Training and Development of
International Staff
-with reference to Japan, China, South Koreaand
Singapore
Presented By:
VIRDA AZMI
Subject: Global Human Resource Management
M.A. (HRM) Final Semester
Dept of Social Work
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi

Need for T&D
• MNCs increasingly use expatriates on short-term and long-term
international job assignments for a variety of purposes, such as:
• to acquire and transfer knowledge,
• to manage a foreign subsidiary,
• to fill a staffing need,
• to maintain communication,
• coordination and control between subsidiaries and corporate
headquarters,
• and to develop global leadership competence

• An expatriate’s success in the host country is largely determined by his or
her cross-cultural adjustment to the host country
• Expatriates who are not prepared to confront the challenges (e.g., to cope
with culture shock) find it difficult to adjust and hence, perform poorly.
• Thus, improving cross-cultural adjustment has been the focus of many
international HR interventions.
• Since cross-cultural adjustment can be facilitated if the expatriate has an
awareness of the norms and behaviors that are appropriate in the host
country, many MNCs offer cross-cultural training (CCT) to teach their
expatriates the host country’s appropriate norms and behaviors.

Cross-Cultural Training
• Cross-cultural training is defined as any planned intervention
designed to increase the knowledge and skills of expatriates to live
and work effectively and achieve general life satisfaction in an
unfamiliar host culture
• CCT has been advocated as a means of facilitating effective cross-
cultural interactions and cross-cultural adjustment

• In the early 1980s, only 32% of MNCs offered CCT. Almost 20 years
later, the 1998 Global Relocation Trends Survey Report indicates
that 70% of the 177 MNCs surveyed provide CCT of at least one
day’s duration
• Cross-cultural training effectiveness is reflected by the cognitive,
affective, and behavioral changes that occur during the CCT event.
• In order to improve the effectiveness of CCT programs, or to
maximize the change that occurs during training, it is important to
follow a systematic approach to designing effective CCT programs.

• The process for designing effective CCT programs consists of five
distinct phases:
1. Identify the type of global assignment for which CCT 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 CCT program.
5. Evaluate whether the CCT program was effective.

PHASE 1 – IDENTIFY THE TYPE OF GLOBAL ASSIGNMENT
• Caligiuri describes a classification of global assignments into four
categories:
1. Technical
2. Functional/tactical
3. Developmental/high potential
4. Strategic/executive

PHASE 2 – CONDUCT A CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING NEEDS
ANALYSIS
• A cross-cultural training needs analysis is conducted across three
levels:
1. The organizational level, to determine the organizational context
for CCT
2. The individual (or expatriate) level, to determine any special needs
that have to be addressed in CCT for a given person; and
3. The assignment level, to determine the cross-cultural knowledge
and skills required to effectively complete the given assignment.

PHASE 3 – ESTABLISH CCT GOALS AND MEASURES
• Cross-cultural training goals should be stated in detailed and
measurable terms.
• Detailed and measurable training goals help develop appropriate
outcomes for training evaluation.
• Short-term CCT goals can bring about cognitive, affective, and
behavioral changes

• The long-term goal of many CCT programs is to improve the
rate of cross-cultural adjustment.
• Improving cross-cultural adjustment is important for all
expatriates and would generalize across assignments.
• Likewise, improved success on the global assignment may be
another generalized long-term goal with the specific
dimensions, of course, being job specific.

PHASE 4 – DEVELOP AND DELIVER THE CCT PROGRAM
• This phase involves determining the specific instructional content
needed in order to achieve the stated goal, the methods to deliver
the instructional content, and the sequencing of the training
sessions.

PHASE 5 – EVALUATE CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING
• The evaluation process involves establishing measures of
effectiveness (criteria), and developing research designs to
determine what changes (e.g. cognitive, affective, and behavioral)
have occurred during the training.
• Criteria must be established for both evaluation of short-term, and
long-term goals.
• The appropriate evaluation criteria should also be assessed prior to
the delivery of CCT to provide some type of comparison bases for
post-training assessment. In addition evaluation strategies need to
be developed during phase 3, that is, the decision on how to
evaluate CCT’s short-term and long-term goals needs to be made at
the same time as these goals are established.

Country Management Business Teams Communica Women at
Style Structures tion Styles workplace
Japan •information • The • group- • what one •there
flow from the concept of oriented says does remains a
bottomto the life-time teams not will not strong
top employmen •direct be what he unspoken
•senior t is a myth. confrontatio actually discriminati
management •Hierarchic n is avoided. means on towards
having a ally •group •body women in
largely organized members language is the
supervisory companies must be seen very workplace.
approach •Group to be modest minimal •expected to
•The key task orientation and humble. •Emotionles perform
for a Japanese and team •The group is s and higly lower grade
manager is to working. a life- formal tasks and to
provide the •hierarchy defining set behaviour. leave
environment is based on of •It is rare for employment
in which the consensus relationships. any reaction upon
group can and co- or emotion marriage or
flourish. operation to be visible. the birth of
children.

Country Management Business Teams Communica Women at
Style Structures tion Styles workplace
China •management •highly • consensus •Saying 'no' •Officially,
style tends hierarchical -oriented causes both women have
towards the •operational •individual embarrassm the same
directive structures, needs and ent and loss rights as men
•Manager – chains of desires of face in the
Subordinate is command, being •very limited workplace
a mutually management sublimated amount of •Women are
beneficial style etc. to the visual body found in
two-way tend to be greater language reasonably
relationship. hierarchical good of the senior roles in
whole. large Chinese
organizations

Country Management Business Teams Communica Women at
Style Structures tion Styles workplace
South •leadership is •Centralisatio •Group •vagueness •women
Korea hierarchical n and vertical orientation of meaning: work as
and hierarchy •'no' = poor secretaries
paternalistic •informal •loyal team etiquette or in poorly
structures players in •'yes‘ ='I paid
•consensus exist within ideal have heard assembly
decision- the situations you‘ , not line
making in organization always positions
certain giving rise to agreeing. •Not treated
situations internal •Slouching/ at par with
•work and power overly men
private are mechanisms expressive
not separated body
gestures can
be
disconcertin
g.

Country Managemen Business Teams Communicati Women at
t Style Structures on Styles workplace
Singapore •Managers •Traditional, •Group •English is •women have
tend to be family-run oriented widely used have achieved
older businesses •Decisions •'no' is a much in the
•Managers are common are team difficult word business arena
delegate •Hierarchical ones and •Disagreemen •expected to
decisions to structure therefore t can affect keep a very
their teams •Centralized success or the harmony professional,
and expect decision failure is thus 'no' almost distant
it to be making also team becomes, relationship
respected oriented 'Yes, but it with male
•Performanc might be colleagues
e culture difficult' •Eye contact
•Humor is should be
best avoided minimal and
•Formal Style proper
distances
observed