The increasing international interconnection of the world's economics has the consequence that
more and moreGerman employees have to stay abroad for a longer time.The south-east Asian and
especially the Chinese economic environment are gaining a bigger and bigger role - also for the
German textile market due to a strong economic growth the low wage level. Especially in the
manufacturing branch this is an important decision factor - at approximately Ä 0 32 per hour
and the size of a potential market. The low wage level will not rise in the near future but the
fact that China's economic importance is growing requires a new kind of approach to enter the
market in any kind of way. Since Germany is a country with only few raw materials the
requirements of manpower have changed. During the last years the persons in the responsible
departments became aware that China does require special skills regarding management
communication and intercultural interactions. A relatively new area of research has become more
and more important for the human resource departments in German companies: the intercultural
preparation of employees and expatriates who are the ones that fill the key positions for the
exchange of information between the parent company and the office abroad. For a successful
expatriation a profound preparation regarding intercultural communication and behaviour is
needed. The better the preparation the better will be the expatriation for the company and the
expatriate. A failed dispatch abroad can cost the company approximately Ä 125.000 - per
employment. Furthermore the consequences for the expatriate can also be disastrous: social and
professional decline and e.g. depression.This work has the aim to answer the following
questions: How does well designed training programs look like? What kind of possibilities do
exist? Who does offer intercultural training in Germany? How are employees in German textile
and clothing companies prepared in practice compared to other industries? Is the investment in
intercultural training useful efficient and worthit?
