An Expert In The Intercultural Field
The Italian-French intercultures expert Isabelle Demangeat, born in Algeria and raised in the west of France, attributes her interest for everything intercultural to a childhood spent in a multifaceted cultural landscape. Twenty years in adult education, 13 of them in the intercultural field, mean she has experienced the growing need for training. And yet she still meets human resources employees that do not understand the concrete use and immediate necessity of such training.
A Successful Intercultural Training At Rolls-Royce
Not so at Rolls-Royce in Dahlewitz where Isabelle carried out several two-day intercultural training sessions with German employees focusing on personnel development and communication culture (France-Germany).
»The aviation and aerospace industry is a strange one. Organization and work structures are unique, one of the reasons being the complete lack of competition,« reports Isabelle. The French industry is deeply rooted in highly bureaucratic government structures. Contrary to expectations she noticed that project employees, managers and engineers taking part in the training were particularly interested in cultural studies. In the course of the training, their own and French values were discussed and applied to work processes.
If it was up to Isabelle, the cultural education for expats would receive the same amount of attention as team development or leadership. Because, as she puts it, when it comes to intercultural issues, »nothing means the same and everything means a lot«.
