Topic 5 is Communicating across cultures Target Audience: Opal-Mart store staff (culturally diverse group, predominantly Australian, Indian, and Chinese) Brief: Develop a proposal for the training of Opal-Mart store staff in intercultural communication skills. The aim of this training is to improve staff communication, reduce cross-cultural misunderstandings, and, as a result, increase team cohesion and productivity.
1.Background, scope, and purpose
ð What is the rationale for conducting a communication training? (What strategic and/or
operational issue(s) do you propose to address?)
ð What is the scope of the training? (What target audiences and/or areas of the organisation will
be involved?)
ð What is the purpose of the communication training? (What aims will the communication training
have?)
2• Training Plan (Value Proposition)
ð This is the core of your proposal. The aim of this section is to illustrate to your (potential future)
clients what the communication training will look like and what outcomes it is proposed to
achieve. This involves:
(1) Explaining the training ‘philosophy’ of your company (how will you help your clients learn?)
(2) Offering an overview of the contents, timeframe, and delivery mode
(3) Highlighting the specific benefits your proposed training will have for the respective target
audience and the company as a whole.
Claim：
1. Intercultural communication competence
2. Overview of content, time frame, and delivery mode of training sessions
3. Timing and learning ways
4. Edit 3 modules that need training
Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice
Case
Study
Briefing
sheet
1
Changing the Communication Culture at Opal-Marti
Company Background
Opal-‐Mart
is
a
large
retail
chain
(~30000
employees)
with
several
hundred
store
locations
in
Australia.
The
size
of
this
company
is
reflected
in
a
large
and
culturally
diverse
workforce,
with
Australian,
Indian
and
Chinese
staff
representing
the
largest
employee
groups.
Employees
range
in
age
from
16
to
senior
citizens,
many
of
whom
work
part
time.
Today,
each
Opal-‐Mart
store
is
a
business
within
a
business
–
200-‐300
employees
per
store,
round-‐the-‐clock
shifts,
and
one-‐on-‐one
competition
with
other
local
and
chain
owned
stores
in
the
community
in
which
they
are
located.
In
the
past
10
years,
Opal-‐Mart
as
a
company
has
experienced
both
growth
and
retrenchment.
The
opening
of
many
new
and
larger
stores
has
been
counterbalanced
by
store
closings
and
the
elimination
of
entire
sales
regions
due
to
decreasing
profits.
Store
closings
became
painful
exercises
that
the
company
wanted
to
minimize
at
all
costs.
Not
only
was
the
relocation
and
release
of
many
employees
difficult,
but
the
“ripple
effect”
on
morale
in
other
sales
regions
was
a
cause
for
concern.
Taking
stock
of
itself,
better
communication
between
management
and
staff
and
among
employees
became
a
central
priority.
Opal Mart’s Communication Audit
Opal-‐Mart
decided
to
commission
the
conduct
of
a
communication
audit
(Hargie
&
Tourish
2009;
Tourish
&
Hargie
2004)
to
gain
a
better
understanding
of
how
(in-‐)effective
the
company’s
communication
culture
really
was.
The
purpose
of
this
audit
was
to
identify
the
current
barriers
to
communication
and
areas
in
which
the
company
could
improve.
The
audit
involved
focus
groups,
employee
surveys
and
interviews
with
a
number
of
staff,
including
sales
personnel,
store
managers
and
upper
management.
The
complete
list
of
communication
barriers
that
were
identified
in
the
audit
is
presented
in
Table
1
(p.
2).
The
audit
results
revealed
that
Opal-‐Mart
employees
were
more
than
just
receptive
to
a
more
open
communication
culture.
They
seemed
to
have
a
real
thirst
to
become
more
involved
in
the
company.
However,
Opal-‐Mart
had
a
rigid
system
of
top-‐down
control
by
management.
Like
many
companies
of
this
nature,
Opal-‐Mart
hierarchy
greatly
restricted
the
flow
of
information
to
its
employees.
Although
change
was
in
the
works,
the
staff
survey
results
essentially
confirmed
a
tight
control
on
information.
Many
Opal-‐Mart
employees
believed
that
existing
internal
communication
was
‘too
infrequent,
too
one-‐dimensional
(one-‐way),
and
too
management-‐oriented
to
be
useful.’
