CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING

Literature Review on Cross Cultural Training



Literature Review on Cross Cultural Training

Introduction

The intent of writing this paper is to provide an insight into the research conducted in the field of cross cultural training. This paper provides a brief review of literature on the topic, while summarizing the previous researches related to the topic of cross-cultural training (Bhawuk, 2006).

Definition

The term “cross-cultural training and development” has been defined in two ways. The American Psychological Association, (APA) defines it as the “inclusion and development of people representing a wide variety of identities including (racial, social, ethnic, linguistic, and differentiated sexual orientation)”. One definition specifically focuses on the domestic racial and ethnic identities of colored people living in the United States. But the best definition comes from a renowned researcher,, who has taken a much broader view of cross-cultural training “as an educative process of evaluating the cognitive, social, and developmental competencies needed for successful interaction between diverse cultures” (Bhawuk, 2006).

Significance of Studying Cross Cultural Training

With the advent of globalization, there exists an urgent need for the companies, specially the multinational corporations, (MNCs) to induct and develop colored people, in an effort to truly gain the benefits of their expansion strategies. The researchers in International Human Resource Management have also pin-pointed the importance of properly managing diversified people within organizations, but the fact stands that the MNCs have, in this age, have failed to come up with policies and strategies to catering to the training needs of individuals. Despite being an important topic, the research on cross-cultural training has been very limited due to negligence on part of the researchers (Black, 2004).

With a view that previous theoretical research on cross-cultural training has proved to be in-sufficient, therefore, there is a need to include all the aspects and factors that have and are continuously influencing the developments in the field of multicultural training (Black, 2004).

Cultural differences, determinants and impact

Culture, defined as a set of traditional values, social behaior depicted by a particular society differs dramatically from nation to nation. That is why there are different aspects and dimensions which form the basic line of difference between various cultures, as classified by Hofstede in his 2002 study, including collective behavior, individual behavior, power, distance, dominant gender orientation, values, and beliefs. In another study, Osland and Bird, (2005), have found that there exists an interesting link between cultural differences and the perceptions inherited by individuals on the basis of their views that are distinctively limited their own schema of thoughts (Brewester, 2007).

There is one other reason, why the concept of cultural differences is being misunderstood. It is because of the confusion that persists with the tendency to accept the reality about the differences in groups, un-resolved or unnecessarily exposed issues - having a cultural dimension - that has hampered the organizations to deveop sound strategies, aimed at inculcate culturally diversified people in their ranks (Brewester, 2007).

Cultural differences tend to trigger varied reactions in different situation, thus establishing the fact that motivation and emotion do play in ...