Assembling the Troops—External
In addition to our internal
staff, several consulting
and support groups had to be
enlisted to cover areas
where
expertise was lacking and/or
resources were not readily
available. At the height of
activities, there were
staffs
from no less than 10
consulting companies, Oracle
Solution
Support, and IBM Global
Applications Support
providing services and
expertise in the areas of
project
management, Oracle
applications, and
hardware/network
configuration and
maintenance.
Handling Cross-Cultural
Issues
With implementation
activities progressing on
several
continents simultaneously,
cross-cultural issues began
to
arise that needed
addressing. Aside from the
most obvious,
language difficulties,
awareness and sensitivity to
interpretations of language
and customs had to be addressed.
For instance, in the United
States, the United
Kingdom, Singapore, and
Australia, English is the
main language spoken.
However, how similar words
are spoken and used
contextually can be very
different among
these countries. Areas where
we had to pay special attention
during implementation
activities were these:
•
Written communications had
to be concisely writ
ten checked for
interpretation.
•
Instructions and training
materials had to be writ
ten in multiple languages.
•
Business calendars
containing location-specific
work
week and holiday information
had to be taken into
consideration both from a
systems and communica
tions perspective.
•
Particular attention to
local customs and sensitivi
ties had to be paid when
visiting, speaking, and/or
training at foreign
locations.
The real key to a successful
implementation involving
cross-cultural entities is
to have an increased sensitivity
to the fact that people of
different backgrounds
are being dealt with and
consciously validating
communications
and information to make sure
it is presented in a way
that is most understandable
to all.