Home Uncategorized write a essay

Uncategorized

write a essay

stage 3 Difference – Acknowledgement, and valuation of cultural differences

You can use these activities on day 3

Organisational
Dialogue:

Theory
&
Practice

Case
Study
Briefing
sheet

Changing the Communication Culture at Opal-Marti

Company Background

Opal-‐Mart
is
a
large
retail
chain
(~30000
employees)
with
several
hundred
store
locations
in

Australia.
The
size
of
this
company
is
reflected
in
a
large
and
culturally
diverse
workforce,
with

Australian,
Indian
and
Chinese
staff
representing
the
largest
employee
groups.
Employees
range
in

age
from
16
to
senior
citizens,
many
of
whom
work
part
time.
Today,
each
Opal-‐Mart
store
is
a

business
within
a
business
–
200-‐300
employees
per
store,
round-‐the-‐clock
shifts,
and
one-‐on-‐one

competition
with
other
local
and
chain
owned
stores
in
the
community
in
which
they
are
located.

In
the
past
10
years,
Opal-‐Mart
as
a
company
has
experienced
both
growth
and
retrenchment.
The

opening
of
many
new
and
larger
stores
has
been
counterbalanced
by
store
closings
and
the

elimination
of
entire
sales
regions
due
to
decreasing
profits.
Store
closings
became
painful
exercises

that
the
company
wanted
to
minimize
at
all
costs.
Not
only
was
the
relocation
and
release
of
many

employees
difficult,
but
the
“ripple
effect”
on
morale
in
other
sales
regions
was
a
cause
for
concern.

Taking
stock
of
itself,
better
communication
between
management
and
staff
and
among
employees

became
a
central
priority.

Opal Mart’s Communication Audit

Opal-‐Mart
decided
to
commission
the
conduct
of
a
communication
audit
(Hargie
&
Tourish
2009;

Tourish
&
Hargie
2004)
to
gain
a
better
understanding
of
how
(in-‐)effective
the
company’s

communication
culture
really
was.

The
purpose
of
this
audit
was
to
identify
the
current
barriers
to

communication
and
areas
in
which
the
company
could
improve.
The
audit
involved
focus
groups,

employee
surveys
and
interviews
with
a
number
of
staff,
including
sales
personnel,
store
managers

and
upper
management.
The
complete
list
of
communication
barriers
that
were
identified
in
the

audit
is
presented
in
Table
1
(p.
2).

The
audit
results
revealed
that
Opal-‐Mart
employees
were
more
than
just
receptive
to
a
more
open

communication
culture.
They
seemed
to
have
a
real
thirst
to
become
more
involved
in
the
company.

However,
Opal-‐Mart
had
a
rigid
system
of
top-‐down
control
by
management.
Like
many
companies

of
this
nature,
Opal-‐Mart
hierarchy
greatly
restricted
the
flow
of
information
to
its
employees.

Although
change
was
in
the
works,
the
staff
survey
results
essentially
confirmed
a
tight
control
on

information.
Many
Opal-‐Mart
employees
believed
that
existing
internal
communication
was
‘too

infrequent,
too
one-‐dimensional
(one-‐way),
and
too
management-‐oriented
to
be
useful.’

In
addition,
Opal-‐Mart’s
culture
was
characterized
by
frequent
conflict
between
different
groups
of

staff
and
a
general
lack
of
trust
and
collaboration.
This
did
not
only
show
itself
in
cross-‐cultural

issues
among
the
highly
diverse
workforce
but
also
in
constant
battles
between
two
of
the

company’s
most
important
staff
groups:
buyers
and
merchandisers.

Traditionally,
Opal
Mart’s
buyers
came
from
an
artistic
creative
background.
Their
main
goal
was
to

develop
an
interesting
range
by
considering
the
look,
style,
and
customer
appeal
of
products.
Opal

Mart’s
merchandisers,
in
contrast,
were
product-‐oriented.
Drawing
on
their
background
in

accounting
and
finance,
their
main
goal
was
to
create
an
economically
viable
range
by
continuously

scanning
financial
information.
Friction
was
invariably
created
when
buyers
and
merchandisers

sought
to
make
decisions
while
viewing
the
range
from
a
different
angle.
Ultimately,
both
groups

had
to
collaborate
and
make
decisions
that
led
to
the
best
possible
choice
for
the
customer
while

Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice

Case
Study
Briefing
sheet

maximising
retail
sales
and
profits.
This,
however,
was
a
source
of
frequent
conflict
at
Opal-‐Mart.

