A cross-cultural comparison of cultural differences, training methods, and utilization of expatriates between Japanese and American managers

This project compares cross-cultural Japanese and American managers in terms of their cultural differences, process of selection for cross-cultural assignments, training, an the utilization of expatriate employees in order to determine differences in their crosscultural success rate. A literature search, questionnaires, and a survey revealed some factors that have contributed to the differences in the success between Japanese and American managers. Approximately 20 percent of U.S. expatriates failed to complete their international assignments primarily due to their inability to adjust to their new cultural environment. This is approximately double the rate of the Japanese failures. Only 35 percent of the American companies conducted pre-departure training, while this number is much higher; for the Japanese firms. A basic understanding of culture, a structured selection process, valuable training, and the use of expatriates are all factors that can improve the success rate for both Japanese and American managers (Ferraro, 1998).