The challenge of conducting learning across cultures via distance education means: an HRD dilemma

Business is spending millions of dollars on e-learning across countries and cultures. Therefore, it is imperative that HRD attend to learning at a distance, and particularly to the cultural issues raised by the global nature of workplace e-learning. The purpose of this article was to conduct a thorough literature review of the theoretical and empirical work that has been conducted on issues of culture and learning in a distance education setting. The findings demonstrated the following. Theoretically, two models combined provide a dynamic framework of the many interactions of culture in the learning setting. The empirical findings deal with differences: philosophical differences among countries, different ways of knowing, and differences in meanings of language, customs, facial expressions, and so forth. The paper concludes by considering the choices HRD researchers and practitioners might make in dealing with the cultural issues raised by the global nature of workplace e-learning.