TO GLOBALISE THE LOCAL,

OR LOCALISE THE GLOBAL?

THE QUESTION IS NOW.

Jasmina Djordjevic, PhD

Faculty of Law and Business Studies Novi Sad, Serbia
djordjevic.jasmina@gmail.com
SUMMARY
• Aim of this workshop: show that particularly designed activities,
implemented and applied gradually can enable team building in a
multicultural work environment as well as help employees learn how to
identify, acknowledge, integrate and tolerate cultural diversity in the
immediate environment.
• Three carefully designed activities: several steps each, meant to help
participants gain the necessary awareness of the fact that cultural
differences are not negative.
• Results: learn how to integrate cultural difference into the everyday
itinerary and make use of it in a positive way, accept and tolerate diverse
cultural backgrounds and business environments which will directly
influence the team structure and the company as it will become more
coherent; higher productivity is inevitable as everybody on the team will
work with everybody else so as to achieve their goals – success and profit.
ITINERARY
Phase Title Activities Estimated
time
1 Culture 1. Culture briefing 15 mins
2. Culture portfolio
3. Them and us
2 Global or local? 1. Global and local 15 mins
2. Stereotypes
3. Dimensions of business
4. Profiling
3 Brand and corporate 1. Brand, image and business 15 mins
culture culture
2. Models of implementation
3. SWOT analysis
Self-evaluation test Test HW

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Microsoft Office
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1. CULTURE
1.1 CULTURE BRIEFING
• Where are you from? 
• Do you mind questions about your culture?
•  What is your country/ culture like?
•  Do you like working with people from other cultures?
•  What is the attitude to work in your culture?
•  Have you been working in the public or the private sector?
•  What is the private sector like in the culture you come from?
•  What is the public sector like in the culture you come from?
•  Are you used to an incentive plan?
•  In the culture you come from, are you expected to conform or to
diversify?
1.2 CULTURE PORTFOLIO
Fact Yes No Details
Country/ Culture Modern
Traditional
Economy Developed
Global
Cooperation Encouraged
Flourishing
Attitude to work Proactive
Entrepreneurial
Sector Private
Public
Incentives Encouraged
Implemented
Acceptance level Conform
Diversify
1.3 THEM AND US

Discuss the results and the portfolios.

2. GLOBAL OR LOCAL?
2.1 GLOBAL AND LOCAL
In respect to: Focus on global Focus on local
Politics
Economy
Education
Tradition
Religion
Family
relationships
2.2 STEREOTYPES
Business style Stereotype
Innovator
Explorer
Developer
Organiser
Checker
Regulator
Advisor
Coordinator
 2.3 DIMENSIONS OF BUSINESS
• Agile Organization Building organizational resilience and capacity for adaptation
• Clients First Creating an exceptional client experience
• Flawless Execution Consistency, efficiency and effectiveness of operations
• Getting Results A focus on goal achievement, performance and productivity
• Helping Others Providing a sustainable service to society
• It is All About People Insights into retention and engagement of employees
• Leading the Way Leader behaviours that influence cultural norms. Ideally suited
for leadership development programs
• Making Ideas Happen Fostering and sustaining heightened levels of creativity
and innovation
• Ready for Change Examining organizational change. Readiness at a systemic level
• Working Together Promoting teamwork and collaboration within and across
organizational boundaries
2.4 PROFILING

Discuss your conclusions and try to

establish some ground rules to surpass the
difference between the global and the local.
3. BRAND AND CORPORATE CULTURE
3.1 BRAND, IMAGE AND BUSINESS CULTURE
Corporate Brand
culture
Aggressive marketing
Casual Worker participation discipline
Respect for colleagues
Industrial Identification through products
Strong customer focus
Conservative Good internal communications
Traditional products
Administrative Traditional image
Technological innovation
Good design
Long history
Shareholder value (pos. And
neg.)
Environmental friendliness
Advertising designed to shock
Image
Image of leader (individual/ group
based)
Company structure (flat/
hierarchical)
Planning perspective (long-term/
short/term)
Timing of activities (sequential/
monochronic or synchronic/
polychronic)
Basis for status in company (who
you are/ what you do)
Decision-making process
(normative/ pragmatic)
Relationships with colleagues
(impersonal/ personal)
Dress code (formal/ informal)
3.2 MODELS OF IMPLEMENTATION

Try to suggest some ways to integrate your

own cultures in a partially re-shaped form
into the existing business environment.
3.3 SWOT ANALYSIS
4. SELF-EVALUATION TEST

Try to answer the following questions as honestly as you can:

 
1. What have I learned today? 
2. Do I claim to understand cultural diversity? 
3. If yes, what is cultural diversity? 
4. Do I claim to understand people from different cultural backgrounds? 
5. How many friends do I have from other cultures? 
6. How many coworkers do I have from other cultures? 
7. What do I know about their cultures? 
8. What have I told them about my culture?
9. Am I tolerant of other cultural backgrounds?
10. What can I do to make my cooperation with people from other cultures
more productive?
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

Jasmina Djordjevic, PhD

Faculty of Law and Business Studies Novi Sad
Serbia
djordjevic.jasmina@gmail.com