A
further
issue
identified
by
the
audit
was
a
culture
of
ineffective
meetings
that
often
went
over

time,
wasted
energies
and
left
its
participants
wondering
what
outcomes
had
been
achieved.
Staff

often
shut
each
other
down
and
failed
to
listen
to
each
other’s
views
which
brought
about
a

negative
climate.
The
audit
results
showed
that
senior
managers
did
not
feel
they
had
the
skills
to

chair
meetings
in
such
a
tension-‐laden
environment.

A
final
cause
for
concern
was
the
increase
in
customer
complaints
at
Opal-‐Mart
and
–
perhaps
even

more
importantly,
the
poor
ways
in
which
store
staff
dealt
with
such
complaints.
Rather
than

seeking
to
understand
the
customers’
issues,
store
staff
tended
to
act
defensively,
brushing

customers
off
abruptly
and
sometimes
rudely.
This
was
partly
due
to
the
time
pressures
of
store

staff,
and
partly
due
to
their
inexperience
and
lack
of
skills.
Many
part-‐timers
in
particular,
had
never

received
proper
communications
training
and
simply
did
not
know
how
to
appease
and
retain

customers
in
such
difficult
situations.

Opal
Mart
clearly
had
an
opportunity
to
improve
staff
communication
skills
and
develop
a
more

open
and
collaborative
communication
culture.
The
company’s
CEO,
along
with
his
senior
executive

group,
decided
to
act
quickly.
A
task
force
was
created
that
should
look
more
deeply
into
the

company’s
communication
problems.

Table
1
List
of
identified
communication
barriers

1. Poor
understanding
of
the
need
for
upward
feedback,
especially
by
senior
management.

Senior

executives
are
not
aware
of
the
importance
of
gaining
an
understanding
of
staff
issues
and
concerns

and
are
perceived
to
lack
empathy
and
listening
skills.

2. Poor
downward
feedback.
Staff
rarely
receive
feedback
on
their
work
and
if
they
do,
it
is
negative,

given
in
a
de-‐motivating
way
and/or
leaves
staff
without
an
understanding
of
how
specific
issues
relate

to
broader
company
goals.

3. The
Opal-‐Mart
workforce
is
highly
diverse
culturally,
with
Australian,
Indian
and
Chinese
staff

representing
the
largest
employee
groups.
Intercultural
communication
issues
and
misunderstandings

among
store
staff
are
frequent,
rendering
the
task
of
running
the
stores
effectively
more
difficult.

4. A
silo
culture
and
little
understanding
of
how
different
occupational
perspectives
are
part
of
a
broader

picture.
In
particular,
there
are
frequent
tensions
between
the
company’s
buyers
and
merchandisers.

While
both
groups
of
staff
rely
on
each
other
in
their
job
roles,
time
and
energy
is
wasted
on

unproductive
debates.

5. There
is
a
culture
of
ineffective
meetings
at
head
office
–
in
particular,
meetings
are
characterized
by

power
struggles
and
frequent
conflict.

Managers
chairing
meetings
lack
the
skills
to
resolve
conflict

and
facilitate
dialogic
communication.

6. Opal-‐Mart
staff
are
often
not
skilled
in
handling
customer
complaints.
This
has
led
to
a
significant
loss

of
customers
in
recent
years
and
is
considered
by
the
Executive
as
a
key
concern
with
implications
for

brand
reputation.

Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice

Case
Study
Briefing
sheet

Opal Mart’s Path Towards a New Communication Culture

The
mission
of
the
new
task
force
was
‘to
create
an
internal
communications
strategy
for
Opal-‐Mart

that
will
increase
the
flow
of
information
among
all
employees
of
the
company
and
in
so
doing,

create
better
and
broader
understanding
of
-‐
and
support
for
-‐
Opal-‐Mart’s
business
goals
and

objectives.’
The
task
force
was
unique
in
that
it
was
comprised
of
several
organisational

development
and
human
resources
managers
from
various
Opal-‐Mart
sales
regions,
store
personnel,

a
consultant,
and
representatives
from
corporate
headquarters.
It
was
also
exclusively
devoted
to

one
mission:
studying
organisational
communication
within
Opal-‐Mart
and
advising
upper

management
on
how
to
improve
it.

