Articles on Managing Change and Cross-Cultural Management

Training Programs for
the Skills You Need

See a complete listing of CMCT's training programs in leadership, management, global business skills, and cross-cultural skills for working with India, in addition to those featured below.

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Communication and Culture Tips for Global Managers
Practical management tips for identifying and addressing communication problems and cultural issues that surface in offshore outsourcing and other cross-border ventures.

Two Must-Read Books on India
Two insightful books to increase your cultural literacy about 21st-century India. Read Dr. Karine Schomer’s mini-reviews of In Spite of the Gods and Planet India.

Navigating India’s Holidays
Understanding India’s holidays is important to avoid work schedule disruption and unnecessary stress, and as a tool for relationship building and motivating Indian teams. Leran how the Indian holiday system works and tips for navigating the Indian holidays.

Workforce Diversity in India and the U.S.
When Indian and U.S. corporations work together or operate on each other’s soil, all levels of management need to understand differences in the workforce diversity challenges of the two countries. This article provides an overview of the main differences in workforce demographics, diversity categories, and legal frameworks between India and the U.S.

Cross-Cultural Risk Factors in Offshore Outsourcing
Three cross-cultural risk factors can have a critical impact on the success of an offshore outsourcing relationship, and need to be assessed and addressed as part of up-front due diligence.

Cultural vs. Operational Issues in Offshoring
Four steps to address cultural and operational issues in offshore centers as the scale of operations ramps up, starting with the premise that the two types of issues, while overlapping in their impacts, need to be addressed as distinct.

Soft Components Key To Outsourcing Success
Addressing cross-cultural and other "soft" issues is a necessity for ensuring optional productivity and the success of offshore outsourcing strategies. For the managers and employees who implement an outsourcing strategy, the "soft" side is where much of the pain and adjustment are that create stress and impede delivery on buisness goals.

Improving the Cross-Cultural Competency of Offshore Teams
Six best practices to help offshore teams develop cross-cultural competency in American business culture as a quality differentiator that will improve an offshore strategy's chances of success.

Challenges Indian Offshore Teams Face in Working with Americans
Five special challenges Indian offshore teams face in working with Americans at the level of mindset, values and approaches to interactions, and the need to seriously educate offshore teams in the fundamentals or American business culture.

Working with India: What to Know before You Go
You’ve been in contact with several companies based in India. Now the time has come to make site visits and get to know the people at these service providers face-to-face and on their own turf. But you’ve never been to India and you don’t know what to expect. Dian Schaffhauser of Sourcingmag.com interviews Dr. Karine Schomer, CMCT President and leader of CMCT’s India Practice in the “Advice from Experts” column. The result is a crash course in cross-cultural knowledge, giving you 18 practical tips to prepare you for your first business trip to India.

The Challenges of Cultural Adaptation
IT professionals from abroad often seem to become Americanized within months of arriving in the U.S. But the honeymoon phase gives way to disorientation, loss of confidence and alienation. This article discusses major adjustment issues and recommends orientation, mentoring and support structures to help long-term adaptation.

How Culture Affects Motivation
Employees from different countries respond differently to workplace incentives. Learning to understand these differences is a wise managerial strategy. This article discusses India-U.S. differences in five key areas: management style, job security and compensation, career development, performance evaluation, and motivational strategies.

Business Cultures and Etiquettes
Misunderstanding of the differences in business cultures and etiquettes around the world can derail business and professional goals. Being culturally savvy is an increasingly important global management skill. Here are some of the key elements of business culture and etiquette to which it pays to be attentive.

Inclusive Organizational Cultures
The workforce of most high-tech companies is diverse. But is it truly multicultural? It's possible for a company to have diversity, but without inclusiveness. Here is a checklist of suggestions for what company leaders can do to foster a more inclusive corporate culture and derive benefit from the diversity of its employees.

Cultivating Global Awareness
Globalization is today's buzzword, but the level of international awareness is surprisingly low among most managers and employees. There is poor communication of global vision from the top, cultural stereotyping, and cultural segregation among employees. Here's what can be done to increase awareness and commitment to a global vision.

Building Multicultural Teams
In high-tech companies, multicultural diversity is the norm rather than the exception. By design or by necessity, high-tech workplaces are increasingly "looking like the world." This diversity can be a problem or an opportunity. This article offers basic principles for avoiding common dysfunctions and successfully building multicultural teams.

Ten Key Cross-Cultural Management Skills
Intercultural awareness and skill are not something you can achieve just by reading a "how-to" manual or learning a simple formula. To become a successful manager in the global IT workplace, you need to develop cultural awareness and the soft skills needed for managing in a culturally diverse environment. Here is a checklist of these key skills.

Cultural Orientation of Technical Personnel
Even for the best prepared of software engineers coming to work in the U.S., there are issues of cultural adjustment, workplace integration and long-term career success. The business value of paying proper attention to cultural orientation is considerable. Here are some of the main issues and various approaches to addressing them.

Acquiring the Culture Edge
In the global IT world, companies that ignore cultural issues are missing an important element of competitive advantage. Here are some basic strategies for increasing business, organizational and workforce effectiveness through the application of cultural awareness and expertise.

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