International Training and

Development

Training

The process whereby people

acquire capabilities to perform
jobs.
Training provides employees with
specific, identifiable knowledge
and skills for use in their present
jobs.
2

Training

Since a global enterprises human

capital may be its most important
source of competitive advantage, a
well trained and educated global
workforce is critical to its success
in the global marketplace.

Preparation and Training

The first international training

responsibility for an IHR manager
usually involves the preparation
and training of international
assignees and their families.

Preparation for the

International Assignment

Preparation involves the following:

1. provide the international assignee and his
family adequate and accurate information about
the assignment and location.
--country-specific handbooks that include both
country and company facts and where to get
additional information on schools, foods,
transportation, accommodation, entertainment,
and local assistance upon arrival.
2. a short familiarization trip to the proposed
location (preliminary visits).
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Preparation for the

International Assignment

3. brief the international assignee and his

family on the overseas assignments
responsibilities, policies on
compensation, allowances, benefits,
vacation and home leaves, taxes, security
procedures, shipping and storage of
household goods, and repatriation.
4. arrange them to meet with repatriates
who have recently returned home from
the location to which the international
assignee is moving.
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Preparation for the

International Assignment

The objectives of the preparation are:

1. review terms and conditions of
assignment.
2. increase cultural awareness
3. increase knowledge of the host country
4. enhance psychological and emotional
readiness for relocation.
5. facilitate the adjustment process
6. minimize entry problems
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Pre-Departure Training

Pre-departure training programs

include:
1. cross-cultural training
2. diversity management training
3. language training
4. Other training topics

1. Cross-Cultural Training

Cross-cultural training is vital if MNCs are to avoid

high levels of expatriate failure rates (premature
returns).
It facilitates the expatriates cross-cultural
adjustment in the host country and hence
minimizes problems of adjustment.
It provides coping techniques relevant to living and
working in a special foreign environment.
In essence, cross-cultural training fosters
appropriate transitions, work and personal
adjustments, adaptability skills, and interactions
with host nationals.
It helps expatriates to become more effective in
their jobs within the host country as quickly as
possible.
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Cross-Cultural Training

Defined as the educative

processes used to improve
intercultural learning via the
development of the cognitive,
affective, and behavioral
competencies needed for
successful interactions in diverse
culture.
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Cross-Cultural Training

Training for cross-cultural adjustment should

focus on helping expats:
(1) become aware that behaviors vary across
cultures and are being different than what they
are used to, and work at observing these
differences carefully.
(2) build a mental map of the new culture so they
can understand why local people behave in a
certain way and why they value such behaviors.
(3) practice the behaviors they will need to be
effective in their overseas assignments.
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Objectives of CrossCultural Training

Key objectives are:

1. Learning to learnto assist the
expatriate to learn how to acquire
information about another culture.
2. Creating cultural awarenessto help
equip the expatriate to recognize,
understand, and act upon appropriately in
another culture.
3. Overcoming difficulties that undermine
effectiveness while in another culture.
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Objectives of CrossCultural Training

4. Developing positive relationshipsThis

relates particularly to expatriates relationships
with host nationals.
5. Accomplishing appropriate social behaviorto
learn social, interpersonal, and communication
skills needed in the host country.
6. Coping with stress-This objective is
recognition of the fact that expatriate work is
often associated with a range of task and family
pressures that can lead to stress and depression.

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Phases of Designing a
Cross-Cultural Training
Program
The process for designing effective cross-cultural

training programs consists of 5 distinct phases:

1. Identify the type of global assignment for
which cross-cultural training is needed.
2. determine the specific cross-cultural training
needs.
3. establish the goals and measures for
determining training effectiveness.
4. develop and deliver the cross-cultural training
program.
5. evaluate whether the cross-cultural training
program is effective.

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Phases of Designing a
Cross-Cultural Training
Program
1. Identify the type of global assignment for

which cross-cultural training is needed.

