Effectiveness of Cross-Cultural Training Forms - Research Paper Example

? Managing across Cultures Introduction In an organizational setting which is rapidly evolving, firms have started giving a grave thought on how to boost effectiveness within companies. In order to achieve objectives and goals, firms are evaluating methods and strategies both for inside and well as external administration. The working approach of each firm is unique and this frequently contributes to the culture. The principle, beliefs, ideologies and values of a firm constitute its culture. A workplace culture controls employee behaviour within and outside the organization. As a result of its influence, culture management across organizations has started getting importance in business terms and is currently the one of the most evaluated subject for business analysts researchers and. In the present study culture will be studied with respect to its various dimensions researched by known people. Few of the organizational behaviour and cultural theories will also be discussed in detail Critical analysis of theory and research Culture plays a major role in characterizing the environmental context in which firms operate and decide, chose strategies and structures. A culture essentially consists of the expectations, experiences, philosophies and values ingrained and the elemental brinks which holds an organization or an association together (Bennett, Aston and Colquhoun, 2000). In broader terms organizational culture comprises of visions, norms, working languages, systems, beliefs, symbols and habits. Since individuals work together in an organization as a team with a common goal of completing the job, the culture created in a firm will help the team members in understanding each other more successfully (Olsonand Kroeger, 2001). Hofstede defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others” (Hofstede et al., 1990). Hofstede established a model capturing culture based on critical values known as cultural dimensions. The major dimensions of the model are; Power Distance (PDI) - It describes the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations expect and accept the fact that power is shared out unequally. Individualism (IDV)- It is the degree individuals are integrated with groups Masculinity and Femininity (MAS) - Masculinity represents society’s preference towards heroism, achievement, assertiveness as well as material rewards. On the other hand, Femininity refers preferring modesty, cooperation and care for underprivileged and weak and improving quality of life. Society is both competitive and consensus oriented (Hofstede and McCrae, 2004). Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) - it is the tolerance of a society towards ambiguity and uncertainty. It expresses the tendency of feeling uncomfortable with risks and unexpected changes. countries showing strong UI have rigid belief codes while weak UI society have more tranquil attitudes where practice is given more preference than principles Long term and Short term orientation- long term orientation refers to the society and their individual’s explore for virtues. On the other hand, short term orientation refers to preference for absolute truth. They are normative thinkers and exhibit respect for traditions. Another model of cultural dimensions was given by Trompenaars. He classified cultures according to a mix of value and behavioral patterns. The research was particularly focused on business executives. Seven value orientations were evaluated. The seven dimensions were particularism versus universalism, individualism versus communitarians, emotional versus neutral, specific versus diffuse, ascription versus achievement, nature-human relationship and nature-time relationship. Trompennar’s work primarily focuses on sociology and includes two measurements for attitudes which were environment and time. Researchers have divided Trompennars theory into two different aspects. There are three ways to handle cultural problems and five individual dimensions. Edward hall also put forward concepts of low context and high context cultures. The context has been defended in terms of physical environment, status differences, power relationships as well as non-verbal communication. In high contextual cultures, the context of message has been considered for decoding the message. In these cultures individuals have a deep involvement with each other. Conversely, in low contextual cultures more explicit and less dependent cultures dominate (Schwartz and Bardi, 2001). The examined models of cultural dimensions offer both complementing and conflicting arguments. There are some similarities between Trompennars and Hofstede’s model while other models are majorly different. Certain degree of criticism is also associated with these models. The low and high cultural contexts of Hall are pointed out for insufficient empirical works and peer review (Minkov, 2007). Hofstede’s cultural dimensions is considered as ignorant, overly simplistic compared to critical cultural differences as for having limited sample The seven dimensional models received criticism for not being hold by the Hofstede database and thus invalid (Hofstede et al., 1998). In the present global environment, organizations are becoming increasingly diverse and as a result, cultural interactions have become unavoidable and necessary aspect of the business. These cultural dimensions have several implications on business practices and organizational functions (House, Wright and Aditya, 1997). Cultural practices as well as values of an organization affect the leaders. The original leaders in an organization enact global leadership behavior patterns which in turn are followed by their subordinates and juniors. Thus, it is clear that having a culturally diverse leadership background helps the entire organization to become global. Multinationals and the role of expats While taking up multinational projects, it is important for organisations to evaluate the various cultural influences on the expatriate as well as team members in the host country nationals. There are various complexities associated with international assignments. In order to sustain operations in any international business, knowledge of cultural dimensions and its various inferences are critical. Before sending expats for international assignments, recruitment and selection of the right candidates is important. This includes training and development facilities for the expatriate employees, compensation factors, career and re-entry issues and well as preparation of the families of the expatriate. Multinational projects include individuals moving from one country to another country for project completion known as expats. It is clear that risk exposure is very much pronounced in these assignments. Apart from security and health concerns, expats also face threats like terrorism. Thus, international policies must consider these aspects while selecting and preparing expatriates for international assignments. Few of the strategies which can be used are right selection and recruitment and proper performance appraisal process. A basic recruitment and selection process includes a serious of steps with the objective of finding appropriate talent or candidates for