International Training and Development

 Training as a Communication Strategy

Learning Objectives

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International Strategy and Training and Development

When a organization is contemplating an international strategy, it must balance the desires of what it wants to do with the knowledge, skills, and abilities it currently possesses, as well as the ones it believes it can acquire within the requisite time frame.  This is where training and development can come in handy.   It has been said that strategy is based upon knowing three things: where you currently are, where you want to be, and how you want to get there.  For an international organization, it is more difficult because of the variety of international factors that need to be considered.  Cultural subtleties must be taken into account, as must various government regulations, international cultural practices, exchange rates, political issues, and a host of other factors.

It is imperative that international organizations communicate with its international offices, suppliers, and beneficiaries. With the availability and relatively low cost of telephone, fax, and email, international partners can be kept informed of important information on a daily basis.  There are many computer programs that can translate one language into another very rapidly and without much loss of context.

The training and development function can act as a clearinghouse for this information.  It can research, direct, maintain, edit, and promulgate information on a regular or need-to-know basis.  By being “in the loop,” it can use the information to establish training classes, develop information categories, and act as internal consultants and facilitators.  It can act as an organizational resource where various departments and functions can go for “one-stop shopping” of information and methodologies to translate information into action.

 

Four Factors of Culture

There are many people who have written about international project/programme purpose and culture.  One of the most respected is Geert Hofstede.

Hofstede’s research has resulted in the development of his four factors of culture:

1) power distance; 2) individualism versus collectivism; 3) quality versus quantity; and, 4) uncertainty avoidance.  These factors are each on a continuum from low to high. Including these factors in training about cultural differences can be very valuable.

Power distance is the extent to which members of a culture accept the inequality of power, prestige, and respect that differs between members.  If a culture has a high power distance, there tend to be high inequalities between the power holders and average citizens of the culture.  Relationships tend to be more formal, thus in such cultures teacher-centered training is often the mode most acceptable.  In many Asian countries, you would never address a teacher by his or her first name.  University professors are highly esteemed and few students would think to turn in homework assignments without giving it to the professor with both hands.

Individualism versus collectivism deals with the importance of the rights and roles of the individual versus the group.  This is often reflected in “wise sayings” or cultural adages.  In Japan, one such saying is, “It’s the nail that sticks out that gets the hammer” reflecting a cultural priority of the group. However, in America, the saying is, “It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease” reflecting an individualistic cultural priority.

Quality versus quantity has also been called feminine versus masculine and low versus high task orientation.  Quality of life issues, helping others, the value of intuition and striving would all be considered high “quality” or very “feminine” or a low task orientation.  Masculine would be the need to excel and achieve, where bigger is better, and decisiveness is valued.

Uncertainty avoidance deals with how much tolerance for ambiguity cultures have.  Cultures like in the United States tend to have low uncertainty avoidance and are risk-taking by nature (“nothing project/programd, nothing gained”).  They are more relaxed about rules and regulations and accepting of dissent.  High uncertainty avoidance cultures tend to be more stressful, with a greater need for consensus and a drive to work hard, paying close attention to details.

International Factors – Culture and Language

Culture can be discussed forever, but as an organization dealing with beneficiaries in other countries, it is extremely important.  It affects not only product decisions, but also communication and training decisions. Pointing out cultural and language difference in training is critical.

The concept of personal attractiveness is culture specific.  An old professor of mine was a consultant for Mattel Toys many years ago.  He went over to Europe to talk with distributors about carrying the Barbie doll.  When they were shown the All-American doll, the French distributor thought that she wasn’t sexy enough and the German distributor thought she was just ugly.

Parker Pens have changed the advertising for their print ads based on the country.  In France, they had a man’s hand holding the pen with a woman’s hand touching the man’s hand, but in Saudi Arabia, they just showed the man’s hand.

Language is very important internationally, and many a faux pas has been documented.  Sales of a car called the Nova by Chevrolet stalled in Mexico.  “No va” means it “won’t go” in Spanish.  When Coca-Cola introduced its soft drink into China, it wanted the closest sounding syllables in Chinese to sound out “Co-ca-co-la.” Unfortunately, the literal Chinese translation came out “bite the wax tadpole.”  A non-Chinese speaking woman visiting Hong Kong saw some Chinese characters on a menu that she thought looked “artsy” so she had them put on a silk blouse over the objections of the shirtmaker.  People on the street smiled as she went by.  It turned out they meant “tasty, but inexpensive.”

Similarly, organization names can be humorous.  There is a French organization named Facom and a Dutch airplane manufacturer named Fokker, both words having very different connotations for their sound in English, neither word being used in polite organization.

