Akiro Kusumoto is a Japanese expatriate bi, or her native country. The cultural someone who lives and works outside difficulty of shock that he was experiencing is common. The adjusting to lan cultural, and social differences is the primary rea- r expatriate failure in overseas assignments. For example, although there have cently been disagreements among researchers about these numbers, it is probably safe to say that 5 to 20 percent of American expatriates abroad by their company villa return to the United States sent before they have successfully completed their assignments." Of those who do complete their international assignments. about e-third are judged by their companies to be no better than marginally effective. Since the average cost of sending an employee on a 3-year international assignment is $1 million, failure in those assignments can be extraordinarily expensive the chances for a successful international assignment can be increased through
6.1 Language and Cross-Cultural Training Preceptor true language and cross-cultural training can reduce the that uncertainty expatriates feel, the understandings that take place between expatriates and the appropriate behaviors that expatriates unknowingly commit natives, an when they travel to a foreign country. Indeed, simple things like phone, using a locating a public toilet, asking for directions, finding out how much things cost. Exchanging greetings or understanding what people want can become tremendously complex when expatriates don’t know a foreign language or a country's customs and cultures. In his book Blond in International Business, David Ricks tells the story of an American manager working in the South Pacific who, by hiring too many local workers from one native group, unknowingly upset the balance of power in the island's traditional status system. The islanders met on their own and quickly worked out a solution to the problem. After concluding their meeting t., they calmly went to the manager's home to discuss their solution with him (time was not important in their culture). But since the American didn't speak their language and didn’t understand why they had shown up en masse outside his home at 3 A.M, e called in the Marines, who were stationed nearby; to disperse what he thought was a riot.
After learning specific critical differences through documentary training, trainees can then participate in cultural simulations, in which they practice adapting to cultural differences. After the workers at Excels Technologies learned about key differences between their culture and India's, they practiced adapting to those differences by role playing. Some Excels workers would take the roles of Indian workers, while others would play themselves and try to behave in a way consistent with Indian culture. Finally, field simulation training, a technique made popular by the U.S. Peace Corps, places trainees in an ethnic neighborhood for 3 to 4 hours trainees in an U.S. electronics to talk to residents about cultural differences. For example, a manufacturer prepared workers for assignments in South Korea by having train explore a nearby South