Summary
Cross-cultural adaptability is crucial in gaining competitive advantage in the global market. This paper provides both an empirical study and a conceptual discussion of cross-cultural adaptability and its impact on American business students (domestic) and international business students in the United States, with implications for global managers. The survey was conducted at a midwestern university in the United States. The sample comprised a random selection of 100 international students and 100 domestic U.S. students. The results show significant differences between domestic and international students' cross -cultural awareness, and suggests a need for cross-cultural training in the USA.
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Analyzing Cross-Cultural Adaptability Among Business Students: An Empirical Investigation
Introduction
The globalization of business has made it necessary for managers, as well as other employees, to become more adaptable and culturally savvy. Organizations that either hire based on these characteristics, or help their employees to develop international skills while working for the organization, have a significant competitive advantage (Hum, 2007). A firm's global success relies and its ability to enter new markets quickly and effectively relies heavily on the abilities of employees (IBM, 2006). A Management Resources report stated "two-thirds of [executives] polled said they had experienced miscommunication issues within their global sourcing operations, compared with six out of 10 among executives at companies that offered cross-cultural training to their employees," (Paton, 2006). Therefore, companies are realizing that hiring or training managers to be able to function in more than one nation or culture is necessary (Dalton et al., 2002).Not all training methods are successful in preparing international managers with the knowledge and skills that are required on a daily basis. In order to be able to thrive in the global environment, the organization must understand that merely knowing a country's national language is not enough. The manager assigned to that nation must be able to understand and adapt to the culture of the nation as well as the culture of the organization, its employees and its business partners. By the time the overseas assignment is complete, it is likely that the manager will have had to adapt too many different cultures. Cross-cultural training can provide companies with a competitive advantage (Hum, 2007).The term cross-cultural focuses on recognizing the differences that exist in relationships and learnin...See the full content of this document
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