In
addition,
Opal-‐Mart’s
culture
was
characterized
by
frequent
conflict
between
different
groups
of
staff
and
a
general
lack
of
trust
and
collaboration.
This
did
not
only
show
itself
in
cross-‐cultural
issues
among
the
highly
diverse
workforce
but
also
in
constant
battles
between
two
of
the
company’s
most
important
staff
groups:
buyers
and
merchandisers.
Traditionally,
Opal
Mart’s
buyers
came
from
an
artistic
creative
background.
Their
main
goal
was
to
develop
an
interesting
range
by
considering
the
look,
style,
and
customer
appeal
of
products.
Opal
Mart’s
merchandisers,
in
contrast,
were
product-‐oriented.
Drawing
on
their
background
in
accounting
and
finance,
their
main
goal
was
to
create
an
economically
viable
range
by
continuously
scanning
financial
information.
Friction
was
invariably
created
when
buyers
and
merchandisers
sought
to
make
decisions
while
viewing
the
range
from
a
different
angle.
Ultimately,
both
groups
had
to
collaborate
and
make
decisions
that
led
to
the
best
possible
choice
for
the
customer
while
Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice
Case
Study
Briefing
sheet
2
maximising
retail
sales
and
profits.
This,
however,
was
a
source
of
frequent
conflict
at
Opal-‐Mart.
A
further
issue
identified
by
the
audit
was
a
culture
of
ineffective
meetings
that
often
went
over
time,
wasted
energies
and
left
its
participants
wondering
what
outcomes
had
been
achieved.
Staff
often
shut
each
other
down
and
failed
to
listen
to
each
other’s
views
which
brought
about
a
negative
climate.
The
audit
results
showed
that
senior
managers
did
not
feel
they
had
the
skills
to
chair
meetings
in
such
a
tension-‐laden
environment.
A
final
cause
for
concern
was
the
increase
in
customer
complaints
at
Opal-‐Mart
and
–
perhaps
even
more
importantly,
the
poor
ways
in
which
store
staff
dealt
with
such
complaints.
Rather
than
seeking
to
understand
the
customers’
issues,
store
staff
tended
to
act
defensively,
brushing
customers
off
abruptly
and
sometimes
rudely.
This
was
partly
due
to
the
time
pressures
of
store
staff,
and
partly
due
to
their
inexperience
and
lack
of
skills.
Many
part-‐timers
in
particular,
had
never
received
proper
communications
training
and
simply
did
not
know
how
to
appease
and
retain
customers
in
such
difficult
situations.
Opal
Mart
clearly
had
an
opportunity
to
improve
staff
communication
skills
and
develop
a
more
open
and
collaborative
communication
culture.
The
company’s
CEO,
along
with
his
senior
executive
group,
decided
to
act
quickly.
A
task
force
was
created
that
should
look
more
deeply
into
the
company’s
communication
problems.
Table
1
List
of
identified
communication
barriers
1. Poor
understanding
of
the
need
for
upward
feedback,
especially
by
senior
management.
Senior
executives
are
not
aware
of
the
importance
of
gaining
an
understanding
of
staff
issues
and
concerns
and
are
perceived
to
lack
empathy
and
listening
skills.
2. Poor
downward
feedback.
Staff
rarely
receive
feedback
on
their
work
and
if
they
do,
it
is
negative,
given
in
a
de-‐motivating
way
and/or
leaves
staff
without
an
understanding
of
how
specific
issues
relate
to
broader
company
goals.
3. The
Opal-‐Mart
workforce
is
highly
diverse
culturally,
with
Australian,
Indian
and
Chinese
staff
representing
the
largest
employee
groups.
Intercultural
communication
issues
and
misunderstandings
among
store
staff
are
frequent,
rendering
the
task
of
running
the
stores
effectively
more
difficult.
4. A
silo
culture
and
little
understanding
of
how
different
occupational
perspectives
are
part
of
a
broader
picture.
In
particular,
there
are
frequent
tensions
between
the
company’s
buyers
and
merchandisers.
While
both
groups
of
staff
rely
on
each
other
in
their
job
roles,
time
and
energy
is
wasted
on
unproductive
debates.
5. There
is
a
culture
of
ineffective
meetings
at
head
office
–
in
particular,
meetings
are
characterized
by
power
struggles
and
frequent
conflict.
Managers
chairing
meetings
lack
the
skills
to
resolve
conflict
and
facilitate
dialogic
communication.
