Module 1 : Successful personnal integration in Guatemala
1. Cross-cultural awareness : the key to a successful expatriation
- Taking stock of one's own cultural baggage
- Culture shock and the integration process
- Identifying and going beyond cultural stereotypes
2. Key aspects of Guatemalan culture
- A "crossroads" nation in the very heart of Central America
- Mayas, Incas, Garífunas and Ladinos: a multi-ethnic population
- Civil war and exclusion: the painful scars of history
- Rural and urban Guatemala: two very different worlds
- A delicate political situation and a fragile economy
3. Guatemalan values and behaviour patterns
- Cultural behavioural systems influenced significantly by ethnic origin
- A flair for hospitality
- A highly patriarchal society
- The importance attached to appearances
- Spiritual fervour
- Passion, pride and emotions
- A monochronic view of time
- A respect for status
- The Guatemalan sense of humour: a keen and merciless sense of irony
4. Practical day-to-day information
- Focus on the host town
- Transport, administration, housing, security, hygiene and healthcare
- Social life, leisure activities, schools, extracurricular activities, sport
Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration in Guatemala
1. The Guatemalan corporate world
- A highly structured corporate environment with a clearly defined hierarchy
- Employment as a luxury
- The influence of foreign entrepreneurs on the country's economic dynamism
- The logic behind privileges
2. Effective communication with the Guatemalans
- Body language: a means of expressing trust and confidence
- Politeness and courtesy
- The vital role played by networking
- Guatemalan Spanish, English for business and the role of the interpreter
3. Working with Guatemalan teams
- Promoting trust by maintaining distance and impartiality
- The key qualities of a manager: qualifications and diplomacy
- Centralised decisions passed down via powerful intermediaries
- Supervising, verifying and advising
4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Guatemalans
- Cultivating your reputation in order to improve your credibility
- Giving relationships that personal touch
- Patience and perseverance: key factors when entering a restricted market
- The importance of the written word
5. Final handy tips
- Caution, patience and humility
- Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code
- Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion