French Guianese - Working and dealing efficiently with the French Guianese
Benefits of Attendance
The aim of this seminar is to significantly improve the participants’ effectiveness in their professional relationships with the French Guianese, 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 Guianese context and culture
- Analyse possible situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating
- Reduce stress and misunderstandings
- Decipher and understand Guianese 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 Guianese culture
- Both a region and a French département located in the very heart of the Amerindian continent
- The "land of the sacred soil": a luxurious equatorial environment.
- An age-old French presence
- Prisons, gold and the conquest of space: a highly dependent economy
- A young and racially mixed population facing a precarious employment situation
3. The impact of values and behaviour patterns on professional dealings and relationships
- A patchwork quilt of separate cultures: the importance of ethnic origin
- The difference between urban and rural inhabitants
- Clearly defined social classes, visible religious fervour
- Sexual equality in theory, even if the reality is rather less clear
- The importance of "being" and of being "seen to be".
- A polychronic view of time
- The importance of collective and communal life
4. The Guianese corporate world
- The labour market: a source of betterment but also social discrimination
- The prevalence of unemployment, poverty and illegal labour
- Strictly defined and supervised roles and duties
Module 2 : Succeeding in work with the French Guianese
1. Effective communication with the French Guianese
- Politeness, small talk and greetings
- The importance of networking
- The frequent use of hints and implicit communication: a communication style heavily dependent upon context
2. Adapting your working methods
- Effective management: charisma, experience and a willingness to listen
- Supervising, adapting and giving praise where praise is due
- Supervised decision-making processes, combined with an ability to listen and to consider new proposals and ideas
- Encouraging initiative to promote a sense of responsibility
- Pitfalls to be avoided
3. Successful meetings and negotiations with the French Guianese
- Understanding and clarifying the situation
- Forging relationships based on trust and confidence: the importance of the personal touch
- Adapting your strategic position: persistence and responsiveness
- 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
- Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion
- Humour: a double-edged sword
