subject: Future Of Intercultural Training [print this page] With the businesses growing global & the organizations dealing with clients & employees from different cultures, the need of Intercultural Training has become vital. Even a slightest of mistake can lead to heavy losses in businesses when dealing with the international clients. The Intercultural differences can cause or rather we should say that they are causing hindrances to smooth, successful business dealings, client relationships and ventures. Therefore, the businesses & employees are taking keen interest in the Intercultural training programmes to become proficient in their jobs & do good to the business. The Hr, CEO and other higher authority people along with the employees in an organization are taking part in Intercultural Trainings to become better at their jobs.
Today, there is a growing realization that the models on which trainers have relied for so long (such as Hall, Hofstede, Trompenaars et al) are not sufficient to describe the reality of our own experiences. The more liberal approach is that these models are a good starting point that can lay a foundation for a discussion; the more radical would argue that these models are so flawed as to be dangerous. I think it is nevertheless true to say that all those who are seriously engaged in intercultural training have some reservations.
This presents a dilemma: the greatest advantage of those models is that they are easy to explain, easy to present and easy to pass on, and, to trainers, most importantly, easy to sell. In a client meeting it is very easy to talk about the dimensions and how difficulties arise because person A is at the opposite end of the scale to person B. The post-modernist or constructionist position is much harder to sell if rules governing an interaction are co-negotiated in the realms of that interaction, and have little relevance beyond the framework of that interaction.
There is an important point here. Academic discussions and practitioner discussions have continued in isolation from each other, despite the attempts of organisations like SIETAR to bring the two together. But if the academic models upon which we have founded our industry are flawed, we need to return to academia to discuss the next step. And if academia is providing answers that are not practically relevant, academics need to turn to practitioners (i.e. trainers) to look at real answers.
This fundamental cultural clash at the heart of the Intercultural training field is being resolved as we speak: dialogues are starting, and answers will be coming soon, and discussions, like the ones at LinkedIn are increasingly an important tool in resolving our differences, with a view to creating a product that is not only desperately needed, but also has the authority of quality research supporting it.
The Intercultural Training brings in major benefits to a business such as increased productivity & efficiency, improvised communications & relationships with the International clients. With a proper training & guidance the employees can communicate better with the clients avoiding any misunderstandings & business losses. A significant advantage of an Intercultural Training is that it promotes long term business advantages. An organization with employees having the right skills, intercultural competence (attained by training) & industry exposure will definitely do good to the business. The future belongs to kind of organizations as they shall be feasible to tap in the innumerous bounties of the global economy. In a nutshell, there is a lot of scope of Intercultural Training. Infact, it is indispensible for a business in this competitive global economy. To know more about the Future of Intercultural Training visit http://www.deborahswallow.com/2010/05/24/future-of-intercultural-training/