The
first
order
of
business
for
the
task
force
was
to
write
a
mission
statement
in
order
to
address
the

issue
of
what
specific
values
and
philosophy
the
company
should
espouse.
Although
the
wording
of

the
statement
was
subject
to
much
discussion,
there
was
consensus
about
the
desired
central

values.
Ultimately,
the
following
mission
statement
was
adopted:

Opal-‐Mart
is
committed
to
the
development
of
an
effective
organisational
communication
culture

which
responds
to
the
concerns
of
employees
and
customers,
seeks
their
input
in
setting
and

attaining
company
goals,
and
is
characterized
by
practices
of
mutual
respect,
trust
and
collaboration.

This
broad
mission
statement
was
translated
into
the
following
value
statements:

1. We
work
together
as
one
team.
We
help
each
other
and
ask
for
help
because
we
know
that
we

can
offer
our
customers
the
best
service
when
we
work
together.

2. We
build
lasting
relationships
with
our
customers
by
making
them
our
first
priority.
We
listen
to

feedback,
provide
support
and
are
committed
to
the
continuous
improvement
of
our
services.

3. We
treat
each
other
with
respect.
We
embrace
diverse
communities,
cultures
and
points
of
view.

We
understand
how
we
differ
and
how
we
are
similar.
To
collaborate
well,
we
trust
each
other

and
work
together
towards
shared
goals.

4. We
strive
for
excellence
in
what
we
do.
We
are
committed
to
the
continuous
improvement
of
our

services
and
we
achieve
this
by
continuously
developing
and
deepening
our
knowledge
of
our

people,
our
customers,
and
our
business.

5. We
lead
in
ways
that
provide
recognition,
motivation
and
empowerment
–
by
listening,
seeking

feedback
and
working
with
our
staff
on
the
attainment
of
shared
goals.

The
second
order
of
business
for
the
task
force
was
to
commission
training
companies
with
the

development
of
communication
skills
trainings
that
would
help
overcome
some
of
the
existing

barriers.
A
request
for
business
proposals
was
developed
in
which
the
agencies
were
asked
to

outline
their
suggestions
for
future
Opal-‐Mart
communication
trainings.
The
Opal-‐Mart
task
force

specified
clear
priority
areas
and
audiences
for
these
communications
trainings.
These
included
(but

were
not
limited
to)
the
following
six
topic
areas,
presented
on
p.
4:

Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice

Case
Study
Briefing
sheet

1) Improving
performance
through
feedback

Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
store
managers

Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
store
managers
on
the
provision
of
staff

feedback.
The
aim
of
this
training
is
to
make
Opal-‐Mart
store
managers
aware
of
the
importance

of
feedback
as
a
tool
that
leads
to
enhanced
staff
performance
as
well
as
assist
the
managers
in

developing
their
feedback
skills.

2) Developing
shared
understanding

Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
buying
and
merchandising
staff

Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
buying
and
merchandising
staff
which
will

assist
these
groups
of
staff
in
developing
a
more
collaborative
mind
frame.
Proposals
that
focus

on
the
delivery
of
communication
skills
and/or
methods
that
will
increase
the
groups’
mutual

understanding
of
issues
will
be
looked
upon
favourably.

3) Listening
to
your
staff

Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
senior
management

Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
a
training
of
that
will
increase
Opal-‐Mart
senior
managers’

awareness
of
the
importance
of
listening
to
staff
concerns
and
showing
empathy.
The
aim
of
this

training
is
to
allow
senior
management
to
gain
a
better
understanding
of
staff
needs,
thereby

reducing
the
current
communication
gap
between
senior
management
and
staff
and
increasing

staff
engagement.

4) Running
productive
meetings

Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
senior
management

Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
senior
managers
in
(meeting)
facilitation

skills.
Senior
managers
are
expected
to
leave
the
training
with
improved
knowledge
and
skills
in

at
least
one
of
the
following
areas:
facilitating
meetings,
conflict
management
in
meetings,

meeting
design
and
planning.

5) Communicating
across
cultures

Target
Audience:
Opal-‐Mart
store
staff
(culturally
diverse
group,
predominantly
Australian,

Indian
and
Chinese)

Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
store
staff
in
intercultural
communication

skills.
The
aim
of
this
training
is
to
improve
staff
communication,
reduce
cross-‐cultural

misunderstandings
and,
as
a
result,
increase
team
cohesion
and
productivity.

