour patterns on professional dealings and relationships
- The importance of nationalism
- The orthodox religion
- Serbian women: taking control of their own destiny
- Slava and family values
- "Balkan time": a flexible view of time
- Direct and expressive communication
- Great care and attention paid to appearances, pride, sensitivity, humour
- A respect for qualifications and status, performance is highly valued
4. The Serbian corporate world
- The importance of the public sector, the privatisation process
- Foreign investments, a sense of effort and performance
- The market, employment, salaries, corruption
- A clear hierarchy but collective decision-making
Module 2 : Succeeding in work with the Serbs
1. Effective communication with the Serbs
- First impressions: the first meeting is a decisive moment
- An expressive use of body language
- Information flows. Networking
- The working language: the role of the interpreter
2. Adapting your working methods
- Effective management: leadership and availability
- Acting coherently: being firm, clear and frank
- Creating a friendly working environment
- Making the most personal ambitions: recognition and promotion
- Dealing with touchy and sensitive people
- Pitfalls to be avoided
3. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Serbs
- Building trust and confidence: discipline and formality
- Successful networking
- Identifying decision-makers and power chains/power conflicts
- Identifying negotiation styles
- Time, priority and deadline management
- Understanding written contracts, their interpretation and implications
- Organising the post-negotiation phase
4. Final handy tips
- Caution, patience and humility
- Protocol and etiquette
- Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code, etc
- Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion
- Humour: a double-edged sword
