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Optimizing Global Work
Teams via Cultural Training
International HR Decision Support Network
Bloomberg BNA’s resources will change the way you do business
Optimizing Global Work Teams via Cultural Training
By Lisa Ploeg, Mary Kay Inc.; Ginger Merrick, Global Mobility Accelerated Solutions, LLC; Amy Sibley,
Global Mobility Accelerated Solutions, LLC; and Laura Hagmann, Bloomberg BNA
Much has been written about expatriate failure rates and the resulting need to provide crosscultural training to prepare expatriates and their families for the cultural challenges of living
and working abroad. However, little has been written about the need to develop cross-cultural
competencies within global work teams. Although employers are still sending expatriates
abroad on long-term assignments, AIRINC’s 2015 Mobility Outlook Survey shows that
companies expect to increase their use of business travelers, commuters, short-term
assignments, and locally hired nonlocal national employees. 1 Additionally, many employers are
moving toward global virtual work teams. This points to an increasing level of interaction
among individuals from different cultures, and therefore, a need for training that focuses on
improving intercultural understanding, communications, interactions, and work team
effectiveness. According to intercultural development expert, Dean Foster, “Developing globally
effective people is an absolute requirement for ensuring the success of those very expensive
global projects, and culturally competent organizations require their people not merely to know
the cultural facts, but to be able to act on them.” 2 In this paper, we will explain the difference
between cross-cultural training and intercultural training and discuss three steps toward
developing an effective cultural training program.
1
2
http://www.air-inc.com/mobility-outlook-survey-2015.html
Foster, D. (2015). “More than Just an Aha! Moment” Mobility Magazine, July 2015.
1
What is Culture?
Culture Defined
“Culture is a system of collectively held values, beliefs, and practices of a group which guides
decisions and actions in patterned and recurrent ways. It encompasses the organization of
thinking, feeling, believing, valuing and behaving collectively that differentiates one group
from another. Values and beliefs often function on an unconscious level.” 3
Several researchers have developed frameworks for understanding national culture. Geert
Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions is perhaps one of the best known of these frameworks.
Hofstede’s work is particularly applicable to the workplace as his research attempts to describe
how individual values at work are influenced by culture. 4
Cultural Dimension5
Power Distance Index
Individualism vs Collectivism
Masculinity vs Femininity
Uncertainty Avoidance Index
Long-term Orientation vs Short-term
Normative Orientation
Indulgence vs Restraint
Description
The degree to which less powerful members
of society accept and expect an unequal
distribution of power.
The degree to which society prefers,
supports, and rewards individual
contributions and actions versus group
contributions and actions.
The degree to which society prefers
achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and
material rewards versus cooperation,
modesty, caring for the weak, and quality of
life.
The degree to which members of society feel
uncomfortable with uncertainty and
ambiguity.
The degree to which society is oriented
toward future rewards versus a short-term
orientation focused on the past or present.
The degree to which society allows for the
relatively free gratification of human desires
versus a suppression of gratification.
Sockalingam, S. (2004, September 10). Definition of culture. Cited in a presentation, Diversity and culture,
Bethesda, MD.
4
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G.J. and Minkov, M. (2010) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, 3rd Ed.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
5
Ibid.
3
2
Cross-Cultural vs Intercultural Training
Cross-cultural training and intercultural training are not the same. It is important for companies
to understand the differences between these two concepts and why both are important to the
success of cultural training programs for global and virtual work teams.
Cross-cultural training focuses on specific cultural groups and highlights the similarities and
differences of one cultural group as compared with another cultural group. The interactions
between these cultural groups are compared. Cross-cultural training also provides succinct and
general knowledge of a specific country or region. This type of training, for example, will give an
expatriate an overall understanding of the culture of the country where they are relocating and
how it compares and contrasts with their own culture. Cross-cultural training will be beneficial
for the businessperson travelling abroad for a conference: they will be trained on business
etiquette, local culture and customs and common “dos” and “don’ts” of the country hosting the
conference. This is the ideal starting point for the business traveler with limited cross-border
interactions. Consider, for example, a German manager who will attend a conference in Brazil.
Cross-cultural training can provide the manager with sufficient cultural information to attend
the conference, meet Brazilian colleagues, avoid common faux pas, and be successful with
limited cross-cultural interactions. Cross-cultural training develops appropriate behaviors and a
baseline understanding of the differences between two countries or cultures.
