BBA 229 Training and Development Lecture 9 Special Issues in Training and Employee Development Dr. S. Chan Department of Business Administration charmaine@chuhai.edu.hk http://home.chuhai.hk/~charmaine/

Trainers are often forced to deal with a wide variety of important issues that fall outside the traditional discussion of the components of instructional system design.

Training Issues Resulting from the External Environment: Legal Issues Welfare-to-Work Programs Cross-Cultural Preparation Managing Work Force Diversity School-to-Work Transition 3

Cross-Cultural Preparation Involves educating employees and their families who are to be sent to a foreign country (i.e., expatriates) To successfully conduct business in the global market place, employees must understand the business practices and the cultural norms of different countries

Types of Employees in Global Companies Parent-country national – employee whose country of origin is where the company has its headquarters (i.e., expatriate) Host-country national – employee from the host country Third-country national – employee who has a country of origin different from both the parent country and host country where he or she work To prepare employees for cross-cultural assignments, companies need to provide cross-cultural training.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism – Collectivism Masculinity – Femininity Long-term – Short-term Time Orientation

Foreign Assignments One key to successful foreign assignment is a combination of training and career management for employees and their families Foreign assignments involve three phases: pre-departure phase on-Site phase repatriation phase Training is necessary in all three phases

Pre-departure Phase Employees need to receive language training and an orientation in the new country’s culture and customs the family should be included in the orientation expatriates and their families need information about housing, schools, recreation, shopping, and health care facilities in the area where they will live experiential training methods are most effective in assignments that require significant interpersonal interaction with host nationals

On-Site Phase Training involves continued orientation to the host country and its customs and cultures through formal programs or through a mentoring relationship expatriates and their families may be paired with a mentor from the host country who helps them understand the new, unfamiliar work environment and community

Repatriation Phase (1 of 2) Prepares expatriates for return to the parent company and country from the foreign assignment Expatriates and their families are likely to experience high levels of stress and anxiety when they return because of the changes that have occurred since their departure

Repatriation Phase (2 of 2) Many expatriates decide to leave the company because the assignment they are given upon return has less responsibility, challenges, and status than the foreign assignment Employees should be encouraged to self-manage the repatriation process

Implications of Cultural Dimensions for Training Design

Managing Work Force Diversity (1 of 2) Managing diversity involves creating an environment that allows all employees to contribute to organizational goals and experience personal growth This includes: access to jobs fair and positive treatment of all employees

Managing Work Force Diversity (2 of 2) Managing diversity requires the company to develop employees so that they are comfortable working with others from a wide variety of ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds Managing diversity may require changing the company culture

Goals of Diversity Training To eliminate values, stereotypes, and managerial practices that inhibit employees’ personal development To allow employees to contribute to organizational goals regardless of their race, age, physical condition, sexual orientation, gender, family status, religious orientation, or cultural background

Managing Diversity through Diversity Training Programs To successfully manage a diverse work force, companies need to ensure that: employees understand how their values and stereotypes influence their behavior toward others of different gender, ethnic, racial, or religious backgrounds employees gain an appreciation of cultural differences among themselves behaviors that isolate or intimidate minority group members improve

Diversity Training Programs (1 of 3) Diversity training –designed to change employee attitudes about diversity and/or developing skills needed to work with a diverse work force Diversity training programs differ according to whether attitude change or behavior change is emphasized

Diversity Training Programs (2 of 3) Attitude Awareness and Change Programs Focus on increasing employees’ awareness of differences in cultural and ethnic backgrounds, physical characteristics, and personal characteristics that influence behavior toward others The assumption is that by increasing their awareness of stereotypes and beliefs, employees will be able to avoid negative stereotypes

Diversity Training Programs (3 of 3) Behavior-Based Programs focus on changing the organizational policies and individual behaviors that inhibit employees’ personal growth and productivity one approach is to identify incidents that discourage employees from working up to their potential another approach is to teach managers and employees basic rules of behavior in the workplace cultural immersion is also used

Training Issues Related to Internal Needs of the Company The company’s internal environment results in pressures which influence training practices: the need to train managerial talent training and development opportunities for all employees (regardless of their personal characteristics) use of the company’s compensation system to motivate employees to learn

Deloitte & Touche’s Recommendations for Melting the Glass Ceiling

The Succession Planning Process Identify what positions are included in the plan Identify the employees who are included in the plan Develop standards to evaluate positions Determine how employee potential will be measured Develop the succession planning review Link the succession planning system to other human resource systems Determine what feedback is provided to employees