You Don't Fit My Style

Cross-Cultural Challenges in Performance Evaluations

A couple of years ago, View Magazine called our series, Diversity: Creating Success for Business and People "one of the best products about diversity on the market." And customers agreed!

Now, we can offer you a follow-up series from the same company, ARMC. Building a Diverse Workforce for the Global Millennium is a 20-volume series that covers a huge variety of diversity issues. 
 
Each program also presents critical business concepts like building trust and respect, performance appraisals, team building and leadership.

Program 16: "You Don’t Fit My Style: Cross-Cultural Challenges in Performance Evaluations"

Your organization is becoming more global and it’s workforce and customer base is growing more diverse. This means each employee needs to be more responsive to these changes. What do you do with a maverick employee who is resistant to these changes?

In this scenario, you’ll see how an Asian woman from China and her white male direct report discuss issues such as different styles and approaches to customers. The importance of getting the job done vs. being a team player are discussed. The interview also raises questions about what are the appropriate and inappropriate discussions to have with Chinese customers.

CHARACTER NAMES
Ann Ny and Harry Smith

Key Learning Points:

• Enhancing employees awareness of changing corporate culture
• Understanding individual vs. team contribution
• Developing an awareness of appropriate behavior toward people of different cultures
• Develop awareness of personal bias in performance reviews vs. legitimate feedback
• Understanding the importance of timely, regular performance feedback and coaching
• Empathizing with the new position of middle-aged White male employees
• Developing skills to lead a diverse workforce
• Understanding subtle racism, sexism, and ethnocentrism