6. Opal-‐Mart
staff
are
often
not
skilled
in
handling
customer
complaints.
This
has
led
to
a
significant
loss
of
customers
in
recent
years
and
is
considered
by
the
Executive
as
a
key
concern
with
implications
for
brand
reputation.
Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice
Case
Study
Briefing
sheet
3
Opal Mart’s Path Towards a New Communication Culture
The
mission
of
the
new
task
force
was
‘to
create
an
internal
communications
strategy
for
Opal-‐Mart
that
will
increase
the
flow
of
information
among
all
employees
of
the
company
and
in
so
doing,
create
better
and
broader
understanding
of
-‐
and
support
for
-‐
Opal-‐Mart’s
business
goals
and
objectives.’
The
task
force
was
unique
in
that
it
was
comprised
of
several
organisational
development
and
human
resources
managers
from
various
Opal-‐Mart
sales
regions,
store
personnel,
a
consultant,
and
representatives
from
corporate
headquarters.
It
was
also
exclusively
devoted
to
one
mission:
studying
organisational
communication
within
Opal-‐Mart
and
advising
upper
management
on
how
to
improve
it.
The
first
order
of
business
for
the
task
force
was
to
write
a
mission
statement
in
order
to
address
the
issue
of
what
specific
values
and
philosophy
the
company
should
espouse.
Although
the
wording
of
the
statement
was
subject
to
much
discussion,
there
was
consensus
about
the
desired
central
values.
Ultimately,
the
following
mission
statement
was
adopted:
Opal-‐Mart
is
committed
to
the
development
of
an
effective
organisational
communication
culture
which
responds
to
the
concerns
of
employees
and
customers,
seeks
their
input
in
setting
and
attaining
company
goals,
and
is
characterized
by
practices
of
mutual
respect,
trust
and
collaboration.
This
broad
mission
statement
was
translated
into
the
following
value
statements:
1. We
work
together
as
one
team.
We
help
each
other
and
ask
for
help
because
we
know
that
we
can
offer
our
customers
the
best
service
when
we
work
together.
2. We
build
lasting
relationships
with
our
customers
by
making
them
our
first
priority.
We
listen
to
feedback,
provide
support
and
are
committed
to
the
continuous
improvement
of
our
services.
3. We
treat
each
other
with
respect.
We
embrace
diverse
communities,
cultures
and
points
of
view.
We
understand
how
we
differ
and
how
we
are
similar.
To
collaborate
well,
we
trust
each
other
and
work
together
towards
shared
goals.
4. We
strive
for
excellence
in
what
we
do.
We
are
committed
to
the
continuous
improvement
of
our
services
and
we
achieve
this
by
continuously
developing
and
deepening
our
knowledge
of
our
people,
our
customers,
and
our
business.
5. We
lead
in
ways
that
provide
recognition,
motivation
and
empowerment
–
by
listening,
seeking
feedback
and
working
with
our
staff
on
the
attainment
of
shared
goals.
The
second
order
of
business
for
the
task
force
was
to
commission
training
companies
with
the
development
of
communication
skills
trainings
that
would
help
overcome
some
of
the
existing
barriers.
A
request
for
business
proposals
was
developed
in
which
the
agencies
were
asked
to
outline
their
suggestions
for
future
Opal-‐Mart
communication
trainings.
The
Opal-‐Mart
task
force
specified
clear
priority
areas
and
audiences
for
these
communications
trainings.
These
included
(but
were
not
limited
to)
the
following
six
topic
areas,
presented
on
p.
4:
Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice
Case
Study
Briefing
sheet
4
1) Improving
performance
through
feedback
Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
store
managers
Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
store
managers
on
the
provision
of
staff
feedback.
The
aim
of
this
training
is
to
make
Opal-‐Mart
store
managers
aware
of
the
importance
of
feedback
as
a
tool
that
leads
to
enhanced
staff
performance
as
well
as
assist
the
managers
in
developing
their
feedback
skills.
2) Developing
shared
understanding
Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
buying
and
merchandising
staff
Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
buying
and
merchandising
staff
which
will
assist
these
groups
of
staff
in
developing
a
more
collaborative
mind
frame.
Proposals
that
focus
on
the
delivery
of
communication
skills
and/or
methods
that
will
increase
the
groups’
mutual
understanding
of
issues
will
be
looked
upon
favourably.