6) Dealing
with
unhappy
customers

Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
store
staff

Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
store/sales
staff
that
will
allow
them
to
deal

more
effectively
with
customer
complaints.
The
aim
of
this
training
is
to
provide
staff
with

insights
into
how
challenging
communication
situations
with
customers
can
be
resolved
in
ways

that
retain
the
customer
and
even
increase
their
satisfaction
with
the
company.

Your
task:
You
are
a
member
of
a
training
company
specialising
in
the
development
and
delivery
of

corporate
communication
trainings.
Choose
one
of
the
above
topics
and
respond
to
the
Opal-‐Mart

brief
by
(1)
developing
a
proposal
for
the
delivery
of
an
Opal-‐Mart
communication
training
on
the

respective
topic
(see
briefing
sheet
assignment
2)
and
(2)
delivering
the
training
in
class
(see
briefing

sheet
assignment
3)

Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice

Case
Study
Briefing
sheet

References

Hargie,
O.
&
Tourish,
D.
2009,
Auditing
Organizational
Communication:
A
Handbook
of
Research,
Theory

and
Practice,
Routledge,
London.

Tourish,
D.
&
Hargie,
O.
2004,
‘Communication
Audits:
Building
World
Class
Communication
Systems’,
in

S.
Oliver
(ed.),
Handbook
of
Corporate
Communication
and
Public
Relations,
Routledge,
London,

pp.
131-‐44.

i
Case
study
adapted
for
Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice
from
Fairhurst,
G.
T.
(1990).
Changing
the
Information
Culture

at
the
Pearson
Company.
In
B.
Davenport
Sypher
(Ed.),
Case
Studies
in
Organizational
Communication
(pp.
223-‐234).
New

York:
The
Guilford
Press.

Thebenefits of multicultural training program of CommPact

With the increasing international mobility as well as globalization, the interactions between individuals with different cultural backgrounds have become more prevalent (Hofhuis & F.Schilderman, 2020). Indeed, effective cross-cultural communication is critical for business success nowadays. In light of the beneficials of cross-cultural communication, the following paragraphs would further explain and elaborate how our cross-cultural training program can benefit our company.

Benefit for the target Audience (Employees in Opal-Mart)

First of all, trust and barrier-free communication can be improved with taking our multicultural training program. By taking our training program, it helps the employees in Opal-Mart to understand different intercultural communication frameworks so as to appreciate and recognize how individuals act, think and communicate from different cultures in Opal-Mart (Beckett et al, 1997). Especially, opportunities would offer to the employees in Opal-Mart for identifying cultural differences during the training. Once the employees in Opal-Mart learn how to communicate and recognize others cultural differences, the intercultural barriers could be eliminated. As such, the mutual understanding and trust can be formed by fostering the sympathetic listening and understanding in our training program.

Benefits for the company as a whole

There is no doubt that cultural difference and stereotyping is inevitable, our multicultural training program helps develop the awareness of the Opal-Mart employees who do not have a cultural communication sense and skills to learn how to skillfully communicating channels with others, so as to build better work relationship in Opal-Mart for achieving better work performance. Specially, the cohesion and self-confidence of individuals and teams can be improved to address the challenged group work in the workplace. Meanwhile, intergroup biases and stereotype threat in Opal-Mart can be evitabled after retraining to be more adroit in awaring of the personal stereotype to others values, beliefs and power distance or communication context (Kalinoski et al, 2013). Whereby, our multicultural training program provides learners with the correct way to interact with the team while reducing the negative impact of intercultural conflicts, helping them better communicate with colleagues and gradually increase respect and trust, and ultimately become a more competitive team.

With respect to our cross-cultural training program offering a variety of cross-cultural activities for Opal-Mart’s employees to recognize and explore the cultural difference, their mindset as well as the vision in different cultural contexts can be broadened. Improving the sight in different cultures means enhancing their creativeness and innovation at work with cultural exchanges and appreciation (Chebium, 2015). Due to the improved communication skill and perspective in multicultural contexts after taking our training program, not only their techniques in solving the problems can be then enhanced but also their work performance in developing the uniqueness and outstanding business plans can be consolidated. Therefore, our experiential multicultural training program equips the Opal-Mart employees to be more knowledgeable and skillful in different cultural contexts so as to have better achievement for business success in future.

Reference List:

1. Beckett, J.O., Dungee-Anderson, D., Cox, L., & Daly, A. (1997). African Americans and multicultural interventions. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 67(3), 540-563.

2. Chebium, R. (2015). How to create an effective cross-cultural training program. Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM).