Intercultural training focuses on how individuals from one cultural group interact with
individuals from another cultural group. This type of training concentrates on how groups
interact and communicate with each other, as well as the role individuals play in promoting
effective communication within a cultural group different from their own. For instance, a U.S.
expatriate assignee to China who receives this type of training will become more aware of how
they are perceived culturally and will better understand how they can effectively communicate
within the cultural group of their host country. A company’s in-house global mobility and
immigration experts would especially benefit from intercultural training because of the
constant interaction they have with individuals from different countries. Due to the complex
nature of relocating employees from one country to another along with the immigration
challenges that encompass a global move, effective intercultural communication becomes
critical to ensure that key information is communicated in a way that is understood by all: the
global mobility team, home country and foreign management teams, and the relocating
employee. Typically, more than one culture is represented during a global move, so effective
intercultural communication is a necessity for this type of work team and should be part of the
company’s cultural training program.
With a rapidly growing number of companies moving into the global realm, there is a need to
address both cross-cultural and intercultural training. The increasing presence of global work
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teams demands that multinational businesses concentrate on developing cultural synergy
between employees of different cultures who must effectively work together on global
projects. Developing an intercultural learning framework is a significant first step in this
direction. This is accomplished by focusing first on basic intercultural communication training,
then addressing cross-cultural communication by either incorporating it into a larger training
program itself or by providing resources for employees to review outside of the formal training
environment. Far from being the daunting task it may appear, there are many resources
available to even the smallest of companies that can be used to develop baseline training,
expand an existing training program, or move to a fully integrated intercultural training model.
Steps in Developing Cultural Training Programs
Companies can provide both cross-cultural and intercultural training to their employees in
various ways including programs that are developed in-house, outsourcing the task to external
resources, or a combination of the two. An advantage to a company electing to develop their
own cultural training program is to ensure that their corporate culture is being translated into
both the home country’s culture and the cultures of their foreign entities. This in-house training
program can promote a cohesive company culture while being sensitive to the local values and
work methods.
When developing an effective corporate cultural training program, it is important for the
company to focus on creating overall cultural awareness, promoting employee cultural selfawareness, and developing an operating framework within cross-cultural teams. Each of these
elements plays a unique role within a cultural training program. When used in combination,
they can provide employees with a deep and well-rounded cultural training experience.
Along with formal cultural training programs, companies should also develop a corporate policy
focused on promoting an inclusive corporate culture that addresses cross-cultural competence.
Some companies incorporate cross-cultural competency within their diversity policy and this
can also be reinforced in a code of conduct policy. A strong corporate diversity policy will
increase awareness of cultural differences and encourage cross-cultural understanding. Such a
policy will set the tone for positive cross-cultural interactions and support cross-cultural and
intercultural training success. Below is an example of such a policy from The Coca-Cola
Company’s website.
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The Coca-Cola Company
Statement on Workplace Diversity
Diversity is an integral part of who we are, how we operate and how we see the future.
Our inclusive culture is defined by our seven core values: leadership, passion, integrity,
collaboration, diversity, quality, and accountability. Our central promise at The Coca-Cola
Company is to refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit, and inspire moments of optimism to
create value and make a difference.
Two assets give us the opportunity to keep this promise – our people and our brand.
The Coca-Cola Company leverages a worldwide team that is rich in diverse people, talent and
ideas.
As a global business, our ability to understand, embrace and operate in a multicultural world –
both in the market place and in the workplace – is critical to our sustainability.
Our diversity workplace strategy includes programs to attract, retain, and develop diverse
talent; provide support systems for groups with diverse backgrounds; and educate all
associates so that we master the skills to achieve sustainable growth.
We work hard to ensure an inclusive and fair work environment for our associates, all of whom
undergo diversity training on a regular basis. We find ongoing dialogue leads to better
understanding of our colleagues, our suppliers, our customers, our stakeholders, and
ultimately, to greater success in the marketplace. 6
6
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/diversity/workplace-culture
5
However, developing policies isn’t enough. Companies should also make sure the policy is wellcommunicated to employees and hold company leaders and managers accountable for its
implementation. In addition, a process should be developed to resolve any cross-cultural
conflicts that may arise. On-going assessment of cross-cultural policies and training programs
should be conducted to evaluate whether or not company objectives are being met and to
make any necessary adjustments.
