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e-Learning Culture Prints
Culture Prints of five countries—United States, Brazil, France, Germany, and Japan—along the dimensions of difference, quickly reveal the potential opportunities and challenges in the design and deployment of e-learning programs and strategy.
The United States e-Learning Culture Print
An ideal e-learning Culture Print[1]of a society that would readily adapt e-learning might be that of the United States, and this could be the fundamental reason why U.S. companies and learners have adopted e-learning so readily (see Figure 9-4).
Figure 9-4: United States e-Learning Culture Print
Americans adopted e-learning more quickly because the self-directed, personalized, on-demand, specific, peer-to-peer style of e-learning meets many of the cultural drivers already in place.
Dimension | Impact |
|---|---|
Mid-Range in Equality/Status | Accept content in learning not necessarily promoted or presented by a recognized expert or teacher, but also enjoy recognition for accomplishment. |
High in Independence | Able to enjoy the independence of tailoring their ‘MyLearning’ portfolio, and pursuing their own path. Sense of career ownership drives interest in acquiring new skills. |
High in Risk | Capable of taking risks in exploring something not completely proven, learning in Internet time and space. |
Mid-Range in Achievement | Equally focused on work and life, able to both accept e-learning opportunities at work, but also will engage anytime/anywhere. |
However, the verbatim export of the above approach to e-learning may not work in every culture. The challenge in fostering global e-learning adoption is to effectively integrate the new learning approach with the embedded cultural values of the country. Investigating the Culture Prints of the other four countries provides some snapshots of how e-learning methods, content, and approaches may be localize more effectively to engage the learner in an experience that recognizes and leverages their cultural drivers. As seen in Figure 9-5, the recommendations for e-learning initiatives in Brazil could focus on:
Figure 9-5: Brazil e-Learning Culture Print
High Status: Include the supervisor to engage the learner in e-learning, reward completion, and involve known subject matter experts visibly in presentations during online live e-learning sessions or in Macromedia Flash content
The selected recommendations (see Figure 9-6) for e-learning initiatives in France could focus on:
Figure 9-6: France e-Learning Culture Print
High Independence and High Status: Use features such as MyLearning to enable workers to create and pursue their own learning pathways, while including the supervisor and recognized experts visibly in the promotion of e-learning initiatives and content
High Security/Low Risk: Provide small early wins in the e-learning experience to develop confidence in the approach and value
The selected recommendations (see Figure 9-7) for e-learning initiatives in Germany could focus on:
Figure 9-7: German e-Learning Culture Print
High Equality: Share access and network knowledge across the organization through e-learning communities, using e-learning to foster exchanges of best practice
High Independence: Provide universal access and linkages to multiple sources of e-learning opportunity
Figure 9-8: Japanese e-Learning Culture Print
The selected recommendations for e-learning initiatives in Japan could focus on:
High Work Focus: Assign individual roles of leadership periodically within the group e-learning experience, where personal expertise is given an opportunity to be observed and commended. Assessments and certification may also contribute to the sense of achievement.
[1]All data for the Culture Print Graphics included in this chapter are adopted from Geert Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind,McGraw-Hill 1997.
