Ethics manual
They recently distributed a US style “ethics manual” to its employees, which was not well-received to say the least. What was it about these guidelines that rubbed the Germans employees the wrong way?

- A caution against supervisor-employee relationships, which the Germans saw as a puritanical ban on interoffice romance.

- Being told to report improper behavior, which seemed as an invitation to rat on co-workers to the Germans.

Local customs
Walmart tried offering a grocery bagging service, which didn’t work out well at all. Germans prefer not to have their groceries handled by strangers.

Clerks received orders to smile at shoppers, which sometimes was taken as a come-on by male shoppers.

Read the whole article here here

New Jersey is the first state in the U.S. which has passed legislation requiring cultural sensitivity training for physicians. More states are likely to follow.

Read the full story here

While it might seem like nothing more than just a feel-good event for the employees, there was a bottom-line purpose to the event.

For one, employees are more productive in an environment that respects and accepts their differences.
Also, by “leveraging that diversity,” Procter & Gamble believes they can sell more of their products.

Read more: Procter & Gamble leverages cultural diversity

Meanwhile, Westerners elect to accommodate themselves in highly secured compounds far away from the Saudi general public. There are several reasons for this, namely, the current political climate necessitates these precautions. However, even before the terrorist activities of recent years, Westerners chose to segregate themselves, due to the language barrier and the desire to fulfill a normal Western life in Saudi Arabia.

Read more: Cultural Integration Difficulties in Saudi Arabia

This program aims to encourage cooperation between citizens and their organizations from different countries in order to meet, act together and develop their own ideas in a European environment which goes beyond a national vision and which respects their diversity. These intercultural exchanges will contribute to improving the mutual knowledge of the culture and history of the European peoples and will bring our common heritage to the fore and strengthen the basis for our common future. Mutual understanding, solidarity and a feeling of belonging to Europe are indeed the building blocks for the involvement of citizens and are reflected by each of the programme’s actions.
Citizens for Europe