Globalisation is not new to the 21st century, having occurred at various times in previous millennia through political conquests, trade or religious missions. However, the current era of globalisation has some unique features such as the presence of information and communication technologies and collapsing trade barriers. During this new era of globalisation, organisations have increasingly found that cross-cultural communication is important to their success. This realisation provides opportunities while also posing challenges to public relations practitioners prompting educators to ask the question: are public relations programmes preparing students to become effective cross-cultural communicators who can help organisations cope with the demands of a globalising world?
