subject: Cross-cultural Training And Its Benefits [print this page] What is Cross Cultural Training? What is Cross Cultural Training?
Cross Cultural Training is defined by Bennet as the knowledge, skill and motivation to communicate effectively and appropriately in a wide variety of cultural contexts. In other words, this training provides an individual or an expatriate to cope with cultural diversity and work in a foreign environment. This idea was introduced almost three decades ago and has now found a permanent place in most businesses and corporate sectors that do not wish to be left behind in the era of globalization.
Cross Cultural Training can be classified into two approaches:
1. Cross Cultural Awareness Training This training creates awareness and emphasizes the manifestations of culture, and at the same time hopes to overcome the challenges qualitatively.
2. Culture/Country Specific Training The countries include China, Germany, India, Latin America, Russia, UK and USA among others.
The methods employed for cross cultural training are as follows:
1. The training material should emphasize on soft skills and emotional maturity, including avoiding cultural stereotypes, being non-judgemental and biased, cultivate empathy and be open-minded and flexible towards the new culture.
2. Training can be in the form of lectures, seminars, simulation and focus on specific aspects like conception of time, linguistic barriers and contexts, awareness of different business practices, better interpersonal relations and technical skills.
3. Some of the renowned methods include cultural assimilator, contrast American method, self-reference criterion, area simulation and the cultural self-awareness model.
4. Material may also include videotapes, CDs, workbooks and websites.
5. Specific skills courses may be in the form of business and culture, inter-cultural etiquette, team building, HR courses, customer services, sales courses, negotiation and management training, etcetera.
The process of acculturation has the following phases as proposed by Nicola and Rhinesmith:
1. Initial elation and optimism of the host country;
2. Period of frustration, stress and confusion due to lack of understanding about what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate behavior.
3. Period of optimism and satisfaction due to increased adaptability;
4. Mastery stage
Rhinesmith proposed three stages:
Flight The individual goes into a shell;
Fight Becomes hostile towards the host country;
Adaptation Understands the essential cultural differences that exist.
Some of the most important advantages of Cross Cultural Training are as follows:
1. This training benefits the organization as well as the employee, since the organization reaps its rewards in the form of better work output, and the employee is guaranteed a boost in his/her morale and confidence levels.
2. An individual is able to leave behind his home culture and personal beliefs and value systems, and becomes better equipped to adapt and accept a new culture. Culture shock is curbed and with this, the ensuing depression, stress and frustration that an individual usually undergoes. Cross cultural training reduces psychological stress and makes the individual more acclimatised to uncertainty and a changing work environment.
3. Cross cultural training provides a perfect bridge in terms of the individual or employee and the host country. It helps in effecting a smooth transition from ones pre-existing social system to embracing a different work culture that encapsulates social, political and cultural changes.
4. By doing away with cultural stereotypes, cross cultural training showcases the possibility of finding a common ground to overcome cultural differences. It makes cross-cultural business relations smoother and effective, by warding off the negative impact of relocation.
5. By learning about the host countrys beliefs and values, an individual creates better cultural awareness and this strengthens bonds of mutual trust and co-operation. It also enhances clearer communication and understanding.
Cross cultural training has thus revolutionized and revamped an individuals understanding of the host country and has fostered better cultural relationships.
