Intercultural Training Programs

Designed to address the desired objectives of our client organizations, Gillespie Global Group intercultural training programs principally target fundamentally important concepts and, above all, the range of behaviors and skills integral to achieving intercultural effectiveness. Our approach is highly customized to clients’ actual experiences, with learning hands-on and immediately applicable.

Click or tap the blue buttons below if you’d like to jump ahead to a specific training program overview.


Cross-Cultural Performance Management (CCPM)

Designed to enable Japanese expatriates to grasp the cultural assumptions held by their U.S. subsidiary employees regarding performance management, in order to more effectively motivate subordinates, manage performance, and conduct performance reviews and appraisals across cultures.

Representative Modules

  • Performance Management Process and PDCA.
  • “Plan” Stage: Job Description and Objective Setting.
  • “Do” Stage: Monitoring Progress and Giving Feedback.
  • “Check” Stage: Appraising Performance.
  • “Action” Stage: Motivating, Coaching and Developing.

Benefits

  • Increased confidence to succeed as managers in the U.S.
  • Increased ability to give feedback and communicate expectations to Americans.
  • Highly motivated employees who can link their workplace efforts to the company’s mission.

Training Objectives

  • Achieve a clearer grasp of the cultural values and assumptions of Americans.
  • Learn how Japanese cultural values and assumptions impact relationships with Americans and the performance management process.
  • Acknowledge personal communication and management styles and consider alternatives.
  • Practice key behaviors and skills for productively managing performance across cultures.

Approach

  • Interviews with participants and key HR persons are conducted prior to the first training to learn their current performance management process and perceived issues.
  • Sessions are participatory and interactive throughout, featuring case study deliberation, role plays and debriefings.

Logistics

  • Length: 1-2 days.
  • Location: Client’s facility.
  • Ideal Number of Participants: 12

Working Productively with Japanese (WPWJ)

Designed to enable those who work with Japanese to align their fundamental business assumptions and to develop and practice mutually acceptable behavioral skills and communication styles for more productive workplace relationships and business results.

Representative Modules

  • Productive Intercultural Interactions.
  • Values Shaping Japanese Business Practices.
  • Communication Style Differences.
  • Language Issues.
  • The Primacy of Relationships.
  • Japanese Management Style.
  • Decision Making.
  • Conflict Resolution.

Benefits

  • Increased confidence, skill and professionalism in intercultural interactions with Japanese.
  • Reduction of costly mistakes and errors.
  • Development of durable, productive, mutually satisfying business relationships with Japanese.
  • Greater productivity and competitiveness.

Objectives

  • Gain a firm grasp of the values that shape Japanese business behavior and communication style.
  • Learn to anticipate Japanese business behaviors in a variety of situations.
  • Modify behavior to build productive relationships with Japanese colleagues and customers.
  • Practice key behaviors for effective business interactions with Japanese.

Approach

  • Interviews with participants and other key persons are conducted prior to the first training to gather information for creating case studies, role plays, and other training materials.
  • Facilitation is by a bicultural team of trainers fluent in Japanese and English and with business experience in both cultures.
  • Sessions are participatory and interactive throughout, with targeted discussion and emphasis on skill building and behavior modification.

Logistics

  • Length: 1-2 days.
  • Location: Client’s facility.
  • Ideal Number of Participants: 12

Advanced Problem Solving with Japanese (APSJ)

Designed to enable those who work extensively with Japanese to deepen their working relationships by more effectively perceiving and resolving inevitable trans-Pacific issues that cause frustration and impede progress toward mutual goals. (WPWJ is strongly recommended as a prerequisite.)

Representative Modules

  • Key Learnings from WPWJ.
  • Strategic Relationship Management.
  • Current Japanese Business Trends / Hot-Item Trans-Pacific Issues.
  • Conflict Resolution.
  • Persuading Japanese.
  • Practical Problem Solving.

Benefits

  • Greater ability to communicate with Japanese colleagues in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect that contributes to achieving mutual goals.
  • Productively managed strategic relationships with Japanese.
  • Reduced conflict and improved decision making and implementation with Japanese.
  • Increased confidence to effectively solve trans-Pacific problems as they arise.

Objectives

  • Build on the base of understanding and skills gained in the workshop Working Productively with Japanese (WPWJ).
  • Augment understanding of how Western and Japanese cultural values and assumptions impact trans-Pacific relationships and how to deepen those relationships.
  • Gain a deeper awareness of how conflict occurs across cultures and how to defuse it.
  • Develop skills of persuasion to solve problems and reach decisions and apply those skills to current hot-item issues.

Approach

  • Interviews with participants are conducted prior to the session to compile customized case studies of the participants’ actual, ongoing problems.
  • Facilitation is by a bicultural team of trainers fluent in Japanese and English and with business experience in both cultures.
  • Sessions are participatory and interactive throughout, with targeted discussion and emphasis on case studies, the practical skills needed to solve the problems featured in them and to achieve the participants’ other stated objectives.

Logistics

  • Length: 1-2 days.
  • Location: Client’s facility.
  • Ideal Number of Participants: 12

Working Productively with Americans (WPWA)

Designed to enable Japanese who work with Americans to align their fundamental business assumptions and to develop and practice mutually acceptable behavioral skills and communication styles for more productive workplace relationships and business results.

Representative Modules

  • Productive Intercultural Interactions
  • Values Shaping American Business Practices
  • Communication Style Differences
  • Interactive Listening
  • American Logic and Persuasion
  • Giving and Receiving Feedback
  • Making Presentations in English
  • Participating in Meetings

Benefits

  • Increased confidence, skill and professionalism in intercultural interactions with Americans.
  • Reduction of costly mistakes and errors.
  • Development of durable, productive, mutually satisfying business relationships with Americans.
  • Greater productivity and competitiveness.

Objectives

  • Gain a firm grasp of the values that shape American business behavior and communication style.
  • Learn how Japanese cultural values impact relationships with Americans.
  • Modify behavior to build productive relationships with Americans.
  • Practice key behaviors for effective business interactions with Americans.

Approach

  • Interviews with participants and other key persons are conducted prior to the first training to gather information for creating case studies, role plays, and other training materials.
  • Facilitation is by a bicultural team of trainers fluent in Japanese and English and with business experience in both cultures.
  • Sessions are participatory and interactive throughout, with targeted discussion and emphasis on skill building and behavior modification.

Logistics

  • Length: 1-2 days.
  • Location: Client’s facility.
  • Ideal Number of Participants: 12

Let’s work together

For more than three decades, companies such as Aflac, Boeing, Canon, Coach, Eli Lilly and Company, Ford, Honda, MUFG Union Bank, N.A., Sony and Uniqlo have relied on Gillespie Global Group’s trans-Pacific research, consulting, executive coaching and training to improve employee engagement and increase profits. Perhaps we can help your company, too.