Culture Shock and Poor Adjustment - Essay Example

? Managing Across Cultures Contents PART ONE: Literature Review on Culture Shock and Poor Adjustment 3 Culture Shock 3 Stages of Cultural Shock 5 Coping Strategies 7 Cultural Learning Approach 8 ABC Model of Culture Shock 8 Conclusion 9 PART 2: Recommendation for Managing Culture shock and Poor Adjustment 10 Reference 15 Bibliography 16 PART ONE: Literature Review on Culture Shock and Poor Adjustment Culture Shock Culture shock can be said to be a process of initial adjustment towards an unfamiliar environment. Culture shock describes the adjustment process through psychological, emotional, cognitive, physiological and emotional impact upon individuals. In the context where multicultural exits culture shock is a sudden immersion to a non specific condition of uncertainty mainly as the individuals are not certain as to the expectation from them and from the person around them. The term culture shock was first coined by Kalvero Oberg (1960) in order to describe anxiety which resulted from the situation of not knowing or getting familiar with the new culture. The recent literature tends to recognise that culture shock can be applied to any new situation with regards to job, relation and also in relation to adjustment and new identity (Pedersen, 1995, p.1). Oberg has mentioned six aspects of culture shock such as strain which might occur in order to make some psychological adjustments; a feeling of loss or deprivation with relation to factors such as profession, friends, possession and status; by being rejected; confusion in knowing exactly the role, the expectation from the role, self identity, feelings and value; Anxiety, surprise, indication and disgust after knowing about the culture difference and a feeling of failure for not being able to cope with the new environment. Most of the researchers have tried and attempted to extend and improve believe of Oberg that culture shock is just a normal process of adjusting cultural stress. According to Anderson (1994), culture shock is a symptom of frustration reaction (Selmer, 1999, p. 517). Cultural shock, over the last decade has received increased attention where Jack London in one of his stories titled “In a Far Country” had stressed to the fact that visitors who visit another culture needs to be prepared to adopt new customs and leave behind old thoughts and ideas. He suggested that sojourners who temporary reside in another country should be able to seek pleasure in the given condition because of the fact that those who were unable to fit into the new culture tends to return home or die due o physical and psychological ailments. Culture shock is a costly affair for a firm because it leads to premature return of business people who are sent overseas. According to some of the research employees sent to foreign did not fail because of lack of technical skills but inability to adapt the other culture. An estimate of early return showed a range of 45% to 85% employees who returned from overseas. However some companies have experimented with short term stays like two three months and determine the potential of the employee to tolerate other culture so that at a later stage they get prepared for longer stay. Short trips tend to be cost effective as it reduces the burden of moving the family also. Brislin (1981) had identified three strategies which can be used to cope up with the new culture in terms of short visits, Unacceptance of host culture: The travellers do not make any effort to understand and learn the new culture and behaves as they are in home culture Substitution: The travellers tend to learn appropriate behaviour and response from the host culture and substitute them with the one which they use it in the known environment. Addition: The people visiting overseas add the behaviour of the host country in the present of nationals but also maintain the same behaviour when they are confronted with the same culture. Synthesis: this is a strategy which tends to combine the elements of two cultures such as dress on US and Philippines. Resynthesis: this is defined as an integration of ideas which are generally not found in any of the cultures (Chaney, 2008, p. 90). Stages of Cultural Shock Culture shock usually experience five stages which are excitement, disenchantment, adjustment, the acceptance and finally re-entry. According to Krapels and Davis (2005) culture shock is represented by “U shaped curve” where the left side of the curve represents positive aspects, the crises stage show at the bottom, adjustment curve from the base of the curve, the acceptance phase is shown at the right hand side of the U shaped curve and re-entry shown at the top in the right side. The first stage describes fascination and excitement with the new culture and which last only for a couple of days or months. During this period one seems to enjoy the culture he has been into and are highly fascinated by the food, environment and also the people. This stage is also sometimes referred to as the “honeymoon stage” (Furnham & Bochner, 1986, p. 138). Figure 1: U shaped Curve (Source: GRIN, 2008) In the second stage, the disenchantment period the “honeymoon” is over and the excitement which the traveller was feeling seems to get over and a feeling of disappointment takes over as one is able to notice more and more difference between the host culture and the new culture. Emotions towards home, anger, irritation, resentment and depression occurs in the second stage and try to cope up by making remarks about the new culture. The third stage involves adjustment phase where one begins to accept the new culture, make adjustment in behaviour, changes attitude towards the host country and other factors. In the fourth stage, which is the acceptance and the adaption phase makes a traveller comfortable in the new culture by getting involved with all the activities, make friendships, learn languages and adopt to the style of new culture (Oberg, 2006, p. 143). The final stage is termed as re-entry which has the potential to become traumatic much like the initial adjustment with the new culture. Re-entry shocks are faced by individual after he returns to the home country and tends to follow most of the stages identified at an earlier stage. The person has achieved biculturalism by coping with the new culture comfortably in the new culture and returning back to the home culture might again take some time (Jandt, 2009, p. 292). Coping Strategies The framework of Stress and coping tend to highlights the significance that life changes in the process of cross cultural transition and while selecting and implementing the coping strategies in order to deal with them. Both stress as well as coping are associated with the characteristics