SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – Island employers are encouraged to participate in a workshop of cultural differences in the workplace.
“Benefitting from cultural differences in Canadian Organizations” is organized by RDÉE P.E.I.’s LIENS (LINKS - Linking economic immigration to our success) projects and will feature speak Lionel Laroche. Through diagrams and anecdotes that are humorous and illustrative, Laroche will provide an in-depth exploration of the causes and effects of these cultural differences and suggests concrete solutions to manage them effectively.
Laroche has been studying the impact of cultural differences in the professional workplace for 20 years. He has written three books and about 100 articles on the subject. He has hosted some 2,000 workshops and has presented his perspectives to about 250 conferences to more than 100,000 people in 20 different countries.
In many Canadian organizations, cultural differences are a source of challenges and opportunities, says Laroche.
“Most of the time, we have to first overcome these challenges to be able to benefit from the differences. In fact, cultural differences extend much deeper than just language or dress codes. They impact the way we think, communicate and react in many situations that we frequently face in the workplace.”
In particular, he will illustrate the way that people were raised usually determines the way they will communicate within the business work or deal with relationships between managers and employees.
The workshop on Jan. 13, kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast, followed by activities and presentations from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Lunch will be served. The presentations will be given in English, but visual presentations will be bilingual.
“A couple of members of the RDÉE team recently got the opportunity to participate in this workshop during a national conference,” explains LIENS project co-ordinator Chérine Stévula.
“His talk impressed our team members so much that we decided right away to bring Mr. Laroche to P.E.I. so that our employers could also benefit from his extraordinary presentation.”
Laroche works with Canadian organizations to help them manage the impact of cultural differences within their staff so everyone can benefit from their cultural diversity.
The full-day workshop is presented in collaboration with the Coopérative d’intégration francophone de ‘Î.-P.-É., P.E.I. Connectors, the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PE.I. and the Wellington Rural Action Centre.
The registration fee, which covers the workshop and two full meals, is $25 per person, taxes included.
To register, contact Josée Ouellette at 902-854-3439, ext. 228, or [email protected].
The first 30 people who register will get a free copy of Laroche’s book, “Danger and Opportunity: Bridging Cultural Diversity for Competitive Advantage.” These people will then be encouraged to read the book before attending the workshop.
A free babysitting service will be available for the day.
