TRAINING FOR CULTURAL SENSITIVITY

Training is used to stimulate cultural understanding, but the type, cost, and intensity of cross-cultural training varies widely. Having surveyed international management training programs in Europe, Japan, and the U.S., osalie Tung !"#$%& observed ' types of training in use( ". Environmental briefings typically provide descriptions of a nation, including information about climate, topography, infrastructure, population and housing. %. )ultural orientations typically provide information about cultural institutions, habits or values of the nation*typically these orientations are to the dominant culture. +. )ultural assimilators are used to e,pose participants to li-ely intercultural encounters. .. /anguage training. 0. Sensitivity training helps the individual recogni1e how values affect behaviors. '. 2ield e,perience is gained when the individual lives in the assigned country and e,periences some of the challenges that lie ahead. /ectures or briefings on country demographics or host country values and behaviors often are relatively ine,pensive because many can be e,posed to the same information in a relatively short period of time. )ost and intensity escalate when training involves simulations, role plays, reflection, field trips and visits or cultural immersion in another country for an e,tended period of training time, regardless of whether the training is for wor- abroad or to understand diversity within organi1ations. 3s the following e,ample from 4ntel shows, some organi1ations use multiple forms of training to improve intercultural learning across nations and within the organi1ation. 4ntel )orporation5s 4ntercultural Training 4ntercultural awareness*managers and employees are introduced to information about how wor-ers from different cultures perceive the business structure, processes, and procedures. 6ulticultural integration*a series of wor-shops provide s-ill building and career development for foreign born professionals.

)ulture specific training*when groups are to wor- with others from a specific culture, they receive training to understand better their own cultures and to learn about cultural nuances of the other group. Training for international assignments*usually a training consultant who has lived and wor-ed in the assigned country is brought in to orient the newly assigned person to the language, culture, and practices of the host country. 4ntact team training*consultants are brought in to act as liaisons, translators or intervention providers to encourage positive ways for people from different cultures to wor- together. 4nformational forms of training enhance cognitive -nowledge and improve awareness of behavioral differences, but more intensive !and e,pensive& cultural learning is needed to move below the surface level of culture. 7hether offered to enhance cross-cultural or diversity understanding, more intensive forms of cultural learning such as sensitivity training often are resisted because they as- people to reach a new level of awareness about themselves and e,amine both the positives and negatives of their own cultural values and behaviors when interacting with people from another culture. Managerial Competencies for a Global WorldCultural Sensitivity The global manager can be someone who lives outside a home country, but more importantly this manager can put aside national allegiances at wor-. 8enichi 9hmae !"##:& believes this person can be in different national cultures, but not ;of; them because she or he has an overriding commitment to the single, unified global mission and culture of the global organi1ation. This global manager can be from any country, but typically spea-s more than one language fluently and has lived and wor-ed in more than one country. 9ften they have passports from more than one country, and fre<uently they are the children of parents who are from different nations. =lobal managers must have ;a broad nonparochial view of the company and its operations yet a deep understanding of their own business, country, or functional tas-s; !>artlett and =hoshal, "##%? eich, "##"&. Third, global managers need to increase their cultural sensitivity, but some may find this easier than others. Those who are the product of two cultures or who have lived and wor-ed in other countries or in culturally

diverse communities within their own country may have an advantage over those who have no e,perience of cultural diversity. Developing Cultural Sensitivity in Persons 3ccording to 6ilton >ennett !"##+&, as a first step many deny there are differences crossculturally. @enial is then followed by defense, often characteri1ed by ;us versus them; thin-ing. The third stage of ;minimi1ation; recogni1es and accepts superficial cultural differences such as eating habits, but a belief in all people being the same remains strong. 3 fourth stage of cultural sensitivity is acceptance of differences, and having accepted differences, one can then move to the fifth stage of adapting to differences. 2inally, there is a si,th stage of cultural sensitivity which is to integrate differences so they are internali1ed and understood. This model was developed with the e,patriate or long-term soAourner in mind, but it is e<ually applicable to the global manager who operates within an organi1ational and world culture where diversity is the norm. 3mong the twelve important individual and organi1ational competencies appearing in )hapter % are several cultural ones, including an understanding of one5s own cultural values and assumptions and an ability to avoid cultural mista-es. >oth of these cultural needs can be addressed by managers able to assess and adapt their cultural sensitivities.