Cultural Assistance and Insights
for Work Groups or Individuals
It is common for workplaces at The University of Iowa to have employees working together who grew up speaking different languages and/or in dissimilar cultures. In workplaces like this, misunderstandings can result from differences in how language is used and understood, hidden cultural expectations, or both.
Staff Language and Culture Services (SLCS) offers assistance in resolving and avoiding misunderstandings in multi-lingual, multi-cultural work areas. SLCS staff can provide research on specific topics and cultures, deliver informational presentations, and consult on particular workplace situations. They also can prepare handouts and lists of resources. Assistance is offered on request and is tailored for specific groups and circumstances.
Just a few topics on which we have offered assistance:
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Ways to more effectively communicate with people learning your language
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Tips for understanding foreign accents
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Body language variation across cultures
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Intercultural conflict—different norms for behavior in a confrontation
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Perceptions of disability and accommodation across different cultures
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Appropriate gift-giving in the US versus elsewhere
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Norms for non-work-related communication between co-workers
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Working with subordinates—giving commands and making requests politely
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Customer service expectations in Iowa
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Culture and health care practices and expectations
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Pronouncing US and Chinese names
For more information or to request help for yourself, your work group, or others, please contact Staff Language and Culture Services:
Corinne J. Stanley, Facilitator
(319) 335-5822 or corinne-stanley@uiowa.edu
You may also be able to find the help that you need right now by reviewing the Language and Culture Information Online that we have provided or linked to.
Online Training
You can check out some of the online cross-cultural training classes on SkillSoft (Login with a HawkID by visiting http://skillsoft.uiowa.edu).
Some of the possibilities:
- The Impact of Culture on Communication
- Around the World in 80 Cultures
- Why Diversity Matters
- The Art of Global Communication
- A Short Course in International Business Culture
- Business Etiquette: 101 Ways to Conduct Business with Charm & Savvy, Second Edition
- Delivering Knock your Socks off Service
- Global Smarts: The Art of Communicating and Deal Making Anywhere in the World
- Business Protocol: How to Survive and Succeed in Business, Second Edition
- When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures
- Direct and Indirect Communicators
- Universal, Cultural, and Personal Behaviors
Note that SkillSoft classes are periodically retired. If you can't find one of these courses, please contact UI Learning and Development (http://www.uiowa.edu/learn/) to request an equivalent!
Last updated December 2012