Step 1: Create Cultural Awareness
For any company, an important starting point in developing a cultural training program is to
identify key cultures and create cultural awareness. This can take many forms, depending on
the size of the organization and the need. First steps can be the creation and sharing of country
presentations, not only to those who work with specific countries directly, but to everyone in
the organization.
Creating cultural awareness means aligning the organization from top to bottom so that even
the hourly support staff understands the basics. Lunch and learn presentations are an effective
way to spread this knowledge at a low cost, and using in-house experts to talk about their
global experiences opens the doors to learning and acceptance, along with building excitement
and an open acceptance of cultural challenges. At Mary Kay Inc., an internal specialist in the
role of International Learning and Development has compiled data on several of the more
diverse and challenging markets to provide learning modules. For example, a “Working with
Kazakhstan” module proved to be useful not only for the intended audience, a small support
group within the organization, but for the greater population based in Dallas that provides
support to that market. Using directed cross-cultural training modules to address the greater
training need has been a successful approach for this company.
There are many companies that offer cultural training programs, facilitation of courses, and
training by cultural experts. These can be used to broaden and fill a corporate cultural training
program. On a larger scale, organizations like The Hofstede Centre and ITIM International offer
large-scale training sessions, workshops, consultancy services, assessments, and certification of
trainers. The Hofstede Centre provides online access to its research free of charge and is an
excellent starting point for a company beginning a global project or a full cultural training
program. DFA Intercultural Global Solutions has been a leader in the field of cultural training for
over 25 years, and delivers cultural training programs on all world cultures on-site in over 200
world metro locations, as well as through a suite of DFA-developed virtual tools and webinars.
Another viable option for cross-cultural training is to utilize the services of relocation
management companies (“RMC”) that will either offer this training directly to their clients or
will coordinate with an external service provider specializing in cross-cultural training. Typically,
6
international assignment/relocation policies will have cross-cultural training offered as a core
benefit. The focus of this type of training will provide a relocating employee with general
knowledge about how to successfully live and work in their new assigned location. This type of
assignment/relocation-related training is not the same as programs that are structured for a
workforce to develop global competencies. These service providers are managed by the RMC as
part of their supply chain network of preferred providers. The company can also opt to work
directly with a cross-cultural service provider without the assistance of an RMC.
Established cross-cultural service providers are often members of mobility and relocation
industry associations such as Worldwide ERC (WERC) and can be found on the U.S. Department
of State website (www.state.gov/m/fsi/tc/79756.htm). These providers typically rely on a global
trainer network to deliver in-person training, but also have on-line tools for culture
quizzes/assessments, resources, guides, and continued learning opportunities. Some of the top
providers have tools that offer a personalized assessment of one’s own cultural orientation to
that of the destination country and perhaps even surrounding countries, which can be
invaluable for those with regional responsibilities. The best programs focus on building skills
and providing strategies for the individual employees and their families to successfully navigate
in their new environment. This type of training is the foundation for cultural adaptation and
being able to understand a new perspective or way of doing things.
Cultural training programs can and should encourage employees to learn on their own. Reading
on cultural topics in general and national cultures specifically can deepen understanding. There
is a wealth of travel literature which can provide insights into local thinking and ways of doing
things. Creating and maintaining a library of cultural information, either hard copy or digital
links, and making it easily accessible to employees is crucial. For example, links to books, sites,
and articles that are strategically placed on internal websites can make it easy for employees to
take steps to become more culturally aware. (See Resources for examples.)
Many global organizations purchase subscriptions to information portals that are either
specifically focused on cultural aspects or include culture pieces as part of a Human Resources
support tool. These are an invaluable way to quickly access updated and relevant data. Mary
Kay Inc. uses World Trade Resource’s wtrMobility for individual cultural assessments, country
and city information, language learning, and cultural etiquette, as well as health and travel
advisories. While the tool was originally purchased to support global mobility and tax, it is now
easily accessed by thousands of people in the organization seeking quick, accurate and reliable
cultural information.
