Sustaining And Developing The Cross-Cultural Management Effectiveness Of Australian And Singaporean Expatriates
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The document presents research findings on the cross-cultural management effectiveness of Australian and Singaporean expatriate managers, highlighting the lack of formal training in both pre-departure and in-country settings. It emphasizes the importance of personal experience, coaching, and mentoring over traditional didactic training methods in developing cross-cultural competencies. The study concludes that despite the value of mentoring, the effectiveness of such informal training methods in improving expatriates' cross-cultural management competence remains uncertain.
Sustaining And Developing The Cross-Cultural Management Effectiveness Of Australian And Singaporean Expatriates
- 1. Sustaining And Developing The Cross- Cultural Management Effectiveness Of Australian And Singaporean Expatriates Peter Woods and Michelle Barker Griffith Business School 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006
- 2. Presentation Outline • Introduction • Exploration of concepts • Research design • Results • Discussion • Conclusion 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 2
- 3. Introduction Aim - to identify sustainable development practices for developing cross-cultural management effectiveness in Australian and Singaporean expatriate managers Method – interviews with 51 Australian expatriate managers in Singapore, Singaporean expatriate managers in Australia, and relevant HR professionals Conclusion - Improved human resource development practices are proposed, focussing on in-post training, the rise of coaching and mentoring, the development of socio-cultural competencies, and the development of culturally divergent management skills. 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 3
- 4. Cross-Cultural Management Effectiveness • Adaptation and cross-cultural management effectiveness • Australian expatriate cross-cultural effectiveness • Singaporean expatriate cross-cultural effectiveness 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 4
- 5. Expatriate Human Resource Development • Australian expatriate development • Singaporean expatriate development • Hypothesis 1 - That most Australian and Singaporean expatriate managers do not receive training by the company to enable them to perform their expatriate manager assignment 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 5
- 6. Timing of Training • Pre-departure training • 'In-country' training • Hypothesis 2 – That most Australian and Singaporean expatriate managers do not receive training ‘on-assignment’ (in-country) 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 6
- 7. Type of Training • Didactic instruction innovations • Hypothesis 3 – That didactic training is the most common form of human resource development received by Australian and Singaporean expatriate managers • Simulation activities • Hypothesis 4 – That experienced Australian and Singaporean expatriates and HR professionals regard interactive cross-cultural training as the most effective form of cross-cultural management development 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 7
- 8. Aim • To examine the perceived effectiveness of relevant human resource development practices from the perspectives of Australian expatriate managers in Singapore, Singaporean expatriate managers in Australia, and Human Resource professionals involved in managing and training expatriate managers. 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 8
- 9. Research Questions • Primary research question. What are the most effective ways of developing expatriate managers in their cross-cultural management role, according to Australian and Singaporean expatriate managers and HR professionals? • Secondary research question. What is the type and timing of training that Australians and Singaporeans receive to enable them to perform their expatriate manager assignments? 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 9
- 10. Sample • 51 usable responses, with a final response rate of 73% • 20 Australian expatriates in Singapore • 15 Singaporean expatriates in Australia • 16 HR professionals • All from different firms • The respondents were from a variety of industries including banking, professional services, retail, construction, media and academic. • 69% male 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 10
- 11. Instrument • A questionnaire was developed to assess the respondents’ perceived experience of the timing and type of training, in line with Woods (2000) and Blake et al. (1996), the effectiveness of training, and their suggestions for expatriate training. • Email, telephone and fax methods used – clarification sought for all by phone 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 11
- 12. Method and Timing of Training for Expatriate Manager Assignments HR Never University Pre-Company Pre-Departure On- Development Training Company Assignment Method Training Company Training Didactic 37.3% 17.6% 7.8% 21.6% 15.7% Language 60.8% 2% 21.6% 9.8% 5.9% Case Studies 72.5% 3.9% 0 11.8% 11.8% Orientation 37.3% 11.8% 9.8% 37.3% 3.9% Visits Group 51% 5.9% 3.9% 19.6% 19.6% Discussion Simulation 80.4% 3.9% 0 9.8% 5.9% Activities Self- 31.4% 2% 25.5% 27.5% 13.7% Awareness/ Stress Training Coaching/ 27.5% 0 11.8% 23.5% 37.3% Mentoring
- 13. Perceptions on Aspects of Training That Have Enabled Expatriates to Be More Effective in the Role of Cross-Cultural Managers Aspects of Training Australian Singaporean HR Total Seen as Effective Expatriate Expatriate Professional Personal experience 25% 47% 0 23.5% Understanding 5% 0 44% 16% culture Knowledge transfer/ 20% 0 19% 14% coaching from experienced expatriates Group discussion of 10% 20% 12.5% 14% experience No training/ very 20% 7% 6% 12% brief training Case studies 5% 13% 12.5% 10% Context specific 0 0 31% 10% work / business issues Cross-cultural 0 0 25% 8% effectiveness Cultural self- 0 0 19% 6% awareness Total Sample, n = 51
- 14. H1 – Training Utilisation • Most Australian and Singaporean managers in the sample did not receive training from the company to enable them to perform their expatriate management assignment. • Includes all forms of training except for mentoring/ coaching • In line with previous research in the area • A source of frustration to HR professionals • Danger of expatriates and companies being as source of cultural imperialism 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 14
- 15. H2 – In-Country Development • Most Australian and Singaporean managers do not receive training in-country • All forms of training except for coaching/ mentoring (37.7% receive this kind of training on assignment) • In interviews, respondents indicated this type of training was often informal • Focus of HR on assignment was the familiar compensation, living and family adjustment issues. • Unique challenges of cross-cultural management were not considered priority issues by the company 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 15
- 16. H3 – Didactic Training • Didactic training was not the most common form of training received – coaching/ mentoring was the most common • Supports previous research (Anderson, 2001) of a mentoring/ coaching trend and that the method is commonly used with Singaporean expatriates • Mentoring useful for developing the protégé in terms of broader psychological and career support and in terms of expatriate socialisation, job attitudes, general understanding of business in multicultural contexts and assignment completion (Delahaye 2000; Feldman & Bolino 1999) • Dark side of mentoring is that cross-cultural mistakes can be passed on when standards and performance measures of cross-cultural management are scarce (Woods, 2002) • Colonial experience (Stening, 1994) 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 16
- 17. H4 – Most Effective Training • Experienced Australian and Singaporean expatriates and HR professionals did not regard interactive cross-cultural training as the most effective form of cross-cultural management development • Personal experience nominated most frequently • Singaporean expatriates in particular nominated this form of training • Reflects the experience of many Singaporean expatriates who were overseas graduates • Top ranking deficiency in training nominated by all categories was cross-cultural awareness/ communication/ management 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 17
- 18. Answering the Research Question • The perceived most effective methods of developing expatriate managers for their cross-cultural management role are personal experience, coaching from experienced expatriates and group discussion of experience. • Personal experience has the possibility of reinforcing attitudes and practices that are functional, but not always effective when adverse cultural impact is consdered (Black & Mendenhall, 1991) 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 18
- 19. Secondary Research Question • Most common forms of training already discussed • Most common timing of training occurs prior to departure • Many respondents did not receive any training at all 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 19
- 20. Limitations & Conclusion • Small sample size • Cross-cultural management development receives a low priority • Innovations in training such as group simulations building socio-cultural competencies are poorly utilised • Experience most valued • Mentoring most utilised • Remaining question of whether mentoring and experience does in fact improve cross-cultural management competence 2nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability – Vietnam, 2006 20