Managing across Cultures MGMT 544: Managing across Cultures Professor Xiao-Ping Chen University of Washington Spring, 2005

International career What do the companies that manage expats effectively do? Cross-cultural training Case analysis: Catskill Roads

Sending people for right reasons: What do the companies that manage expats effectively do? (Nokia, Honda, GE, LG Group…) Three things: Sending people for right reasons: focus on knowledge creation and global leadership development Sending the right people: people whose technical skills are matched or exceeded by their cross-cultural abilities

Who are the right people? A drive to communicate Broad-based sociability Cultural flexibility Cosmopolitan orientation A collaborative negotiation style

3. Finishing the right way: What do the companies that manage expats effectively do? (Nokia, Honda, GE, LG Group…) 3. Finishing the right way: end expatriate assignments with a deliberate repatriation process

Gillette’s international trainee program Gillette’s consumer businesses Personal grooming products for men and women Stationary products Small electrical appliances Brand names: Braun, Oral-B, Liquid Paper, Paper Mate

Gillette’s international business International markets generate > 70% of total sales and operating profit > 75% of Gillette employees work outside the US Gillette does business in more than 200 countries and territories Global deployment of people created the need for the international trainee program

International Trainee Program Trainees work at Gillette subsidiaries in their home countries for 6 months Then transferred to one of Gillette’s 3 international HQs: Boston, London, Singapore for 18 months Grads. then return to their home countries to assume entry-level mgmt positions If successful they move to other assignments in other countries

International trainee program Eventually the most successful trainees return to their home countries as general managers or senior operating managers Objective: not to fill short-term vacancies Objective: hire and develop people who want careers with global dimensions

To qualify, trainees must be Adaptable + good social skills < 30 years old, single Mobile + oriented toward an international career Fluent in English Enthusiastic and aggressive

International trainee program Home countries of current trainees: Argentina, Brazil, China, Columbia, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Russia, S. Africa, Turkey, Venezuela

A practical but theory-based framework Theory: Social Learning Theory (SLT) Learning takes place by (1) the effect of reinforcement and (2) imitating or modeling Four elements: attention retention reproduction incentives and the motivational processes

Findings related to learning process Gradual modeling is more effective than “one-shot” modeling Individuals can learn completely through symbolic modeling Participative modeling is generally more effective than symbolic process alone

Cross-cultural training (CCT) Rigor of the training program Important situational factors: Culture novelty Degree of interaction Job novelty

Catskill Roads Background info. Moves: Decision: To go or not to go? Kathryn Hill-Baker Brian Baker Universal Bank (Bob Jasper; Jim Collins) Moves: NY—Argentina—NY—Mexico City? Decision: To go or not to go?

Questions What went wrong? What should have UB done? What should Brian and Kathryn do?

What is a “perfect” expatriation program? Selection: what criteria should determine who would go? Preparation: what type and how long should the preparation be? Overseas support: what type of support does an employee need while overseas? Reentry: what type of a position should the expatriate return to? Who should determine that? When should the position search begin?