With a millennial workforce moving training from the traditional “push” to a “pull”
methodology, online cultural competency tools can provide an easy and effective way to meet
some of the training needs of organizations. According to Dr. Stephan Branch, Chief Executive
Officer of the World Trade Resource, “What we have seen in our client organizations over the
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last five years is a significant shift in their talent acquisition and development groups. More and
more of our Fortune 1,000 customers are moving away from the traditional classroom training
environments and instead implementing on-line cultural competency tools that provide that
“pull” option especially for their millennial population. The days of training being “pushed” out
to the organization where learners sit in a classroom for hours and hours to be trained on
cultural competencies is long gone. Our best practice clients are using on-line technology to
drive these cultural competencies along with employee accountability throughout their
organizations.”
Step 2: Promote Cultural Self-Awareness
While it is important to give employees culture-specific information so they are aware of and
understand the cultures represented on their global work teams, it is even more important to
train these employees on how they can most effectively interact with their multicultural
teammates. The success of a company's global business projects depends on how well
members of each global project team interact and communicate with each other. Cultural selfawareness among team members plays a critical role in this success. Self-assessment is an
effective way for employees to take the first steps to cultural awareness and understanding.
Creating cultural self-awareness starts with the basics: “Who am I and how do I view the
world?” It is beneficial to have employees self-reflect and see how they view things compared
to others. Providing self-evaluation tools including online self-assessment exercises is a good
starting point. Online assessments, such as the DFA CultureCompass, are an excellent way to
discover one’s personal cultural orientation and gain a better understanding of how it
compares with other cultures. Many organizations offer free online assessments and others
charge a fee. (See Resources section for a listing.)
Cultural Awareness in Action
At Mary Kay Inc., the opening of a new market in Colombia was a big event with videos
created in-house to welcome the new office, cultural presentations given to specific work
teams both before and after opening, and constant digital updates to all employees. Lunch
and learn sessions focused on Colombian culture, vivid with photos, music, video, and
demographic information to connect Dallas employees to their newest colleagues. Going
deeper includes targeted cultural training for support teams, easy access to cultural learning
materials and assessments via the internal company website, and recorded cultural
webinars which can be accessed by all employees.
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Leadership styles can differ dramatically based on cultural orientation. 7 Hofstede’s dimensions,
shown below, illustrate how leaders from the United States and Mexico will differ in some
notable ways. Consider, for example, individualism and its opposite, collectivism. This
dimension has to do with self-image: whether a person thinks in terms of “me” or “we.”
Typically, a leader from the United States would score high on the individualism end of this
dimension, whereas a leader from Mexico would think from a group perspective and fall closer
to the collectivism end of the dimension. According to Hofstede, in individualist cultures people
look after themselves and their direct family first. Decisions are made with the “me” in mind
and personal gain can be a component of decision making. In collectivist cultures, like Mexico,
group orientation is key and includes belonging to an extended family and/or a religious group,
supporting a favorite sports team, and being highly interactive in work culture. Collectivists
think about the “we” and make decisions based on what is best for the group even when it may
not be best for them individually.
Cultural Dimensions
United States Compared to Mexico
Source: Hofstede, G. Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G.J. and Minkov, M. (2010) Cultures and
Organizations: Software of the Mind, 3rd Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Indulgence
97%
68%
24%
26%
Long Term Orientation
Uncertainty Avoidance
82%
46%
Masculinity
62%
69%
30%
Individualism
Power Distance
91%
81%
40%
0%
20%
40%
Mexico
60%
80%
100%
United States
7
Harris, P.R. and Moran, R.T. (2000) Managing Cultural Differences: Leadership Strategies for a New World of
Business, 5th Edition. Gulf Professional Publishing/Elsevier Science.
9
In terms of leadership, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions also illustrate key differences in decision
making or the level of hierarchy, called the power distance. U.S. culture tends toward a low
power distance with decisions made at different levels in the organization and with value
placed on input from subordinates. In Mexico, where power distance is high and hierarchy is
prominent, decisions are made at the highest levels with less collaborative effort.
Understanding the gaps between U.S. and Mexican culture will help leaders become culturally
self-aware of their leadership style which will in turn help them communicate better and ease
the decision making process while lessening potential conflict.
It is important to hold a discussion on culture, stressing that there are no rights or wrongs of
culture, just differences. While there are cultural tendencies and norms, we all have unique
experiences that shape us differently and result in a multitude of mindsets, attitudes, and
behaviors. Employees can sometimes be resistant to cultural training until this is made clear.
