Virtual Management Training and Culture

• Introduction
• The teacher's perspective
• The student's perspective
• Portability
• Recommendations

introduction(1)

There is a world-wide trend to introduce virtual managementcourses (2). Transnational companies, often global players, expectan increased effectiveness of their virtual management training, bydelivering more training to more students on more subjects, in amore cost-effective way (3). The information society providesmultimedia tools to take on this challenge. (e.g. interactive CDROM's). Increasingly, telelearning resources are produced in thewestern world and, subsequently, ported to other parts of theworld. Global companies face the 'portability problem ': howto transfer telelearning materials to different (training)cultures.

This contribution illustrates by some cases the complexrelationship between virtual management training and culture in aglobal environment, from the perspective of the teacher, thestudent and the portability issue (4).

the teacher's perspective

Most teachers have no experience in the delivery of onlineteaching courses. Or the teachers major focus is on the technologyof the delivery, while neglecting the instructional needs of thestudent. The remote student feels as if he is listening to a'talking head and gets isolated from the real teaching (Schilders,1999, p.98). Due to the differences in teaching styles acrosscultures, miscommunication, loss of quality and inaccuracies mayoccur.

Case China
"Teaching in China means teaching by authority and evidence,not through doubts and experimentation. I had a package of nice CDROMs and presented them in Shanghai to PhD students. However, theydid not like the interactive presentation. Scientific knowledgeshould be presented without disturbance, like "listening to aclassical concert". (P.Kommers, lecturer Twente University).

the student's perspective

The use of western software in various parts of the world isputting different constraints on students. The western style oftelelearning is based on self-directed learning.

ITC case
The International Institute for Aerospace Survey and EarthSciences (ITC, Enschede) offers Master and MSc courses to studentsfrom 70 developing countries. In ITC`s multicultural classroomcrucial frictions occur between the teaching style of the countryof origin and The Netherlands (5). Teachers in developing countrieshave a higher status and a formal relationship with the students.The students are not familiar with the teachers role offacilitator. They are not used to critical thinking, and havelimited multi media experience. Many students feel uneasy, they donot understand Dutch jokes, do not ask questions, do notparticipate in discussions. They feel embarrassed if they getfeedback on their work during a lesson.

Thus, different learning styles may occur in a multiculturalclassroom. The training company Trompenaars Hampden-Turner hasexperience in using interactive distance learning material inmulticultural groups world-wide (6).

Case Trompenaars
"The Americans love the interactive distance learning materials,regardless if you integrate them with other means or not .They just sit back and relax. Californians love to start with anykind of trial and error and literally learn from the error. Whileother cultures say, no error, this would mean loss of face, or itis intellectually not challenging enough. E.g. in The Netherlands,France and Asia, they very often see CD ROMs as something thatshould be combined with other types of learning. If we have apredominantly Californian group we start with simulations and getthem into action. Very interactive, you observe and ask thestudents what they experience. In a French group you start withgeneralisation and than, later, you get into the structuredexperience. BecauseFrench people would rather first have an answerto the why question, and than, very deductively, go to thelearning. If a CD ROM is used, the French would like to integrateit in other learning capabilities."

Similar differences in telelearning styles are illustrated by ajoint design engineering curriculum of the Technical University ofDelft and Michigan State University.

Case TUD/Michigan State University:
"American and Dutch students collaborate on a distance by usingmultimedia sources. The different learning styles resulted in somefrictions between the Dutch and the American students. The Dutchcomplained that the Americans were too strict. The Americans foundthat the Dutch were too flexible. In the coming year lesserproblems on the level of student collaboration are expected. A veryfast ISDN video connection will be used. The students will see eachother by using the videotape. At forehand, a culturalanthropologist will inform the students on cultural differences "(Andriessen, TUD).

In some cultures, telelearning suits the need for lifelonglearning extremely well. This is illustrated by the following.

Japanese case
Japanese senior managers consider the school as punishment.Japanese managers like to learn, but without any school atmosphere.PC screens and simulation games are a good medium to medicate thisconflict, without loss of face. They don't want to be taught. The computer that says `stop, do it again' is a goodalternative teacher. You can talk to yourself, nobody checks if itwas wrong. Its between you and the computer. To Japanese seniormanagers this is an important point, and the computer becomes acompetitive advantage in their learning environment.

portability

A core question to global companies starting a virtual businessschool is: will this transnational company develop one standardisedcommon course for distribution world-wide? Or will one developdifferent versions of one virtual course to improve theportability of the courseware world-wide? Even if you havethe same targets world-wide, you might need different localinstructional methods, different languages.

Case Trompenaars
The more you integrate virtual learning in `real learning, the lessculture has an effect on it. If the Japanese have an interactionbetween computer based training and reading a book and cometogether in the classroom to discuss it, I think you could do thesame with Americans and the Dutch. Although the Dutch would say'what I really like is reading a book'. The Americans would say'what I really like is the interactive stuff at home. I couldincrease the effectiveness of the CD ROM, because we had themeeting together where we learned about the CD ROM'. And theJapanese would say 'what really made the difference was that we gottogether. Our group meetings were effective; at home I could lookat the CD ROM and in the library I could read a book. So you havethe same methodology interpreted differently by the differentcultural groups. The one supports the other, because it isintegrated.

The portability of courseware can be facilitated through the useof an ` electronic toolkit (Zhang, 1996). According toZhang, the teacher is able to make a selection of telelearningresources and the teacher designs the lesson himself. Typical'western models to be selected are group investigation wherebystudents explore a situation, inquiry training and use of asimulation model. A typical teaching model in China is thedelivery-receive model, whereby the whole instructional process isorganised and controlled by the instructor.

recommendations

Some recommendations are:

• the organisation of a small conference to co-create amethodology on virtual training and culture
• the development of a cultural inquiry system that can helporganisations in avoiding pitfalls
• the development of a toolkit for teachers to offer alternativeteaching styles, appropriate to the culture of a specific teachingenvironment

The virtual school will be a demanding multicultural adventurefor global companies. However, the opportunity to be part of avirtual educational network where employees can meet and shareinsights regardless of time and distance, is alsoexhilarating.
To conclude with Charles Handy (1995, p.46): " Paradoxically,the more virtual the organisation, the more its people need to meetin person ."

