Cross Cultural Orientation

 
Why Cross Cultural Orientation Program is Important?
Cross Cultural Orientation Programs are conducted by experts and people have first hand experience with the cultures taught. Baobab Volunteering Services uses the natives of these cultures and the experts in the subject area to conduct thorough orientations and preparations of participants before they travel abroad or engage in business or come in close contact with people from these cultures. Cross Cultural Orientation Program is important because sometimes its the question of life and death if not properly oriented to a particular culture. Cross-Cultural Orientation Programs enable the participants (and their families) to successfully transition from one culture to another by enabling them to understand the concept of culture; analyze and identify the key characteristics of their own national culture; recognize cultural differences as they affect life issues; understand the dimensions of national differences; understand differences in organizational cultures; recognize the motivation and qualities that make for a successful overseas experience; understand and be able to respond to culture shock; develop strategies for successful intercultural communication; understand and be able to respond to reentry shock; and acquire country-specific knowledge.

Businesses: it might mean a balance between total failure to conduct business due to unforeseen cultural barriers and complete success of business endeavor resulted from total preparation of cultural differences.
Mission and Church groups: effective and efficient communication in the mission field is enhanced once cultural considerations and differences are mastered and breakdown of communication is eliminated.
Volunteers and tourists minimize period of cultural shock by knowing exactly what to expect and be prepared.
Exchange Program Participants or Students: very high success rates are always attributed to good orientation and clear expectations to the foreign culture. Students or exchange program staff transition much more smoothly following intensive cross cultural orientations and enhances their performance overseas.

Who is Your Informer?
Many times the media has either exaggerated the actual realities and made people mis-informed or totally ignored the facts and led the observers uninformed about actual life abroad and focus on sensational issues. Employees, students, groups become unprepared to interact with people from other cultures if they use the media and friends as the only source their information. Cross cultural orientation program gives the participants the right perspective of the cultures and life of the places abroad they are planning to travel.

1 DAY SESSION BRONZE PROGRAM

Traveler Package
This is a 2 Hours Session that is conducted remotely by means of teleconference or other technology such as Skype or Web Conference Tools. The participants are oriented on basic facts of their travel, necessary issues and precautions to visit especially for short period of times. This package is suitable if you have already planned a trip and you want an overview of what to expect, the dos and donts in the foreign culture.

• Format: Teleconference
• Venue: On Site  
• Meals: Not Provided  
• Ancillaries: PowerPoint       

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Voyager Package
This is a 8 Hours Session that can be conducted remotely or at our facility, remotely by means of teleconference or other technology such as Skype or Web Conference Tools, or travel arrangements can be made that participants attend a 1 Day Session Workshop at our facility in Winston Salem, NC. Alternatively, our trainer can travel to conduct the workshop on site to reduce the costs of training. The participants are oriented on more facts around their travel, stay, necessary issues and precautions to visit especially for short period of times. This package is suitable for volunteers and mission work expecting to stay for short periods of time, up to 2 weeks, again it covers the dos and donts in the foreign culture.

• Format: Teleconference/Workshop  
• Venue: On Site/In-Facility  
• Meals: Provided
• Ancillaries: PowerPoint, Workbook/Manual

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PLATINUM PROGRAM
This is a 2 Days Session that can be conducted at our facility in Winston Salem, NC or alternatively, our trainer can travel to conduct the workshop on site to reduce the costs of training. The participants are oriented on more detailed facts around their travel, stay, efficiency, productivity and other necessary issues and precautions for visits more than 2 weeks, again it covers the dos and donts in the foreign culture.

• Format: Workshop  
• Venue: On Site/In-Facility  
• Meals: Provided
• Ancillaries: PowerPoint, Workbook/Manual

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SILVER PROGRAM
This is a 3 Days Session that can be conducted at our facility in Winston Salem, NC or alternatively, our trainer can travel to conduct the workshop on site to reduce the costs of training. The participants are oriented on more detailed facts around their travel, stay, efficiency, productivity and other necessary issues and precautions for visits more than 4 weeks, again it covers the dos and donts in the foreign culture. This program is suitable for Mission workers, Volunteers, Exchange Staff/Students, Business Investors and Expatriates with their families. Role playing, ethic foods, foreign families in USA will be available to make some presentations and acclimatization to foreign accents and foods.

• Format: Workshop  
• Venue: On Site/In-Facility  
• Meals: Provided (Ethnic Foods)
• Ancillaries: PowerPoint, Workbook/Manual

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5 DAYS SESSION GOLD PREMIUM PROGRAM
This is a 5 Days Session that can be conducted at our facility in Winston Salem, NC or alternatively, our trainer can travel to conduct the workshop on site to reduce the costs of training. The participants are oriented on more detailed facts around their travel, stay, efficiency, productivity, real estate, social issues and other necessary issues and precautions for visits more than 3 months, again it covers the dos and donts in the foreign culture. This program is suitable for Mission workers, Volunteers, Exchange Staff/Students, Business Investors and Expatriates with their families especially staying for long time. Role playing, ethic foods, foreign families in USA will be available to make some presentations and acclimatization to foreign accents and foods.

• Format: Workshop  
• Venue: On Site/In-Facility  
• Meals: Provided (Ethnic Foods)
• Ancillaries: PowerPoint, Workbook/Manual, Booklet

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Workshop Structure & Content
Cross-cultural orientation programs are conducted in 1, 2, 3 and 5-day sessions, or can be custom-designed based on the needs of our clients. A needs assessment  and analysis is conducted over the telephone with the person requesting the training, as well as with the participants. This plays a key role in addressing all the needs of the clients during the training session, as well as allowing us to customize the program.
Customization can include business dealings, patients oriented interactions, religious setting (church missions), children’s program, family concerns, cross-cultural management vs productivity and many more.
Venue: We conduct training in our center in Winston Salem, North Carolina, or travel anywhere in the USA, Canada or worldwide to conduct the training on site. The training can also be conducted in groups with multiple participants, employees or multiple families who will be traveling to the same location.

Short Term Stay

Long Term Stay

Airport Pick-Up & Transportation Issues Living Accommodations Money Communications Etiquette Leisure Travel The Necessities to bring on your trip Photography Documentation Clothing Other Essentials Suggested for your travel medical kit Visa and passport information Immunization and other health concerns Safety Issues Embassy Registration Foreign Culture Common Foods Weather Good Books Basic Language Websites Other Important Information

Real Estate Issues Education Issues Cultural Adjustment Learning Language Management Effectiveness & Productivity Conflict Resolution in Multicultural Setup Host country’s -history, -government, -economics, -demographics, -educational, -social issues, To communicate knowledgeably

 

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ORIENTATION WORKSHOP PRICING

Program	Session	Price (USD)
Bronze Program -Traveler Package	2 hrs	$245/person
Bronze Program-Voyager Package (3 or More Participants)*	1 Day	$465/person
Bronze Program-Voyager Package (Winston Salem, NC)	1 Day	$550/person
Platinum Program-On Site (3 or More Participants)*	2 Days	$925/person
Platinum Program-In Facility (Winston Salem, NC)	2 Days	995/person
Silver Program -On Site (3 or More Participants)*	3 Days	$1195/person
Silver Program- In Facility (Winston Salem, NC)	3 Days	$1395/person
Premium Gold Program-On Site (3 or More Participants)*	5 Days	$1795/person
Premium Gold Program-in Facility (Winston Salem, NC)	5 Days	$2325/person

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*Plus traveling, accommodation and meals for the trainer