Emphasis on acceptance is key: we do not seek to change cultural orientation, but rather to
create understanding of others so that we can work better together, regardless of culture.
Step 3: Develop an Operating Framework
Another important aspect of a cultural training program is developing an operating framework
within cross-cultural teams. Even if a comprehensive internal cultural training program does not
exist, companies can develop project or region targeted cultural awareness training for global
work teams on certain projects with a global reach. This is typically done when there is
awareness by leadership that success being achieved depends upon the global team members
working effectively with each other and not getting side-tracked or experiencing delays due to
unforeseen cultural-based issues and misunderstandings.
A culturally synergized work team will experience increased efficiency and productivity that will
have a positive effect on the outcome of their global projects. This will reflect positively on the
company's cultural training efforts and will continue to advance the company toward positive
experiences within their global work teams.
The steps involved in developing multi-cultural work group agreements will vary depending on
the situation, but at a minimum the operating framework needs to be endorsed and accepted
by everyone in a leadership position. A few recommended critical elements include
communication, understanding of hierarchy and authority, meeting protocols, deadline
interpretation, evaluation styles for providing either direct or indirect feedback, and of course,
conflict resolution.
Effective communication is central to working in a multi-cultural team. This consists of more
than just a writing or presentation style, it also has to do with something as basic as spoken
language. For example, if everyone has the ability to speak English, their ability to be clearly
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understood is impacted by accents, speed of speech, and the use of slang or idioms. Guidelines
should be developed that serve as a reminder to all team members to interact with each other
in a respectful way by developing their listening and speaking skills.
What Time Does the Meeting Start?
“What time was the meeting supposed to start?” my colleague asked. “9:00 a.m. according to the
email invitation,” I replied. Since we were the only two people in a very large conference room in the
headquarters office of our Fortune 500 Company and no one else had arrived or called in yet, we
began to question ourselves. Did we have the right room, was the meeting today, did we
misinterpret the time zone or was there an update that we didn’t know about? After 15 minutes a
few others arrived, but we were still expecting a total of 30 people. Their absence left us with an
uneasy feeling that this project was getting off to a bad start.
The company was beginning a multiple year project that required employees from seven countries to
work together to meet critical business objectives. The project’s success depended on input of
representatives from each country. The project as a whole would suffer if any one individual did not
share his or her knowledge. Many of these employees were currently at the U.S. headquarters office
on an international assignment. However, there were times when team members were deployed to
other countries as well and might have to call in for meetings.
After much trial and error, we decided that our cross-cultural team needed a formal operating
framework so that we could understand and communicate more effectively with each other. The
first rule was that if the meeting was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. then you were expected to be in
the room and ready to start at 9 a.m. This was not easy for some team members to understand and
adopt.
We decided that we needed to develop a cross-cultural training program that included business
communication and operating guidelines to support our framework. Since we had no funding for this
unexpected training, it was developed internally. We started with a general overview of cultural
dimensions and examples of common communication issues that might lead to misunderstandings
or cause team members to fail to effectively express their opinions.
We also created guidelines that addressed interpersonal and task-related communications,
expectations for participation in collaborative discussions, interpretation of deadlines, use of
technology, meeting protocols, and conflict management. Our cross-cultural training program and
supporting guidelines enabled project leadership to establish clear business objectives so they could
meet their deliverables. In the end, our cross-cultural training resulted in a much more effective
global team.
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Once an agreement has been reached and work group guidelines produced, the operating
framework and guidelines should be widely communicated and available for reference by all
team members. These guidelines should be considered a fluid document to be changed and
updated to reflect real-time organizational directives.
Intercultural Training Success at Mary Kay Inc.
Mary Kay Inc., a privately held cosmetics company based in Dallas exemplifies a company
dealing daily with multiple, complex, and varied cultures. With operations in the Americas,
Europe, and Asia, its 35 markets span the range of cultural dimensions. A regional support
structure enables the company to utilize local talent to align decisions with local culture. Unlike
many global companies, Mary Kay Inc. uses expatriate assignees on a limited basis, preferring
to hire locally and guide strategic decisions from the company headquarters. Leadership is
organized into regionally-focused management teams. With over 5,000 employees worldwide,
global workforce development is a focus for the Learning and Development team. Unlike many
other global companies, Mary Kay relies heavily on internal development of these programs.
