I grew up between Galveston and Houston, Texas. I graduated from The University of Texas at Tyler with my business degree and moved to Orlando for UCF. I work for a company based in Tyler, TX as their technology director. I help facilitate training to small, paper-based insurance agencies to help automate and streamline their business practices.
While I was at UT, I took a course about marketing in China. As part of the course, we spent time in Beijing. In addition to visiting popular tourist attractions, we experienced some of the business aspects of China from the US Department of Commerce office and a small law and accounting firm. From the US Department of Commerce office, we got a view of their experiences working between US businesses and the Chinese government. What I found surprising was it was easy to set up shop in China, but difficult to maintain stability. Often the role of the commerce office was to mediate, usually unsuccessfully, issues where the Chinese government nationalizes US business operations. Copyright and patent issues were also a problem I was educated about. Chinese enforcement of US patent law is not common.
The law firm we learned from in China was primarily engaged in trying to resolve issues with the accounting practices of businesses in China. Bribes and mismanagement of funds within companies were commonplace for their clients. A large percentage of businesses became insolvent, not because the books were disorganized or "cooked", but just because gatekeepers were bribed to spend, take (or not take) actions, or otherwise inappropriately direct the company they worked for.
More important I think was the cultural immersion experiences. For example, my wife and I visited a McDonald's to compare the menu and food with the USA. While the menu, kitchen, decor, and uniforms were all the same, each employee took more pride in their work. An employee greeted us when we got our food just to make sure we were able to find a seat in the dining area. The buns were fluffier, the patties were centered in the bun, the wrapper was carefully folded around the hamburger, and the condiments seemed to be organized on the sandwich. The care they put into making our food was so extraordinary that we even noticed it for fast food.
Beijing is a heavily populated area. The air is heavily polluted, parts of the town are complete shambles, and not everyone has a car. It wasn't until we returned from China where we realized from rich to poor, the Chinese we encountered had very little sense of entitlements. People who lived in one room apartments with a single light in the ceiling, a bed, and plumbing were happy to have a place to live. It was a stark contrast to what I would see on CSPAN about the new Medicare plans that were being debated when I returned.
My interesting fact is my car. When I was in high school, my first car was a minivan by choice and has been my recurring car style purchase since.
My definition of culture is the sense of purpose a group of people have in life. Stereotypes of USA culture say people should grow up, get educated, get married, buy a house, have kids, and retire to a life of cruise ships and RVing. The culture to participate in the culture, the things you do in life should contribute to the success of that family and the business you work for. I believe there are four basic elements to create culture differences: geographic distribution, religion, language, and history.
My knowledge of cross cultural training comes from the orientation I had before flying to China and from leading a software development project with members from European countries. Language seems to be the biggest barrier I've experienced. It can lead to misunderstandings that were never meant. I've heard others cite cultures where something like waving at someone inappropriately or speaking at a time they shouldn't, can be offensive, however I haven't experienced that. The only example I can provide is an Indian family I knew when I grew up that would always point with their middle fingers. They just thought they were pointing and never understood they were giving the bird to everyone who saw.
My perception is the internet has caused not only training, but a large percent of global communication in general to move to English formats. If I could pick one international trend, I would say learning English is the biggest international trend right now.
My goal in this course it to take something worthwhile back to the company I work for that will help them with training customers the company is starting to acquire in Central and South America.