Having been brought up in the UK and witnessed (albeit I was very young at the time) the women’s liberation movement and bra burning antics of young female students, I thought Britain had a gender-equal society.  It wasn’t until I went to work in Finland, about 15 years ago, that I realised how unequal British society was. It therefore came as no surprise when I heard that the top places in the Global Gender Gap Index went to Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland.  However, finding Italy in 67th position (lagging behind Chile and Azerbaijan) was quite a shock!   Why not check out where your country fits in the league table?   You may be in for a few surprises.

I’d really appreciate your help… I’m lecturing on ‘Sharing Knowledge Across Global Teams’ at a conference in the UK later on this month and still busy researching.  I’d really appreciate different cultural opinions and would love you to leave a comment on this blog for me.

The effective managment and sharing of knowledge in global organisations is seen to be a key competitive advantage. Large firms have been intent setting up Knowledge Management Systems so knowledge can flow easily around the world. However, ‘knowledge’ is viewed differently by different cultures.

In Anglo-Saxon cultures, ‘knowledge’ is viewed as a commodity, owned by one person, that will give him/her a competitive advantage in the workplace.  The more s/he has the more the market will pay in terms of salary. Knowledge is a closely guarded secret and gives someone their worth.  For other cultures, it is not knowledge of THINGS but knowledge of PEOPLE and NETWORKS that is the valuable commodity. Yet other cultures view knowledge as only being valuable when it is freely shared by all.

What is your CULTURAL view on this?

In American culture, generally speaking, a TEAM is seen as a support group that allows individuals to be champions. To a greater or lesser degree, most individualistic cultures have a similar attitude. But what does a ‘team’ and teamworking mean to you?  Can you help me please?

I’ll be lecturing at the end of this month at a conference on High Performing Global Teams and would love to be able to include your opinions. Please leave a comment for me on this blog – all comments greatly appreciated.

 Originally got this via @raykwong through one of his Tweets. Interesting to read the attitudes of young Chinese shoppers and how global companies are looking to China to help them meet their turnover targets.