Chapter 4: (of IHRM)

Training and Development (Cross cultural Training)

Dr. Shyamal Gomes
Introduction:
Training is the process of
altering employees behavior, attitudes and knowledge in a
way that increases the probability of indi
vidual and organizational goal attainment.
Training aims to improve employees
current work skills and behavior.
Where as
Development is a continuous improvemen
t process towards objectives. Aims to
increase over all abilities of employees in
relation to some future position or jobs.
What is cross cultural training?
For International assignment, once a MNCs
selected a person ( whether CEO,
Manager, structured reproducer, trouble s
hooter or operator) expatriate training is
considered to be the next crucial step to
ensure the expatriates effectiveness and
success abroad This is also called Cro
ss Cultural Training (CCT). CCT is a process
of orientation and skill improvement
mainly on HOST CULTURE and WORK LIFE
BEHAVIOR.
Fundamental difference be
tween Training and CCT?
Training
Cross Cultural Training
Based on management
philosophy, the training
could be organized any
where and for every one.
Based on management philosophy but
highly concentrate on staffing
approach:
Ethnocentric Parent country
Poly centric Host country
Geocentric Best suited areas
Re-geocentric Any where
Types of CCT:
Environmental briefing geography
, climate, housing, and schools.
Cultural orientation cultural institutions, value systems of the host county.
Cultural assimilators - in
ter cultural encounters.
Language training comm
unication effectiveness
Sensitivity training to develop attitudinal flexibility.
Field experience to make the expatriate familiarize with the challenges of
assignment.
Significant of CCT :
As companies now a days are go global, there arises the need for training
employees
for international assignment. Because:
Training aims to improve in relation to
some future position or job, usually
managerial. When expatriates are unfamiliar with the customs, cultures and
work habits of the local people, they
often make critical mistakes, which can
be avoided by providing th
em with proper training.
Effective training can prevent many errors
and minimise the impact of others.
Some of the biggest complaints agai
nst expatriates revolved around personal
shortcomings in areas such as polite
ness, punctuality, sensitivity, reliability,
tolerance and empathy.
Effective training programmes can also im
prove overall management style. In
terms of leadership, the locals would like their expatriate managers to be
friendly, more accessible, supportive
and receptive to sub ordinates
suggestion.
Habits and practices relating to
work motivation, profit motivation,
negotiation skills, gift giving customer
s, eating and dressing, body gestures
etc. are vary from one culture to another.
It is essential,
employees trained to
handle these nuances before
being posted to overseas.
To attain long term organizational goals
To minimize the cost of expatriate
failure (which is very costly).
Bridging the cultural gaps between the host country and parent country
organization.
Recognizing that orientati
on / induction challenges are
different for the parent
and the host unit.
Ensuring the organizational
success is critical in achievement of the global
objectives
Establishing and retaining advantag
es over international competitors
Building a single organizational cultur
e across its subsidiaries.
Systematic Process of CCT:
R & S
Training
Developm
ent
Internatio
nal
Pre departure
Training
International
Assignment
Post departure or
Re entry training
There are two phases of expatriate training:
Preparatory training for foreign
assignment (Pre departure).
Re entry training (Repatriation)
Overseas assignment training comes under development part
In order to develop and design effectiv
e training, companies must implement a
system approach which includes:
1.
Analysis of training needs of target population
2.
Establishing training goals
3.
Careful training design
1. Target population or ideal pe
ople: Based on 6 competencies:
Leadership skill
Initiative
emotional stability
Motivation
Ability to handle responsibility
Cultural sensitivity
To handle stress
Flexibility.
2. Training Goal:
The goal of cross cultural tr
aining should be to equip th
e trainees with knowledge,
skills and attitudes which enable them achie
ve the following three adjustments and
effectiveness which are indicat
ors of international success:
Personality adjusted, i.e he / she f
eels happy and satisfie
d with situation
abroad.
Professionally effective if he performs
his tasks, duties and responsibilities on
the job completely.
Inter personally adjusted and effective if
he takes interest in interacting with
locals capably.
4.
Design of Training:
Levels of training which MNCs are to ensu
re for success of overseas assignments can
be summarized as under:

First level training to focus on lear

ning about host countrys culture,
language, politics, business, geograph
y, religious values and history.
Through seminars, videos, meetings w
ith citizens of the country before
assignment begins.

Second level training deals about a

ssignment itself. Requirements of
the position technical, manage
rial knowledge needed company
officials can do that before leaving.

Third level training deals with pr

eparing him for new job at new
location to be done by whom he is replacing.

Forth level training how he / she adjusts and adapts to new
environments, by providing assistance.

