Renowned Researcher Geert Hofstede Connects Cultural Insights With Employee Performance

Internationally-revered scholar offers keynote address, confirms importance of culture in the workplace.

Dublin, Ireland (PRWEB) April 23, 2008 -- Dr. Geert Hofstede made a rare personal appearance as this year's keynote speaker at ITAP International's annual conference in Dublin, Ireland. In bridging the key gap between academic study and real world business applications, Dr. Hofstede's presentation highlighted the vital connections between national cultures and employee satisfaction and performance, with strategic emphasis on how these cultural characteristics vary from country to country.

Hofstede was introduced by Dr. John Bing, Chairman of ITAP International, Inc. "Dr. Hofstede's informative presentation and overall presence at the conference was a notable high point," Bing said. "His attendance highlighted his close association with ITAP, which now goes back almost two decades. Our work together has been a matter of personal satisfaction over the years."

As an international expert of cross-cultural comparative science, Dr. Hofstede's ground-breaking 'Cultures Consequences' and its application to the workplace has been at the vanguard of international business thinking for decades.

ITAP International's conference, "HR Success Across Borders: National Culture as an Asset to Global Business," was held in conjunction with IBIS, a global partner for international compensation and benefits consulting. Attendees from around the globe discussed key strategies for achieving business success across national cultures and borders, including:

• The impact of national culture on compensation & benefits design and delivery

• Dealing with growth: Growing globally from a U.S. base into a wide range of countries

• National culture: Trends and strategies for HR success

• National culture in mergers & acquisitions

ITAP will offer a webinar series covering several of these topics. Anyone interested in participating in these webinars should fill out the form at the ITAP website to be included in future announcements.

Conference attendees explored cross-cultural issues with professional colleagues from multiple countries, sectors, and businesses. The multi-cultural gathering offered the chance to learn from in-country and in-culture experts, while also providing access to the best research and most up-to-date global practices.

David Walsh, a cross-cultural consultant based in Ireland, attended the conference as a speaker and also sat in on several sessions. "I believe it is significant that ITAP International chose Dublin, Ireland as their conference location," Walsh noted. "While many colleagues work in business across borders and cultures, Ireland is now seeing the world come to us. The expansion of the European Union brings an influx of new labor and talent, and ITAP's business approaches will allow us to better handle the cultural consequences of this ever-changing work environment."

ITAP International Inc. is a full-service consulting firm specializing in building human capability across functional, global and cultural boundaries. ITAP specializes in doing business internationally - across borders and cultures - through a comprehensive set of international human resources development and organizational development services.

For more information, or to schedule an interview with John Bing at ITAP International, please call Michael Huge at 1-614-746-2472 or visit www.itapintl.com

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