Cross-cultural Training Of Chinese Expatriates: An Investigation Of Enterprises In Coastal Area Of China

With the development of economic globalization and China’s entry into theWTO, trade between China and other countries in the world has increased sharply.Meanwhile, business contact and communication are becoming more and morefrequent. This requires expatriates to comprehend the distinct cultural features of thehost country instantly and precisely and adjust to this cultural difference effectively intheir routine work. In the study of cross-cultural training, the universallyacknowledged cross-cultural training promotes expatriates’ cross-cultural skills andthe improvement of cross-cultural skills will definitely enhance cross-culturaladjustment and job performance in the host culture. In order to help the expatriateseffectively and efficiently to adjust to the host culture, scholars from America, Japan,Australia and Canada, have achieved a lot in the cross-cultural theory, cross-culturaltraining content and cross-cultural training method. Studies on cross-cultural trainingand cross-cultural skills in China are inadequate. Most relative researches still lingeron the analyses and comments of western cross-cultural theories and putting thecross-cultural training theories into practice is ignored.Based on J. Stewart Black’s cross-cultural skills, Mendenhall’s cross-culturaltraining method and cross-cultural training model as well as Bennett’s cross-culturaltraining content, this thesis starts with a self-designed questionnaire delivered to210Chinese expatriates from fourteen coastal enterprises. All of these expatriates aredispatched to fourteen countries. In order to have a panorama of the cross-culturaltraining of Chinese expatriates, the author adopts statistical analysis and literaturesurvey to investigate the cross-cultural training status quo, cross-cultural traininglocation, cross-cultural training content and cross-cultural training method ofexpatriates in coastal area of China. The quantitative data are collected and analyzedby frequency, percentage and cross-tabulation. The follow-up interview isimplemented to obtain qualitative data. Comparing with the relative data in2012Global Relocation Trends Survey, this thesis finds out that cross-cultural training inChina has not received due attention. Although cross-cultural training among Chinese expatriates is highly demanded, there are few enterprises providing suchcross-cultural training. Host country’s language training is often preferred byenterprises while deep cultural values and norms are seldom involved in the trainingprovided by Chinese enterprises. The study also reveals that the effectiveness ofpre-departure language training declines with the extension of duration time whichreflects the deficiency of the current training. Meanwhile, enterprises are moreinclined to host countries where their parent companies are originally located.According to the above discoveries, the author finally develops six modularizedtraining patterns which take the expatriates’ needs into consideration, hopefullyenhancing expatriates’ cross-cultural skills, cross-cultural adjustment andcross-cultural job performance in the host culture. It is hoped that Chinese enterprisescan adopt multiple forms of cross-cultural training models, such as the combination ofclassroom and working place cross-cultural training methods as well as the combinedpsychological management, host culture perception and interpersonal skillscross-cultural training content.