HOW TO LEARN

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 672.

C Definitions

Match these terms with their definitions.

Cultural differences are an impor­tant factor when it comes to how and what managers should learn and from whom. Different cultural responses to management educa­tion are particularly revealing. For example, German and Swiss man­agers tend to favour structured learning situations with clear pedagogical objectives, detailed course outlines and schedules, and the “right answer” or superior solution. This is very much in contrast with the view typically held by people from Anglo-Saxon cultures such as Britain and the USA. Most British participants in courses dislike a structure that is too rigid. They tend to prefer more open-ended learning situations with loose objectives and practical tasks. The suggestion that there could be only one correct answer is less accept­able to them.

The idea of working in groups may come more naturally to Asian managers than to the more individ­ualistic Anglo-Saxons. On the other hand, Asian participants experience more difficulty having to “sell” their ideas in a group, with the potential for open disagreement and conflict, and therefore possible loss of face. Nor do they quite see the point of learning from other students who are no more knowl­edgeable than themselves. Wisdom resides in the hierarchy.

Group discussions may seem perfectly natural to Americans, who have been encouraged as stu­dents to express their own ideas and opinions. British students too have been educated to challenge and debate the ideas put forth by each other, including the teacher. British culture values the ability to prove one's case, eloquently, even at the expense of others. Anglo-Saxon culture is more tolerant of confrontation and uncertainty, and is less concerned with status differ­ences, either among participants or between themselves and the teacher. This can be quite a shock to students from Asia and many Central European countries, who are not used to either voicing their opinion in class, disagreeing with each other, or actively debating with the professor.

With each culture favouring different training and development practices, it may be difficult to integrate these into a coherent or consistent policy within an inter­national organisation. However, standardising training methods may be important if the company needs to communicate specialised knowledge quickly across different units, or if the special quality of the company training programmes is regarded as a major source of attracting new recruits.

On the other hand, multination­al companies may have a lot to gain from cross-fertilising differ­ent approaches, and providing opportunities for training and development that appeal to people with different abilities, learning no styles, educational backgrounds, and, of course, cultures. In fact, working with groups of managers from different countries often requires a mixed pedagogical approach, as well as the use of trainers of different nationalities.

From Managing Across Cultures, Pearson Education Limited