Advanced research methods in business - Dissertation Example

?Advanced Research Methods in Business Affiliation with more information about affiliation, research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact. Abstract Cross-cultural training- a concept which evolved after the process of foreign employee or the expatriate recruitment- is an inevitable factor of international business. In the present world of globalization, cross-cultural training has become the key concept of any international business. An intensive analysis of the concept of cross-cultural training is done using the works of different people including academicians, researchers etc. The aim of the research is identified to be to examine the different methods of cross-cultural training; to evaluate and find out the effect of CCT on the performance of foreign employees recruited by US company in China; to identify the problems faced and adjustment made by the foreign employees in China; and to identify the best method of cross-cultural training. The research will employ a quantitative method to achieve the objectives. The techniques that will be used include a quantitative performance appraisal and adjustment questionnaire that will be sending to participants via email. The participants will include 200 foreign employees- either US citizens or foreigners- who will be divided into group A and group B. Both the groups will be given different cross-cultural training. The research will be done as a comparative research and for this the performance appraisal and adjustment made by the participants will be taken twice- before and after training. Thesis Statement: To analyze the impact of two different forms of cross-cultural trainings on the overall performance and adjustment of foreigner employees in an American multi-national company that has opened a new subsidiary in China. Introduction: Cross-cultural training is an important concept and activity adopted in almost every international business in the present world. Cross-cultural training is always included in the business plan while entering an international market. The cross-cultural training is often given to a foreigner who is being recruited to the country where the business is started by the organization. The cross-cultural training includes different types of training which makes the employee eligible to work in the host country. In this world of globalization and liberalization, the scope for international business have raised and touched the sky thereby making room for more extensive cross-cultural training programs together with the increase in expatriate recruitment. The business corporate when extend their business at international level they face the problem of efficient and qualified employees. As a solution to this problem expatriate recruitment was adopted. The need for cross-cultural training has been identified since the inception of the process of expatriate recruitment. The cross-cultural training helps the employees to understand the cultural differences and to develop the ability to deal and interact effectively according to the culture and environment of the host country. Thus the cross-cultural training as a concept includes a variety of training programs which are a classified under various heads. All the training programs or training courses have the similar aim of developing awareness among the employees about the culture of the host country. The training is given according to the nature or culture of the country. The cross-cultural training which possess an important place in the business world is been interpreted variously by various people. “Cross-cultural training is defined as any planned intervention designed to increase the knowledge and skills of expatriates to live and work effectively and achieve general life satisfaction in an unfamiliar host culture (Wil Harzing & Ruysseveldt, 2004, p. 284). Paula Caligiuri et. al had identified the objectives of cross-cultural training from the works of different people like Brewster & Pickard, Black & Mendenhall, Kealey & Protheroe, and Earley. The cross-cultural training program is identified to have three main objectives. the first objective is to make the foreign employees able to identify the cultural behaviors in advance which is appropriate to be adopted and is suitable to perform it in the host country. The cross-cultural training should make the expatriates able to cope with the uncertain and unforeseen changes in the new country and take necvessary actions at the right time. Final objective of the cross-cultural training is to create within the expatriates a realistic mind to cope up with the conditions of the new country (Caligiuri et al. 2001, p. 358). Robert Bean (2006) in his work ‘The Effectiveness of Cross-Cultural Training in the Australian Context’ has studied the process of cross-cultural training and its effect on a country. He identified that “Cross-Cultural Training (CCT) is an important element in the development of individual and organisational cultural competence, which underpins the social cohesion and social capital of Australian society” (Bean, 2006, p. 1). The cross-cultural training process is being adopted by many organizations in the recent past. These organizations undertake the training process mainly with the aim of preparing the employees, who often belong to different culture, to interact with and understand the people of the host country who possess another culture. Bhawuk and Birslin (1992) state, “A practical conclusion for the content of cross-cultural training programs is that people can be encouraged to modify specific behaviours so that they are appropriate to the culture in which they find themselves and so that they will have a greater chance of achieving their goals” (Landis et al. 2004, p. 100). The objective of the cross-cultural training differs according to the need of the situation. Generally it is given with the aim of making the employees aware about the basic differences that exist in the culture, values and the communication mode of themselves and of the host country. Since the values and beliefs of one country along with its culture are closely linked with all fields or functions of the nation such as business, care should be taken while dealing with such matters. Any