 

International Regulations and Logistics

Training can help employees understand the complex nature of international trade. Tariffs and trade barriers are less than they use to be, but they still exist in many countries and need to be known and followed.

  In many countries, it is important to know someone in the ruling class in order to do project/programme purpose there.  It is often usual to give them a gift, sometimes money.  In America,

it is illegal to do so, but in most of the rest of the world, it is just a cost of doing project/programme purpose, and in some countries, it is considered to be good manners.

In general there are two systems of law: the Napoleonic system of statutes and the English Common law based on precedent.  Depending upon where you have specified a dispute to be heard, a contract could be interpreted in a very different way.  Besides which, most international project/programme purpose being done is based upon relationships, where signing a contract is a pure formality.  The people with whom you are doing project/programme purpose do so because they trust you and your honor.

International logistics must also be taken into account.  Most products go by containerized ocean freight.  Most developed nations have the entire infrastructure necessary to receive and transport the freight to market – heavy lift cranes, railroads, highways, warehouses, refrigeration – but many countries do not.  Ships could take days to unload in some ports, or the freight may need to be trans-shipped by smaller vessels up rivers to be unloaded by hand, where some of it mysteriously disappears.  It should be noted that “shrinkage” occurs at ports and airports all over the world, whether it is in a developed country or not.

Most shippers and airlines have multiple locations worldwide and are multinational themselves.  It is important that sector of activity information is sent to the proper parties and that training occurs that mirrors the international character of the sector of activity and market.

 

 

Adapting to Local Conditions

When a organization goes to a different country or region of the world, they must expect things to be different, perhaps wildly so and need to be taken into account when planning training.  An author on international project/programme purpose, Sylvia Oldenwald, has proposed certain guidelines to deal with cultural and project/programme purpose differences. 

Guidelines: Adapting Training to Local Conditions

The six guidelines proposed by Oldenwald in adapting training to local conditions are as follows:

1)      Provide opportunities for trainers to apply the learning to their own cultural situation through case studies and role plays;

2)      Listen to feedback from trainers from both the verbal and non-verbal perspective, realizing both will be different in different cultures;

3)      Look for opportunities to take advantage of cultural differences, asking how various ideas and practices would be modified to fit local practices;

4)      Be flexible in adapting to local cultural learning methods.  In some cultures, lecture is more accepted than experiential learning;

5)      Learn about the local region and the available technology so that training designs make sense.  Sophisticated computer programs may not make sense if the trainees are used to chalk boards; and,

6)      As a trainer from outside the culture, remember that you will probably not know or recognize the nuances of the trainees’ culture.  Flexibility in training content and design are imperative.

 

To summarize, it is important to recognize that differences in education, technology, religion, family structures, social mores, holidays, and a host of other variables can greatly affect your training methods.

 

Selecting International Managers and Trainers

In a recent survey conducted by International Resources, several criteria were identified by Fortune 500 organizations as to how they selected candidates for global assignments.

These criteria, listed in order of importance, are as follows: 1) technical expertise; 2) management ability; 3) previous overseas experience; 4) personality profiles; 5) language skills; 6) previous successful work; 7) cultural sensitivity; 8) career potential; 9) organization experience; 10) interpersonal; and, 11) flexibility.

Technical expertise was the most important, identified by over 90% of the respondents.  This is understandable, as you wouldn’t want to send an employee overseas to manage an accounting function that didn’t know anything about accounting!  Management ability was identified by over 50%.  Both were fairly easy to measure through performance reviews.  The other criteria were more difficult to quantify.

Indeed performance evaluations were the most common method for selecting candidates, followed by interviews, references, written tests, host-country requests, and other types of evaluations.  Performance evaluations can be used to rate an individual in many areas, including technical expertise, managerial ability, communication skills, and the like.

It is interesting to note that most overseas placements fail not because of a lack of technical expertise or management ability, but because of poor cultural adjustment by the employee or family. organizations that consider cross-cultural adaptability of the employee, spouse, and family in selection and development are more likely to avoid failures that can be very costly.

 

International Trainers

Most global trainers are domestic trainers who gain international experience through their organization’s overseas affiliates.

These trainers have learned to adapt their personal styles and training designs to different cultures while presenting the same information that is given to the home country employees.

In some cases, trainers are given overseas living experiences just like the managers who are groomed for executive posts.  International assignments allow these employees to gain or hone the intercultural sensitivity and country knowledge so necessary for being an international trainer.

There are many sources of information and education for those domestic trainers who wish to learn about various cultures and international project/programme purpose practices.  Colleges have many courses in international project/programme purpose and in cultural differences and histories.  Many organizations give seminars on international trade and cultural practices for their employees, and there are many training organizations that specialize in training employees who are from or are going to specific regions or countries.  Some training organizations have researched which training methods lead to the best learning results based on the trainees’ culture.

