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Briefly highlighting aspects of the evolution of ergonomics, this introduction to the present volume emphasizes the breadth of the field and acquaints the reader with the emergence of cultural ergonomics as a new sub-discipline. It interweaves in the account comments by the editor on the book’s twelve chapters and some notes relating to the new addition.

My warm thanks to Dean James Hunt, Provost, and Professor Jacqueline Muir-Broaddus, Chair of the Psychology Department, for making a home at Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, for cultural ergonomics and the International Center of Cultural Ergonomics, and for facilitating preparation of this book. Southwestern students Kendra Francisco, Staci Benson, and Ellen Gass contributed helpful assistance. At Elsevier, Fiona Barron, Publishing Editor, has been extraordinarily helpful, and the consideration and support there from Becky Lewsey and Deborah Raven have been particularly noteworthy. Dr. Pierre Falzon, Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers in Paris, made possible the acquisition of documents written by Professor Alain Wisner, who died recently. Computer advice and assistance provided by Richard H. Troxell have been invaluable. Communication and interchange of documents and information with Dr. Eduardo Salas at the University of Central Florida were facilitated by Marcella Maresco and Diana Furman.

Since much of the design work for vessels and offshore installations occurs in countries other than where the vessel may operate or where the installation may be located, it is particularly important that the expected user be considered and accommodated through the design and operational phases of a project.

Within the framework of engineering design and marine operations, this chapter will discuss “soft” issues, such as organizational and line management decisions and personnel selection procedures, as well as “hardware” issues related to design of living and working environments. In particular, the chapter will address how culture should be considered while identifying “user” needs and requirements.

This chapter asserts that, notwithstanding the forces of globalization, the gap between Industrially Advanced Country (IAC) “haves” and Industrially Developing Country (IDC) “have nots” is increasing. Poverty, deprivation, over-population, illiteracy, and sub-optimal working conditions attend this scenario. This widening chasm, among other things, feeds discontent which, justified or not, exacerbates tensions. To the extent that this view is valid, the challenge for ergonomics is to contribute to a narrowing of the gap by recognizing that the vast majority of the biomass of humanity is engaged in basic IDC, not advanced technical IAC issues. Their needs are best met by culture-compatible, participatory, small-scale, unsophisticated, low-cost improvements that can be easily assimilated. Strategies for assisting in redressing the imbalance between IDCs and IACs are discussed.

The focus of global training has primarily been on preparing employees to work effectively in other cultures, such as in expatriate training, acculturation training, and training for technology transfer. One issue that has been ignored is the implication of using training systems that are developed in a specific cultural context and then deployed globally. This chapter proposes a framework to show the influence of culture on one aspect of training effectiveness, the transfer of newly learned skills to the job. Specific relationships are proposed, using Baldwin and Ford’s (1988) transfer of training framework as a guide, and also by synthesizing findings from areas such as cross-cultural psychology, human resource management, education, and technology management.

Seeking to equip industrially developing countries with functioning factories and machines, the author first used the concepts, knowledge, and methods of ergonomics. He then discovered that it is also necessary to develop, test, and use other concepts, other knowledge, and other methods, especially by bringing into consideration the human sciences (geography, demography, epidemiology, sociology, economics, linguistics, anthropology, history) for orienting such countries to means of actualizing technical devices. Reflecting this thinking, the present note proposes an anthropotechnological approach to improve international technology transfer.

Fostered by technological developments and globalization, culturally diverse teams are becoming a mainstay of organizational strategy. As the use of multi-cultural teams continues to increase, it becomes paramount to understand the mechanism(s) by which leaders can promote effectiveness within these teams. Despite this need, there are numerous challenges facing those who seek to understand these phenomena and move science and practice forward. The purpose of this chapter is to present a few of these challenges and approaches which can assist in mitigating these challenges. Finally, we identify what we see as key research needs within this area.