Going Global in Iowa
New intercultural training program helps businesses in the Hawkeye State
by Laura Reeder
The University of Iowa has expanded its services to help Iowa businesses succeed in a global marketplace and contribute to the state’s economic development.
Developed within International Programs’ Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) The Going Global in Iowa (GGI): Intercultural Training Services helps businesses by providing the cultural background and intercultural training needed to work successfully with executives and business owners from different countries.
The program, which teaches businesses and non-profit organizations cultural sensitivity in an increasingly global society, had its roots in another program, Building our Global Community (BGC). According to Helen Jameson, assistant director of programming for OISS, BGC was a program created for UI faculty and staff – until it became apparent that there was a growing need outside the University.
“What really got [GGI] off the ground was a public engagement grant awarded to us by President Skorton,” Jameson said.
Because of this grant, which was awarded in 2005, OISS was able to offer off-campus workshops and two-day seminars to businesses and non-profit organizations. These initial off-campus sessions developed into what is now GGI.
Though all based around the ideals of intercultural training, each GGI session is specially tailored to the needs of the client. OISS staff select course materials and session components based on discussions with each client. When organizations contact GGI, they are given an extensive over-the phone interview to determine what sort of workshops need to be conducted.
“The workshops are very customized. That’s what’s made this program so successful,” Jameson said.
GGI’s first business client was an Iowa company opening a branch in China. Individuals from the company attended a three-hour workshop to learn more about China. During the session, participants learned about cross-cultural interaction, Chinese culture and the communication style differences between the United States and China. Chinese students in the UI Master’s of Business Administration program in the Tippie College of Business worked as cultural ambassadors during the session and engaged in role-playing activities.
“Having a large international community on campus is a unique aspect and essential resource of the University,” Jameson said.
Application pieces, such as role-playing activities, are extremely important to the workshops, Jameson said.
“We like to get people moving around,” she said.
In addition to role-playing, workshop attendees engage in discussion and cross-cultural simulators. Because these activities deal with the direct practical application of the material, they work as the focal points for the workshops. Many emphasize increased cultural awareness.
“Workers are coming to the tech corridor from all over the world,” Jameson said. “In order for companies to be more successful, they must be able to communicate with each other.”
One introductory course, “Crossing Cultures: Tips for Communicating,” helps workshop participants build necessary skills to communicate effectively both verbally and non-verbally. This course can cover communication with a specific nationality or sensitive communication with a general international base.
P. Barry Butler, dean of the UI College of Engineering, has seen Iowa’s need for intercultural awareness first-hand. He said that because of the increased globalization in Iowa, his engineering students are sent all over the world when they graduate.
“I have one student who landed a job in Marshalltown immediately after graduating. Two weeks later, he was sent for a six-month job in Saudi Arabia to work on an airport,” Butler said.
He also said this happens “all the time,” and because of it, he encourages his students to take advantage of the international resources on campus.
Butler himself led by example when he attended a “Crossing Cultures: Tips for Communicating” workshop through BGC, which he described as a fun and eye-opening experience.
“You realize that the person you’re dealing with isn’t uneducated, they’re just struggling to communicate in a second language,” he said.
He described one group exercise in which the first person would write a phrase, and the second person had to quickly double up each verb with a synonym. Then the third person had to tell everyone else what the phrase said, based on what the second person wrote. He said it increased his awareness of what some of his international students are going through.
“It got intense,” he said. “It’s frustrating to communicate when you’re trying to come up with the right word.”
Because of his experiences with the on-campus program, Butler said he was really pleased when he saw that these opportunities were open to the rest of Iowa. He said that many people go to larger cities, such as Chicago, for the same kind of consulting. However, he believes that the University offers a larger scope of expertise because of the diverse faculty and student body who have experience in international relations.
“They are clearly the experts,” he said. His own college is an example of this. Whereas most of the undergraduates are from the Midwest, the majority of graduates are international students. In addition, there are 20 countries of origin represented in the College of Engineering’s faculty.
“When you open up the resources here at the University of Iowa, you can really reach out to some of the smaller businesses. Bigger companies like Rockwell and John Deere are obviously global. But now you see some smaller businesses developing internationally.
“Culture is something [GGI] can bring to these smaller businesses. It’s ideal for Iowa,” Butler said.