Developing Intercultural Skills for Business Students

Intercultural skills have been increasingly important to business graduates operating in global economies. This paper evaluates the adaptation of the ExcelL Intercultural Skills Program to an international human resource management course, and examines the effectiveness of integrating case study methods with the skills-based ExcelL program. The primary purpose of the study was to assess the usefulness of ExcelL within a sample of third-year university business students. Four methodologies were used: (1) questionnaires, (2) case studies, (3) course evaluation surveys and (4) focus groups. The questionnaire and case study methods used pre-test and post-test designs to compare participants’ knowledge and micro-skills before and after the ExcelL program. The post-course focus groups gathered participants’ opinions about intercultural skill improvements gained through the ExcelL program, and advice on potential improvements to the program for use in business coursework contexts. After completing the program, participants demonstrated improvements in intercultural competencies required in business contexts. Additionally, participants demonstrated improved identification and articulation of cross-cultural business problems and formulation of appropriate intervention strategies to address these problems. Key themes were identified from the focus groups that will be incorporated and assessed in future versions of ExcelL designed for a business audience. Considering that previous studies have consistently supported the usefulness of the ExcelL program in multicultural university environments, and this study supporting the application of ExcelL in business coursework settings, it is proposed that a modified version of ExcelL may provide businesses with training programs that gainfully assist adaptation within increasingly multicultural business environments.