Read Charlene Solomon’s article in MOBILITY magazine, “International Assignments: Then & Now”.

RW3 CultureWizard

In “The Cost of Ignorance,” an article in Diversity Executive magazine, Nikravan explores why “Miscommunication and a lack of cross-cultural understanding are two main barriers organizations face when it comes to working globally.”

Nikravan interviewed our EVP, Charlene Solomon, to understand RW3 CultureWizard’s best practices for teaching culture to global teams, which we achieve primarily through electronic methods.

“Best-practice companies are preparing in advance and making plans,” said Solomon. “It doesn’t mean you have to change your beliefs; it just means you’re more aware of other people’s belief systems.”

She also refers to “pull” technology in the learning context: “It’s important to deliver information to adult learners in bite-size pieces for the depth of knowledge that [an] individual learner wants at the appropriate time…”

What have you found to be the most effective way of learning about doing business effectively in other countries? Is trial-and-error a process your managers expect you to go through, or do you find preparation and review of best cross-cultural practices valuable?

RW3 CultureWizard

The importance of intercultural competency for people who may never work outside their home country is the theme of “Going Global, Stateside,” an article by Tanya Mohn in the New York Times.

The excerpt below describes RW3 CultureWizard and the experience one of it’s clients, Thomson Reuters, had with its CultureWizard site.

Andrew P. Walker, vice president of global mobility for Thomson Reuters, said online training was easier, quicker and cheaper than in-person training. Thomson Reuters uses CultureWizard, a Web-based tool created by the company RW3, for its employees in 93 countries for what he said was ‘a fraction of the cost’ of formal training.

Mr. Walker said he also used it himself. ‘Without the course, I think I would have made a lot of mistakes,’ said Mr. Walker, who moved back to the United States in July after five years in London. He said his low-key, light-hearted manner was fine on business trips, but when he was working there full time, ‘I wouldn’t be able to get away with it forever.’ He said the program helped speed the transition.

Michael S. Schell, chief executive of RW3, recounted how a mining and exploration company in Britain contacted his firm because the mining company was unsuccessful in winning business from an American company. ‘During the training, we pointed out that the proposal turned off the Americans,’ Mr. Schell said, because it began with 10 pages detailing all the risks of the venture and how much failure would cost.

Americans tend to view failure as a learning experience that inspires creativity, Mr. Schell said, so the American company considered the proposal negative and unenthusiastic. The British tend to be risk-averse culturally, he said, and perceived the Americans as unrealistic. When the British company redid the proposal with a positive spin, they got the deal the next day, he said.

‘Differences got overlooked because we speak English,’ Mr. Schell said. ‘They look like us, wear the same jeans and use the same cellphones.’

The assumption is that we’re all the same, but we’re not all the same.

Click here to jump to the article.

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A BusinessWeek article explains how new Dean Peter Henry of New York University’s (NYU) Stern School of Business plans to re-focus the school towards industries outside of finance. Since the troubled financial industry is no longer the best option for new job hunters, Henry plans to transform the school’s orientation into one that is global, equipping its students with the skills to go beyond the environs of New York.

“Henry tells the story of a CEO of a Fortune 500 company who once told him that he knew emerging economies would be the best place to grow his company, but he was terrified of sending employees because they lacked the skills needed to operate in that environment. ‘At Stern we want to create leaders who say it is a corporate imperative that we train people who are as comfortable in the Middle East as they are in Manhattan,’” he explained. Intercultural training is typically conducted in classrooms, but innovative technologies can recreate the classroom into a virtual one, allowing students, graduates and professionals to build cultural awareness online through e-learning tools and resources.

Henry moved to the US from Jamaica when he was 9 years old. He “…knows how to assimilate and adjust to new cultures, and he wants Stern students to do the same.” One of his challenges will be to develop the academic materials and courses required to produce the kinds of graduates that global organizations want.

Click here to jump to the article.

Grayson

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