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Intercultural intervention in a U.S. corporate internship program for college graduates from Rwanda: An exploratory study

Author

Shelley Morrison, University of the Pacific

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

International Studies

First Advisor

Chris Cartwright

First Committee Member

Chris Cartwright

Second Committee Member

Steven Dowd

Third Committee Member

Michael Vande Berg

Abstract

This exploratory study examines the impact of intercultural training as part of an international corporate internship program in the United States for college graduates from Rwanda. This is a mixed-method study using quantitative and qualitative data collected before, at completion, and one year after the 3-month internship program. The report explores the design, methods, content, tools, assessments and experiential activities used during the intercultural training, which focused on educating both the Rwandan interns and their U.S. managers on some of the differences in culture and communication styles that impact effectiveness in the workplace. The purpose of this research is to discern which aspects of the intercultural training intervention the participants perceived as the most beneficial. In addition to providing a better understanding of challenges for African interns adapting to the U.S. corporate environment, this study hopes to provide insights and contribute to a framework of best practices for intercultural training for U.S. international corporate internships, which as part of the J-1 visa program created by the U.S. State Department to build international understanding and cultural exchange, as well as work opportunities.

Pages

119

ISBN

9781321698404

Recommended Citation

Morrison, Shelley. (2015). Intercultural intervention in a U.S. corporate internship program for college graduates from Rwanda: An exploratory study. University of the Pacific, Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/244

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.