Module 1: Successful personal integration in Cambodia

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 Cambodian culture

• A kingdom in Southeast Asia, located in the Gulf of Thailand
• Khmers, Thais, Chinese and Vietnamese: a multi-ethnic population
• An ancient, unique and proud civilization
• Colonization, the Khmer rouge and the dictatorship: the painful scars of a turbulent past
• A fragile agrarian economy

3. Cambodian values and behaviour patterns

• Royalist devotion and Buddhist fervour
• A highly stratified society with gender-specific differences
• Respect for age, status and authority
• Attachment to the land and to one's origins
• Consistency, discipline, reservation and affability
• The importance attached to appearances
• A relatively adaptable approach to time

4. Practical day-to-day information

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

Module 2: Successful professional integration in Cambodia

1. The Cambodian corporate world

• Keys to understanding how companies operate in the host country
• Differences in working methods and the notion of quality
• The marketplace, employment and staff turnover
• The role of national and local authorities

2. Effective communication with the Cambodians

• Networking and a good reputation: two vital aspects
• The importance of greetings: the correct use of titles
• Gestural and implicit communication
• Business English, Khmer and Chinese: learning the language and using interpreters

3. Working with Cambodian teams

• The key qualities of a manager: experience, qualifications and leadership
• Effective management: a willingness to listen, guidance and support
• Building trust and confidence: socializing outside working hours
• Encouraging dialogue and feedback: questioning, requesting and reformulating

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Cambodians

• Successful dialogue: sociability, respect and sincerity
• Small-talk and attentiveness: building and maintaining relationships
• Proposing, suggesting and reacting: negotiation as an art and as a game
• 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