activity that is against the culture of the country may adversely affect the business relation with that country. The cross-cultural training gives the opportunity to interact with the opposite culture. according to Landy & Conte an attempt is made in the cross-cultural training to reduce the chance of happening any misunderstanding in cross-cultural interactions (Landy & Conte, 2010, pp. 353-355). The benefits of cross-cultural training have been analysed by various researchers. The positive effects of the cross-cultural training are numerous. On the basis of reviewing 25 years of cross-cultural training, Littrell, Salas, Hess, Paley, and Riedel (2006) concluded that cross-cultural training is effective in facilitating the success of recruiting foreign employees (York, 2010, p. 343). The success of expatriates is clear from the growth witnessed by various businesses after their recruitment. Another study that shows the benefits of cross-cultural training is done by Deshpande & Viswesvaran (1992) who in their study ‘Is cross-cultural training of expatriate managers effective? A meta analysis’ concluded that the evidences in the study prove that academicians should support cross-cultural training as an effective means of reducing expatriate failure. Further these academicians should be able to give confidence to the corporate leaders by solving their doubts about the affects of cross-cultural training (Landis et al. 2004, p. 130). The effectiveness of cross-cultural training has many evidences in the business world which is visible through their success. The cross-cultural training has succeeded in increasing the efficiency of the employees in relation to their adjustment to the diverse culture. In the process of understanding the benefits of cross-cultural training is a complex phenomenon. To study for analysing the real benefits of CCT needs to move out from the circle of expatriates to the outer world. “The focus on learning outcomes also moves beyond expatriate research that has commonly focused on ways to staff and manage those in international positions, such as pre-departure cross-cultural training (Burton-Jones et al. 2011, p. 107). The cross-cultural training varies in its type of approaches that are adopted by various organizations. The training requirement is based on the nature and culture of the host country and that of the expatriate. Landy & Conte observed that “a variety of different cross-cultural training approaches have been developed, including videos, brief orientation sessions led by consultants, and fully developed cross-cultural training programs” (Landy & Conte, 2010, pp. 353-355). One of the most researched and valid methods of cross-cultural training is the cultural assimilator, a written or computer-based tool for individual use that presents a collection of scenarios describing challenging, cross-cultural critical incidents (Triandis, 1995a). There is also increased interest in cross-cultural training that includes behavior modelling approaches based on social learning theory. Harrison (1992) examined the individual and combined effects of behaviour modelling and a cultural assimilator in the cross-cultural training of 65 U.S. government employees. He compared four groups: a control group and three groups that received respectively, a culture-specific assimilator (based on Japanese culture), behavior modelling training, and combined training that included the culture-specific assimilator and behavior modelling. The cross-cultural training is generally classified by the academicians into two- pre-departure training and post- arrival training” (Scullion & Collings, 2006, p. 118). Since living in a foreign environment is a complex task, pre-departure training can provide the international assignee with sufficient knowledge to survive but not excel. “This may be because cultural differences are best understood in post-arrival training sessions after they have been experienced by the expatriate” (Scullion & Collings, 2006, p. 120). Researches on the cross-cultural training have identified that after imparting the training program to the expatriates, the chances of their success has increased tremendously. The pre-departure training is found to be less successful than the post-arrival training. The pre-departure training will provide the expatriate with sufficient knowledge to survice in the new country but they will not be able to excel their talents. The difference in the culture can be understood only through real experiance and for this post-arrival training should be experienced by the expatriates (Scullion & Collings, 2006, p. 120). Researchers have dealt with various forms of cross-cultural training through their studies. Triandis (1995) observes that cultural assimilator is the widely used method of cross-cultural training. The cultural assimilator is found to be a convinient tool since this method includes the provision of giving a package to the trainees which consist of a number of incidents, alternatives, and explanations to study at their own pace. (Bhawuk & Brislin, 2000). Behavior modelling approach of cross-cultural training is another widely accepted method. Beitler in his study observed from the work of Harrison that the behavior modelling is one of the effective tool of cross-cultural trainig (Beitler, 2005, p. 10). “Kupka et al. (2008) list the following method used by German MNCs for preparing expatriates and their spouses for an overseas assignment, under their programmes of intercultural communication training: area briefings, lectures, books, movies, foreign language training in the classroom, case studies, culture assimilator, interactive foreign language training, role plays, field trips, simulations and others (cartoons, pictures, poems, jokes)” (Dickmann & Baruch, 2011, p. 158 China is one of the fastest developing countries of the world and an important market of all major industries and firms. After the implementation of LPG program, many new industries from all over the world have set up their industry in Chinese economy. This lead to an increase in the number of foreign employees in China and thereby an increase in the cross-cultural training programs. “China is a challenging destination for U.S. business expatriates as Chinese culture is distinctly different