Global or international assignments can be
classified into 4 categories based on the nature of
the task:
Technicale.g., technicians on an oil refinery,
computer system analysts.
Functionalto fill managerial gaps in the host
country.
Developmentalthe goal is to develop highpotential individuals for career advancement.
Strategicexecutive level, to develop a new
market base or manage a joint venture.
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Phases of Designing a
Cross-Cultural Training
Program
2. Determine the specific cross-cultural training

needs.
A cross-cultural training needs analysis can be done
at 3 levels:
(a) organizational levelto determine whether the
organization is willing, able, and ready to offer crosscultural training.
(b) individual (expat) levelto determine any special
needs that have to be addressed for the person.
E.g., communication skills and training for expats
families.
(c) assignment levelto determine the cross-cultural
knowledge and skills required to effectively
complete the given assignment.
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Phases of Designing a
Cross-Cultural Training
Program
3. Establish the goals and measures for

determining training effectiveness

Short-term and long-term goals for the training
outcomes must be developed.
Goals should be stated in detailed and
measurable terms.
Short-term goals can bring about cognitive
(about understanding), affective (about the
attitude and perception), and behavioral
(about actual skills) changes.
Long-term goals is to improve the rate of
cross-cultural adjustment.
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Phases of Designing a
Cross-Cultural Training
Program
4. develop and deliver the cross-cultural

training program.
This phase involves:
(a) determining the specific instructional
content needed in order to achieve the
stated goal.
(b) the methods to deliver the
instructional content.
(c) the sequencing of the training session.
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Phases of Designing a
Cross-Cultural Training
Program
5. Evaluate whether the cross-cultural training

program is effective.
Cross-cultural training evaluation refers to the
systematic process of gathering information
necessary to determine the effectiveness of the
training.
It should be evaluated against certain criteria or
the stated goals.
The evaluation will assess whether changes
(cognitive, behavioral, and performance) have
occurred during and after the training.
It helps to decide whether the training program
should be continued in its current form or modified.
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Importance of CrossCultural Training

Cross-Cultural training has a strong

and positive impact on intercultural skills development,
adaptation, adjustability, and job
performance.
It facilitates the transition and
adjustment of expatriates and their
families.
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Importance of CrossCultural Training

Lack of proper adjustment of an

expatriate can result in:
1. High expatriate failure rates due to
poor work performance, low self-esteem
and self-confidence, and loss of respect
or prestige among colleagues.
2. Cost implications (financial
importance).
3. Suffer loss of business and damage to
corporate image (strategic importance).
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2. Diversity Management
Training

Cross-cultural training is often

carried out alongside with diversity
management training.
Diversity management training
prepares expatriates to deal with
women employees, older workers,
and people of various races with
very different cultural backgrounds.
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Diversity Management
Training

Components of diversity training:

1. Legal awarenessthe training focuses
on the legal implications of discrimination.
It includes the legal dos and donts.
2. Cultural awarenessto build greater
understanding of the differences among
people. It helps participants to see and
accept the differences in people with
widely varying cultural backgrounds.

Diversity Management
Training

3. Sensitivity trainingthe aim is to sensitize

people to the differences among them and how
their words and behaviors are seen by others.
4. Skill buildingprovides participants with the
KSAs necessary for working with people who are
different from them. For e.g., it might teach
managers how to conduct performance appraisals
with people from different cultures; or teach male
supervisors how to coach female employees
toward better career opportunities. Other relevant
skills include leadership skills, communication and
listening skills, and team-building skills.

Diversity Management
Training

All of the diverse dimensions

race, gender, age, generations,
disabilities, lifestyles, cultural
backgrounds, education,
personalities, and ideasshould be
considered in the design of a
diverse training program.

3. Language Training

Language training is a seemingly obvious, desirable

component of a pre-departure program.
The importance of language training include:
--improve expatriates access to information regarding
the host-country.
--increase expatriates communication and negotiating
ability.
--help improve task performance.
--increase cultural awareness in their ability to adapt.
--assist expatriates and family member gain access to
new social support in the local community.
In sum, language skills are important in terms of task
performance and cultural adjustment.