Mary Kay has recognized the need for improved cultural understanding and taken steps to
boost the success of global work teams. To date, cultural competency development has
touched all three stages identified in this paper. Creating awareness began several years ago
with the development of cultural competency learning modules targeted at raising awareness
and understanding of intercultural issues and introduction of the cultural dimensions,
expanding to market-specific cross-cultural learning modules. Deeper understanding and
discussions of strategic solutions comes about through facilitated sessions with small groups,
usually teams working, and sometimes struggling to communicate effectively, with individual
markets or regions.
Incorporating intercultural training into a project’s organizational change management
methodology is one way Mary Kay has diverted risk to minimize team communication issues
and keep project velocity on track. Latin America Regional Business Director Erika Barr used this
approach when an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) JDEdwards implementation was kickedoff in Brazil using teams from the U.S, Mexico, and Brazil. Barr says “Historically, ERP
implementations in Brazil are complex in nature and the potential for failure is high as
evidenced by many companies who have implemented solutions. By including cultural
awareness training in our Organization Change Management plan, we removed one element of
project risk – cultural nuances which impact communication and human perceptions.”
Mary Kay’s International Learning and Development Specialist was engaged to understand the
cultures involved and to find best practices in working together. Cross-cultural training focused
on working in Brazil was developed and delivered by in-house experts. This provided a low cost
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and flexible solution that was easily transformed to suit the needs of the group. Large and small
live sessions plus webinars raised awareness and understanding, while facilitated intercultural
training sessions helped leaders find strategic solutions for improving communications. The
project was successfully completed, and improved cultural understanding within the team was
a complementary achievement. These sessions have been expanded to include others in the
organization who support Brazil.
Through this process, Mary Kay learned to think proactively about cultural implications and to
develop and provide resources that are easily accessible by all employees and repeatable. An
unexpected outcome was the level of interest in the learning modules throughout the
organization: Mary Kay decided to host a series of voluntary “lunch and learn” sessions that
were heavily attended by employees from many areas of the company, far exceeding the
original target group. The “Working With” series of cross-cultural sessions covered cultural
issues in Kazakhstan, Brazil, and China. Demand for these modules continues to increase, as do
requests for facilitated group learning sessions as Mary Kay’s global presence grows.
As a prerequisite to group intercultural sessions, Mary Kay uses online cultural assessment
tools, in particular DFA’s CultureCompass located on the World Trade Resources site.
Employees take a personal cultural competency assessment to deepen their understanding
before attending intercultural training. Using the three step process of country-based crosscultural presentations, use of experts (in this case, in-house), and self-assessment, as well as
facilitated discussions of market specific working and communication issues has allowed
employees to begin bridging cultural gaps and improve teamwork across national borders.
Conclusion
“Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a
nuisance at best and often a disaster.”
― Geert Hofstede
Although effective cultural training programs provide a competitive advantage in the global
marketplace, many global organizations still do not incorporate cross-cultural or intercultural
training in their standard required employee learning and development programs. Effective
cultural training for use in the workplace is far more than business etiquette, it is needed to
increase cultural awareness and delve into issues that could potentially impact cross-cultural
communication.In today's global economy, it is extremely beneficial that cross-cultural policies
and cultural training become part of the corporate culture and be available to all employees.
Copyright©2015 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
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Resources
Books:
•
Cushner, Kenneth and Brislin, Richard W. Intercultural Interactions: A Practical Guide.
Sage Publications, Second Edition, 1996.
•
Harris, Philip R. and Moran, Robert T. Managing Cultural Differences: Leadership
Strategies for a New World of Business. Gulf Professional Publishing/Elsevier Science, 5th
Edition, 2000.
•
Hall, Edward T. Beyond Culture. Anchor Books, a division of Random House, 1989.
•
Hofstede, Geert and Hofstede, Gert Jan and Minkov, Michael. Cultures and
Organizations, Software of the Mind. McGraw-Hill, Third Edition, 2010.
Kohls, L. Robert and Knight, John M. Developing Intercultural Awareness: A CrossCultural Training Handbook. Intercultural Press, second edition, 1994.
