Intercultural Training in Business and Education: the Case of the Danube Region

The goal of this paper is to present practical experience in intercultural training in Bulgaria and to outline the main implications from educational and business training perspectives. The analysis uses Geert Hofstede’s cultural orientations to analyze two cases of training practices in education and business in the Danube Region. The cross-cultural training took place in 2017 - an international project for intercultural adult education in Danube countries and a human resource management training in an engineering company. The main research methods are literature review and observation. Results are analysed using the Geert Hofstede theoretical paradigm. Intercultural training is key for successful interpersonal interactions both in mono- and cross-cultural teams. There are recommendations for cross-cultural training design derived from the observation both in business and in education. These results could be used for cross-cultural training and research planning. The recommendations could be in favour of practitioners, business trainers, teachers and researchers with interests in development of cross-cultural competence. Results of this paper shed light on the main characteristics of intercultural training in the Danube Region and could be used as guidance for creating problem-solving practices in business and education, based on cultural values.