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Language Training

MNCs tend to adopt a common company

language to facilitate reporting and other control
mechanisms as well as training.
Expatriates can become language nodes,
performing as communication conduits between
subsidiary and HQ, due to their ability to speak
the corporate language.
Fluency in corporate language is usually a
prerequisite for international training
assignments.
Pre-departure training programs often may need
to include both the language of the host country
and the corporate language especially for TCNs.
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4. Other Topics Covered in

Training

In general, training for international

assignments should cover the following topics:
1. Intercultural business skillse.g., negotiation
styles in different countries and cultures.
2. Culture shock managemente.g., what to
expect and how to deal with the stress of
adaptation.
3. Lifestyle adjustmente.g., how to deal with
different shopping and transportation systems,
and the different availability of familiar foods
and entertainment.
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Topics Covered in Training

4. Host-country daily living issuese.g., any

unfamiliar problems with water or electricity
and medical assistance.
5. Local customs and etiquettee.g., what to
wear, different behavior patterns and gestures
for men and women.
6. Area studiese.g., the political and religious
environment, and the local geography.
7. Repatriation planninge.g., how to stay in
touch with the home office , and how to
identify an appropriate assignment prior to
repatriating back home.
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Training Methods and

Techniques

Method
1. Passive/Information
Purpose: area studies,
company operations,
parent-country institutions
2. Intercultural
experiential workshops
Purpose: cultural-general,
culture-specific
negotiation skills, reduce
ethnocentrism

Technique
1. Lectures, reading
materials,
videotapes/DVD, movies

2. Cultural assimilators,
simulations, role playing,
action learning

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Training Methods and

Techniques

Method
3. Sensitivity training
Purpose: self-awareness,
empathy, communication
style, listening skills,
non-judgmentalism
4. Field experiences
Purpose: customs,
values, beliefs, nonverbal behavior,
etiquette, protocol

Technique
3. Communication
workshops, T-groups,
Outward bound trips

4. pre-site visit, meetings

with returned
expatriates, host-family
mentors, culture coaches

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Training Methods and

Techniques

Method
5. Language skills
Purpose:
interpersonal
communication, job
requirements,
survival necessities

Technique
5. Classes, cassettes,
conversations

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Guidelines in the Design

and Delivery of Training

International assignee training should

focus on all of these competencies:
1. Cognitive competencythe
acquisition of knowledge and facts
about cultures, including such factors
as history, economics, politics,
business practices, and family
relations.
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Guidelines in the Design

and Delivery of Training

2. Behavioral competency the

ability to adapt to diverse
conditions, to communicate in
other cultures, to scan the country
environment capably, to show skill
at human relations in another
culture, and to manage stress
effectively.
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Guidelines in the Design

and Delivery of Training

3. Performance competencythe
ability to perform well in the assigned
tasks in another culture with the
acquired technical and managerial
skills; the ability to engage in critical
thinking and problem solving on the
job; and the ability to develop
networks and support systems for
accomplishing the tasks on hand.
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Factors to Consider in the

Design and Delivery of
Training

Three major factors to consider in

designing and delivering of global training:
1. National culture
National culture will affect what type of
training style is appropriate in a particular
host country.
IHR professions must understand how that
culture views the education process.

36

Factors to Consider in the

Design and Delivery of
Training

For example, in many Asian cultures, education is

considered to be a very authoritarian phenomenon.
The teacher is seen as the expert, as someone the
student should respect.
Teachers impart knowledge through one-way
conversation: the teacher tells, the student listens
and do not ask questions.
The atmosphere is formal and respectful toward
authority.
US educational techniques, for example, are less
formal and encourage student participation. Such
participative style can be ineffective in an Asian
environment.
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Factors to Consider in the

