Cultural training puts missile company on target

Citation

(2009), "Cultural training puts missile company on target", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 41 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2009.03741eab.001

Cultural training puts missile company on target

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 41, Issue 5

A multinational missile-technology company has introduced training in foreign cultures, in order to improve integration between employees of different nationalities.

MBDA was formed in 2001, through the merger of the largest missile companies in France, the UK and Italy. They were subsequently joined by the key missile company in Germany. In 2006, MBDA’s UK and French operations were formally merged, with MBDA Italy joining the integrated organization in early 2008. MBDA now has more than 10,000 employees in France, the UK, Italy and Germany.

MBDA had a strong culture of innovation and technical excellence, but it identified the need to increase its managers’ and employees’ understanding of each others’ cultures, in order to improve communication and relationships between international colleagues.

Gemma Todd, MBDA UK learning and development manager, explained: “We recognized the importance of understanding the role played by culture and the requirement to develop strategies to help to overcome cultural differences. Using intercultural training, we were able to give managers and employees vital information and tools to aid the successful integration of international teams”.

The company engaged European culture and communication-skills consultancy Communicaid to design bespoke intercultural training programs that were aligned with MBDA’s objective of raising awareness of the degree and depth of cultural diversity and its impact on relations with international counterparts.

A series of one-day training sessions is currently being delivered to UK employees at all levels of the business, covering such subjects as meetings etiquette and business communication. The training, through discussion and practical exercises, introduces delegates to some of the key cultural differences among team members in the different countries that comprise MBDA. It also encourages delegates to predict and overcome potential challenges they may face when working as part of an international team.

MBDA has three major aeronautical and defence shareholders – BAE Systems (37.5 per cent), EADS (37.5 per cent) and Finmeccanica (25 per cent). The group produces more than 3,000 missiles a year. It has an order book of €13.1 billion and more than 90 customers worldwide.