CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING

Cross-cultural Training



Cross-cultural Training

Introduction

The world has become a Global Village. A country is no longer bounded within its own boundaries and relations are formed not only with one's neighbors but with the whole wide world. This shrinkage of the world has led to new transformations in the business sector as well. Companies have modified the way of doing businesses and have changed the processes that are undertaken to utilize the labor from all over the world. Globalization has caused great many changes. People are traveling more than before in search of work. But there can be hurdles in working out of one's own country. Cross cultural differences can impede upon interpersonal interactions. There are many cultural, social, economic, political, technological, and religious differences between the native country and the country in which individuals earn their livelihood (Bazerman, 2005).

Preparing individuals to work outside their native countries is one of the core aims of cross cultural training. It is all about the training of different cultures' experiences and communication. This has achieved significant importance in today's world. Cross cultural training has made it possible to develop workforce from all over the world with little effort and much convenience. This workforce is diverse, equipped, and competent, courtesy cross cultural training. It enables people to learn about their own cultures, avail broader horizons, develop their careers, and break down barriers. Everyone works on a common ground with minimal limitations of cultures and communication gaps. This paper presents a critical literature review on cross cultural training including a critical assessment of different theories existing within the literatures and their implications and gaps between theories and practice (Bazerman, 2005).

Critical Literature Review

Cross cultural training ensures corporate success on the international business platform. Managers and professional who work in the overseas requires more preparation to handle the tasks of the business and respond effectively to the ever-changing business environment outside the country. The political, economic, social, and technological changes around the world have transformed the manner in which businesses are being conducted. Now more is required in lesser time. For this the business professional have to be equipped in terms of adequate knowledge and expertise to compete with the world. Companies undertake efforts to develop training programs to ensure that their workforces have the adequate skills needed to perform efficiently in the new environments. The cost of such training programs can be high but the benefits retrieved from such cross cultural training programs far outweighs the cost and results in overall corporate success. The outcomes are priceless not only on the organizational basis but also for the employees individually. New skills are learnt and new expertise is developed for long term benefits and values (Demers, 2006).

If we analyze the literature that is available to us, we will be able to see that many theorists have been working on the topic since the emergence of globalization took place. They have been coming up with new researches regarding the viability of such programs where ...