Design and Delivery of
Training

2. Learning styles
This factor also relates to culture.
It is clear that people from different
cultures and countries learn differently.
Some people learn better from hands-on,
some from problem solving, some from
interactive mode, etc.
Thus, their most comfortable learning
approach needs to be considered in the
design and delivery of the training
programs.
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Factors to Consider in the

Design and Delivery of
Training

3. Education levels and forms

The basic educational infrastructure varies very
much from country to country. Each country is
different in the following:
--literacy rate
--the nature of the education system and the
type of education it provides (e.g., whether
theoretical or practical in orientation)
--the level, nature, and availability of higher
education
--the availability of vocational education
--teaching facilities and methods used in schools
39

Developing Staff Through

International Assignments

International assignments have

long been recognized as an
important mechanism for
developing international expertise.
The expected outcomes are:
1. management development
2. organizational development
40

Management
Development

The aim of management development is to

improve performance of managers by providing
knowledge, changing attitudes, or increasing
skills, thereby improving the performance of
the company as a whole.
The process consists of the following:
1. Assess the companys strategic needs (for
instance, to fill future executive openings, or to
boost competitiveness.)
2. Appraise the managers performance.
3. Develop the managers (and future manager).
41

Management
Development

Some development programs are

companywide and involve all
managers.
Other programs aim to fill specific
positions, such as that of the CEO.
This usually involves succession
planning.
42

Management
Development

Individuals gain international

experience, which assists in career
progression, while the MNC gains
through having a pool of
experienced international
operators on which to draw for
future international assignments.
43

How to Identify Individuals

for Management
Development
1. The early identification of individuals with

executive potential, either through:

--early-in-career assessment procedures,
--close monitoring of job performance,
--recruiting at only elite universities, or
--the use of in-house apprenticeships that lead
to increasing levels of management
responsibility.
2. The close monitoring of those individuals
identified to be candidates for positions of
executive leadership.
44

Patterns of Global
Management
Development
Firms such as IBM, Shell, Philips, and

Unilever, recognize the importance of global

management development.
International executive development is a
broad concern and the executive in charge of
this activity reports directly to CEO.
These firms have found that the lack of
globally savvy management talent has been
a major inhibitor in setting up overseas
businesses or developing new global
projects.
45

Organizational Development
(OD)

OD is a comprehensive effort to
improve an organizations
effectiveness, employees wellbeing, adaptability to deal with its
environment, and its ability to
solve problems.

46

Organizational
Development

International assignments will provide a MNC

with a way of accumulating a stock of
knowledge, skills, and abilities upon which it
can base its future growth.
A global mindset is an important side
benefit, as key personnel take a broader
view.
Expatriates help organization to develop as
they are agents of control and socialization
and assist in the transfer of knowledge and
competence.
47

The Development of
Organizational Cross-Cultural
Savvy

One international aspect of

organizational development is to
increase cross-cultural skills within the
organization.
In general, these involve ways to more
fully integrate people from multiple
countries and with cross-cultural
experience into the firm in all functional
and business areas.
48

The Development of
Organizational Cross-Cultural
Savvy

1. Make globalization an integral part of

the firms mission. Increase global
awareness among employees by
communicating the firms global strategy
and by educating employees about
international suppliers, customers, and
competitors.
2. Know your own culture. An in-depth
knowledge of the firms corporate culture
and national culture is a prerequisite to
identifying and eliminating stereotypes
about other cultures.
49

The Development of
Organizational Cross-Cultural
Savvy

3. Do not stereotype others. Having a global

mind-set requires employees to be flexible and
adaptable to changes. Do not base
assumptions about others on stereotypes, but
on an understanding of their cultural values
and how business is conducted.
4. Recruit staff with cross-cultural and language
skills. Recruit people with international
background, education, and experience. At a
minimum, seek recruits with a strong and
active interest in going international.
50

The Development of
Organizational Cross-Cultural
Savvy

5. Promote people from different cultural

backgrounds to management positions. By
diversifying the cultural and national backgrounds
of your managers, your company will be less likely
to view the world solely from a domestic
perspective.
6. Utilize your global workforce. Assign your best
home-grown talent to foreign assignments. Assign
your high-potential employees from foreign
locations to HQ and to other countries. Then use
these people in critical assignments to utilize their
international perspectives and experiences.
51

