Scott FitzGerald and Priscilla Muhlenkamp of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen, & Loewy, P.C. will present the latest developments in business immigration law, which could affect how you manage your foreign national employees on temporary work visas. Topics to be included are:
- Uncertainty, Screening, and Delays - Immigration procedures and processing in the aftermath of terrorism
- Impact of Economic Fluctuation and Layoffs
- Looking Ahead: INS Restructuring and Anti-Terrorism Initiatives
Whether your organization has 1 or 1,000 foreign nationals in temporary visa status, you will learn what you need to know to address immigration concerns in this new era.
HR Career Development SIG Kick-Off Meeting Scheduled!
Wednesday, July 24, 7:30 a.m.
Silver Diner in Reston
Mark your calendars for the kick-off meeting for the newly formed HR Career Development SIG to be held on Wednesday morning, July 24 at the Tysons Silver Diner. We’ll be collecting topics you’d like us to discuss at future bimonthly meetings as well as your ideas for potential facilitators who will guide us during each meeting. Some ideas we have so far include “Handling Ancillary HR Duties,” “Typical and Atypical HR Career Paths,” “Certification vs. Degrees,” “Resumes - What’s Hot,” and “Specialist vs. Generalist.”
There is no charge. We’ll begin at 7:30 a.m. and end no later than 9:00 a.m. Please contact co-chair Bernadette Gebhardt, Human Resources Manager at Martin’s Herend Imports, Inc., if you have questions or would like to join us ( bkgebhardt@earthlink.net or 703-723-1854).
Chapter Discussion Groups
How to Get Employees to Use Technology”
With Dick Gill, President, Gill & Piette, Inc.
Thursday, August 1
Location: Spherion, 1750 Tysons Boulevard, Suite 260, McLean
Come and learn all about getting over the technology hurdle with staff who may be resistant to change or new to technology. Dick will offer tips and advise you on how to get started, advance to the next step, and any other hot questions you may have. Attendance is open to the first lucky 12 who confirm with Cindy Loison at cloisonhr@aol.com.
Dulles SHRM’s monthly Discussion Groups are an excellent tool for learning about the latest trends and workplace practices across a variety of timely HR topics. Typically about a dozen chapter members attend. There is no charge. Click Here to check out our 2002-2003 Discussion Group schedule.
Directions to Spherion:
From the Beltway: Take Exit 46A (Route 123 South). Turn right onto Tysons Boulevard. (Beware, the two far right lanes after you turn are right turn only - you’ll need to go straight once on Tysons Boulevard.) You’ll pass a pink parking garage on your left and come upon three tall buildings (Deloitte & Touche, Ritz Carlton, and Tysons II). Turn left (in front of the sign for the Ritz Carlton) and follow the circle around to the parking garage with the number 1750. Park in this garage on Level 3 in an unmarked space.
From the Toll Road: Take the Route 123 South exit. Follow Route 123 to Tysons Boulevard. Make a right onto Tysons Boulevard and follow additional directions shown above.
Dulles SHRM Sponsors a Fall 2002 PHR/SPHR Study Group Using the Popular SHRM Learning System
Thinking about taking the PHR/SPHR exam?
Find the thought overwhelming?
Need the discipline of a regular “class” to motivate you?
“Yes” you say? Well, then, why not take the plunge and join fellow HR practitioners at the Dulles SHRM Chapter’s Fall Study Group?
For over 10 years, the Dulles SHRM Chapter has made the commitment to offer a low-cost, high-quality study group to help HR professionals prepare for the PHR/SPHR certification exam. We’re pleased to announce that we will be offering another study group this fall to prepare you for the 7 December 2002 exam.
We’re proud of our 85%+ pass rate, which far exceeds the national average. Once again, Eileen Taylor will be leading our study group with enhanced study materials using the SHRM Learning System.
Compare other programs to ours and see if you can beat the low cost and great results! We offer:
- SHRM Learning System materials
- 11 high-impact, motivating sessions focused on the body of knowledge covered in the exam
- Dynamic group discussions
- Support and encouragement of peers
- Experienced facilitator with proven results who prepares you for the test and brings practical knowledge that you may actually remember and apply after you take the exam
- Lower cost alternative in comparison with other exam prep courses
Class Schedule: Study sessions will be held on Thursday evenings from 6-8 p.m. Classes will extend from Thursday, September 12 to Thursday, November 21.
Registration: Enrollment extended to August 30, 2002
Cost:
Dulles SHRM Members: $600
National SHRM Members: $625
Non-SHRM Members: $650
(Add $100 to each cost item if you would like to use the SHRM Learning System CD in addition to the textbook.)
Register Now! For more information or to register, contact Karen Uhlir: kmuhlir@yahoo.com, 703-206-6804.
And, In Partnership With Mary Baldwin College
An Optional Choice for CEUs or College Credit
Dulles SHRM is partnering with Mary Baldwin College, which is offering the certification prep course at their new Sterling campus on Tuesday evenings from 6-9 p.m. from September 10 through November 19 with an all-day review course on Saturday, November 23. The MBC course, also taught by Eileen Taylor, offers the added advantage of MBC certification and CEUs as well as three semester hours of credit for students enrolled in MBC’s Adult Degree Program. The cost is $1,230 per person. You may learn more about the MBC program at www.mbc.edu/learninc
Other Options For Certification Prep
George Mason University/Shenandoah University
George Mason University is offering the fall prep course in Fairfax, Herndon/Dulles (CIT), Alexandria, Arlington, and Online. For details and costs, visit GMU’s website at www.ocpe.gmu.edu or call Sandra Meyers at 703-733-2800 or email Sandra at smeyers@gmu.edu.