There are a number of ways to learn about specific cultures.  The easiest is to go to your local major bookstore and find books in the travel section.  There will normally be books that describe the customs and habits of various cultures.

The Internet has become an invaluable source of information about other cultures. Do remember, however, that anyone can post anything on the web. It is important to carefully evaluate the information before utilizing it.

If you desire more detail, you can seek out your nearby national government bookstore and find books and current reports on almost any country of the world.  They discuss culture, economics, and a whole lot more.

 Key Trends of Labor Markets Worldwide

Globalization, the revolution in information and communication technologies, shifting economic practices, population patterns, and the changing role of women are just the most visible of a host of dramatic developments that have altered employment and work over the past quarter-century. There is no doubt about the widespread perception, if not reality, of enormous change in labor markets—including the acorganizationing risks and opportunities—and the challenges this poses for policy-makers.

These trends are affecting different countries and different types of workers in very different ways. A number of nations in the developed world in recent years have experienced low unemployment rates and, within these countries, highly-skilled “knowledge” workers enjoy unprecedented earnings and employment opportunities. At the same time, many developing countries are witnessing deterioration in their labor market situations with real wage declines, shrinking formal employment sectors, and worsening working conditions. These factors can change very quickly as witnesses by the dot bomb phenomenon recently.

As organizations globalize, they need a pool of managerial talent that has the skills applicable to managing in diverse cultures, economic, and environmental conditions.  For example, project/programme purpose schools around the world are building relationships, through direct sharing of curricula and through student and faculty exchange programs and joint research, that provides students with opportunities to gain international experience.  This experience exposes students to different environments and cultures, and prepares them to manage truly international operations. Management needs to take global labor issues into account when creating training plans.

 

International Training – An Example

In 1993, Zimbabwe asked the United Nations (UN) for help in developing an in-service family planning clinical-training package and in conducting group-based courses using these newly developed materials.  However, this group-based approach experienced only limited success.

Many trainees returned to sites where they were not able to practice their newly

acquired skills because of other job responsibilities, low action sponsor/beneficiary caseload for the

method in which they were trained, or inappropriate and inadequate supervision.

Results of this evaluation suggested that traditional instructor-led courses might not

always be the most appropriate or effective way to ensure application of new skills on

the job. Given these findings, the evaluation team recommended that the UN assist Zimbabwe in developing a structured OJT package for clinical training.

To develop this, the UN team needed to know what types of activities the trainee would complete, both individually and with the trainer in order to practice or apply newly acquired information. Also, how would the trainee and trainer know when specific activities (e.g., trainee to read a specific chapter, trainer to give a demonstration) were to occur? When would the supervisor administer the final knowledge and skill assessment? The answers to these and similar questions, coupled with the results of the discussion about roles and responsibilities, helped to form the basis for the Zimbabwe OJT strategy.

The output of the strategy design phase was a clear, concise description of how OJT would work in Zimbabwe. If the UN were to develop an OJT approach for another country, it would have to go through the same strategy design process again.  OJT will necessarily differ in each setting—either slightly or a great deal—to meet the specific requirements of the country.

 

 

 

Problems in International Training

If you are an employee with a multinational organization, you may be asked to go overseas to train others, possibly for a long time.  Preparing for a three-to-four week training tour in a foreign region is a huge task. Getting your training itinerary "locked in" is the first and sometimes most difficult task. Foreign affiliates can sometimes change the dates, content and locations with little or no notice.

Once the itinerary is set, you sometimes need a special visa to enter and "work" in each country. To get a visa you frequently must get a letter from your sponsoring organization and meet a host of other requirements.

Then comes the headache of packing your clothing, course materials and other necessities for several weeks of travel and six-to-twelve training courses.  Remember to pay all those bills that are coming due if you’re going to be away for awhile.

International airline travel is better than ever; however, there is the necessity of getting all the training materials and personal items to the plane(s) and your hotels.  It is easy to misplace items.

Wherever you arrive, be prepared for jet lag.  Often your body clock is off by at least eight hours, though there are over the counter medications, such as Airborne, which alleviate the worst effects.  Don’t be surprised if you wake up in the early morning hours wondering where you are, dying for breakfast, with nothing open for another four hours!

Even though ATMs are now nearly ubiquitous in nearly every country, you might want to make sure you have both traveler’s cheques and some local currency, especially enough for local taxis in case you are late or you are unfamiliar with the city.  Most airports and train stations have wonderful information agents who speak most languages.  Don’t be shy and enjoy the host of experiences that await you!

Assignments