from most of the other countries in the world. The need for effective cross-cultural skills seems to be extremely urgent for U.S. expatriates going to China” (Guo, 2008, p. 9). A major difference between China and US is the language which creates the major communicative problem between the countries. The success of expatriate recruitment and henceforth that of the company lies in the form of cross-cultural training that is given to the employees. The need for cross-cultural training was identified due to the increased rate of expatriate failure. Studying the Chinese culture needed an intensified training since the culture forms a prominent part of all the activities of the country. In this paper an attempt is made to examine and find out the effect of different methods of cross-cultural training on the performance of the foreign employees. The best method of cross-cultural training can help in increasing the performance of the foreign employees recruited to the host country. The paper also examines the adjustments made by the foreign employees in the host country. The research is done to analyze the different forms of cross-cultural training and how they help the foreign employees. 1. Aims and Objectives: 1. To examine the different methods of cross-cultural training imparted to foreign employees or expatriates. 2. To evaluate and find out the effect of CCT on the performance of foreign employees recruited by US company in China. 3. To identify the problems faced and adjustment made by the foreign employees in China. 4. To identify the best method of cross-cultural training. 2. Method: The methodology that will be used in this paper will be to evaluate the performance and identify the adjustments made by the participants before and after the imparting of different type cross-cultural training method. The research will be a comparative study of the performance appraisal and adjustment made by the foreign employees before and after training. The methodology part includes an overview of the research design to be used, the participants that will be taken for the research, materials that will be used for the research and the procedure through which the research will be completed. The research method that will be used is quantitative technique. A quantitative performance appraisal of the foreign employees who will be the participants of the research will be done. An adjustement questionnaire will be used to measure the ajustments made by the participants. The quantitative method will be supported by a sound literature review. 2.1 Research Design Overview: The performance of the participants before and after the different cross-cultural training will be evaluated using performance appraisal that will be collected from the US Company. Like wise the adjustment done by the participants are analysed using an adjustment questionnaire which is send to the participants directly through email. The variables that will be used in the research are two different forms of cross-cultural training- Cross-cultural training A and Cross-cultural training B- and Performance and adjustment of two groups. The participants are the foreign employees recruited by the US multi-national company in their new subsidiary in China. These participants are divided into two groups and are provided different cross-cultural training by the company. The procedure of the research will be to do a comparative analysis of the performance appraisal and adjustment of the participants before and after training. The entire project is estimated to take a time period of 3 to 4 months. To collect the first data before training will require a time of 15 days. Then a gap of 2 months is given for training. The second data collection again requires 15 days. Then a month is allotted to analyse the data collected and interpret it using relevant tools. 2.2 Participants: The participants of the research are the foreign employees of the US Company who are being recruited to the new subsidiary of the company in China. The employees recruited are either US citizens or foreigners and no native Chinese citizens are included. The research is done by taking 200 foreign employees of the US Company in China. These 200 employees are divided into two groups- group A and group B- of 100 each based on the cross-cultural training they receive. The cross-cultural training given to the participants are different- cross-cultural training A and cross-cultural training B. The participants will be subjected to analysis for two times- before and after training. The research participants are often subjected to ethical issues that may effect the relation between the countries. One of the major ethical issues that the participants may face in China is the entirely different system of law that may create a problem for their active performance. The other ethical issues that arise in a cross-cultural recruitment of employees are campaign against the laws and rules, bribery done by the foreign employee, intentionally selling the defective goods, malpractices in accounts, disgracing of the culture of China and other acts that is against the law, culture and values of the country. Any unethical behaviour on the part of foreign employees can lead to serious problems. 2.3 Materials: The materials to be used in the research will be to evaluate the performance appraisal of the participants who are the foreign employees recruited by the US company in their subsidiary in China. The performance appraisal will be used to measure the performance of the foreign employees in the new subsidiary. The performance appraisal will be quantitative in nature since the research is based on quantitative method. For the purpose of analysing the performance of the foreign employees, the performance statement of the subsidiary company after the recruitment of these employees is analysed. The adjustment made by the foreign employees will also be measured in the research. The materials used in the research will be adjustment questionnaires for analysing and evaluating the adjustment made by the foreign employees in China. These questionnaires will be sending to the participants via email. The questionnaire will be framed with taking care to include questions that clearly reveal the experience, problems faced and adjustment that the