3. Hofhuis, S. (2020). Multicultural personality and effectiveness in an intercultural training simulation: The role of stress and pro‐active communication. International Journal of Psychology, 55(5), 812–821. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12647

4. Kalinoski, Z. T., Steele-Johnson, D., Peyton, E. J., Leas, K. A., Steinke, J., & Bowling, N. A. (2013). A meta-analytic evaluation of diversity training outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34, 1076-1104.

5 half/days 4 hours each day

1.Self – Knowledge of Self (Managing Individual Differences) and Bianca

Day 1

8am to 8:30 am – Coffee and Tea Networking

8:30 to 9:30 am – Introduction and Reflection

During this period, each participant will introduce about themselves and five interesting cultural facts about the regions/countries that they represent. After everyone finishes with the introductions, the facilitator will divide the team into four groups and ask each group to compare and contrast different cultures and their associated practice. Each group will send a representative to present their findings. The end result of this activity is to help participants recognise that although on the surface, every culture seems to be deeply divided, all culture shares a universal set of common values, which lay the foundation for cooperation.

9:30 to 10:30 am – Workshop

The workshop will be conducted by an expert presenting the topic of different models of intercultural management which addresses the behaviours of people in organizations around the world and provide tips as to how to work with people from different cultures all over the world. The workshop is in seminar format where the expert only introduces the key points and theory and the participants will contribute by sharing their knowledge and experience. The purpose of this workshop is to ensure every participant is equipped with sufficient knowledge and management theories.

10:30 am to 10:45 am – Break

10:45 to 11:45 am – Workshop

An expert will present on the topic of cultural dimension, cultural intelligence (including Linguistic Intelligence, Spatial Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence, and Interpersonal Intelligence), and sources of cultural differences (male vs. female, individualism vs. collectivism, etc.).

11:45 am to 12:00 noon- Wrap up first day

https://toughnickel.com/business/Sample-Intercultural-Training-Programme

3.Difference – Acknowledgement and valuation of cultural differences Lingyun

A Vision of Valuing A Diverse Community Purpose:
This activity helps staff use their creativity and awareness to imagine a community

which truly values diversity and to create action steps in achieving this vision.

Material: Blank flipcharts (one chart or page for each group) Multi-colored markers

Time: 25 minutes
Divide the staff into groups of four to six people each. Ask them to do the following:

1. Brainstorm as a group what this community would be like if they had an environment which truly valued diversity.

2. Create a graphic image of their vision and draw it on their flipchart, using multi-colored markers. (They may want to conceal their image from the other groups for a grand “unveiling.”)

3. Create two to three action steps which they, as an individual or staff group, can implement that will contribute to achieving this vision.

Have each group present their vision and graphic image to the whole group. Then, have them list their action steps. The other groups can ask questions or make comments.

Summarize by stating that we all want to work and live in an environment where we are free to be who we are, and to be appreciated for our unique contribution. Only by working together, caring about this topic and wanting to create open communities that embrace diversity can we do just that.

Finally, ask each participant to go away with and on their own complete the “Breaking Down Barriers” worksheet (attached). Ask them to focus on individual and staff group actions they can take to break down the barriers to creating diverse communities on their floors. This worksheet should be a continued discussion item for staff members at both staff meetings and individual meetings with supervisors in the coming days/weeks!

4.Assumptions – Identification and avoidance of stereotypes Grace

Role play

Discussion

BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIERS Worksheet

Individual ACTIONS I can take to break down the barriers to creating

diverse community are:

A few sample action ideas could be…

· Talk to someone you’ve never talked to before.

· Fight stereotypes by getting to know different kinds of people.

· Reach out to people who are alone.

· V olunteer with a community organization.

· Mentor younger children; give them a hand or advice when they need it.

· Join a new club or organization. Get to know different kinds of people.

· Speak up when you hear someone make a put-down or unfair remark.

______________________________________________________________________________

· ______________________________________________________________________________
· ______________________________________________________________________________
· ______________________________________________________________________________
· ______________________________________________________________________________
· ______________________________________________________________________________
· ______________________________________________________________________________

Staff Group ACTIONS we can take to break down the barriers to

creating diverse community are:

A few sample action ideas could be…

· Start a floor/hall club that brings together people from different groups.

· Work with Area Government to sponsor a community night each week, with sports, homework help or

other activities.

· On your floor, replicate some of these dialogues or activities as a part of your floor meetings to address

all kinds of issues.

· Get other RAs involved in co-programming to mix up communities.

