The World Day of Social Justice was established on February 20th in 2009 to promote gender equality, fair employment, social well-being, and justice around the world.

In his message last year the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said:

“Social justice is more than an ethical imperative, it is a foundation for national stability and global prosperity. Equal opportunity, solidarity and respect for human rights — these are essential to unlocking the full productive potential of nations and peoples..”

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Confucius is the person accredited most with shaping the deep
elements of Chinese culture that we can still see today. When looking at cross-cultural differences between East and West, Confucianism (long-term orientation and knowing your place in society) stands out as being the major difference from the short-term, individualistic orientations of the West. Thus, Confucius has influenced Chinese thought for over 2,500 years. Confucius’s Birthday, otherwise known as ‘National Teachers Day’ takes place in China and Taiwan each year on 28^th September. Chinese philosopher & reformer (551 BC – 479 BC).

Cross-cultural differences abound in all walks of life. This summer I
was invited by one of my French friends to her wedding in France. She was getting married to a mutual friend who was German. The city hall and church wedding ceremonies were held in both languages so that all guests could enjoy the wedding. After that the real differences began to show…

Read the views on the USA of a 25 year-old girl from Taiwan, whose
first experience of ‘abroad’ was as a student in Michigan. A lot of cross-cultural differences between those two cultures! Mindy (Min-Yi Chang) is now back home and reflects on her time in the US. Here are the two extracts I found the most interesting – from the blog post on Pocket Cultures which is always an enjoyable and insightful read.

Whether one wants to argue about the rights or wrongs of the British
Empire, few can deny that it has left a lasting legacy in many parts of the globe. Our industrial might has left trains chugging across the vast lands of India, a rail infrastructure that spans the Cape to Cairo and British steel was used in spanning vast expanses as in the Sydney Harbour Bridge. But, many of the world’s trouble spots are those left behind by the chaotic retreat of empire, and its ghosts continue to haunt today’s international scene. The problems the empire encountered have still not been resolved and in Iraq, Kashmir, Burma, Sudan, Nigeria and Hong Kong new difficulties have arisen which continue to baffle politicians and diplomats. ‘One sows the seeds of demise at the outset’ is a well-known concept that can really apply to the collapse of the British Empire…

With on-going shifts in economic power from West to East, an
interesting topic of research and debate concerns the long-term potential of the next generation around the world and in particular: what is the IQ potential of the populations of the two biggest countries, China and India?  Without doubt, British Indians seem to gain higher grades on average than their ‘white’ British counterparts. And it is a well known fact that the Chinese in the UK are more diligent at school.  We put this down to cross-cultural differences within the family in a UK environment. But what about around the world – how smart are Chinese and Indians in their home countries compared to the rest of the world?

The British often say the only trouble with France is it’s full of French people!
But, it’s not only the British who have trouble with the French it seems. There is a condition called “Paris Syndrome” which is a type of Culture Shock especially experienced by the Japanese when visiting Paris – born out of unmet expectations of an idealised, romantic view of Paris and the reality of their experiences and encounters with the ‘rude’ French.

A recent survey concerning TRUST had 17 countries unanimously
agreeing that one profession in particular was THE one to be trusted above all others.  If these 17,295 respondents are any indication of how the rest of the world feels then the likelihood is that FIREFIGHTERS are the most trustworthy group in the whole world. However, levels of trust in bankers have fallen considerably – down to a mere 37% compared with 98% for firefighters.

The GfK Trust Index for Spring 2011 determines the level of trust that citizens have in 20 professional groups and organisations (see below for more details). Of course, there are many interesting differences between the nations with Civil Servants having a vastly different reputation depending on the country in question:  just under 80% of Swiss citizens believe this profession to be trustworthy, only one in four in Greece gave a similar response.

So, who has our least degree of trust?

21st century managers are now required to expand and adapt
their leadership and communication skills to leading virtual cross-cultural teams. However, building and nurturing efficient intercultural and transnational teams are enough of a challenge without throwing in remote or virtual managing!  The 21st century manager has to adapt in order to offer modern solutions to modern problems; in fact,s/he needs to become a global manager. So, what guide lines can I offer you to help you become a global manger with the ability to promote high performing virtual teams? What skills and attributes do you need in order to be effective?