Different cultural backgrounds affect communications everywhere, such as in classrooms, in government agencies and across management levels of an educational system, to name but a few. Bridging the communication differences between different cultures (or sub-cultures) is CCCS’ specialty. We work with our clients to develop inclusive, tailor-made approaches suitable to the needs of every context, always mindful of the needs and aspirations of every culture involved – and the overarching need to demonstrate RESPECT for each culture. On this page, we highlight the restorative justice and racial/ethnic equity services we offer.
For companies wanting to expand into new markets, CCCS offers cultural orientation and awareness services that help companies to examine important aspects of the social, political, and cultural contexts of the target country. Similarly, for multinational partnerships and collaborations, CCCS cultural orientation and awareness services include creating country profiles and briefing papers, contextualizing important trends for economic development projects. We also offer specialized cultural brokering services, including cross-cultural communication workshops: (e.g., “Working with Clients across Cultural Divides”) and diversity seminars (e.g., “Appreciating Internal Cultural and Ethnic Diversity”). CCCS also provides the following services for multinational partnerships and collaborations:
Misunderstandings and disputes between peoples of different countries and cultures is a common phenomenon in many contemporary business environments. CCCS Associates, hailing from a broad range of cultures, are trained to perform specialized brokering services for situations where cultures collide—to appraise ‘conflict’ situations and to facilitate dialogue, mitigation, and ultimately conflict resolution. CCCS is particularly experienced in negotiating the cultural dimensions of misunderstandings (e.g., between senior and middle management at the intersections between Asian and North American contexts).
CCCS cultural brokering and dispute resolution services helped Union Bay Apparel address major points of cultural conflict by aiding parties within the company to communicate their differing needs and interests to one another. Specifically, CCCS facilitated dispute resolution between the Chinese Owners/Senior Management and American Middle Management personnel of Union Bay Apparel Company by addressing major points of cultural contention, such as differing ways of showing respect, deference, as well as by communicating different needs and interests to each group in culturally appropriate terms and concepts.
CCCS supports diversity training and cultural awareness for North American educational institutions by helping to review and improve curricula in terms of diversity appreciation and social and emotional learning. We can help both schools and school districts by authoring guidebooks for teachers and school administrators, as well as by facilitating workshops for school staff to help improve cross-cultural communications.
Promoting multicultural awareness and sensitivity to diversity issues in schools is often a daunting mission for school boards and administrators. To help Washington State (USA) School Board Members and School Administrators to provide a supportive and inclusive learning environment for all children, CCCS helped WSSDA’s Diversity-Multicultural Advocacy Team author a guidebook specifically designed to help the leadership team carry out this challenging responsibility. The guidebook, “Cultural Diversity in School: A WSSDA Guide for School Board Members and School Administrators”—a National School Public Relations Association award winner—orients educators to issues of diversity, multicultural education, and ethnicity and proposes recommendations for making positive changes.
CCCS has developed a comprehensive cultural transformation and conflict resolution framework focused on public schools. We are now working with the NYCDOE to apply this Restorative Justice approach in schools with high suspension rates in order to fundamentally transform the social relationships between all the people in their buildings.
Spearheaded by renowned education specialist Matthew Guldin, former Dean of Students at East Side Community High School, CCCS is a proud co-creator and promoter of the 100% RESPECT! Campaign. Currently being implemented in several schools in New York City, this program aims to ensure that students, teachers, and administrators treat one another with full respect at all times. The 100% RESPECT! Campaign fits within the larger rubric of social-emotional learning, fostering the emotional growth of students, the professional growth of staff and establishing each school as a caring community.