· Get clubs and organizations to co-sponsor projects and events in the halls.

· As a staff group, create or join a “campus climate” committee that includes both students and

administrators (e.g. LGBT Concerns Committee, Alcohol Task Force, etc)

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

5.Appreciation – Appreciation of other employees’ cultures

2. Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) In Flower Petals

This recreational activity needs 4-10 members in each group and it is one of the best ways to learn more about each other. All the members should be encouraged to make the best of their creativity and ideas. Here’s how to proceed –

1. All the groups should get a large art paper and some colorful markers.

2. Each group has to draw a large flower. It should have a round center and an equal number of petals to the number of participants in their group.

3. After discussion, each participant should fill the petals with something that is unique about themselves- anything that makes them stand out from others. However, physical characteristics should be ignored.

4. The center of the flower should be filled with their ‘common’ something.
The flowers should be shared with the other groups so as to discuss the differences and similarities.

This game provides mental exercise and a wide scope for social interaction.

11. Take The Privilege Walk

The privilege walk helps the participants to understand more about themselves and know-how they have or don’t have a privilege in comparison to the others. It goes like this:

1. Explain to the group that we all have some privileges which others do not, in a subtle way.

2. Take a wide free space and ask the group members to stand in a line.

3. Explain to them that you will start reading out a series of statements.

4. Instruct them to take one step forward or backward when a certain statement applies to them.A series of 25-30 statements can be read out. It can include statements like:

· If you are left-handed, take a step forward.

· If you are of Indian origin, take a step forward.

· If you rely on public transport, take a step forward.

· If you have come from single parent background, take a step back.

· If you have ever faced sexual harassment at the workplace, take a step back.

· If you have ever faced an identity crisis, take a step back.

5. After all the statements, ask the team members to look around and see where other people are in the room. Finally, let them sit in a circle and facilitate a discussion about how they are feeling. Depending on the differences and disadvantages, you can have a great conversation and hope to be truly inclusive.

https://www.uh.edu/cdi/diversity_education/resources/activities/

https://www.uh.edu/cdi/diversity_education/resources/_files/_activities/diversity-activities-resource-guide

Draft

Executive summary

1. Background, scope, and purpose of training

1.1. Background

Across Australia you can find the large retail chain that is Opal-Mart. Hundreds of stores sitting within urban, rural, and suburban communities allow each individual Opal-Mart to be their own business under the retail chains umbrella. The diversity from the store locations extends through the 3000 employees. The three leading cultures within the Opal-Mart workforce are Australian, Indian and Chinese.

Unspoken rules that are present in each culture can have an effect on individual communication. Within organisations, these cultural rules are not clear to all employees. As a result, consequences big or small have the opportunity to arise (Crossman et al. 2011).

Inclusivity is also present among the age of workers. Among the 200-300 employees per store are individuals working their first job as a 16-year-old, senior citizens who have been loyal to the store for many years and a range of ages in between.

Guido et al. (2013) notes that the inclusion of a large age gap in employees requires the use of several human resource management strategies. Recruiting, staffing, leadership, career development, and incentive programs are all strategies Guido et al. (2013) suggests.

With so much diversity, Opal-Mart took it upon itself to commission a communication audit. A classic top-down control was creating a barrier for information to reach employees as well as stopping them from having their voices heard. On top of that, frequent conflict took place among staff together with a general lack of trust and collaboration. A lot of which stems from cross-cultural issues and misunderstandings. Results from the audit revealed that employees were ready for a shift in communication culture and they desired to be involved.

In relation to the company statement, ***Connectors Company Group*** envision to implement and achieve a communication change that will honour and reflect trust and respect among all employees, but more specifically between those with diverse cultural backgrounds and their effective collaboration.

1.2. Scope

Given the current issues mentioned above, our training is designed to increase the intercultural communication ability among Opal-Mart’s employees as well as enhance their teamwork quality. Therefore, the main target audience of the course is all the store staff from culturally diverse backgrounds. Besides, we also collaborate with HR department to ensure that the training would be implemented smoothly and efficiently.

1.3. Purpose of training

The communication training sessions that our company proposes to bring a variety of desirable learning outcomes will be conducted in three-day in-class. We insist that our training program focuses on fulfilling the gap and up-skilling intercultural communication within Opal-Mart, which positive results in the business performance.

