Working across cultures: Selecting and Training people for international assignments

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Working across culturesSelecting and Training
people for international assignments

• Psyc338
• Ron Fischer

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Overview

• Selecting Training
• Intercultural Sensitivity
• Training methods
• University Model
• Behavioural Modification Training
• Assimilators

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Intercultural Sensitivity

• Sensitivity to the importance of cultural
  differences and to the points of view of people
  in other cultures (Bhawuk Brislin, 1992)
• Ability to recognise multiple perspectives of an
  event or behaviour, the ability to take into
  account norms and values that differ from ones
  own, and the ability to empathise with people
  from a different culture (Van der Zee
  Brinkmann, 2002)

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Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity

• Ethnocentric Stages
• Denial
• Defence
• Minimization
• Ethnorelative Stages
• Acceptance
• Adaptation
• Integration

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• How can we get people to those higher stages?
• And how can we give them the skills to work well
  in a different culture?

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University Model

• Lecture methods
• Simple, flexible, inexpensive
• Passive learning
• Problem-solving activities with well-defined
  problems
• Emphasis on rationality and emotional detachment
• Study material and produce analytical reports
  (paper orientation)
• Focus on written (rather than verbal) information

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Contrast-American Method

• Stewart (1966)
• Helps people to recognize their own cultural
  values
• Analyse the contrasts with other cultures
• Apply insights to intercultural interaction
• No learning specific to host cultures

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Behaviour-Modification Training

• Based on social learning theory (Bandura, 1977)
• Attention
• Retention
• Reproduction
• Incentive
• ExcelL Intercultural Skills Program (Excellence
  in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership)

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ExcelL

• Designed to give participants sociocultural
  competency
• Intercultural communication (verbal and
  non-verbal)
• Awareness-raising and role-based learning in
  groups
• Cultural Maps
• Clear and simple description of effective and
  appropriate ways of behaving in specific
  situations, and why these behaviours are
  preferred (reference to cultural values)

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Cultural maps

• Behaviours are precise and specific and can be
  broken into sequential steps
• Each step is described in precise, behavioural
  terms which can be practised by participants
• Cultural explanations for the behaviours are
  given by the trainers and compared with
  participants understanding of the behaviours.
• Alternate behaviours and words are suggested.

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Break down social interactions

• Focus on particular competency
• ABCD
• Attending Phase
• Bridging Phase
• Commenting Phase
• Developing/Closing Phase

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Critical components

• What is the competency?
• Why is the competency important to you?
• Challenges, difficulties, expected outcomes
• How is this normally done in your country?
• Analyse the similarities and differences in
  behaviours and values between the countries (why)
• Use a scenario for practicing the competency
• Demonstrations
• Construct cultural map (based on observations
  reflect on behaviours values)
• Practice

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Example Seeking information
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Steps in teaching a sociocultural competency
Build alliance and assess
Develop cultural map
Demonstrate/Practice/Coach
Feedback Encourage
Participants to set goals and contract
Participants to transfer learning to actual
setting
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Cultural Assimilators

• Number or real-life scenarios describing puzzling
  cross-cultural interactions and explanations for
  avoiding the resulting misunderstandings
• Critical incidents
• Culture-specific
• Culture-general
• Introduction of themes and knowledge areas
• Theory-driven
• Based on a model of intercultural expertise
  development

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Pedagogy
Unconscious Competence
Conscious Competence
Conscious Incompetence
Unconscious Incompetence
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Unconscious Competence
Conscious Competence
Conscious Incompetence
Unconscious Incompetence
LEGEND A. Culture-Specific training B Culture
general training C Behavior Modification
training D Cross-Cultural Experience E.
Theory Based Training
A
Novice
B
C
E
Lay Person
D
C
E
Advanced Expert
Expert
D
Associative Stage
Autonomous Stage
Stages of Learning
Cognitive Stage
A Model of Cross-Cultural Expertise Development
(Bhawuk, 1998)