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 Cuban culture

• The largest island in the West Indies
• A multiracial population with a history of international contact
• Slavery, colonisation and revolution: the scars of the past

3. The impact of values and behaviour patterns on professional dealings and relationships

• An open mind and a sense of hospitality
• The family unit: an intergenerational bond
• Interconnecting private and public lives
• Catholicism, santeria  and sects: superstitions and spirituality
• Pride, a sense of honour and touchiness
• Exuberance and excitability
• A casual but carefully groomed appearance
• Collective living and community values

4. The Cuban corporate world

• The difficulties and hurdles of a communist management system
• A vertical organisational structure in which skills and responsibilities are not uniformly distributed
• The crushing weight of political control and bureaucracy
• Privilege, favouritism and corruption

Module 2: Succeeding in your work and dealings with the Cubans

1. Effective communication with the Cubans

• The importance of greetings and small-talk
• Intonation and gestures: understanding and using non-verbal communication
• A very direct communication style
• Cuban Spanish: the qualitative advantages to be gained from taking the time to learn the language

2. Adapting your working methods

• Effective management: leadership, experience and professionalism
• Hearing, listening and deciding
• Promoting cohesion and a solid team spirit
• Encouraging feedback: instilling dynamism and a friendly working atmosphere
• Project management, the team spirit, a sense of service
• Pitfalls to be avoided

3. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Cubans

• 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
• Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion
• Humour: a double-edged sword