DAY 1

Welcome to the 12^th Intercultural Management Institute Annual Conference on Intercultural Relations Blog! Boy is that a mouth full. Now that I’m done getting that out, I’d like to tell you a little bit about my day. It started out with some delicious breakfast treats and shifted smoothly into an insightful workshop on Mastering the Art of Negotiating in the Military Environment. This was one of the highlights of my day, particularly because the presenters were so knowledgeable about the negotiation tactics and cultural aspects of the Department of Defense. I have been studying this very topic in one of my foreign policy classes and was thrilled to have an opportunity to get an insider look at how the DOD handles their business. I only hope that Mr. Eisen reached his daily quota of 10 lawyer jokes. If not, I’d like to help him by quoting famed architect Adison Mizner, “Ignorance of the law excuses no man – from practicing it.”

From the disciplined military presentation I passed to the world of international business at the workshop on Using Cross-Cultural Skills for Competitive Advantage led by Richard Linowes. This was a stimulating crossover conversation for me, as I have not personally been involved in international business but I have studied many of the same principles we discussed, including many of the cultural communication techniques that help businessmen to utilize culturally unique capabilities and practices.

Following a fantastic lunch and inspiring talk by Lara Logan, I had the pleasure of learning about the incorporation of cultural sensitivities in disaster relief operations. This talk, led by Professor Michael Caudill, was truly insightful and led me to think about how even in crisis situations, cultural understanding can be a vitally important factor in determining the success or failure of a given operation.

The last workshop that I had the pleasure of attending was led by Neal Goodman, a representative of Global Dynamics. His talk covered the basics of Knowledge Managements Systems and their crucial involvement in the diverse dealings of the present-day, multinational corporation or organization. This pragmatic approach to information distribution and appreciation could and should be incorporated into practically every organization which hopes to establish a culture of learning and improvement among its employees.

The day was an incredible learning experience and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds!