PREPARING MANAGERS FOR OVERSEAS ASSIGNMENTS Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 223 PREPARING MANAGERS FOR OVERSEAS ASSIGNMENTS Richard W. Brislin East-West Center Honolulu, Hawaii Abstract The materials known as the Culture General Assimilator (Brislin, Cushner, Cherrie, and Yong, 1986) were designed to prepare people for overseas assignments. The term general” refers to the goal of providing orientation to assignments no matter the exact place in the world to which people will be travelling. In the development of the materials, reports of impactful events were gathered from overseas businesspeople, diplomat’s technical assistance advisers, and others. Together with a literature review, the impactful intercultural experiences so identified formed the basis of 100 critical incidents. These 100 incidents are organized around 18 thematic categories that can provide a common vocabulary for the discussion of intercultural encounters. Introduction A culture general assimilator has been developed to communicate the commonalties that exist in all extensive intercultural contact. A benefit of the culture assimilator approach is that it captures how people really think about their intercultural interactions. People think in terms of the "war stories” in which they participated or which they observed: the times they made mistakes, their lack of ability to get tasks accomplished, their misunderstandings with people in the host culture. These stories include memories of specific people who behaved in certain ways, and the stories had impactful outcomes that here important enough so that people wanted to share then with others. Each critical incident within a culture assimilator captures an experience or story likely to happen to people who move across cultural boundaries. An Example of the 100 Incidents The best way to introduce this set of materials is to examine one of the 100 incidents in the collection, together with the alternative explanations of the incident. In formal training programs, participants would read and discuss the incident, either as part of a plenary session lead by the trainer, or as members of small groups. Who’s in Charge? The president of Janice Tani’s firm asked her, as chief executive of the marketing division, and her staff (three male MBAs) to set up and close an important contract with a Japanese firm. He thought his choice especially goal as Janice (a Japanese American from California) knew the industry well and could also speak Japanese. As she and her staff were being introduced, Janice noticed a quizzical look on Mr. Yamamoto’s face and heard him repeat “chief executive” to his assistant in an unsure manner. After Janice had presented the merits of the strategy in Japanese, referring to notes provided by the staff, she asked Mr. Yamamoto what he thought. He responded by saying that he needed to discuss sane things further with the head of her department. Janice explained that was why she was there. Smiling, Mr. Yamamoto replied that they had done an especially goal job of explaining, but that he waited to talk things over with the person in charge. Beginning to be frustrated, Janice stated that she had authority for her company. Mr. Yamamoto glanced at his assistant, still smiling, and he arranged to meet with Janice at another tine. Why did Mr. Yamamoto keep asking Janice about the executive in charge? (1) He did not really believe that she was actually telling the truth about who she was. (2) He had never heard the term “executive” before and did not understand the meaning of “chief executive. (3) He had never personally dealt with a woman in Janice’s position, and her language ability caused him to think of her in another capacity. (4) He really did not like her presentation and did not want to deal with her firm. (5) He was attracted to her and wanted to meet with her alone. For this incident, most trainees select alternative number three as their first or second choice. Alternative number four also provides a good basis for discussion, with many trainees pointing out that the behavior in the incident could be an indirect way of indicating disapproval, and that Americans have difficulties reading indirect behaviors. For alternative three, trainees read and discuss the following. This is a good response. Generally, in Asia, although women are found in all strata in the working world, very few, especially in the Japanese world, are in positions where they have a great deal of authority over men. There are more cases where they would be working quite closely with someone with that authority but not possess the actual authority themselves. The fact that Janice was using Japanese where many of her assistants did not also added to the confusion of her role. The general theme, then, behind the specifics of this incident is “role and role differences.” This distinction between the specifics of incidents and underlying themes is crucial to understanding the culture general assimilator. The 100 incidents are simply ways of giving life to, and generating trainee interest in, a set of 18 themes that are cannon to all extensive intercultural contact. Understanding the 18 themes is of great assistance in preparing trainees for the specific intercultural experiences they will have during their specific assignments. Trainees are not expected to remember all of the 100 incidents in the training package, but it is hoped that they will have a good command of the 18 themes and will see their usefulness in analyzing people’s intercultural experiences. Reference Brislin, R., Cushner, K., Cherrie, C., & Yong, M. (1986). Intercultural interactions: a practical guide. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's