The Limitations of Intercultural Training

  The Limitations of Intercultural Training  

Table of  Contents  

Table of  Contents  I

  Figures  III

  Tables  IV

1.  Intercultural Training an Important Factor in the Modern Business  

  World  1

2.  The Theory of Intercultural Training  2

3.  Environmental Limitations  3

3.1.  Culture as Learned and Deep Culture  3

3.2.  Complexity  5

3.2.1.  Cultures  5

3.2.2.  Cultural Dimensions  6

3.2.3.  Intercultural Competence  7

3.2.4.  Communication Barriers  8

3.2.4.1.  The Process of Communication  8

3.2.4.2.  Language  10

3.2.4.3.  Non-verbal Communication  11

3.2.4.4.  Low and High Context Cultures  11

3.2.4.5.  Effects on Intercultural Training  11

4.  Limitations Created by Management  13

4.1.  Lack of Time Availability  13

4.2.  Restricted Money Resources  14

4.3.  Lack of Integration  15

4.3.1.  Management Acceptance  15

4.3.2.  Insufficient Allocation of Intercultural Training  15

4.3.3.  Consequences of Inappropriate Allocation of  

  Training Sessions  16

5.  Individual Factors Limiting Intercultural Training  16

  I  

  The Limitations of Intercultural Training  

6.  Expatriates Limitations of Intercultural Training  17

6.1.  The Specialty of Expatriates in Intercultural Training  17

6.2.  Interrelations  17

6.3.  Major Problems of Expatriates  18

6.4.  Culture Shock  19

6.5.  Limitations of Intercultural Training in Regard to Expatriates  

  Success  20

7.  Limitations Due to Training  21

7.1.  Training Methods  21

7.2.  Teachers and Participants  23

8.  Which Developments Might Overcome Limitations  23

  References  25

Appendix V   

  II  

  The Limitations of Intercultural Training  

  Figures  

  Figure 1 Levels of Culture (The Iceberg Model)  4

  Figure 2 Cross-Cultural Communication Process  9

  III  

  The Limitations of Intercultural Training  

  Tables  

Table 1  International Competencies  3

Table 2  Structure of Intercultural Competence  8

Table 4  Types of Intercultural Trainings  21

Table 5  Art und Häufigkeit der Probleme von entsandten Führungskräften  

  differenziert nach Schweregrad  V

IV

The Limitations of Intercultural Training

1. Intercultural Training – an Important Factor in the Modern

Business World

Businesses in the 21 st century are faced with many challenges. The most significant is the increasing globalization of economic transactions. Due to advances of information technology and traveling, as well as trade agreements, this process was promoted tremendously. The result is a very complex, worldwide business environment influenced by economic, legal, political, and cultural elements (Thomas 2002:4).

All business units are affected by globalization. Some examples are that the supply and demand sides enclose suppliers and customers originating from all parts of the globe, research and development departments have to reflect on international principles, and bookkeeping is forced to apply international accounting standards (Blom 2002:2). Consequently it is essential to be aware of the arising problems. Especially the cultural aspect has to be taken seriously as it affects all the other elements of one global world. Company employees have to deal with dissimilar behaviors resulting from a diverse programming of the mind of specific groups (Hofstede 1991) every day. Contact with cultural multiplicity does not imply traveling. Even “out-of-the-office” it is common to get in touch with partners belonging to another cultural group (Thomas 2002:3). Furthermore, the structure of the workforce in home countries nowadays consists of people belonging to different cultural backgrounds. Inter-cultural-contacts often lead to misunderstandings based on different values, attitudes and beliefs (Daniels 2001:46), which can even lead to business failure. Some differences that might cause misunderstandings are e.g. the way names are used and persons are addressed, variations in working, business and communication styles, and an unequal handing of criticism (Blom 2002:196).

