ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a view of international managers’ learning needs which is specifically related to organizational culture. It shows how the traditional ‘career’ model of executive development fails to cater for these actual learning needs, and propose an alternative model which may be of greater relevance. A multi-national company, better understanding of the nature and effects of national cultural differences should help to improve communication and relationships among staff. The impact of organizational culture is both more difficult to control and more important to get right than any other single aspect in the design and running of management development activities. The design of programmes for chief executives seems most often to be based upon subjective judgement on the part of the designers - rather than upon real data about specific needs of chief executives. Management development programmes offered both within organizations and by outside institutions, business schools, are likely to reflect this kind of career general model of development.