Lewis, Richard D. When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures. Nicolas Brealey
Publishing, Third Edition, 2007.
Meyer, Erin. The Culture Map: Breaking Through The Invisible Boundaries of Global
Business. Public Affairs Press, 2014.
•
•
•
•
Mitchell, Charles. A Short Course in International Business Culture. World Trade Press,
2000.
•
Molinsky, Andy. Global Dexterity: How To Adapt Your Behavior Across Cultures Without
Losing Yourself In The Process. Harvard Business Review Press, 2013.
•
Qulech, John A. and Jocz, Katherine E. All Business Is Local: Why Place Matters More
Than Ever In A Global, Virtual World. Penguin Group, 2012.
•
Trompenaars, Frons and Hampden-Turner, Charles. Riding the Waves of Culture:
Understanding Diversity in Global Business. McGraw Hill, Second Edition, 1998.
•
Williams, Mark A. The 10 Lenses, Your Guide to Living and Working in a Multicultural
World. Capital Books, Inc, 2001.
Websites:
•
•
•
•
•
The Culture Detective: http://culturaldetective.com/
DFA Intercultural Global Solutions www.dfaintercultural.com
The Hofstede Centre: http://geert-hofstede.com
ITIM International: http://www.itim.org/en/theculturefactor
Thunderbird School of Global Management and the Najafi Global Mindset Institute:
http://globalmindset.thunderbird.edu/
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•
•
The World Trade Resource: http://www.worldtraderesource.com
Worldwide ERC (WERC) www.worldwideerc.org
Cultural Assessments:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hofstede Center: geert-hofstede.com/cultural-survey.html
DFA CultureCompass: dfaintercultural.com/
Erin Meyer: erinmeyer.com/tools/self-assessment-questionnaire/
People Going Global: www.peoplegoingglobal.com/
RW3 Cultural Wizard: www.rw-3.com/
Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: www.kissbowshakehands.com/
Cultural Awareness International: culturalawareness.com/
wtrMobility: www.theworldtraderesource.com/wtr-products-services/wtrMobility
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About the Authors
Lisa Ploeg is the Senior International Learning and Development Specialist at Mary Kay, Inc. in Dallas
Texas, responsible for the Latin America and the Europe regions, as well as global learning initiatives.
Lisa lived and worked in Europe for two decades, during which she spent a decade in the academic world
as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. She was awarded
Professor of the Year in 2006. Prior to her academic career, Lisa was the Business Merchandising
Manager for Nike in the Europe region, working with retail analytics and shop concepts. Lisa has worked
with diverse, multi-cultural groups in Europe, Asia and Latin America in academia and in the corporate
sector, providing a bridge between these areas with targeted learning that is relevant to the audience.
She is a guest speaker and consultant on cross-cultural topics and international business .Lisa has an
MIM from Thunderbird School of Global Management and speaks English and Dutch fluently.
Ginger Merrick is a co-founder and partner of Global Mobility Accelerated Solutions, LLC (GMAS). Over
the past 20 years, she has gained mobility and relocation expertise primarily from her role as the Global
Mobility Manager for The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises where she managed the
international and domestic relocations, assignments, immigration and expatriate tax services. Ginger
holds the Senior Certified Relocation Professional (SCRP) and Senior Global Mobility Specialist (SGMS)
designations and has held multiple mobility industry leadership roles. In 2013 and 2014, Ginger was a
judge for the Forum for Expatriate Management Americas EMMA awards and herself was the runner up
for the 2012 Global Mobility Professional of the Year EMMA award.
Amy Sibley is the Co-founder and Partner of Global Mobility Accelerated Solutions, LLC (GMAS). She
received her BBA from The University of Toledo, and has focused her career in the areas of global
mobility, immigration, and labor and employment. She has over 20 years of experience working in both
corporate and law firm environments, including being the primary immigration expert at both a Fortune
100 and a Fortune 500 company. Amy has developed best-in-class immigration administration practices,
and has provided personalized education to employees, managers, Human Resources, and Talent
Acquisition teams.
Laura Hagmann is the Managing Editor of Bloomberg BNA’s International Human Resource Decision
Support Network. She has lived and worked in five different countries and taught in universities in both
Europe and the U.S. Laura has an MBA from the American University and speaks English and German
fluently.
16
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