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Using the Services of Cultural Briefing Consultants

Why would I need a cultural briefing?

If you are not experienced in the business and social customs of people with whom you are intending to trade or co-operate with you may want to seek the advice of someone in the know. You should be ready, not only to behave in a way that will be acceptable in a different culture (e.g. not to press for a purchasing decision when the norm is to wait for several days), but also to understand that some features of that culture may be offensive to you (e.g. your contact stands closer to you than is comfortable).

The question is, whether your forthcoming involvement justifies full-scale consultancy or simple desk research. The typical cost range could be from under £20 for a well-researched paperback e.g. Rough Guide or Lonely Planet, to over £800 a day for 1 or more days’ preparation to deal with the target culture.

For each company or individual, business trips abroad will be different according to:

  • The purpose of the visit
  • The sector
  • The destination
  • The length of stay
  • Family circumstances
  • The people with whom they will come into contact
  • Their attitude to the visit
  • Their previous experience

One thing will be the same in every case - they want the trip to be successful

Business success, even in your own country, is nearly always based upon your approach, but how do you know the appropriate approach to people who have grown up with a different set of attitudes and values from your own. Some may say "You simply need to understand the etiquette."
Some may recount anecdotes of their experiences good and bad.
Some may tell you "The more you know, the more successful you will be."

Where should I start?

You need to be able to absorb the information, understand what is behind it and how to apply it to your business situation. Truly understanding another culture can take a lifetime, so the material in a cultural briefing has to hit a small (and possibly moving) target which means that it should be chosen or designed for you, whatever your situation.

A short business trip abroad, to examine a potential market, at one end of the scale, may merit only written briefing material, to browse through on the journey, or a few well chosen "Dos and Don'ts". At the other end of the scale, entering into a negotiation with a multi-million pound contract at stake or moving a family into another part of the world, will require an in depth approach with an expert on that country, if it is to add real value to your business.

What is the role of a Cultural briefing consultant?

Their role is to identify the appropriate methodology - and perhaps even content and budget - for an individual, department, division or company.

A professional language consultant would offer a skills audit and a training needs analysis geared to designing courses to meet specific needs across the whole spectrum of language and language-related provision. The dedicated package saves time, money and heartache.

The recommendations of a language consultant might cover varied permutations of the following points.

Identification of Trainees
Considerations:
Job/person specification/functions and corresponding language requirements; bonus and incentive schemes.

Observations:
Within a company context, the training programme should address the corporate language policy and should take trainees' job specifications into full account. With new international pressures these job specifications might need to be re-written and employees might well need to be offered incentives to acquire the new skills required for the company's survival.

Delivery of Training
Considerations:
Residential or non-residential; in-company or off-site; self-disciplined, partially or fully tutored; teleguided; open/distance; individual or in group; at home or abroad; evening, morning, lunch-time, twilight or week-end.

Observations:
There are many options and permutations. Each has its own merits dependent largely upon the resources of time and finance available.

Intensity of Training
Considerations:
Intensive, extended (drip-fed) or on-going.

Observations:
Training could be full-time, extended for a few hours per day/week over a determined period or could be a continuous, on-going commitment.

Course Design
Considerations:
LSP; ratio between the linguistic and para-linguistic (e.g., cultural/social awareness and business culture briefing); initial and refresher courses; competences and grades.

Observations:
The need may be to learn a language solely for a special purpose (e.g., to receive and make international telephone calls). Alternatively there may be a need to learn how others behave. Courses may be for the beginner or to take post-beginners further up the ladder of learning to achieve specific levels and abilities.

Materials
Considerations:
Printed word/manuals; graphics; radio; audio cassettes; Tutored Video Instruction (TVI); passive video viewing; Interactive Video (IV); Compact Disc Interactive (CD-I); Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL); satellite broadcasting; CD ROM +/- voicecards.

Observations:
Nowadays we have a wealth of teaching and learning aids. Any one or combination might be the most appropriate for the targets and budget under consideration.

Activities
Considerations:
Active/reactive; encoding/decoding; 1:1 or group; role-play; contexts.

Observations:
Is the training to have a general purpose? Or are the goals so specific that they may be itemised? (E.g., to understand the written word; to write and perhaps not to speak). Could those targets be met by group or individual study? How would role-playing help contextualise the learning process?

Assessment & Evaluation
Considerations:
Targets; progression and achievement; cost-effectiveness.

Observations:
The skills audit and needs analysis need careful preparation and full consideration. Targets need to be clearly defined and progression monitored against a clear schedule to ensure fullest cost-effectiveness.

Providers
Considerations:
Printed word/manuals; graphics; radio; audio cassettes; Tutored Video Instruction (TVI); passive video viewing; Interactive Video (IV); Compact Disc Interactive (CD-I); Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL); satellite broadcasting; CD ROM +/- voicecards.

Observations:
Nowadays we have a wealth of teaching and learning aids. Any one or combination might be the most appropriate for the targets and budget under consideration.

In-house Resources
Considerations:
Location; mission; management (internal/tethered); materials; methodology (incl. references and retrieval systems); staffing.

Observations:
The cost-effectiveness of an in-house 'language centre' may outweigh all other considerations. Such a resource or centre - be it a building, a filing cabinet or just a box - needs to be somewhere, needs to have a clear role, needs to be staffed/managed/supervised - whether by company personnel or by outside contractors, needs to be stocked and needs to reflect a clear methodology.

Accreditation
Considerations:
Location; mission; management (internal/tethered); materials; methodology (incl. references and retrieval systems); staffing.

Observations:
The cost-effectiveness of an in-house 'language centre' may outweigh all other considerations. Such a resource or centre - be it a building, a filing cabinet or just a box - needs to be somewhere, needs to have a clear role, needs to be staffed/managed/supervised - whether by company personnel or by outside contractors, needs to be stocked and needs to reflect a clear methodology.

Translation & Interpreting
Considerations:
Location; mission; management (internal/tethered); materials; methodology (incl. references and retrieval systems); staffing.

Observations:
The cost-effectiveness of an in-house 'language centre' may outweigh all other considerations. Such a resource or centre - be it a building, a filing cabinet or just a box - needs to be somewhere, needs to have a clear role, needs to be staffed/managed/supervised - whether by company personnel or by outside contractors, needs to be stocked and needs to reflect a clear methodology.

Additional Services
Considerations:
Location; mission; management (internal/tethered); materials; methodology (incl. references and retrieval systems); staffing.

Observations:
The cost-effectiveness of an in-house 'language centre' may outweigh all other considerations. Such a resource or centre - be it a building, a filing cabinet or just a box - needs to be somewhere, needs to have a clear role, needs to be staffed/managed/supervised - whether by company personnel or by outside contractors, needs to be stocked and needs to reflect a clear methodology.