Cultural Diversity Training (CDT) is a process that helps build understanding, compassion and patience for other cultures. CDT professionals show employees how a multicultural environment--in which people have differing behaviors, religious practices, conflict resolution strategies, modes of communication, languages, values and assumptions--adds value to a company. Moreover, exposure to those from cultures different from one's own can be an enriching experience. CDT is meant to create an atmosphere of communication whereby misunderstandings are minimized and respect is preeminent. CDT aids employees with cross-cultural business interactions with foreign clients, provides the skills and knowledge to help employees of different cultures work better together and promotes diversity as a company-wide value.
CDT helps employees perform better at work. When people are happy in their work environment, have good working relationships and communicate well, they enjoy their work and feel more attached to their jobs. Of course, happier employees are more productive, and increased productivity means better sales revenues and profits, which in turn allows managers to provide higher wages and expand the business. CDT is a win-win situation for multicultural companies.
CDT brings about a level of cultural understanding that daily interactions between employees may not. Often, employees at work socialize only with others of the same ethnicity, especially if a language barrier is present. CDT brings various groups together for company-wide training and improves understanding of cultural differences across the board. CDT teaches people how to work together and appreciate their differences rather than feel threatened by them. On a company-wide level, this improved communication helps to prevent discrimination suits, since employees and managers understand each other better, which in turn minimizes problems related to internal divisions and gives the company a better external reputation.
Stories from customers and workers alike are commonplace for companies with international business relationships. For example, an American might gripe about not being able to reach a customer in Oman on Friday, unless she knows that people are usually not in the office on that day in Middle Eastern countries. In Japan there are strict rules of etiquette for business meetings and interpersonal relations. Such differences exist worldwide and often inside a single company. CDT educates workers on how to deal with these differences and minimize conflicts. A multicultural company that promotes intelligent interpersonal interactions is better prepared to work with companies overseas and has a better chance of being successful. More business means more profits, and thus CDT helps a company's bottom line.