Fifth level training addresses re en

try back home and contact with
people at home and visit home during vacation
Therefore, Training and development of in
ternational staff should be approached
as a
process
and not as a one time even
just prior to departure.
Training and development of internati
onal staff must be viewed in the
light of
complete deployment cycle
, and the same will be most effective when linked to
systematic career development plans.
What is deployment cycle fo
r international assignments?
CCT Strategy:
Training strategies bridge
the gap between the capabilities of the individual hired
and the role / responsibiliti
es of the job that he / she is being hired for:
The four strategies of CCT are:
1.
MNCs may make use of expatriates fo
r short term (ST) and long term
international assignment.
2.
The staffing orientation that is adopte
d in the subsidiary unit influence the
training impetus like:

Ethnocentric staffing strategy focus in tr

aining to cross cu
lture and cultural
assimilation initiative.

Polycentric staffing shift the training

focus to technology training, parent
country culture, policies and work plan values.

Geocentric / Re-geocentric focus in

parent company and the particular
technology of the organization
Position in
Host country
Return
Selection / Training for
International Career
Selection / Training for
Specific assignment
Re Entry Training
And support
Assignment:
Arrival orientation
Overseas support and
monitoring
1
2
3
4
5
3. The control and coordination linkage that
the parent unit wishes to establish
with the subsidiary unit drives
the training budget and the strategy.
4. The Role/Responsibilities of
the position, determine the extent and content of
the training.
Therefore, MNCs offer CCT to teach
their expatriates, the host countries
appropriate norms and work behavior.
Any CCT aim at improving cross cultural
skills and knowledge to the e
xpatriates and to facilitated
his or her adjustment to
the host countries culture. The effec
tiveness of a CCT is reflecting by the
cognitive, affective and behavioral changes th
at occur during and after the training
Stages of a successful CCT:
In order to make a CCT highly successful,
the international HR
manager would do
well to proceed on a well defined sequences of stages:
Components of effective pre
-departure training programme
Cultural Awareness Programs well de
signed cultural awareness program of
host country
Preliminary visits the average
length of visit is about 1 week
Language Training company language
(English), host country language
skills and adjustment (Spanish) and know
ledge of the corporate language (
parent language Indian)
Sensitivity Training attitudinal flexibility
Field Experience Job related factors (to make the expatriate familiarize with
the challenge of assignment)
Cross-Cultural Training Methods

Cultural Briefings ; Explain the major aspects of the host country

Culture, including customs, traditions, every day behaviors.
Identify Training Objectives
Evaluate whether the
CCT was effective
Develop and deliver the
CCT programme
Identify the types of Global
Assignment for which CCT is
required
Determine the specific cross
Cultural Training needs
Establish the goals and
measures for
Determining training
effectiveness

Area Briefings: Explain th

e history, geography, economy,
politics, and other general information about the host country and region.

Cases: Portray a real-life situation in

business or personal life to illustrate
some aspect of living or
working in the host culture.

Role playing : Allows the trainee to act

out a situation that he or she might
face in living or working in the host country.

Cultural assimilator : Provides a written set of situations that the

trainee might encounter in
living or working in
the host country. Trainee
selects one from a set of responses to th
e situation and is given feedback as to
whether it is appropriate and why.

Field experiences: Provide an opportunity

for the trainee to go to the host
country or another unfamiliar culture to
experience living and working for a
short time.
Conceptual Frameworks of CCT or Different models of CCT:
Three frameworks or models of training th
at integrate the research that supports
industry practices:
R. Tung (1981):
Mendelhall & Oddou (1987):
Black and Mendelhall (1989):

R.Tung proposed a contingency framework for dividing the culture and level of
rigour of training.
Training focus is culture related issues wh
en rigour of training high simultaneously
training focus is task / job related issues when rigour of training low.

Mendenhall & Oddou

proposed three dimensions: training methods, low, medium
and the high levels of training rigour and duration of training relative to degree of
interaction and culture novelty.

Black & Mendenhall

take three aspects of social lear
ning theory attention, retention
and reproduction.
Tungs framework:
Rosalie Tungs (1981) proposed a framework
which helps decide the nature and level
of rogour of training. This framew
ork is based on two variables:
1.
The degree of interactio
n between the parent and the host unit, and
2.
The culture novelty, implying how differe
nt (novel) is th
e culture of the
expatriate from that of the host unit.
As per this framework, the two variables de
fine the nature, durat
ion and intensity of
training that needs to be provided to
the expats. Following figure identifies the
training focus and the rogour of the traini
ng programme. If the expected interaction
between the expats and the members of the host culture is low, and the degree of
dissimilarity between the individuals native culture and the host culture is low,
then
the content of the training should focus on the
task job related issues, rather than on
culture related issues and
the level of rigour
necessary for effec
tive training should
be relatively low and vice versa.
High
Low Degree of Interaction High
Mandelhall & Oddous Framework
The Mandelhall & Oddous framework bui
lds on the model provided by R.Tung.
The elements of degree of interaction
and culture novelty are retained while
adding a more complex relationship Training Methods.
This framework, therefore, includes 3 key elements:

