Archive for August, 2009

Suguna Nagarajan saw plenty of cross-cultural misunderstandings when she worked as a software engineer for a U.S. company in her native India. So she took an interest in the Cultural Orienation Indicator when she came to Thunderbird as a full-time MBA student. The self-assessment tool, which Thunderbird uses in its cross-cultural communication and negotiation classes, is designed to help global managers understand their own cultural preferences and the preferences of others. In this podcast, recorded July 16, 2009, Nagarajan talks about ways the COI helped her succeed during a recent internship in Austria. Audio: Suguna Nagarajan discusses cross-cultural communication (2:18)

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Thunderbird student Shilpa Desawale wasn’t sure what to think when her boss asked for her opinions during a U.S. internship. “In India where I am from,” she says, “the corporate culture is very hierarchical, and people don’t interact very openly with the boss.” Desawale says the Cultural Orientation Indicator, a self-assessment tool at Thunderbird, has helped her make adjustments and understand the different ways of doing business in different parts fo the world. Desawale discusses the COI in this podcast, recorded July 16, 2009. Audio: Shilpa Desawale discusses cross-cultural communication (1:27)

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Thunderbird student Aayush Mahajan got a crash course in cross-cultural communication when Indian automaker Mahindra announced a joint venture with French automaker Renault. Mahajan, an Indian engineer with Mahindra, found himself negotiating budgets, pricing and other things with expatriates from France. He says he didn’t always understand the cross-cultural dynamics at play, but the Cultural Orientation Indicator at Thunderbird has helped him put events into perspective. The self-assessment tool, which Thunderbird uses in its cross-cultural communication and negotiation classes, is designed to help global managers understand their own cultural preferences and the preferences of others. In this podcast, recorded July 16, 2009, Mahajan talks about the tool’s benefits. Audio: Aayush Mahajan discusses cross-cultural communication (2:31)

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