of both individuals and the situation and thereby affect the adjustive outcomes. Cross cultural transition as well as adaptation is managed effectively when the individuals are equipped with the financial resources and language skills of the given country. Language skills are highly important as they help to facilitate communication with the members from the host country, assist the individual in effective learning of the respective culture and finally create avenues in order to have effective social interaction and social support. In support of this John Berry had presented a coping model (Figure 2) which highlights anxiety and also features the central flow of events along with appraisals and coping and both long term and short term outcomes. Figure 2: Stress and Coping Model (Source: Ward, Bochner & Furnham, 2001) This framework takes into consideration acculturative experience which is characterised by cognitive appraisal, stress and thus requires coping strategies. The outcomes are likely to influence variables at individual and societal level (Ward, Bochner & Furnham, 2001, p. 71). Cultural Learning Approach The cultural learning approach differs from that stress and coping approach and argues that the stress faced by the sojourners occurs mainly due to the lack in interpersonal and social skills in order to operate in the new culture. Thus cultural learning can be acquired in preparing barriers which might hamper the effective communication with the host culture. One of the most popular forms of training under the learning approach is the intercultural communication training program. The intercultural communication research tends to be extensive which resulted from the development of various communication theories (Clegg & Berrell, 2007, p. 61). ABC Model of Culture Shock The ABC Model of culture shock is a contemporary approach in the research and complements each of the factors. “ABC” stands for “affective, behavioural and cognitive” approaches used in the study of culture shocks. This model tends to categorise stress and coping research as affective engagement which influences feeling of sojourner and is said to be moderate during the period of transition. However the learning approach for sojourner tends to encounter behavioural changes which one can adopt to lessen the cultural shock. Finally cognition represents the theories of social identification which deals with the perception of sojourner and also way of thinking. Conclusion Therefore in conclusion the best way to get over culture shock is to become familiar with the host country and learn to accept the culture of it. Many multinationals have found that cultural shocks can be alleviated by selecting employees, who tends to poses some professional and personal qualification, for overseas project. Another method of reducing cultural shock is by giving proper training to the employees who are travelling overseas. Entry into international business tends to describe the adjustment process into different environmental cycle. The greater the perceived difference in social and work environment, the greater is the complexity, adjustment and culture shock. Therefore the perspective of culture shock tends to make various assumptions. Culture shock is a learning process no matter how painful or uncomfortable it might be. Culture shock is a Meta reaction both to the strangers and the awkward feelings that are provoked by the strangers and resembles social changes (Pedersen, 1995, p.12). PART 2: Recommendation for Managing Culture shock and Poor Adjustment Individuals tend to experience culture shock in many different ways. The length of time an individual endures culture shock and when it is experienced first tends to vary across individuals and their experiences. It is necessary to follow or learn the new culture before one visit the new environment and stays living in it. This will help to have proper knowledge about the new culture and adapt to it at a faster rate. Many authors have provided various recommendation to mange culture shock which have been mentioned below but three recommendation which according to me are important are ‘culture shock strategies’, ‘pre-departure training’ and ‘provide feedback and rewards.’ There are several recommendations for the individuals to mange culture shock. Firstly the sojourners can thus become knowledgeable with regards to culture shock which includes development of symptoms and signs of culture shock. Secondly the individuals visiting overseas can acquire the related knowledge about the cultural practises of host country which includes both verbal and non verbal communication. Third case, the sojourners can make sincere effort and create realistic expectations towards the experience abroad. Fourth case the sojourners can involve themselves into the activities of the new culture and at the same time observe cultural practises and behaviours of model and thereby develop intercultural relationship and maintain a supportive social network (Jackson, 2010, p.193). Based on the above discussion it can be recommended that to solve the issue of cross culture and ‘culture shock strategies’ can be adopted. Some of the strategies like knowledge based strategies in order to manage culture shock. As most of the expats tend to fail to recognise the major symptoms of culture shock and knowing that they tend to experience normal reaction towards overseas move which eliminates the source of anxiety. Continuing to learn about the culture of the new country eliminates the risk of culture shock as more knowledge which an expat has about the new environment he better it is. Books and website can be used to gather information about the new country also in addition cross cultural training is another important option which can be used to eliminate the risk of cultural shock. Secondly, strategies which can be adopted by the individuals travelling overseas into new culture are strategies based on emotions. The strategy is based on adjustment towards attitude with respect to the expatriate. The first step is to acknowledge the loss which had occurred due to leaving the old and familiar environment and life behind. It is advised to expats to take some of their time at the beginning of the posting so that they can focus on the future. One important recommendation is to keep an open mind as it will help the expatriate will be able to view the new culture with a positive attitude along with respect and openness which will result in better outcome as compare to expatriate who are suspicious and critical. Expats who were successful while dealing with the culture shock seem have adopted the strategies such as building up support system, adjusting the attitudes by way of viewing the overseas time which will further