To be successful in an international working surrounding cultural conflicts have to be avoided. To manage variety, new skills are required – the skill of intercultural competence. Although some business students already absolve intercultural training during their studies, the need for further education has risen in the last decades. Especially when regarding the share of the elderly workforce or those without a university degree who have never been educated in culture, but who have to manage the effects daily. Another indicator reflecting the need for an increase in

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The Limitations of Intercultural Training

intercultural training is an expatriate failure rate of 30 – 70% (Kühlmann 1995:10- 19). Human capital influences business success more and more, especially when regarding the increase in the service sector (Götz 2003:11). As a consequence business managers are asked to provide their staff with intercultural trainings programs. In the last decades a movement towards an increase of intercultural training took place. Yet, the amount of training provided still is not sufficient. But regardless the hours of training provided, the efficiency and success of trainings depend on many factors. Managers planning to invest in human resource education have a variety of possible training methods. But not all of those do lead to the expected improvements of international relations. To gain profit from investments, it is necessary to consider the factors influencing the outcome.

This essay has the intention to describe the most important factors that can hinder the efficiency and the positive effects of intercultural training. Considering the limitations of intercultural training makes it possible to choose the suitable training method leading to success. The importance of intercultural training will even grow in the next years, as economists represent the opinion that business growth will be the only key to meeting the challenges of internationalization and that only the largest companies will be able to stay competitive in the long-term (Bloom/Meier 2002:4).

2. The Theory of Intercultural Training

Intercultural training is described differently in literature. Summarized, the main objective of intercultural training can be explained as teaching the participants cultural competence based on cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity (Blom 2002:198; Podsiadlowski 1999:322). This includes making international active people conscious that their behavior and thinking is driven by their own culture as well as other people’s is determined by their cultures (Götz 2003:34).

Basically cultural competence includes four factors (Karmasin 1997:194): knowledge (language, history, legal and political system, etc.), skills (communication, conflict management, etc.), experience (biographical background, expatriate experience, etc.), and attitude (to deal with cultural strange habits, self-reflection, cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, tolerance, etc.). A more detailed description of international competence attributes is given in Table 1.

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The Limitations of Intercultural Training

Table 1 International Competencies

Götz describes the requirements a participant should fulfill after having absolved an intercultural training as the identification and understanding of cultures in order to handle culturally-driven problems and to be possible to adapt to different cultural environments (2003:34). To reach the goal, several training methods are available, which will be described more detailed in chapter seven.

3. Environmental Limitations

3.1. Culture as Learned and Deep Culture

Culture is defined in more than 160 ways. Hofstede describes culture as the “collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes one human group from another” (1991). This indicates that a variety of cultures exist. Many definitions also refer to culture as learned and not innate. The personal culture is for this argument strongly influenced by the environmental surrounding of that specific person (Thomas 2002:28). The learning-process starts with the first cultural contact which takes place on delivery day as environment influences the personal development from that point onwards.

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The Limitations of Intercultural Training

Figure 1 Levels of Culture (The Iceberg Model)

Source: Schein (1985)

Experts agree on the assumption that conscious and unconscious as well as visible and invisible aspects of culture exist. However, the detailed explanation varies from author to author. Since all of them basically mean the same, Schein’s most commonly used “iceberg” model shall be explained here (1985). Schein uses three levels of culture: artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions. “Artifacts” are the visible aspects of culture, including language, clothing, manners, food, etc. (Thomas 2002:30) and is the only component above sea level. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner describe these manifestations of the explicit level of culture as the “observable reality of culture” which are the “symbols of a deeper level of culture” (1997:21). The “Espoused Values” are those values of a cultural group which are not visible, but conscious to the members of the group. They lie directly below the artifacts and are closely related to them (Thomas 2002:30). This section is referred to as “middle layer” by Trompenaars (1997:22). The bottom part of the iceberg is called “Basic Underlying Assumptions”. These are invisible and unconscious beliefs, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings shared by members of one culture (Thomas 2002:30). Trompenaars explains this layer as “the core”, meaning basic assumptions which are the implicit part of culture. He illustrates the unconsciousness by referring to the human need to breathe every 30 seconds and doing so without actively thinking about it (1997:23). A ccordingly people use beliefs, values, etc. every day without considering their existence. The invisible values and assumptions are summarized meant by the term of “deep culture” (Guirdham, 1999:59).

In the context of intercultural training, culture as a learned trait of human nature has a positive and a negative side. On the one hand it supports the theory that a foreign

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