An individual reflective journal/diary to be handed in at the end of the module - Essay Example

For me these topics have struck a chord as I found them very useful in my life situation. With the aspirations of becoming a future leader of a multicultural setting, I would need to thoroughly prepare myself for this huge responsibility. In the mean time, I will invest my time and efforts learning about cultural differences and cultural adaptation and ways to manage them so I can understand my future team members. This course in Cultural Differences and People Management has proved to be one worthwhile investment!

Lecture 2: Culture Shock and Cultural Adjustment and the Importance of Cultural Differences Reflections on the module: This module on culture shock and cultural adjustment is very important in understanding the plight of workers sent abroad to fill positions in their company’s branches worldwide. This is also relevant to university students who choose to attend schools outside their own countries. So much cultural adjustment need to be made especially if individuals are meant to live in a culture vastly different from their own.

Oberg’s (1960) concept of culture shock was very apt when he coined the term in the fifties. At that time, when a person finds himself in a totally different culture, he is shocked by how things are in that place and compares it to his own culture. However, in contemporary times, the culture shock does not seem to be in the same degree anymore because of the accessibility of information on other cultures through various media. For example, if a manager from the UK is expatriated to America, he can research on American culture beforehand, reading about it, and even watching some film clips on what he can expect when he gets there.

Lysgaard’s (1955) U-curve Cultural Adjustment Theory is a very logical explanation to how people adjust to living in a new culture. The honeymoon phase is the period when excitement and anticipation rule in the person leaving for another country. The prospect of change and the new environment can enthral a person and let him think of various possibilities on how it can change his life. However, upon getting settled in his new environment, he may begin to miss home and keep comparing the new culture with his home culture.

This is when the honeymoon phase ends and the Morning After phase begins. This phase is characterized by frustration and confusion and perhaps the view that he must have made a huge mistake of accepting the job abroad. This represents the dip in the U-curve. When he has overcome this phase, the enters the gradual adjustment to the new environment, as he learns more about the way of life, learn the language, and get accustomed to the food and other cultural elements of the new environment. This is when he slowly goes up the U-curve again.

Reflections on experiences related to what was discussed in the module Leaving for university life was difficult for me. I had to accept that I was no longer a child to be kept safe and sound in my parents’ home so I should learn to live independently, as the university was far from my own home. It is there where I experienced cultural adaptation myself. I got to meet people who were very different from me. Some personalities were more difficult to get along with than others. I felt offended with some new acquaintances who I believed behaved inappropriately towards me.

An example is Chirag, who was Indian. My first impression of him