Australian Workplace Culture Part One

8
+ Australian Workplace Culture A guide for newly arrived migrants © Ursula Walker 2011

description

Helps recently arrived migrants compete in the Australian job market and achieve career success - Part One. You can contact me at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ursulawalker

Transcript of Australian Workplace Culture Part One

Page 1: Australian Workplace Culture Part One

+

Australian Workplace Culture

A guide for newly arrived migrants

© Ursula Walker 2011

Page 2: Australian Workplace Culture Part One

+Presentation Outline

Part One

Defining culture Workplace culture in Australia Communication Styles Getting a Job Interview Issues

Part Two Workplace Communication Asking Questions Social Behaviour and Fitting In

© Ursula Walker 2011

Part Three Attitudes to work, hierarchy

and leadership

Organisational Communication

Achieving success in the Australian workplace

Employer Expectations

10 Top Tips for Skilled Migrants

Page 3: Australian Workplace Culture Part One

+Culture

Culture is the way we do things

Culture is the set of values and beliefs that we learn from childhood, that determine our way of thinking and acting

Australian culture is based on ideas such as equality, productive diversity and cultural respect © Ursula Walker 2011

Page 4: Australian Workplace Culture Part One

+Workplace Culture

The key areas where Australian workplace culture tends to be different are: 

The approach to hierarchy and leadership styles Employers’ expectations of staff Workplace communication styles

Communication Styles

Social Behaviour

Attitudes to Work, Hierarchy and Leadership

© Ursula Walker 2011

Page 5: Australian Workplace Culture Part One

+Communication Styles

High Context e.g. China, India the information that passes between people is

subtle and must be read through the physical context of the situation, or is already internalized in the person.

Relationship based

Low Context e.g. Australian, English, German most communication is overt and made

through explicit statements rather than relationships or internalization.

Task focused

© Ursula Walker 2011

Page 6: Australian Workplace Culture Part One

+Getting a Job

Migrants coming from high context cultures can find that their behaviour in an interview situation is often misinterpreted by recruiters.

Reluctance to make eye contact, unwillingness to contradict or question and stiff or formal body language may be interpreted as showing little enthusiasm, confidence or interest.

In low-context cultures job interviews are meant as a way of meeting and getting to know each other

© Ursula Walker 2011

Page 7: Australian Workplace Culture Part One

+Interview Issues

Resumes

Personal Space

Eye Contact

Smiling

Contradicting Interviewer

Body Language

Asking Questions

Answers© Ursula Walker 2011

Page 8: Australian Workplace Culture Part One

+Next time..

In the upcoming sessions we will look at: Workplace Communication Styles Social Behaviour and Fitting In Attitudes to work, hierarchy and

leadership Organisational Communication Achieving success in the Australian

workplace Employer Expectations 10 Top Tips for Skilled Migrants

© Ursula Walker 2011