Dr Sylvia G.M. van de Bunt-Kokhuis is senior consultant ofAdviesbureau Dr P.A.E. van de Bunt bv in Bloemendaal. She publishedthirty international articles and three books on management,education and culture.

Footnotes:

(1) This study originated from earlier consultancy work of theauthor to establish a virtual business school, on behalf of aglobal company with more than 3,000 outlets world-wide, and storesoffering jobs to 220,000 employees. Many thanks to Prof. Dr EricAndriessen (TUDelft), rs. G.T.M. (Ineke) van Dam (ITC), Dr A.M.(Piet) Kommers (Twente University), Drs. J.P. (Han) van der Pool(Ahold), and Dr Fons Trompenaars for the intensive talks on thismatter.

(2) Recently established virtual universities are EuroPace(Brussels), Eurocampus Online (The Hague), and Virtual BusinessSchools of ING, KPN and IBM. The virtualisation of training coursesis often driven by the myth of cost-effectiveness. Optimists saythat for less than 50% of the usual costs, the company cansimultaneously train hundreds of employees in different parts ofthe world. Neglected costs are the on-going expenses of technicalsupport, production costs of computer based training, design costsof interactive video, and, the issue of this report, the culturaladaptiveness of multimedia materials.

(3) Kolb distinguishes different learning styles, pictured likea circle. In the top of the circle you find structured experience.Secondly, what did they learn from the experience? The third stepis processing.

(4) The Dutch educational system is an eminent example of awestern model. The student is considered to be his own teacher,e.g. the `studiehuis' in Dutch secondary schools. It is a romantic,optimistic approach.

(5) Surprisingly, Trompenaars has found that at the moment youhave multicultural groups, the effect of culture becomes minor.Multicultural groups feel less the effect of culture and the wayyou learn.

References:

van de Bunt-Kokhuis,S. (1994)
De rage van Internet. De meerwaarde van elektronischeinternationalisering, In: TRANSFER , Vol.2, no.4, NUFFIC,December, pp.10-11

van de Bunt-Kokhuis,S. (1994)
Elektronische Internationalisering. In : KUBIT , Vol.2,no.2, Rekencentrum KUB, November, pp.12-13

van de Bunt-Kokhuis,S. (1995)
Internationalisering via de elektronische of de geasfalteerdesnelweg? In: Universiteit en Hogeschool , Vol.41, no.1,December 1994/January 1995, pp. 34-40

Collis, B. (1998)
Expanding boundaries in the university: the WWW as a tool, In:Virtual Mobility , Ed. M. van der Wende, Nuffic Papers 10,pp. 65-78.

Ten Dam, G.T.M. (1998)
Studie- en onderwijsproblemen in het internationaalonderwijs, Proceedings Landelijke Dag Studievaardigheden,workshop 6.6, TC, Enschede.

EuroPace 2000, Main Ideas and Concepts, webside www.europace.be,20 January 1998.

Hampden-Turner, C. and F. Trompenaars (1997)
Mastering the Infinite Game , Capstone.

Handy, C. (1995)
Trust and the Virtual Organization. In: Harvard BusinessReview , Volume 73, no.3, May-June, pp. 40-50.

Hannah, R.L. (1998)
Merging the Intellectual and Technical Infrastructures in HigherEducation: The Internet Example, In: The Internet and HigherEducation, Volume 1, Number 1, pp. 7-20.

Hyun, Chong-Min and E. Gilder (1998)
The Telos of Information Technology in a Transnational Culture:Implications for the Globalization of Korean Higher Education, In:Higher Education in Europe , Vol. XXIII, no.2, 1998, pp.217-226.

Hillesheim, G. (1998)
Distance Learning: Barriers and Strategies for Students andFaculty, In: The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 1, Number 1,pp. 31-44.

Kanselaar, G., Lodewijks, e.o. (1997)
Studying Abroad; students personal learning-styles and how theyperceive and experience a foreign study environment ,unpublished research report, Tilburg University.

Kommers, P. (1999)
Interview with Dr Piet Kommers, Ass. Professor, Faculty ofEducational Science and Technology, Division of EducationalInstrumentation, University of Twente.

Pool, J.P. van der (1998)
The development of the `Virtual Business School concept ,internal report Ahold Zaandam.

Rusman, E. (1998)
Differences in entry level of students at ITC , Masterthesis, Educational Science and Technology, Twente University.

Schilders, H. (1999)
De virtuele universiteit. In : Elsevier , 27 March, p.96-98.

Trompenaars, F. and C. Hampden-Turner (1998)
Over de grenzen van cultuur en management , BusinessBibliotheek, Uitgeverij Contact.

Tuninga, R.S.J. (1998)
Virtual mobility and international business education: the case ofthe Euro MBA, In: Virtual Mobility , Ed. M. van der Wende,Nuffic Papers 10, pp. 79-88.

Uren, E. e.o. (1993)
Software Internationalization and Localization, anintroduction , Van Nostrand Reinhold Computer Library.

Zhang J.P. (1996)
Investigating the Portability of Multimedia Learning Resources:design for a `Teaching Models Toolkit, PhD thesis, University ofTwente.

Zhu, Z. (1996)
Cross-Cultural Portability of Educational Software: ACommunication-Oriented Approach, PhD thesis, University ofTwente.