You may also consider Shenandoah University’s Northern Virginia campus (located on Route 7 south of Leesburg) which is offering the prep course for 3.4 CEUs on Monday evenings from 6-9 p.m. from September 9 to November 25. The cost is $850 for SHRM members and $890 for non-SHRM members. The registration deadline is August 28. Learn more by visiting Shenandoah’s website at www.su.edu/cont-ed/shrm.asp or contact Chris Coutts at 703-779-9626 or email Chris at ccoutts@su.edu.
Board Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the Board meetings are available on our web site - please take a few minutes to review them in full. Click Here to View.
Diversity Portal Now Available
Check out the new additions to the Diversity section. Our Diversity Director Deidre Iannelli has added the Diversity Calendar and a Diversity Resource Page including our definition of diversity, the Dulles SHRM diversity mission statement, and links to numerous non-profit agencies serving the Northern Virginia area. More is coming!
Nominating Committee For 2003 Dulles SHRM Board
Member-at-Large Cornelia Gamlem is heading up the nominating committee for the 2003 Dulles SHRM Board to be headed by this year’s President-Elect Judy Perrault. If you’d like to submit your name or learn about options available to you, contact Cornelia (gamlem@erols.com).
Courses for Recertification Credit
This fall, George Mason University’s Office of Continuing Professional Education (OCPE) is offering two HRCI approved courses. Each class is approved for 12 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification:
Strategic Human Resource Management Online
October 8-29, 2002
Instructor: Paul Shibelski, SPHR
Road to Success: Ensuring Fair, Respectful & Lawful Employment Practices
November 5-6, 2002
Instructor: Cornelia Gamlem, SPHR
For more information, including course outline, or to register for these courses, you may call 703-733-2800, visit the George Mason website at www.ocpe.gmu.edu, or email Sandra Meyers at smeyers@gmu.edu.
Mark Your Calendars
Upcoming SHRM conferences and seminars:
- 2002 VA SHRM State Conference, October 9-11, 2002 in Roanoke, VA
Upcoming Meeting Topics
Upcoming meeting topics:
- August 21 - “What HR Professionals Need to Know About New Developments in Immigration” with Priscilla Muhlenkamp and Scott FitzGerald of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, PC
- September 18 - “Latest Trends in HR Technologies,” a panel presentation with representatives from the consulting world, private industry, SHRM HRTX, and academia
- October 16 - Leadership with Book Signing with Dr. Virginia Bianco-Mathis
- November 20 - “Annual Benefits Update” with Dave Downer, The Segal Group
- December 4 - Holiday Party with everyone
Techniques For Resolving Cross-Cultural Disputes
Bob Delaney, Courtesy of HR.com
Contributed by Deidre Iannelli, Dulles SHRM Diversity Director
From a business perspective, it’s valuable to have a workforce that is representative of the communities in which you do business. If you are a local business, and do most of your sales to a homogeneous client base, the need for cross-cultural representation in the workforce may be less than if you are a large international/interstate company that sells its products across cultural lines. Though this may be true, it is important to understand the benefits of cultural representation.
The value of cross-cultural representation in your workforce is that it adds to your ability to understand the product and marketing needs of your potential customers. Just like Mel Gibson in What Women Want, it is very difficult for those outside a general, or cultural group, to know the needs of others. Though it is always dangerous to generalize when discussing specifics, it is important to understand the potential for disputes to arise in our multi-cultural work environment. These disputes may involve the ordinary disputes that we as humans get ourselves into, and they may include those that are based on ignorance and a lack of understanding of other people.
The major sources of disputes involve roles, emotions, misinformation (and misinterpretation), and values. These will all be present in the workforce, whether there is a degree of cultural integration or not. The presence of various cultures may increase the potential for sources of conflict to come to the surface in a harmful way.
Culture can be a basis of our roles and values. A society that values the roles of women in the workforce will not see a contradiction between being a mother and a businessperson. This is an interpretation of values as applied to roles. Just as we Americans have our value and role systems, so also do other cultures.
Techniques
- Don’t assume that all disputes involving people of different cultures have a cultural component.
- Provide a thorough explanation of the dispute resolution process. Never assume that what you are saying is being understood.
- If feasible, draft documents in the language of all parties.
- Provide for or allow for use of interpreters.
- Respect the other person’s point of view.
- Ask for frequent expansion on points that are unfamiliar to you, especially if they relate to cultural issues.
- Investigate the cultural norms of the people who are involved in the dispute. It could be a matter of misunderstanding. This is also useful for validating cultural claims.
- Confront cultural discrimination in the workplace and show no tolerance for it.
- Highlight the presence of the various cultures at your work and foster understanding through cultural events. Tolerance is built on understanding.
- Recognize and investigate the cultural differences in the use of body language, emotion, and problem solving.
- Create opportunities for the parties to validate the concerns of each other. This includes the recognition and constructive expression of differences. Likewise, cultural similarities should be creatively sought out and highlighted.
- Educate those from other cultures on the values and norms of our society, so as to diminish the potential for cultural clash.
- Be patient, flexible, and willing to learn.
- Be creative in fashioning solutions. Think out of the box and encourage input on how things are done “over there.”
That’s all for this month unless you have any ideas or suggestions? This is your chapter - let us know what’s on your mind!
Nancy Streeter
President
Dulles SHRM
E-mail
