Working Abroad: Bridging the Culture Gap
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"Want to work abroad? Who doesn't!! Well, you'd better work on your coding skills, brush up on your algorithms, master requirements analysis and systems architecture, and catch up with the latest technologies. Well, this talk is about none of that!! But It is about everything else you need in order to make a smooth transition to a foreign work environment. Through a bunch of anecdotal evidence, the talk covers many differences between the work culture in foreign countries, in particular the US, and the local (Egyptian) culture. The goal is to help you understand the culture gap and prepare you for making the required jump across it!
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Working Abroad: Bridging the Culture Gap
- 1. Working Abroad Bridging the Culture Gap Ayman Mahfouz July 2015
- 2. Presenter Ayman Mahfouz ● Vice President, Engineering at Webalo ● Graduate of CS Department 1997 ● 15 years developing enterprise software in the US ● PhD “Requirements-Driven Adaptation of Choreographed Interactions”
- 3. What is Webalo? The User Agent for the Internet of Things
- 5. Disclaimer This presentation is based on anecdotal evidence!
- 6. Expectation vs. Reality Culture Gap Misunderstanding Distractions Frustrations Stress Be Successful Be Happy!
- 8. Company – Process – Ownership • Don’t be the weakest link • Treat company assets as if your own. • Observe copyright and licenses. • Security. Security. Security! • Own the product • Consider the product as your son. • Don’t act as just an employee! • Quality! Quality! Quality!
- 9. Company – Process – Initiative • Don’t wait till getting asked to do the obvious! “Should I fix this bug?” • Consult but also take steps independently • Exercise care but don’t be afraid of making mistakes
- 10. Company – Process - Communication • Oral • Written • Requirements • Specification • Meeting notes • Email • Status report • Etc. • Face-to-face • Telecomm Communication is harder. Errors are more costly!
- 11. Company – Process - Conflict • Give constructive criticism: • Criticize artifacts not people! • Take any criticism: • Nothing is personal! • Focus on solutions: • Don’t play the blame game!
- 14. Company – People – Privacy Respect Privacy! Don’t! There are TWO aspects to a person. Separate between them.
- 15. Company – People – Finance Co-workers • Private property is sacred • Hard-earned money! • Borrowing and returning • Co-worker or friend? • “My treat” Boss • Discussing salary • Not all are equal! • Asking for a raise
- 16. Company – People – Relations Roads WILL cross again Ultra-connected world Don’t! Exit Gracefully!
- 18. Society – Diversity Diversity is a goal rather than a problem
- 19. Society – Tolerance Foes at lunch!
- 20. Society – Equality • Your skills are what matters • Your value to the society • Seniority not based on age Race & Religion Gender You know what! • Fight for your rights • Discrimination exists but is illegal! • Don’t accept discrimination
- 21. Society – Community • Continuity • Give back • Teach as you were taught • Community • Stronger together. • Win-win-win
- 22. You – Honesty Why was he impeached?
- 24. You – Working Hard Do your best! Don’t just rely on your intelligence!
- 25. You – Balance In a work-centered culture you need to find your sweet spot.
- 26. You – Act “Normal”! • You are who you are! Don’t be shy from your origins or traditions The “Dash” contract Don’t try to do something just to “fit in”. Usually, there is no dress code.
- 27. You – Profile • Build a profile Programming contests Side projects Open source Blog some articles Personal Web site Social connections LinkedIn StackOverflow Quora Keep Learning! • New languages • Technologies • Online courses Keep Improving!
- 28. You – Follow Your Dreams • No social support: Find out who you really are. • Land of Opportunity: Take (calculated) risks when you still can. • Explore: Don’t be afraid to take an unusual path. • Believe in yourself! • Failure is not a shame but experience!
- 29. Summary You Company Society BeTolerant Be Reliable Be Ambitious