A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration, School of Management

Thesis (M.B.A.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001

In life as in business today, it is becoming more and more uncommon that people remain sheltered from exposure to other cultures, interaction and business dealings cross borders and cultural boundaries eve1yday. When cultures meet, this can be a rewarding and emiching experience, but if the different patties are poorly prepared, then any number of misunderstandings can occur. In a business context, this can have grave consequences for a company who unites members of different cultural background under its roof It is then up to the organisation to promote an air of adaptability and cultural sensitivity through its corporate culture to its members. One way of achieving this is by having people who display adaptable qualities but also by giving the HR depaitment the right orientation and following through in the practices it uses in tenns of HRD to ensure adaptability into the future. What approach do companies take in order to make sure their corporate culture is one that can facilitate a cross-cultural environment and make it work? What adaptability is, is an ideal most companies strive for, but do they really do enough in practice?