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Our Products & Services
We have an interactive approach to training design and delivery. All of our programs incorporate a combination of experiential activities, cultural models, case studies/critical incidences, simulations, lectures and small group work.


Multicultural Teambuilding
 This program is designed for internal teams representing at least two different cultures working together towards a shared goal or common desired outcome. It educates team members to become aware of their own cultural biases and those of their foreign colleagues, to learn how their communication and business practices may differ across cultures even when working for the same organization, and to implement concrete tools and strategies to overcome obstacles in working together effectively as a team. It then facilitates a process for leveraging the multiple perspectives that team members from different cultures bring to the challenges or shared goal, enhancing the team’s effectiveness and creativity through non-judgmental and mutual understanding.
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Doing Business Abroad
 This highly-tailored training is designed for organizations that may be nationally homogenous internally yet are doing business with, or entering a new market in, another country. The workshop’s purpose is to introduce the basic principles of cross-cultural understanding, and then to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of the particular country with which they are doing business and its culture. Participants learn how to develop trusting relationships, communicate effectively, design contracts, form partnerships, give presentations, and negotiate with members of the specific country of concern.
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Cultural Competency 101
 This program is designed for individuals or organizations that are new to the global business arena and are committed to expanding their awareness of other cultures different from their own as a means to enhance their effectiveness and productivity when working with foreign colleagues, clients, and business associates. The program focuses on cultural dimensions such as, verbal and non-verbal communication, the concept of time, hierarchy, risk, and building relationships. Self-assessment tools and other interactive activities help build the participants’ skills to successfully navigate the global work environment.
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Moving Abroad: A Cross-Cultural Relocation Workshop
 This workshop is targeted for individuals and their families who are relocating to the U.S. or overseas for a period of six months to several years. It provides participants with practical skills to help them adjust successfully in their new home in addition to fostering awareness of the cultural values, behaviors and customs of people in their host culture. The workshops focus on building a foundation of culture and its impact on our daily lives, the effects of culture shock, the day-to-day logistics of setting up home in a new culture, what to expect in the new business environment, as well as useful information on communication styles, social practices, and culturally-specific information. Previous clients find that this workshop has helped tremendously in providing concrete strategies to cope with the stressors of moving abroad and the adjustment process once they have arrived.
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Returning Home: A Cross-Cultural Repatriation Workshop
 This workshop is designed for expatriates and their families who are returning to their home country after completing an international assignment. It provides practical information to help cope with reverse culture shock and allows participants to assess their experience overseas and how it may have transformed them. Concrete strategies are provided to assist the returning expat and family members with the re-adjustment process to life at home, both socially and in the business arena. Previous clients have reported that this workshop provided a deeper understanding of the personal changes that occurred during their sojourn overseas and allowed them to have more realistic expectations with regards to the transition home.
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Welcome to America: A Seminar for New Immigrants
One of the principle obstacles for immigrants is to understand American cultural patterns when they arrive to the United States. Resettlement programs often focus on practical issues such as finding jobs and housing, but fail to guide them on specific cultural and communication topics that will subsequently enable them to interact more effectively with Americans and integrate more easily into their new society. This workshop provides concrete tactics to help ease the process. It is available in Spanish, French and English and is targeted for Consulates and other governmental and non-governmental agencies that work with refugee resettlement.
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Cultural Values in the Workplace
This program is designed for organizations within the U.S. that enjoy enormous ethnic, racial, gender and religious diversity within their own ranks. The workshop emphasizes the different values that members of the organization bring to their work and enhances participants’ understanding of their colleagues’ behaviors. Through the use of interactive exercises, this workshop will explore differences in team members’ work values and cultural backgrounds that influence their behavior and communication styles. Previous clients have found this program to be particularly effective for solidifying teams that are undergoing conflict and for creating more harmonious relationships between staff.
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Cross-Cultural Orientation for Students
The proliferation of international exchange programs in recent years provides increasing numbers of high school and university students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a foreign culture. Unfortunately however, many students are unable to maximize their overseas sojourns due to culture shock and isolation that can affect both their psychological states and academic performance. This orientation seminar develops students’ awareness of their home and host cultures, presents tactics to cope with culture shock, and provides strategies to help them integrate socially. It is invaluable for any participants in short or long-term educational exchange programs to ensure an easier transition into their host culture.
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Strategic Consulting
Intercultural Alliances provides one-on-one individualized consulting services to businesspeople, educators, and non-profit and government professionals who work across borders. Whether you work with international and ESL students in a classroom setting or are involved in a project in a developing country, the experts at ICA will help you address strategies to manage the cultural issues that evolve.
Participants in ICA’s training workshops will emerge with a new sense of awareness of their own culture and be able to juxtapose their communication and behavior styles with those of their international counterparts. This pocket of knowledge will allow them to be more efficient and effective in their negotiations and business transactions, teamwork, and communication. The client company will benefit from the reduced risk to expensive and time-consuming projects that have sound business basis but fail due to intercultural problems. Multicultural issues and solutions will be identified and included in the project plans.
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Customization
Customization is key to the success of all business briefings, whether they are for group programs or individuals. As each program is designed according to the client’s needs, the content will be determined upon completion of an in-depth needs assessment. Some of the specifics we consider when designing a workshop include
  industry
  client’s corporate or organizational culture and values at headquarters and in subsidiaries
  background of participants
  group’s function and responsibilities
  countries involved
  specific concerns that the client wants to addres
Additional issues that we identify through the needs assessment process that the client may not be aware of will also be incorporated into each program, when necessary.
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Program Deliverables
Objectives:
  Explore your own cultural and personal beliefs and values through self-assessment tools.
  Identify your corporate or organizational culture and discuss its effect or influence on international affiliates or work groups.
  Develop behavioral and cognitive skills through the use of interactive activities that will help make you successful in your work.
  Introduce business practices of the target culture and compare them with your own.
  Formulate strategies to establish credibility in a culturally diverse environment.
Participants walk away with:
  A better understanding of the "why" behind behavior, the impact culture has on your work and how you can use this information to be more successful in the workplace.
  The ability to recognize and attribute cultural reasons for interpreting the behaviors of others.
  Increased awareness of the problems that arise in communication with people from other cultures.
  Development of personal and group strategies to effectively build a successful and long lasting business relationship with your international colleagues.
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Contact us at info@interculturalalliances.com