The Need for Cross-Cultural Training in SE Asia prior to the Establishment of the AEC

Recently, globalization of world economies has increased rapidly and a large number of multinational companies have emerged. Population growth, technological advancements in communication systems, hyper-commercialization, interdependent financial networks, near constant transportation improvements, corporate consolidation via mergers and acquisitions and the adoption of English as the lingua franca have all led to an increase in cross border employment realities. Essentially, the world has become one giant marketplace and Asia, with the largest global population, is preparing for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The economic integration is not limited to capital goods, information or technology. The internationalization of the human workforce has become a center point for organizations looking to expand to overseas markets. The AEC is yet another example of the pace of rapid globalization in Asia. Multinational corporations are necessarily becoming culturally diverse. This increase in organizational diversity creates many problems for both the local labor as well as the expatriate management in SE Asia. Living in a new cultural environment, expatriates face challenges and make adjustments in their lifestyles in order to work effectively in their host culture. These challenges often result in early return from an overseas assignment which results in a costly reassignment burden for the companies involved. Cross cultural training has been suggested as a necessary vehicle to facilitate cross-cultural behavior and management and therefore decrease the number of unsuccessful or unproductive expatriates.