3) Listening
to
your
staff
Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
senior
management
Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
a
training
of
that
will
increase
Opal-‐Mart
senior
managers’
awareness
of
the
importance
of
listening
to
staff
concerns
and
showing
empathy.
The
aim
of
this
training
is
to
allow
senior
management
to
gain
a
better
understanding
of
staff
needs,
thereby
reducing
the
current
communication
gap
between
senior
management
and
staff
and
increasing
staff
engagement.
4) Running
productive
meetings
Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
senior
management
Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
senior
managers
in
(meeting)
facilitation
skills.
Senior
managers
are
expected
to
leave
the
training
with
improved
knowledge
and
skills
in
at
least
one
of
the
following
areas:
facilitating
meetings,
conflict
management
in
meetings,
meeting
design
and
planning.
5) Communicating
across
cultures
Target
Audience:
Opal-‐Mart
store
staff
(culturally
diverse
group,
predominantly
Australian,
Indian
and
Chinese)
Brief:
Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
store
staff
in
intercultural
communication
skills.
The
aim
of
this
training
is
to
improve
staff
communication,
reduce
cross-‐cultural
misunderstandings
and,
as
a
result,
increase
team
cohesion
and
productivity.
6) Dealing
with
unhappy
customers
Target
audience:
Opal-‐Mart
store
staff
Develop
a
proposal
for
the
training
of
Opal-‐Mart
store/sales
staff
that
will
allow
them
to
deal
more
effectively
with
customer
complaints.
The
aim
of
this
training
is
to
provide
staff
with
insights
into
how
challenging
communication
situations
with
customers
can
be
resolved
in
ways
that
retain
the
customer
and
even
increase
their
satisfaction
with
the
company.
Your
task:
You
are
a
member
of
a
training
company
specialising
in
the
development
and
delivery
of
corporate
communication
trainings.
Choose
one
of
the
above
topics
and
respond
to
the
Opal-‐Mart
brief
by
(1)
developing
a
proposal
for
the
delivery
of
an
Opal-‐Mart
communication
training
on
the
respective
topic
(see
briefing
sheet
assignment
2)
and
(2)
delivering
the
training
in
class
(see
briefing
sheet
assignment
3)
Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice
Case
Study
Briefing
sheet
5
References
Hargie,
O.
&
Tourish,
D.
2009,
Auditing
Organizational
Communication:
A
Handbook
of
Research,
Theory
and
Practice,
Routledge,
London.
Tourish,
D.
&
Hargie,
O.
2004,
‘Communication
Audits:
Building
World
Class
Communication
Systems’,
in
S.
Oliver
(ed.),
Handbook
of
Corporate
Communication
and
Public
Relations,
Routledge,
London,
pp.
131-‐44.
i
Case
study
adapted
for
Organisational
Dialogue:
Theory
&
Practice
from
Fairhurst,
G.
T.
(1990).
Changing
the
Information
Culture
at
the
Pearson
Company.
In
B.
Davenport
Sypher
(Ed.),
Case
Studies
in
Organizational
Communication
(pp.
223-‐234).
New
York:
The
Guilford
Press.
2.
2 Intercultural communication competence
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Session / Topic
Time
1
1.5 Hours
2
2.5 Hours
3
1.5 + 1.5 Hours
Time frame for module 1
Time duration – 7 Hours
It can be handled as time permits but will be better managed in pre – post-dinner periods, on Day 1 and two-morning sessions on Day 2 will be attended.
Session / Topic
Time
1
1.5 Hours
2
2.5 Hours
3
1.5 + 1.5 Hours
4
2.5 Hours
5
2 Hours
Timeframe for module 2
Duration – 11.5 Hours
It would be managed as time permits but best managed in pre and post-dinner sessions on Day 1, followed by two mornings and two-afternoon sessions on Day 2.
Session / Module
Time
1
1.5 Hours
2
2.5 Hours
3
1.5 + 1.5 Hours
4
2.5 Hours
5
2 Hours
6
1.5 Hours
7
2.5 Hours
8
4 Hours
9
0.5 Hours
10
2 Hours
Timeframe for module 3
Time for session 10 (debrief) is number-dependent. 1-4 people would take 30 minutes, adding 20 minutes each for four new members.
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First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, if anything is unclear, you may always chat with us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download