Intercultural Challenges of Remote Work: Practice and Research Today

Intercultural Challenges of Remote Work: Research and Practice Today

A virtual conference jointly organised by the London Centre for Business and Entrepreneurship Research (LCBER), LSBU Business School and the Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research (SIETAR, UK)

What is it all about?

Remote working and intercultural collaboration are two of the core challenges in a digital and globalised economy for employees, leaders, customers, trainers and students alike. The Covid19 pandemic has only sped up developments that were already well under way, and forecasts show that a majority of the workforce is likely to continue working remotely and adopt so-called ‘hybrid’ work models. At the same time, both a globalised market and the opportunities of digital media mean that many businesses and organisations have a multicultural workforce and client base.

In this timely conference, we bring together experts from both academia and practice to address the interface of intercultural collaboration and virtual work and to discuss the challenges and opportunities for research, training, and business practice. We want to reap the best of both worlds and support the mutual knowledge transfer across the business and academic communities that both LCBER and SIETAR represent.

What will I get if I attend?

From an academic perspective, Professor Karin S. Moser, Director of the London Centre for Business and Entrepreneurship Research (LCBER) and Professor of Organisational Behaviour at LSBU Business School, will give an opening keynote about current research on remote working and intercultural cooperation and provide research insights into what works, what doesn’t and why, based on her own and others’ research in virtual work and intercultural cooperation. This is followed by a research presentation on virtual teams and intercultural collaboration in teaching and education by Dr May Tungtakanpoung, Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and an expert in Intercultural Management, LSBU Business School.

From a practitioner perspective, Adrian Pilbeam, an expert in international communication from LTS Training & Consulting, will share his experiences of working in an international virtual team. Our second practitioner presentation focusses on how to build relationships and trust in a virtual and multicultural work context, by Seiji Nakano, Operational Manager & Learning Engineer, and Gabriela Weglowska, Learning Solutions Designer & Marketing Executive, both from WorldWork: Learning for Global Success.

Is there a Q&A opportunity?

There is a short Q&A after each presentation and a more in-depth panel discussion with all presenters to further explore the combined challenges of intercultural collaboration and virtual work and how to address them in busi-ness practice and research. In her closing keynote, Dr. Christina Butler, an expert in Global Work and Associate Professor at Kingston Business School, will draw out what we can take away for both practice and research for the future of work in a digital and multicultural world.

Who can attend? Anyone interested can attend, just register HERE for free via Eventbrite

Any questions? Please email busresearch@lsbu.ac.uk

Schedule

12.55pm - Welcome and Zoom functionality - Neil Hudson-Basing, Corporate Events Manager, LSBU

1pm – Conference Opening and Welcome Address

• Professor Karin S. Moser, Director, London Centre for Business and Entrepreneurship Research (LCBER)
• Adrian Pilbeam, President, Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research (SIETAR, UK)

1.15pm - Opening Keynote: What works, what doesn’t and why? Insights from current research on intercultural collaboration and virtual work - Professor Karin S. Moser, Director, London Centre for Business and Entrepreneurship Research (LCBER)

2pm - Research Presentation: Overcoming virtual and cultural barriers in teaching and education - Dr May Tungtakanpoung, Lecturer, LSBU Business School

2.30pm - Practitioner Presentation: Working in an international virtual team – learning from experience - Adrian Pilbeam, LTS Training & Consulting

3pm - Practitioner Presentation: How can we build rapport and trust in a virtual and multicultural team? - Seiji Nakano & Gabriela Weglowska, WorldWork: Learning for Global Success

3.30pm - Panel discussion and Q&A with all presenters

4.15pm – Closing Keynote: Where do we go from here, and what can we take away for both practice and research? - Dr Christina Butler, Associate Professor, Kingston Business School

5pm - Close

*Times according to GMT*

This event will be delivered virtually via Zoom and the joining instructions will be sent 2 days before the event takes place.