The lack of intercultural communication skills at Opal-Mart is an on-going issue that deeply relates to the company culture and daily business operation. Hence, our training sessions can efficiently improve the employee’ ability in well-dealing with cross-cultural situations, reducing the cultural bias and misunderstanding by implementing plenty of strategies for better intercultural communication. The training program further aim to develop teamwork skills and interpersonal relationship, which are supposed to boost employee engagement when everyone feels being equally treated and respected. It cannot deny that it is a crucial element in forming the culture of collaboration and inclusion, which lead to a low level of employee turnover and the high business growth for Opal-Mart.

Together with the HR department, we would support to build an appropriate communication framework and behaviours, which form a new active communication culture and guide Opal-Mart in reaching its core mission statement. With before and after-training actions, we commit to follow up our training process and give relevant recommendations which assist the HR department in managing cross-cultural contexts in the long run.

2. Training Plan

2.1. Company Philosophy

Connectors Group is one of the top reputable training companies located in Australia. Our mission is to deliver the outstanding training services which prioritise and customise upon to our clients’ needs and expectations. Given the communication context of Opal-Mart, our training program is highly practical in its design to match with the cultural diversity workforce, including raising self-awareness, cultural sensitivity and building a new communication culture. We aim to offer employees a combination of knowledge and practice which assist them in adapting and adjusting their communication behaviours in light of cultural differences. Notably, we do not treat the training as a ‘quick-fix’, and thus, we are continuing to work and support Opal-Mart in the long run at the right cost. We will provide training certificates which add value to employees’ resume.

2.2. Training contents

2.2.1. Raising self-awareness in the workplace

The first component in our training course is to increase employees’ self-awareness. To prevent negative biases and stereotypes from happening, we will use Hofstede’s model (Hofstede Insights 2020) to equip Opal Mart’s employees with the in-depth knowledge of cultural differences and similarities, mainly focusing on Australia, Indian and Chinese backgrounds. Also, we will present them the communication styles used in low and high contexts so they can avoid unexpected conflicts when interacting with each other. The final point that we propose to train your employees is about non-verbal communication, including body movements and gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.

2.2.2. Developing cultural sensitivity

The following training content is to emphasise the Opal-Mart’ value statements and embraced with the sense of cultural sensitivity in communication to ensure that all of the staff understand what the company considers as appropriate intercultural communication behaviours. The common norms and some undesirable behaviours in interacting with others will be introduced as the approach to assist employees in treating each other with respect and building a strong interpersonal relationship simultaneously. This training session further highlights the positive contribution of effective communication in collaboration and productivity.

2.2.3. Promoting new communication culture

· Explicit communication

Promoting an explicit culture where the communication style is simple, clear, and pays more attention to the spoken words which result in reducing a high level of misunderstanding, developing a shared understanding and being open-minded among the staff. Some useful guidelines will be introduced to employees to reinforce this culture, such as avoid using slangs, inappropriate language and behaviour, and using open-ended questions to resolve the conflict.

· ·Active listening

Encouraging ongoing active listening and observing in the conversation demonstrates full concentration and active involvement, responding and asking questions to show that what has been said between colleagues is understood as well as comprehended. This approach is not only beneficial for employees but also for Opal-Mart’ top managers to build a trustworthy and robust workplace relationship.

· Trust and collaborative

Within the intercultural team at Opal-Mart, building a culture of trust is the priority, by promoting support in eliminating cultural barriers, encouraging others’ professional growths, sharing and caring. The high degree of trust facilitates better employee performance, engaging people, strengthening the advantage of cultural diversity and boosting team efficacy (Bandura 1997; Matveev & Nelson 2004).

2.2.4. Following – up actions

The final content of the training is to evaluate the interaction quality of employees and to provide them with the effective communication policy, which is about the acceptable verbal and non-verbal language used throughout Opal-Mart, and some language support sections that can help them to communicate better with other workers.

2.3. Timeframe, delivery mode, target goals

To achieve a successful outcome of training sessions, we propose to go through three stages

· Stage 1:

Launching

· Stage 2:

