Trainingfor Multiple Cultures is a short (think booklet-sized) addition to ASTD’sInfoline series. I take responsibility for choosing this book, but based on thetitle I was expecting something on how to develop or deliver instruction (live,synchronous, asynchronous) to mixed groups – people from different cultures allworking together.
My own challenges – and I share them with many of myU.S.-based colleagues – lie with maximizing the learning experience for theworker who has come into the American workplace from another culture. Rather, this piece is intended for the Americantrainer or instructional designer delivering or creating instruction fordelivery in another part of the world. So, my own expectations aside, here’s mytake on Training for Multiple Cultures.
Focus on Asia
Andrea Edmundson provides a tight,concise overview of her subject matter, focusing in particular on casesinvolving learners in China and, to a lesser extent, Japan and India. Sheoffers a nice overview of concepts related to leadership, power, and learning.For instance, in contrast to the American individualistic “WIIFM” (“What’s InIt For Me”) approach as a motivational tool for learning, learners in China maybe more interested in working for the good of the group. They may beuncomfortable with lone-learner activities, particularly those tinged withcompetition. They may also think of “learning” largely as a memorizationactivity. This is not to say experiential, constructivist approaches won’twork, but it is to say we should be mindful that there may need to be time fororienting the learners to the less-familiar approach. Noting that learners insome cultures may be hesitant to challenge authority, Edmundson asserts thatlearners in India may view the trainer as “teacher,” and defer to that personas someone imparting greater wisdom (I know some American classroom trainerswho would give anything to be viewed that way).
The author offers concretesuggestions for managing this less-familiar approach. She discusses adaptationsranging from, at the one end, simply translating material to another language,or then being more mindful of simple etiquette (don’t expect those typing in asecond language to keep up with fast Webinar text chat). At the other end youcan “localize” a program to appear that it was developed by and for theculture, or you can simply start development for that culture from scratch.
Summary
Trainingfor Multiple Cultures includes a couple of nice job aids, including a tableoutlining potential adaptations and a Cultural Analysis FrameworkChecklist. Having spent lots of timeimmersed in “diversity” work I am always cautious of sweeping generalizationsabout any group: you don’t have to go to China to find people who think titlesare more important than accomplishments, or leaders who don’t believe in askingemployees for feedback. I’d advise, then, that readers keep a grain of salthandy or, better yet, do fairly extensive research of their own targetaudiences. Edmundson ends with a call for those conducting such research toshare what they find out.
A few negative things, none Iconsider terribly detrimental: first, I would have liked to have seen a littlemore information on intercultural matters, such as some information on dealingwith groups that include learners from several cultures at once. I questionwhether a “novice” could really conduct the cultural analysis she recommends,and I wonder, just a little, if some of the generalizations about othercultures aren’t a bit overstated. Also, apart from the analysis tools, I didn’tsee much that is new here – we’ve seen lots of studies about Japanese learners,for instance – but kudos to Andrea Edmundson for getting it all in one place.Overall, the piece is very tight, focused, and clear, and is certainly worththe $12 purchase price.
Bibliographic information
Edmundson,Andrea. (February 2010). Training forMultiple Cultures. ASTD Press Infoline Series. ISBN 978-1-56286-722-5 16pages, $12