foreign employees has made in the new country- China. The questionnaire will include both close ended and open ended questions. The open ended questions will give the participants a chance to reveal completely their experience in the new country and the problems they face there. Other than questionnaire and quantitative data that will be obtained from the company, other materials that will be used include the sources like books, articles, journals, internet etc. which will be used to form a sound literature review that will support the research. To check the reliability and analyse the data collected, various statistical tools will be used. 2.4 Procedure: The study will be carried out using the performance appraisal and adjustment questionnaire send to the participants via email. A comparative study of the performance and adjustment of the foreign employees recruited in China will be done. The performance appraisal and the adjustment of the participants will be measured based on the Chinese environment. The performance appraisal of the participants will be taken after the 2 months of the recruitment of foreign employees in the new subsidiary of the US multi-national company in China. Similarly, the adjustment made by the participants will be analysed by sending an adjustment questionnaire to the participants via email after 2 months of their appointment. After that the participants will be given cross-cultural training in the manner- group A will be given cross-cultural training A, and group B will be given cross-cultural training B. The same procedure of data collection will be done again after another 2 months of training and will measure their performance of and adjustment made by the participants. The participants will be given clear instructions on filling the questionnaire. The participants will be debriefed about the research pattern and how they have to cooperate with the research. The performance and adjustment before and after the training will be compared in order to know whether or not the cross-cultural trainings have an impact on the performance and adjustment of the participants. Also the performance and adjustment of the two groups will be compared in order to know the differences between the two forms of training so we can choose the best one. Reference List Bean, R. (2006). The Effectiveness of Cross-Cultural Training in the Australian Context. Cultural Diversity Services Pty Ltd. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/research/cross_cultural/Contents_Executive_Summary.pdf Beitler, M. (2005). Expatriate Training & Support. Mikebeitler.com. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://www.mikebeitler.com/freestuff/articles/Expatriate-Training.pdf Bhawuk, D. P. S. & Brislin, R. W. (2000). Cross-Cultural Training. Delhi Business Review. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://www.delhibusinessreview.org/v_1n1/dbrv1n1b.pdf Burton-Jones et al. (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Human Capital. Oxford University Press. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=84DgXQ8mq50C&pg=PA107&dq=Morris+and+Robie+(2001)&hl=en&ei=eValTt-DJMT3rQeL2az4CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=The%20focus%20on%20learning%20outcomes%20also%20moves%20beyond%20expatriate%20research%20that%20has%20commonly%20focused%20on%20ways%20to%20staff%20and%20manage%20those%20in%20international%20positions%2C%20such%20as%20pre-departure%20cross-cultural%20training%20(Morris%20and%20Robie%2C%202001&f=false Caligiuri et al. (2001). The Theory of Met Expectations Applied to Expatriate Adjustment: The Role of Cross-Cultural Training. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://chrs.rutgers.edu/pub_documents/Paula_9.pdf Dickmann, M. & Baruch, Y. (2011). Global Careers. Routledge. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=zxTWEMUq0bUC&pg=PA158&dq=Kupka+et+al.+(2008)&hl=en&ei=mFSlTo7RM87PrQer3uncAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CF4Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Kupka%20et%20al.%20(2008)&f=false Guo, X. (2008). Intercultural Training Models for U.S. Businesses in China. ProQuest Information and Learning Company. Retrieved Oct. 26, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=AorIOeVA3KEC&pg=PA13&dq=cross-cultural+training+in+China&hl=en&ei=X7OmTu-sGsTQrQe61djeDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CEsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false Landy, F. J. & Conte, J. M. (2010). Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 3rd Edn. Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=1K1rnp9uAscC&pg=PA353&dq=cross-cultural+trainings&hl=en&ei=uDqlTtywGMTUrQfP7cDsAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=There%20is%20also%20increased%20interest%20%20in%20cross-cultural%20trainin&f=false Landis et al. (2004). Handbook of Intercultural Training. SAGE Publications. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=wjy02V19UwMC&pg=PA130&dq=Deshpande+%26+Viswesvaran&hl=en&ei=_1GlTqq9Non3rQeB9vHyAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false Scullion, H. & Collings, D. G. (2006). Global Staffing. Routledge. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=E1z9H2ub6rMC&pg=PA120&dq=sanchez+et+al+and+cross-cultural+training&hl=en&ei=CF6lTq-XDYmsrAe_2fjdAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=This%20may%20be%20because%20cultural%20differences%20are%20best%20understood%20in%20post-arrival%20training%20sessions%20after%20they%20have%20been%20experienced%20by%20the%20expatriate&f=false Wil Harzing, A. & Ruysseveldt, j. V. (2004). International Human Resource Management. SAGE Publications Ltd. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=KzzD6JF5F3YC&pg=PT303&dq=Tung+(1987)+cross-cultural+training&hl=en&ei=U1ilTr7HIMKJrAfVnezcAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Tung%20(1987)%20cross-cultural%20training&f=false York, K. M. (2010). Applied Human Resource Management: Strategic Issues and Experiential Exercises. SAGE Publications. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=zX1Yg7BKC0cC&pg=PA343&dq=Littrell,+Salas,+Hess,+Paley,+and+Riedel&hl=en&ei=4VClTo2NA4m0rAeV_KWKAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Littrell%2C%20Salas%2C%20Hess%2C%20Paley%2C%20and%20Riedel&f=false Read More