Culture Clash

Presented By

Faris Alami

1www.myISMinc.com

Presented by:

Faris Alami

Presented by:

Faris Alami

Building on Culture

“Leveraging a Multi-CulturealWorkforce

and Resolving Conflict”

Presented By

Faris Alami

4www.myISMinc.com

5www.myISMinc.com

Program Objectives

• Understanding of multicultural environments

• Deep dive what happens when cultures interact

• What should we be looking for?

• How to intervene?

• Overview - Big picture

• Understanding Other Cultures

• Exercises

• Q and A

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Overall Agenda

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House Rules:

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Why Are You Here?

• Palestinian born in Kuwait

• Three months after the 1st Gulf War, came to the U.S.

• Started several businesses in Arizona while attending college

• Held Executive positions in small and big box retailers such as

Pure Beauty and Macy’s

• Turned around several companies and divisions

• Ran Troy staffing company

• Formed Integration Systems Management, Inc. in 2003

• Over 35 Professional Awards and 36 Educational Awards such

• Married with two children

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About Faris Alami

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Why Do Cultures Clash

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What Is Culture To You?

• Culture generally refers to patterns of

human activity and the symbolic

structures that give such activity

significant importance. (learned values,

beliefs and thought patterns to a

member of any social group)

• Determines how we view and perceive

ourselves and others around us.

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Culture

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So What Does That Mean?

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Why Is Culture Important?

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What Did We Learn?

• Any thoughts ?

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Why Do People Clash?

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Latino Population

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey

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Latino Population

Type of origin Number Percent

Total 44,252,278 100.0

Mexican 28,339,354 64.0

Puerto Rican 3,987,947 9.0

Cuban 1,520,276 3.4

Dominican 1,217,225 2.8

Central American 3,372,090 7.6

South American 2,421,297 5.5

Other Hispanic 3,394,089 7.7Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey

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Arabs In The U.S

*Excludes persons who identify as Chaldeans, Assyrians, or other Christian minorities in. Iraq

Based on Zogby International Survey

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Arab American Religion

Religious Affiliations of Arab Americans

*Catholic include Roman Catholic, Maronite, and Melkite (Greek Catholic)

**Orthodox includes Antiochian, Syrian, Greek, and Coptic Based on Zogby International Survey (2002)

• Arab Americans with at

least a high school

diploma number 85 %.

• More than 40% Arab

Americans have a

bachelor’s degree or

higher

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Arab American Education

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000

• 17% percent of Arab Americans have a post-graduate degree.

• Of the school-age population, 13% are in pre-school, 58% are in elementary or high school, 22% are enrolled in college, and 7% are conducting graduate studies.

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Arab American Grads

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000

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African American/ Black Population

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey

• 40.2 Million (13.4%)

• 61.4 (14.6 %) Projected by 2050

• Largest Minority in Michigan

• 81% Have a HS Diploma

• 18% Have a Bachelor Degree or higher

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African American/ Black Education

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2006

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African American/ Black Society

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2006

Self awareness

Awareness of your and others’ support systems

Openness to acknowledge

your biases

Engage with others who are different from you

Ongoing, repeat all four steps

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Bridging Cultures: The ISM™ Approach

What Defines Culture For Each Group

Ethnicity Tell me what you think?

Family Role

• African American/ Black

• Hispanic American

• White American

• Arab American

• Asia

• India

• Others

Ethnicity Tell me what you think?

Friends Role

• African American/ Black

• Hispanic American

• White American

• Arab American

• Asia

• India

• Others

Ethnicity Tell me what you think?

Society Role

• African American/ Black

• Hispanic American

• White American

• Arab American

• Asia

• India

• Others

Ethnicity Tell me what you think?

Gender Role

• African American/ Black

• Hispanic American

• White American

• Arab American

• Asia

• India

• Others

Ethnicity Tell me what you think?

Education Role

• African American/ Black

• Hispanic American

• White American

• Arab American

• Asia

• India

• Others

Ethnicity Tell me what you think?

Unspoken Rules

• African American/ Black

• Hispanic American

• White American

• Arab American

• Asia

• India

• Others

Ethnicity Tell me what you think?

Spoken Rules

• African American/ Black

• Hispanic American

• White American

• Arab American

• Asia

• India

• Others

Ethnicity Tell me what you think?

Religion

• African American/ Black

• Hispanic American

• White American

• Arab American

• Asia

• India

• Others

What Triggers Conflict

7 Steps™ To Build A Learning

Community and Avoid Clash

• Listen to their side

• Understand their point of view

• Learn about their important points

• Ask them questions

• Engage them in the process

• Align the situation with local expectation

• Repeat

In his book, Patrick Lencion says:

• Absence of trust

• Fear of conflict

• Lack of commitment

• Avidness of accountability

• Inattention to results

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

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Conventional Wisdom

We need to work with their motivation….

You tell me

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Taking A Deeper Look/ Reality

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Embedded Norms

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People Need Positive Relationships

• Create a dialog on culture issues

• Conduct regular surveys

• Create a forum/ roundtable

• This is a process

• Actions

• Anticipation

• Ongoing

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Takeaways

• Train the trainer for dialog on culture issues

• Conduct regular surveys

• Create forum/ roundtable

• Bring outside resources

• Ongoing coaching/consulting

• Custom workshops

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What ISM Can Do For You?

Thank You!

Faris Alami

248-688-5353 Ext 2

faris.alami@myISMinc.com

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Questions