Training methods,

Low, medium and the high levels of training rigour

and

Duration of training
relative to degree of inte
raction and culture novelty.
Level of Rigour
Duration
A
pproach / methodology
Training
Content
A High
60
180
hours
Lecture, factual briefings,
b
ooks, role plays, cases,
field experiences, culture
assimilator, simulation
Both cultural
and job
demands
B Moderate
20-60 hours
Lecture, film, books,,
culture assimilator, cases
Equal emphasis
on job and
culture
C
Moderate
20-60 hours
Lecture, film, books, role
plays, simulation
Strong
emphasis on job
demands, less
on culture
D Low
to
moderate
20-40 hours
Lecture, factual briefings,
cases,
Strong
emphasis on job
Training focus is Culture related
issues
Rigour of training
HIGH
Training focus is task /
job related issues
Rigour of
training LOW
Cultural
Novelty
demands, little
on culture
E
Moderate
40-80 hours
Lecture, films, books, role
plays, cases, culture
assimilator, simulation
Little emphasis
on job demands,
most on culture
(economic,
political,
historical and
religious)
F Low
to
moderate
20-60 hours
Lecture, film, books, cases
Little emphasis
on job demands,
most on culture
G Low
to
moderate
30-60 hours
Lecture,
film,
books,
cases, role plays
Little emphasis
on job demands,
most on culture
H
Low
4-8 hours
Lecture, film, books
Little emphasis
on either job or
culture
Black & Mendelhall (1989)
Black & Mendenhall
take three aspects of social
learning theory attention,
retention and reproduction
and show how these are
influenced by individual
differences in expectations and motiva
tion, and the incentives to apply learned
behaviors in the foreign location.
This approach recognizes that effective trai
ning is only the firs
t step and that the
expatriates willingness and ability to act
on that training in the new environment
is crucial effective performance.
Therefore, it stresses the impor
tance of attention paid by the potential expatriate to
the behaviors and probable outcomes of a
cultural awareness training programme,
Contextual and
Situational
Factors
-
Time available
-
- Duration and nature
Individual Differences
-
efficacy expectation
-
outcomes expectations
Skills
Development
-
Self
dimension
-
Relational
MOTIVATION
Adjustment
And
Performanc
Reproductio
Retention
Attention
C.A.T
Incentives
P.M.S
the individuals ability and willingness
to retain learned be
haviors, and their
reproduction as appropriate in the host location.
Developing International Staff

International assignment have been rec

ognized as an important mechanism for
developing expatriates.

Many MNCs are conscious that they need

to provide international experience
to many levels of managers ( regardle
ss of nationality and not just a small
cadre of PCNs)

Therefore, International j
ob rotation, is a well es
tablished technique, for
developing multinational teams and international operators. It may be
supported by PCN, TCN and HCN a
ttendance at common training and
development programme (CTDP) held either
parent country, or regional centre
or both.

International assignment helps both

for individual or management
development as well as organizationa
l development or team development.
Individual /management development:

Individual gains Internat

ional exp. Which Assists
in career progression

Gradually develop the Professional atti

tude in management development.
Expatriate career decision points:

D 1: Occurs during R & S

for a specific assignment, where the expatriate
either apply or is informally select
ed, for an international assignment.

D- 2: Voluntarily withdrawal
or reject the assignment)

D- 3: Premature Return
( unable to adjust)

D- 4: Final Exit
( the expatriate may deci
de to exit the organization.

D- 5: Re assignment
either can be back into th
e parent organization or the
person may accept another international assignment.

D-6: Can be relevant at this stage, at

the time of Repatriation with exit
organization. ( D = Decision)
However, these decisions points are
based upon the issues that related

to adjustment with host country culture,

work life behaviour / job performance
and finally socio economic problem in family.

Personal ability and interest to develop in

ternational skill for future growth.
Organizational / team development:
A global mind set in terms of Skill, K
nowledge, and Abilities upon which overall
Program growth. Therefore, Expatriate beco
me the asset of MNCs and assist in the
transfer of Knowledge and competence.
The international assignment
often is the training gr
ound for the international
cadre. International teams can be form
ed from those who have international
experiences.
It is frequent argued that multinationals,
especially in networked organization, would
be benefit from using International teams as:

A mechanism for fostering innovation

Organizational learning's

A means of breaking down functiona

l and national boundaries enhancing
horizontal communication and information flows.

A way of encouraging diverse inputs

into decisions, problem solving and
strategic assessments.

A way of developing a global perspective

A way of developing shared values, t

hus assisting in the use of informal,
normative control through socialization
Merit and demerit of CCT:
Merits
Demerits
Increases chances of success in
global assignment
Provides a comprehensive global
perspective for managers
Instills a sense of
confidence into
people
Foreign employees can be
managed better
Reduce culture shock due to
frequent travels abroad and
familiarity of local practices
Develop a false sense of confidence
among employees
May not remove cultural biases and
prejudices
may not take seriously by the recipients.
May not make a visible difference in
business volumes
can never fully prepare an assignee to
face real problem.
Conclusion:
Training Strategy Bridge the gap
between the individual hired and the
role / responsibilities of the job that he/she
is being hired for.
It is the only way to
make business growth nationally and inte
r nationally by developing the human
potentials. It is the human resource that
can be improved every da
y and training is the