help in the personal growth, try and break out of the comfort zone, had sense of humour, able to socialise with the local population and learn the language. The successful expatriates had set small goals and evaluated them on a regular basis. In addition to the above two strategies physical strategies are also utilised in managing culture shock and thus it is recommended to apply the physical strategies. The stress which gets associated with the live of the expatriate tends to cause physical tension can ultimately lead to illness if the individual do not get relieved of it. Therefore practising physical habits can be boon in encountering the battle against culture shock. Physical exercise is high recommended along with therapy like yoga, massage and medication. Getting adequate sleep along with fresh air and balanced diet will add on in coping up with culture shock. Secondly, the expatriates should be provided with ‘pre-departure training’ in order to adjust them in the new culture. Some of the important training which is recommended to the individuals travelling overseas is intellectual model where the participants who are selected to visit overseas are given instructions about the new culture through lecture, group discussion, videos and others. This model is based on the belief that understanding of cognitive is highly important in order to perform effectively overseas. The model provides knowledge and not on experience. The next training method suggested is the self awareness model also known as the human relation model and is based on assumption that trainees who are high in self understanding are likely to adapt to the new culture in a better way and thus be more effective. Next model recommended is the cultural awareness model which emphasizes the cultural insight and is similar to self awareness model which strives to seek affective goals and experiential process. In the process the participants goes from recognising the own values as compared to the new culture and is done through various techniques and also includes realistic roles. Another kind of approach that is recommended to implement is the interaction approach where the participants tends to interact with the people in the host country and finally is the multidimensional approach which believes that using only one training approach will not be effective as compared to using multiple approaches in the process of combating the new culture. Finally third recommendation for individuals or the multinationals sending individuals to new culture is to provide feedback and rewards. Global managers require feedback along with rewards just like mangers in the known culture does it. The reward and the appraisal system is much more different from that of the home culture as the people sent in overseas needs to be evaluated in way which takes into account the value of the overseas person and their expectations. Thus it will help the expatriates to feel better in new culture. Evaluation should be made on areas such as leadership, negotiation skills, and interpersonal skills, customer service, along with communication skills and achieving the objective of the organisation. It is suggested that companies should use the rating team which is head by senior HR management and other who might be the onsite supervisors, subordinates, peer manager and also the clients. It is also recommended to the team manager to prepare an appraisal report on the manager every after six month’s interval time. In terms of reward system it is recommended to include special allowances for the individual in abroad to fight back culture shock. Allowances such as housing, cost of living, relocation, medical, membership and taxes. The main motive of rewards system is to retain and attract the quality employees of the organisation. Thus rewarding overseas employees will thereby result in benefit for the respective organisation. In addition to it mangers should take into consideration the equity issue which calculates the ratio between the contributions of the employee against what they receive. This will keep the manager at the same level with those from the new culture. Therefore by adopting the above recommendation the individuals, sojourners will be beneficial in the process of adopting the new culture in a completely new environment. When culture shocks are managed individuals are able to adjust properly in the given situation. It has been learnt in the literature review the five stages of culture shock and as the individual learns to accept the new culture is also able to adjust to all kind of situation and stay comfortable. Unless and until one learns to adopt and adjust in the new culture it will be increasingly difficult for the individuals whether personal or on behalf of company to accept and live happily. Therefore the recommendation will be beneficial and help eliminate the risk of anxiety reducing the culture shock to a very large extends. Reference Chaney, L. H., 2008. Intercultural Business Communication, 4/E. South Asia: Pearson Education India. Clegg, S. R. & Berrell, M., 2007. Business Networks and Strategic Alliances in China. UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Furnham, A. & Bochner, S., 1986. Culture Shock: Psychological Reactions to Unfamiliar Environments. Taylor & Francis. GRIN, 2008. Investigating the relationship between expatriate adjustment, marital status, and related attributes. [Online]. Available at: < http://www.grin.com/en/doc/271612/investigating-the-relationship-between-expatriate-adjustment-marital-status> [Accessed 27 November 2012] Jackson, R. L., 2010. Encyclopedia of Identity Volume 1. SAGE. Jandt, F. E., 2009. An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community. SAGE. Oberg, K., 2006. Cultural Shock: Adjustment to New Cultural Environment. Practical Anthropology, 7, p.142-146. Pedersen, R. B., 1995. The Five Stages of Culture Shock: Critical Incidents Around the World. USA: ABC-CLIO. Selmer, J., 1999. Culture shock in China? Adjustment pattern of western expatriate business managers. International Business Review, 8, p. 515–534. Ward, C. A. Bochner, S. & Furnham, A., 2001. Culture Shock. USA: Routledge. Bibliography Child, J. et al., 2005. Cooperative strategy. New York: Oxford University Press. Kanu, A. M. D., 2011. Experiencing Interactive Interpersonal Communication. Xlibris Corporation. Laroche, L. and Rutherford, D., Recruiting, Retaining and Promoting Culturally Different Employees. UK: Routledge. Moran, R. T. T. Harris, P. R. R. And Moran, S., 2012. Managing Cultural Differences. UK: Routledge. Ting-Toomey, S., 2012. Communicating Across Cultures. Guilford Press. Winkelman, M., 2011. Cultural Shock and Adaptation. Journal of Counseling & Development, 73 (2), p. 121-126. Read More