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| Photo By: Robert Ball |
The ability to connect
employees across the globe has become commonplace with the rise of technology,
the Internet, and social media. Instructional designers may no longer be simply
designing for one group of people all located in one building or area.
Trainings now are being designed for employees who are working around the
globe. Companies who have office locations or employees in all parts of the
world are able to easily reach distant members of the team with elearning and
mlearning. Instructional designers must be aware of the diversity of every
group of individuals their training will reach. Language and cultural
differences must be taken into consideration when designing for a
cross-cultural audience.
Reiser and Dempsey covered the
topic of cross-cultural training well in chapter 18 of Trends and Issues in
Instructional Design and Technology. The focus of the trend is the emphasis
placed really on trainers using their resources and ensuring they do their
research beforehand. The most valuable resources mentioned were subject matter
experts, translators, and cultural experts. These experts can help
instructional designers develop successful training materials taking into
consideration societal and cultural factors. Such factors include, heritage,
traditions, symbolism, rules for learning and problem solving (Reiser, 2012).
Reiser and Dempsey also provided an eye-opening statement about the designing
process, “Instructional designers must observe the world through the lens of
another culture other than their own while being aware of the extent to which
their own culture determines how they practice instructional design” (p.182,
2012). The statement stood out to me because so much of the research I read
focused on analyzing who you are designing for and how their cultures are
different, while this statement addresses the need to look within. A designer
must come to the drawing board understanding their own learning and teaching
culture and how their own beliefs affect their training products.
Check Out The Resources!
I liked this article because it not only
outlined good practices for successful cross-cultural training, but it also
provided examples of successful training practices being implemented in a
variety of global companies.
Chebium, R. (2015, January 7). How to Create an Effective
Cross-Cultural Training Program. Retrieved from
http://www.shrm.org/publications/hrmagazine/editorialcontent/2015/010215
/pages/010215-cross-cultural-training.aspx#sthash.6mab2DD6.dpuf. Society
For Human Resource Management, 60(1).
This article, also published by SHRM, isn’t solely specific
to IDT. The Q & A interview with Global business expert Erin Meyer gives
excellent insight for any professional teamwork that is completed
cross-culturally. The interview gives excellent advice for successful
communication and teamwork across borders and cultures.
Maurer, R. (2014, September 30). Navigate Cultural
Differences to Succeed Across Borders. Society for Human Resource
Management. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/global/articles/pages/navigate-cultural-differences-succeed-across-borders.aspx
Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2012). Instructional
Design in Business and Industry. Trends and Issues in Instructional
Design and Technology, 3rd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
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