Training sessions

· Stage 3: Following up actions

1 week

Stage	Time	Content	Delivery mode	Target goals
Stage 1 Launching		1 week	Collecting thoughts and expectations of employees toward the ideal communication culture	A survey to collect the general expectations and opinions of employees. Focus group interviews to gain deeper insights of employees	Opportunity for employees to raise their voices and create a feeling of being a part of Opal Mart. Collect the critical information to build the communication policy Redesign the course structure to be more practical if necessary
Training course information	Sending emails, messages to inform employees the brief information of the training course.	To make sure that all the store staff have sufficient information about the future course.
Stage 2 Training sessions	Day 1	Raising self-awareness in the workplace	Conduct an introduction based on three main group in different languages Activities / role play for assumptions, stereotypes	One group will better understand cultures of other groups, including communication styles, verbal and non-verbal languages. Their biases and stereotypes towards other ethnic groups will be positively changed, they will be open to embrace the differences.
Day 2	Developing cultural sensitivity	Icebreakers Team building game activities Cultural experience sharing Lunch and learn	To build a sense of culture sensitivity among the employees. Familiar with the basic norms from Australia, India and China. Forming a stronger bond and positive interpersonal relationship among employees.
Day 3	Promoting new communication culture	Role playing Video sharing Providing new communication culture Wrap-up	Identify how using slangs and inappropriate communication behaviours could lead to misunderstanding and conflict. Familiar with open-ended question and confidence to apply this approach after training sessions. Clarify positive and negative consequences for good and poor intercultural communication Clear understanding and involvement with a new communication culture whichis built upon Opal-Mart’ mission and statement.
Stage 3 Following-up	1 month	Supporting to HR department	Emails Online surveys Language support	We would continuously work with HR department to evaluate the improvement in communication among all employees and offer useful solutions and recommendations.

2.4. Benefits to target audience

Through the training activities mentioned above, we do believe that it would benefit both store staff and Opal-Mart as a whole.

At the individual level, employees would gain a better understanding of different ethnic groups within Opal-Mart, mainly Australian, Indian, and Chinese cultures, which then build up their confidence, cultural sensitivity and the understanding of its impact on intercultural communication. Using practical activities such as role-play, cultural stories sharing, and ice breakers provides participants with in-depth experience in developing cultural intelligence which is the capability to behave appropriately as well as avoid unexpected conflict in cross-cultural context (Blasco et al. 2012). Consequently, Opal-Mart’ staff would become an effective intercultural team which demonstrates team cohesion, respect, trustworthy and the bonding among individuals at all levels as their ability to classify and bridge their culture differences (Adler 2002). Moreover, it would improve better communication with customers in the given multicultural context of the Australian market.

For the organisational level, Opal-Mart would reach the business purposes reflected on the company’ statement to embrace all the diverse cultures with trust and respect in daily business operation towards achieving shared objectives. Besides, nurturing a good communication culture facilitates better workforce relationships where misunderstanding and conflicts are dispelled quickly and effectively. Hence, a new but effective communication culture proposed for the long run would be the critical foundation in promoting a healthy and productive working environment and gaining the competitive advantages for Opal-Mart.

3. Conclusion

To sum up, our training proposal provides an overview point of intercultural communication at Opal-Mart lately and show our desire to deliver a high-quality training which beneficial impact to the communication change and purchase Opal-Mart’ core mission in a proactive and voluntary manner. We highlight the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity in building mutual respect, trust, and collaboration. We do believe that our training would honour the human capital in educating and building a strong culture of productivity and thus profitability at Opal-Mart in the long-term business.

A higher level of intercultural communication skill within Opal-Mart would offer the company a competitive advantage and outstanding with other competitors and to create a positive working environment which attracts and attains many potential talent employees.

Reference list:

Adler, N. 2002, International dimensions of organizational behavior, 4th edn, Cincinnati, OH: South-Western, Thomson Learning.

Bandura, A. 1997, Self-efficacy, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

Blasco, M., Edholm Feldt, L. & Jakobsen, M. 2012, ‘If only cultural chameleons could fly too: A critical discussion of the concept of cultural intelligence’, International Journal of Cross-cultural Management, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 229-245.

Crossman, J., Bordia, S. & Mills, C. 2011, Business Communication: for the Global Age, McGraw-Hill, North Ryde, NSW.

Guido, H., Van Der Heijden, B.I.J.M., De Lange, A.H. & Jüger, D. 2013, ‘Facilitating Age Diversity in Organizations’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 28, no. 7/8, pp. 729-740.

Matveev, V. & Nelson, E. 2004, ‘Cross Cultural Communication Competence and Multicultural Team Performance’, International Journal of Cross-cultural Management, vol. 4(2), pp. 253-270.

Hofstede Insights, 2020, Country Comparison, viewed 18 May 2020, <

https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/australia,china,india/

Appendix 1

Cultural comparison between Australia, China and India by Hofstede’s Model