Technological changes have been revolutionising global communications and models of doing business for more than a decade now. Bangalore is one of the epicentres of that metamorphosis; few cities on the planet have changed quite as radically, or rapidly, due to the phenomenon of globalisation. Outsourcing, off-shoring and the desire to reduce costs by establishing an office or development centre in a low cost location are just three of the reasons why so many multinational companies (MNCs) have established premises in Karnataka.

That said, not everyone is convinced that working beyond borders is truly effective. Critics have long been raising probing questions about the perceived benefits of global corporate cultures. Does working across borders really reduce costs, or does it simply shift the burdens of book keeping from one location to another?

Is it effective to work with people from another country if cultural and linguistic issues make working together tense and difficult? Are team members who never meet in person as effective as colleagues who meet on a regular basis and informally clarify interpersonal and work related issues over a cup of tea?

These are just some of the questions asked of teams spanning international boundaries. The international trade of high-tech goods and services continues to grow. Yet, not all concerns about virtual teamwork and the effectiveness of multinational teams have been fully allayed. Companies may be doing well, but could they be doing even better? Especially if they become more effective in utilising the potential, and best practices, of people from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

A number of Bangalore based companies now employ the services of intercultural trainers and training agencies to proactively address the issues and problems which are likely to surface when team members from India have professional interactions with colleagues from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany. Training courses are held to sensitise employees about the nation with which they will do business and the working practices common there. Likewise, counterparts abroad are often provided with training aimed at reducing the likelihood of culturally based problems.

Nonetheless, from time to time, projects and working relationships do suffer due to misunderstandings or misconceptions, the origins of which can be traced back to the cultural backgrounds and local practices of the parties involved.

Dr Petra Vogler, Intercultural Manager in a multi-billion dollar MNC, points out that communications are frequently the most common stress point in intercultural relationships. "To make people think about this point, I like to quote George Bernhard Shaw in my training programmes," says Dr Vogler, "Shaw said, 'the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.' The fact is, people from other cultures sometimes interpret messages differently to the way they were intended by the giver." 

Multinational companies and organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the risk factors which need to be managed in the area of intercultural communications and virtual working. All too often, this awareness arises because significant problems have been experienced; key strategic projects have failed or reached the brink of failure. In order to avoid repetition and to understand how risks can be managed, increased interest is being shown in intercultural research programmes.

Cross border venture
One such programme, the Interman Project, is itself a cross-border, intercultural cooperation. The project was launched in 2006 and involves the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the German universities of Jena and Bremen. The tie up between educational establishments from India and Germany is significant. Trading relations between India and Germany have improved markedly in recent years. It was announced during 2007 that bilateral trade had crossed the €10 million mark, two years earlier than planned, with economists believing that the figure will expand and double over the next five years.

Prof Dr Jürgen Bolten, is the head of the Intercultural Business Communication faculty at the University of Jena, and a leading member of the Interman Project, whose aim is to investigate the intercultural challenges in German-Indian cooperation in everyday work settings. Prof Dr Bolten believes that his project is significant, "because of the importance of Indian-German cooperation in business today and its susceptibility to intercultural misunderstandings. Problems include wasted opportunities for synergic collaboration, plus the loss of capital, time and image."

It is indicative of the growing emphasis being placed upon intercultural issues, and the value potential of understanding them in greater depth, that much of the Interman Project's funding is provided by ministries of the German government.

Prof Dr Bolten believes the results will prove of benefit to both companies and trainers in both Germany and India. He says, "we have obtained some very interesting information about the methods of analysing intercultural relationships and concrete data about Indian and German images on others and themselves. However, there is still a need for greater intercultural understanding between India and Germany. Therefore we have adopted the motto "talk together" on our website [www.interkulturelles-portal.de/indien]. I would encourage interested parties to log onto our website and take a look at our findings and add their own comments."

The website, live since March, shows the results of the first two stages of the project. First a questionnaire was held among both Indian and German businesses, obtaining data about how employees perceived themselves and their own culture and how they themselves were viewed by people from the other culture.

The questionnaire encompassed subjects such as work, private lives, lifestyles, intercultural differences on a professional level and an evaluation of the intercultural learning tools with which people had experience.
The results were analysed empirically and then, in the second stage, a survey was held, following up on some of the aspects raised in the initial questionnaire. Interviews were also held with experts from companies based in Bangalore and with representatives of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce.

Dr N S Anuradha Anirvan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Management studies at the IISc in Bangalore, is coordinating the Indian side of the project with Prof Dr Bolten and Prof Dr Lange, a professor from the University of Bremen.

As Dr Anuradha points out, the research conducted so far has revealed a variety of interesting results, some confirming those of previous studies while new findings have also been made. Big differences exist when it comes to time management; Indians prefer flexible time management whereas Germans prefer stricter controls. Also, it appears that Indians are more strongly family oriented than Germans. Steps are now being taken to investigate further into these and other findings.