Countries and Regions
Deciphering cultural codes of 100+ countries or regions to understand behaviors and optimize one' s professional action
Living and working in Benin
Summary
Target audience
Employees preparing for an assignment in Benin and their partners
Prerequisite
No prerequisite
Objectives
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 Benin.
At the end of this training, participants will have acquired the necessary skills to:
- Be aware of their own cultural baggage
- Understand Beninese context and culture
- Analyze situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating more effectively
- Reduce and manage the symptoms of culture shock
- Understand Beninese mindset, different work practices, decision-making processes and negotiating styles
- Strike the right balance between personal et and professional life
Added value
- Conducted by an intercultural expert consultant
- Decoding the Nomad’ Profiler
- Alternating theory and practical exercises
- Access to Digital Learning for 1 year
- Sharing best practices and personalized action plan
Program
Module 1 : Successful personnal integration in Benin
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 Beninese culture
- From Dahomey to Benin: a proud history
- The heritage of French colonization
- A patchwork quilt of tribes and ethnic groups
- Christianity, Islam, voodoo and mysticism
- A developing economy
3. Beninese values and behaviour patterns
- A sacrosanct family life
- Significant inequality of the sexes
- A notion of time based on nature
- The socialization of the hinterland
- A respect for elders and for status
- An emphasis on hospitality and personal relationships.
- Avoiding conflicts through peaceful and harmonious relationships
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 professional integration in Benin
1. The Beninese corporate world
- Paternalistic company structure
- Decision-making centered on the company hierarchy
- The pitfalls of nepotism
- The role of the State and administration
2. Effective communication with the Beninese
- A reserved and implicit communication style
- The importance of visual and gestural communication
- The deceptive simplicity of using the French language
3. Working with Beninese teams
- Effective management: expertise, charisma and diplomacy
- Building trust and confidence: kindness and an open mind
- Prudence and restraint
- Avoiding frustration and anticipating resistance
4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Beninese
- Initiating dialogue
- Persevering, waiting and confirming
- The benefits and pitfalls of personal relationships
- 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
Intra-company coursesDuration: to define
Interested in customizing this training to your needs ? Contact us.
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