| The study addresses the over-riding question: "What are the perceived critical communication competencies essential to effective intercultural training and development programs in multinational organizations?" The study used a content analytic method of qualitative research patterned on the Krippendorff model.; The research project was accomplished by gathering data, using a survey instrument designed for this study, over a period of four months. The survey instrument was designed to support the qualitative method which is particularly oriented toward exploration, discovery, and inductive logic. The study was conducted with forty organizations identified through a systematic population sample approach. The respondents to the survey were: the CEO, the principal decision-maker of the MNC; the COO, the principal decision-maker on operational and production functions; and, the corporate Director of HRD, the principal decision-maker on human resources management. The employee populations within the selected organizations ranged in size from fewer than 500 to more than 5,000.; Specifically, the responses were recorded and tabulated to identify the key executive perceptions of favorable and unfavorable communicators within their organizations. Comparisons were made whenever possible to the Models of Excellence of the American Society for Training and Development (1983) and the Overseas Assignment Inventory (Tucker & Baier, 1988) for prediction of cross-cultural success in a global environment.; Based on the responses, the key executives appear to agree on personality characteristics and communication competencies which mark the high and low competent communicator. A major value of this study is the development of lists created from key executives' perceptions of personality characteristics and communication competencies that most influence success in HRD activities in a MNC. The highest levels of importance were given to presentation skills, communication/speaking skills, and cultural sensitivity. The competent communicator was identified as the facilitator who demonstrates the personality characteristics, communication competencies, attitudes, and behaviors essential to create and manage the learning climate and has the ability to relate knowledge and experience to multi-cultural groups.; The study's limitations include the limited number and type of organizations; the limits of the survey approach; and, the time period involved in the research study. |