The Development of
Organizational Cross-Cultural
Savvy

7. Provide opportunities for cross-cultural

learning and languages. Working in a global
environment requires people to become
proficient in at least one additional language.
Language acquisition is the basis for
socialization into a culture, and a competitive
advantage for conducting business in a new
environment.
8. Learn from your international experience.
Share the knowledge of your international
success and failures with everyone so that
everyone may learn.
52

The Development of
Organizational Cross-Cultural
Savvy

9. Shift your emphasis from shortterm task accomplishment to longterm relationship building. This will
make it easier to conduct business
in countries in Asia and Latin
America.

53

International Assignment as a
Training and Development
Tool

International Assignment itself is an

important training and development
tool:
1. Expatriates are trainers, as part of
the transfer of knowledge and
competence between the various units.
They are also expected to train and
develop HCNs, i.e., train their
replacements.

International Assignment as a
Training and Development
Tool

2. Expatriates are expected to

ensure that systems and processes
are adopted, and inevitably they
will be engaged in showing how
these systems and processes work,
as well as monitoring the
performance of HCNs.

International Assignment as a
Training and Development
Tool

3. One of the reasons for

international assignments is
management development. A move
into another areajob rotationis a
useful way for employees to gain a
broader perspective. It assists in
developing capable people who form
the required pool of global operators.

Global Trends in
International Training and
Development

It is apparent that many MNCs do

acknowledge and appreciate the
usefulness of training programs for
expatriates in recent years.
A survey indicated that about 62%
of international organizations
offered or made available crosscultural training to expatriates.
57

Global Trends in
International Training and
Development
The following trends have been observed:

1. Training will continue as a highly valued

activity for building and enhancing the skills
required by MNCs and individuals.
2. Training and development will continue to be
essential for enhancing competitive advantage.
Enhancing workforce capabilities will make it
possible to be competitive anywhere in world
markets. MNCs will increasing understand the
importance of training and development in
increasing organizational performance.
58

Global Trends in
International Training and
Development
3. Training in soft skills will grow in

importance, including cultural training,

customer relations, safety and security,
and management skills.
4. Training in working in new ways and in
venues will continue to gain in importance.
5. Training will grow in importance in
mega-corporations spanning the globe as
workforce development will increasingly
become a global undertaking.
59

Global Trends in
International Training and
Development
6 Training will increasingly become re-training

as skills sets deteriorate and reconstituted in

new forms due to growing young workforce in
developing countries. This will also be driven
partly by the increasingly rapid technological
change, and by other factors inherent in the
globalization of business.
7. Distance learning technologies will become
more common and implemented globally.

60

Global Trends in
International Training and
Development
8. Systems of training will have to become

increasingly flexible and fluid, responding to

the needs of a global economy that demands
rapid responses to changing circumstances,
and to product innovations.
9. Human capital investment and knowledge
management will become the centers of global
business strategy. Training and development
are cornerstones of this strategy.
10. New categories of workers will increasingly
enter the workforce and need to be trained.
Training will have to respond to the aging and
the diversification of the workforce.
61

Global Trends in
International Training and
Development
11. Employers are using returning expat

managers as resource persons to

cultivate the global mind-sets of their
home-office staff.
For example, automotive equipment
producer Bosch holds regular seminars
in which new returnees pass on their
knowledge and experience to relocating
managers and their families.
62

Global Differences and

Similarities in HR Practices

A study showed that:

In training and development programs,
there were more similarities than
differences across countries.
In particular, most employers provided
training to improve the technical
abilities of their employees.
On the other hand, the training methods
were similar around the world with
classroom training as the main method.
63

Global Differences and

Similarities in HR Practices

However, the amount spent on

training and the number of training
hours per employee varied widely
from country to country.

END

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