Working with the Americans

Overview

Our briefings are designed for employees working with the Americans.  We thoroughly review the American people and their business culture and provide practical information on their country.

Objectives:

• Learn about the ‘American Dream’ of making as much money as possible using hard work, opportunity, speed and power.
• Become aware of the significance of ‘individualism’ in America.  Not only will Americans go it alone but they are happy to make decisions without lengthy consensus or referring back to HQ.
• Understand the American focus on the task, rather than developing relationships. Personal competence, professionalism and above all, accountability for individual performance are highly valued.
• Gain an appreciation of different attitudes to time and deadlines.  As “time is money”, the Americans place great emphasis on getting the best results in the quickest time.
• Understand how and when you need to adapt your business behaviour to create a positive impression and avoid giving unintentional offence.
• Use new techniques for effective cross- cultural communication

Additional topics for expatriates may include developing future personal and organisational strategies for adapting to the new environment, the four stages of culture shock and advice on coping for the family.