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Health and safety regulations
Health and safety standards may well be of a lower standard in the recipient 
culture. Working conditions, safety equipment and medical care will need to 
be investigated and shortcomings remedied, and specialist training in safety 
procedures will need to be given.
Resistance to change
Resistance to change is likely to be an important area, particularly the need to 
convince the local community of the benefits of the new technology and 
the local workforce of the requirement to adhere to stricter safety regula-
tions, efficient working practices and quality inspection. The receiving 
culture may differ radically in its management approach to its workforce, 
operating an essentially top- down approach with little participation in deci-
sion making or consultation at lower levels. It is essential to try to identify 
key change agents and to achieve their early commitment to the project, in 
particular the full support of senior management and, where appropriate, 
representatives of the government. It may be necessary to buy in expertise 
from outside the participating parties in order to have the benefit of experi-
ence in similar situations.
The reaction of the host/receiving culture to foreign expertise can itself be 
a barrier to transfer. The transferring culture’s senior staff can be seen as a 
potential threat, taking local jobs and arousing uncertainty as to how long 
they will stay. A more cynical view may include a perception that they are 
mainly interested in what they can get for themselves out of the project, 
be it financial gain or having as their main motive the spread of political 
and commercial influence of the country implementing the transfer. Such 
concerns may further exacerbate latent resentment and create the following 
problem areas:
resistance to local reduction in the workforce once the new technology 
is in place;
lack of understanding of the need for quality control;
lack of initiative to promote further progress after years of
under-
performance, poor leadership and
non- existent
after-sales
service, all 
compounded by inadequate financial control;
lack of comprehensive job descriptions, staff appraisals and performance 
criteria;
attempting to try to manage change from a command, centralized and 
controlled system to a more liberal one too swiftly in the progression to 
a market economy.
Overcoming resistance to change depends to a large extent on how 
the senior staff of both the provider and receiver of new technology take 
the appropriate steps to manage the changes involved. In order to achieve 
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Transfer of Skills, Technology and Knowledge 251
the required change, it is suggested that the following key planning stages 
be implemented:
communicate to all concerned the vision of the future – how the new 
technology will be beneficial to the company and the population as a 
whole;
identify the barriers to change that will need to be overcome;
identify the key change agents and opinion leaders who will assist the 
process of accepting the changes – managers, supervisors and trainers;
agree the necessary investment in skills and capital to bring about the 
acceptance of change.
Much of the resistance to change can be reduced by ensuring that both the 
supplier and the receiver agree in advance on common shared objectives, 
and design and implement the project whereby both benefit from long-
term economic progress. Cooperation at all levels is essential to maximize 
cultural synergy and collaboration for the common good. In order for this 
to be successful, the supplier should, as soon as technologically feasible, 
stand back and provide opportunities for local managers to have ‘hands-on’ 
responsibility. Only as a result of this will local managers be seen to be tak-
ing real decisions in the process, thus enhancing their local credibility and 
respect within the community and their own self- esteem. Cultural synergy 
will be achieved only when cultural influences are recognized and cultural 
differences and similarities are used to create new organizational structures, 
management procedures and working relations.