Cross cultural communication training has become a must in today's business environment. The world is fast becoming a global village and to survive in such scenarios requires us to acquire as much knowledge about others as possible. Cross-cultural mistakes can lead to unnecessary hard feelings and may involve huge costs. Moreover, we cannot live in a secluded environment away from other peoples and their practices.
The contact between business people from other countries is becoming more frequent day by day. The more national boundaries a company crosses, the greater the scope for misunderstanding and conflict. To succeed internationally, it is essential to be able to break the barriers of culture and language. The importance of cross cultural communication training becomes more pronounced in the onsite-offshore business model, which is a very common practice not only in our company, but in the entire IT industry today. We have to interact with people from completely different, or rather, diametrically opposite realm of society, almost on daily basis. Their way of expressing themselves formally or in small talks, their gestures, etc may leave us in many an embarrassing situation if we remain ignorant of their background and behavior. People from different countries or even different states have their own idea of sense of humor, of societal norms, of work habits; and being a part of a global team, we need to know, understand and respect them.
Cultural impacts include difference in self, personal and social responsibility, regional politics, religion, manners and etiquette, gift giving protocols and the list goes on. Cross cultural training helps us realize all these diversities which in turn are useful in building our credibility with the clients, and avoiding misunderstandings. One thing that is very much acceptable in one culture may be considered extremely avoidable in the other. Lack of proper training may lead to total chaos if such situations arise. Not only verbal, but physical communication, i.e. body language can be totally different in different cultures. Understanding the exact meanings of such behavior definitely aids in effectively understanding client needs and also in conveying our thoughts to the other party.
So, all in all, in order to understand the norms of designated cultures, build good friendly relationships, communicate effectively with foreign colleagues and to successfully apply cultural protocols in business situations; cross cultural training is a must and indeed helps in making a better expatriate workforce.
The contact between business people from other countries is becoming more frequent day by day. The more national boundaries a company crosses, the greater the scope for misunderstanding and conflict. To succeed internationally, it is essential to be able to break the barriers of culture and language. The importance of cross cultural communication training becomes more pronounced in the onsite-offshore business model, which is a very common practice not only in our company, but in the entire IT industry today. We have to interact with people from completely different, or rather, diametrically opposite realm of society, almost on daily basis. Their way of expressing themselves formally or in small talks, their gestures, etc may leave us in many an embarrassing situation if we remain ignorant of their background and behavior. People from different countries or even different states have their own idea of sense of humor, of societal norms, of work habits; and being a part of a global team, we need to know, understand and respect them.
Cultural impacts include difference in self, personal and social responsibility, regional politics, religion, manners and etiquette, gift giving protocols and the list goes on. Cross cultural training helps us realize all these diversities which in turn are useful in building our credibility with the clients, and avoiding misunderstandings. One thing that is very much acceptable in one culture may be considered extremely avoidable in the other. Lack of proper training may lead to total chaos if such situations arise. Not only verbal, but physical communication, i.e. body language can be totally different in different cultures. Understanding the exact meanings of such behavior definitely aids in effectively understanding client needs and also in conveying our thoughts to the other party.
So, all in all, in order to understand the norms of designated cultures, build good friendly relationships, communicate effectively with foreign colleagues and to successfully apply cultural protocols in business situations; cross cultural training is a must and indeed helps in making a better expatriate workforce.
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