Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2016 - (Page 50)

G LO B A L OUTLOOK C R O S S CULTUR AL TRAINING BY ALBA SINGH Somewhere on a small island located in the Pacific Ocean, a group of 10 employees are settling down in the training room of their call center. The organization has recently been awarded a contract for an aviation firm based in the Middle East. The employees will be responsible for handling inbound calls made by the firm's customers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. On the bright side, the language spoken in both the countries is the same - English. The main challenge, however, is that the call handling employees have never interacted with a person from the Middle East. In a few moments, the trainer will commence the cross cultural training, educating the workforce on an ethnic background they have never interacted with. TRAINING A CULTURALLY DIVERSE WORKFORCE The majority of metropolitan cities across the globe are experiencing an increase in multiculturalism. The societies are being introduced to diverse customs, lifestyles and traditions. Not only has relocation influenced communal set-ups, it continues to establish global organizations in numerous capitals. The work culture within a conventional Multinational Corporation (MNC) invariably leads to employees interacting with more than one ethnic background. Offshore outsourcing of operations, or international organizations, require a culturally diverse workforce to function as one team. 50 While the process of intercultural communication opens the door to knowledge enhancement, it also generates an inventory of differences. Employees are unable to relate to the newly introduced culture and its norms. Lack of ethnic awareness, stereotyping and language dissimilarity are some of the most common barriers leading to operational disputes and project failures. Considering the organization's financial constraints, employees do not necessarily travel to the city or country to receive first-hand experience related to the culture, which leads to assumptions and obliviousness. Another common repercussion of diverse cultures working together are the difficulties encountered with problem-solving and conflict management. A difference of opinion and failure to negotiate, while determining solutions to challenges, is inevitable and often leads to unsolicited disagreements and delayed responses. In the long run, consistent disagreements result in the overall regression of the organization. In order to avoid misinterpretations and diverges, fostering awareness around the other culture becomes a necessity. Customized training workshops, established around the related ethnic background, can assist in cultivating sensitivity and aid interactions. The goal of the training course should be to eradicate any existing stereotyped thought processes and introduce the need to be considerate of other backgrounds.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2016

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2016
Transforming the Classroom Experience
Table of Contents
Onboarding Successful Leaders
Will the App Become the New Classroom?
The Evolving Classroom
Developing Micro-Learning for Micro-Moments
Testing the Waters with Mobile Learning
Incorporating Instant Messaging into Communciations Training
Tools for the Mixed Physical and Virtual Classroom
Training a Diverse Workforce
Next Generation Classroom: Providing the Ultimate Learning Experience
Meeting the Five Moments of Need
Save the Learners: Build a Serious Game Strategy
Universal Design for Learning
Cars.com: Revolutionizing the Classroom Experience
Crossing Cultural Training
The Changing Face of Training Outsourcing
Design Learning so Everyone Gets an 'A'
Creating Brain-Compatible Materials
Four Ways to Become an Agent of Learning, Not Change
BizLibrary Invests in the Science of Memory
Company News
What's Online
Training Talk

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2016