International Training and Developm

International Training and Development Activities
Organizations recognize the importance of international training and development activities and increasingly use them to prepare individuals for the challenges and opportunities associated with living and working in new cultural environments, with diverse teams, across national borders, etc. (see Windham International & National Foreign Trade Council, 2003, 2002; Csoka & Hackett, 1998; Gregersen, Morrison, & Black, 1998). The terms international training activities (ITAs) and international development activities (IDAs) tend to be combined to signify the set of activities used by firms to develop the competency base of their internationallyoriented employees. The objective of both ITAs and IDAs is to foster learning among the organizational members and develop enriched and more capable workers who, in turn, can enhance organizational competitiveness and effectiveness internationally.
While similar in objective, the specific goals of ITAs and IDAs are, in fact, different. In general terms, ITAs focus on the competencies needed to perform more effectively on one’s current job. In other words, ITAs tend to be oriented towards solving short-term performance concerns. In contrast, IDAs refer to the acquisition of competencies needed to perform in some future job. It is, however, important to note that certain activities such as cross-cultural training can be used for both for training purposes (e.g., Earley, 1997) and for developmental purposes (e.g., Lievens, Harris, Van Keer & Bisqueret, 2003). Some of the various international training and development activities are listed below.
• Cross-cultural Training (Specific and General)– The most researched and most used in practice, when used as an ITA, the goal of cross-cultural training is to increase an international assignee’s specific cross-cultural knowledge of a given country. When (albeit, less commonly) used as an IDA, cross-cultural training will be geared for individuals who must work across a variety of cultural contexts – without any one cultural context in mind.
• Predeparture Cross-cultural Orientation – As an ITA, the immediate goal of cross-cultural orientation is to help an internationally assignee learn the basics (e.g., currency, public transportation, working hours) to comfortably live and work in host country.
• Diversity Training – Depending on the immediacy of the need, diversity training can be either an ITA or an IDA. The goal of diversity training is to increase one’s ability to understand and appreciate multiple cultural perspectives.
• Language Training- Depending on the immediacy of the need for fluency in another language, language training can be either an ITA or an IDA – but in practice is most often offered when an international assignee will be moving to a country where different language skills are needed. Sometimes, organizations offer language training in the corporate language for all who are interested. In this case, language training may be viewed more developmentally.
• Traditional Education in International Management – University or specific training programs are often offered as a part of a larger developmental plan and therefore more likely to be an ITA. The goal of the traditional program is to increase international business acumen and knowledge.
• Cross-National Coaching or Mentoring – Generally viewed as an IDA, cross-national coaches and mentors help international assignees build cultural awareness, work on cultural “blind-spots and help develop competencies for becoming effective in an international environment. Occasionally, cross-national coaches are assigned for a specific task (e.g., delivering an important speech in another country, negotiating an international joint venture) and, in those cases, would then be considered more of an ITA.
• Immersion Cultural Experiences - Generally viewed as an IDA, the goal of immersion is to – with a rather quick experience – produce culture shock for the developmental purpose of increasing one’s ability to recognize and appreciate multiple cultural perspectives.
• Cross-Border Global Teams (with Debriefing) – Both an ITA and an IDA, individuals are debriefed after a multicultural team experience (e.g., a meeting) to receive feedback, and hopefully improve their skills, on how to be a better leader, team member, etc. in a multicultural context. The feedback is an ITA for the purpose of the immediate team and an IDA for long-term skill development.
• International Assignments – International assignments can be the means by which people develop cross-cultural competence – and the outcome that the more immediate-focused ITAs hope to influence. In the developmental context, as an IDA, living and working in another country may have a long-term effect on an individual’s cross-national competence. Believing in their developmental power, many firms view successful international assignments as the indicator of cross-national competence.

We encourage future research to investigate the various ITAs and IDAs with their specific goals in mind. Research, to date, has overgeneralized the short-term and long-term outcomes of these diverse training and development interventions. An investigation of the various interventions, relative to the short-term and long-term goals would help organizations better understand the implications of the activities in which they engage. In some cases, long-term benefits may be present as a direct result of a short-term intervention (e.g., a language course gives an individual some cultural exposure and appreciation). The concern, however, is that the opposite may also be the case – that a long-term intervention (such as an international rotational assignment) may have only a short-term gain. In the case of an international assignment, this concern suggests that an individual has learned to be competent within one particular culture, but has not developed any international competencies that could generalize to other cross-border contexts. This is an open, and very important, area for scholarly investigation.