U.S. learns Indian ways, takes inter-cultural training
By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 23 December 2009, 15:48 IST
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U.S. learns Indian ways, takes inter-cultural training
Bangalore: After facing the communication problems steaming from cultural barriers, Dow Chemical, a provider of chemical, plastic and agricultural products hired People Going Global, an intercultural training firm to teach Houstan engineers to get comfortable with their Indian counterparts. Language was a little problem among its engineers in Houston and India. But so many other communication barriers have emerged and Houston engineers thought they weren't always promptly getting the answers they needed. "It was very frustrating, so we hired People Going Global," said Chris Wulke, Team Integration Leader at Dow Chemical. Trainers taught Houston engineers that their Indian colleagues may not be comfortable with fairly forward or aggressive Western styles of communications. Following the similar path many MNCs have started taking cultural training seriously, because now-a-days international mergers have become frequent. "For years, intercultural training simply meant teaching the do's and don'ts of doing business abroad. In recent years, it has evolved into instilling realistic cultural empathy," says Gary Weaver of American University's Intercultural Management Institute. In Asia and the Middle East, personal relationships and rapport are more valued and are crucial ingredients in getting things done. It means that Western executives should remember to engage in small talk and avoid business talk during dinner banquets and after-hours outings. "You need to spend out-of-office time in social settings," says Ted Dale, President of international business consulting firm Aperian Global. Time Management is another factor that may bother Americans, who are generally sticklers for keeping meetings on time. But they may find their international colleagues a bit more flexible. Duncan Crundwell of People Going Global said, "Asians never think the meeting will finish at 12. If it's going well, we can keep going."

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