Module 1 : Successful personnal integration in Hungary

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 Hungarian culture

• An ageing, multi-ethnic population
• A major generation gap.  A high quality educational system
• The Hungarian diaspora: Hungarians overseas
• A once-great nation: the Hungarian temptation for nostalgia
• A promising but fragile economy
• The challenge of European integration
• A proud cultural and scientific heritage

3. Hungarian values and behaviour patterns

• The Hungarian art of living: pride in the table arts
• A people proud of their artistic tendencies and their appreciation of all things aesthetic
• A strong but relatively informal hierarchy: politeness and courteousness
• An organized and rigid attitude to time.  An aversion to risk
• The importance of education and qualifications

4. Practical day to day information

• Focus on the host town or city, ransport, administration, housing, security
• Widely varying medical facilities
• Social life, leisure activities
• Schools, extracurricular activities, sport

Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration in Hungary

1. The Hungarian corporate world

• A spirit of free enterprise combined with a Soviet heritage
• An extensive bureaucracy, observance of directives and procedures.
• Hungarian turnover: a factor to be taken into account
• The widespread practice of having two jobs

2. Effective communication with the Hungarians

• The complexity of the Hungarian language: the importance of the interpreter
• An emphasis on straight talking and interpersonal relationships: the importance of appearances
• Understanding unspoken messages and nuances:

3. Working with Hungarian teams

• The challenges of Hungarian management: building loyalty
• Recruiting the best people: an attractive contract of employment
• Individualism and conformity: patience and a willingness to listen
• Overcoming the “wait and see” attitude: effective decision-making
• Motivation and praise: effective delegation and control to avoid inertia

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Hungarians

• Making a good impression: punctuality, politeness and discipline
• Building trust: the special role of business meals
• The importance of written material in Hungarian
• Managing the post-negotiation phase: abiding by contracts

5. Final handy tips

• Courtesy and good humour
• Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code
• The finer points of Hungarian humour