a particular job profile. Human capital is one of the most important assets of an organisation and it is critical to acquire the right talents for the performing particular tasks (Bonache and Brewster, 2001). Performance can be described as a systematic evaluation of employee performance and understanding of employee abilities for further development and growth. The process of performance appraisal takes place in various phases like performance evaluation by supervisors as well as HR managers, final appreciation and feedback system. From the above discussion, it is clear that for expatriates to adapt to other cultures and improve the management of organisations, they will need at least three competency sets. These are cultural, communication competencies and competencies that are adaptation related. These competencies are essential for management effectiveness as well as making decisions and communications across cultures (Bhawuk and Brislin, 2000). Cultural competencies enable expatriates to effectively relate with individuals and groups from the host society. This helps in strengthening understanding and interpersonal relations. Cultural competencies will include both self-knowledge as well as culture specific. Cultural knowledge includes ideas about the host country’s revolution, market patterns and historic values. Competencies related to communication include knowledge of universal language as well as communication which can be culturally accepted by individuals coming from different societies (Kealey and Protheroe, 1999). Communication competencies can be increased by interacting in both formal and informal ways with the employees, colleagues, clients or partners. Before starting the international assignment, the expat can also go for cross-cultural communication training specific to the host country. Competencies related to adaptation are crucial as they help the expatriates in adapting themselves to the management and technical knowledge for effective operation in host culture. These include skills such as successful passing of the transition phase, coping with personal problems and adapting oneself in an effective and culturally appropriate manner. For expats having a strong ambition for international carrier, understanding of the cultural aspects as well as having cultural intelligence is of critical importance. The concept of cultural intelligence refers to the capability of an individual to manage and function is an effective manner in setting and environment which is culturally diverse (Earley and Ang, 2003). Cultural intelligence is not limited to social and emotional aspects but also stretches to various sophisticated skills such as cognitive and meta-cognitive, behavioral and motivational dimensions (Kim, Kirkman and Chen, 2008). Cross cultural interactions require specific skills which are labeled as cultural intelligence (Shaffer and Miller, 2008). It can be present collectively or individually in an organization. For an individual to acquire sufficient cross-cultural knowledge, extensive training is required. These trainings can include negative and positive aspects of the host country, which can help in increasing cultural intelligence (Triandis, 2006; Shokef and Erez, 2008). Attributes which are connected to possession of cross-cultural knowledge and intelligence include interpreting verbal cues from individuals of various cultures and making right social deduction during conversations. Another skill attributed to cultural intelligence is the ability of reaching social objectives with the help of cultural negotiations which is based on the individuals own acceptance and understanding of the host country and its culture (Ascalon, Schleicher and Born, 2008). In order to develop intercultural relationships, it is very important for cross cultural teams to overcome various communication challenges faced during the operations and interaction. The first one is personality conflict which occurs due to ego clashes, interpersonal tension and anger between members of different team (Forster, 2000). Personality conflicts can be handles through formal and informal interaction between the team members of different cultures. Another important challenge is indirect versus direct communication. It involves cultural differences such as preference for confrontation and open disagreement while communicating or a consensus based approach. This difference in communication can have a serious impact of the interpersonal relationship among cross-cultural teams (Caligiuri et al., 2001). This can be reduced using proper interaction sessions between the teams. The organizations can also use a liaising agent such as a trainer who can discuss the importance and influence of direct and indirect messages among the teams. Another requirement for developing intercultural relationships is building decision making and problem solving norms. Decision making approaches can vary from one culture to another. In order to avoid conflicts, a definite goal as well as pathway should be maintained. Multi-culture awareness is critical for identification of issues well as evaluating strategies in order to leverage the differences. A major requirement of multi-cultural awareness is providing multi-cultural training facilities (Landis, Bennett and Bennett, 2004). The personal and cultural background of the expatriates can be influential in their acts and behaviors. Differences can occur in various areas including attitude towards conflict, communication, task approaches and styles for decision making. Until and unless these differences are realized internally, problems will continue and intensify. In order to raise multi-cultural awareness and decrease the impact of stereotyping, various actions can be implemented. Building cultural knowledge among themselves and others. Expatriates as well as host country employees will have to try learning more about foreign cultures as well as discuss with employees and colleagues during informal meetings. Increasing listening skills and well as establishing interaction training is a good way of identifying inner flaws and misunderstandings as well as taken proper actions. Withholding assumptions and avoiding blame game. One culture’s conclusion might not relate with another one. Thus, restraining from quick conclusion will definitely aid in intensifying multi-cultural relationships and diminishing stereotypes. Summary Cross cultural training forms an important aspect for global assignments and maintenance of global partnerships among firms. From the above study, it can be concluded that proper and planned cross-cultural training and induction will have a definite positive influence on the overall adjustment process of the expatriate as well as facilitate in the proper execution of the training. Reference List Ascalon, E., Schleicher, D. J. and Born, M., 2008.Cross-cultural social intelligence – An assessment for employees working in cross-national contexts. Cross Cultural Management,15(2), pp. 109-130. Bennett, R., Aston, A. and Colquhoun, T., 2000. Cross-cultural training: A critical step in ensuring the success of international assignments. Human Resource Management, 39(2), pp. 239-250. Bhawuk, D. P. S. and Brislin, R. W., 2000. 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