Culture Shock and Cultural Difference - Essay Example

This paper provides my reflection on six topics that I have learnt in this The first topic to be reflected upon is on culture shock and cultural difference. This was one of my favorite topics in class, and hence it is included in this reflection. Other topics are teams and cultural differences, leadership, cultural intelligence, management development and motivation, and research contributions of Edward Hall. While providing a reflection on these topics, I would also use my personal experiences to relate to the topics introduced. My favorite lesson was on culture shock. From this lesson, I managed to learn on the meaning of culture shock. It refers to a personal disorientation that an individual may feel, when he or she is experiencing a way of life that is unfamiliar, that is brought about due to his or her immigration status, or the visitation of a new country (French, 2010). It is also possible to refer to culture shock as a movement that an individual experiences when he or she is between social movements, or as a new type of living. The definition of culture shock was very similar to the definition that I had, concerning culture shock. This is because, as I understood it, culture shock was a situation whereby an individual was experiencing some new cultural values, and he or she could not fit into these new cultural values. From the lessons, I learnt that this aspect of culture shock has six major components, and they are, a strain that emanates because of the desire on an individual to adapt to a particular culture, a sense of the loss of professionalism, and status, feelings of rejection by members of the new culture, confusion in values, roles and self-identity, disgust, anxiety and anger in regard to particular practices, and a sense of helplessness (Hofstede, 2005). These components of culture shock are very familiar to me. This is because it reminds me of a time when I had gone to visit some relatives in Brazil. The dominant language spoken is Portuguese, and I was unable to fit in within the society. This is because I could not understand the language; hence I was confined in the house, on most of the occasions. I felt rejected, mostly because nobody was willing to listen to me, mainly because I could not speak Portuguese in a fluent manner. My socialization was only limited to my relatives. Furthermore, I was confused, and I had a feeling of helplessness. The situation that I was passing through is an example of a culture shock, and it meets all the conditions identified by Kalervo Oberg, in regard to what constitutes a culture shock (French, 2010). It is important to explain that if it is not properly managed, culture shock could result to depression. This is because an individual will feel out of place, and lonely. Therefore, this person won’t have friends, whom he or she can share with some of frustrations they are passing through, resulting to depression. However, in the current century, because of globalization, the effects of culture shock are beginning to reduce. This is because people are able to communicate with one another, irrespective of the distance, and the television technology has enabled some of the dominant cultures to export some of their cultures to other parts of the world (Thomas, 2008). Examples include the exportation of American music, and mode of dress to other parts of the world, through movies, the internet, and other channels of communication. This has played a role in reducing the level of culture shock that an individual visiting United States may receive. Despite the effects of globalization in reducing culture shock, there is a need of other approaches to be used in its reduction. For instance, before an individual travels to a given country, he or she must pass through a series of classes, where they would learn on the cultures of the country under consideration, and the methods to use in making friends and gaining acceptance into the new communities that the person would visit (Tayeb, 2004). Through this action, chances are high that effects of culture shock would be mitigated. From this class, I also learnt about multi-cultural teams. A multi-cultural team comprises of people from different cultures, and they are working together for purposes of achieving a common objective. One of the multi-cultural teams that I learnt in this class was Arsenal. Arsenal is a football club in England, and it comprises of players coming from different parts of the world. An example is Jen Lehman who is from Germany, Alexander Helb from Belarus, etc. Almost all famous football clubs in the world, consists of players who are coming from different cultures. This is because it is always difficult to assemble a highly talented football team from members of the same culture or country. Examples include Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, etc. These clubs have been very successful in their respective home leagues. The question to ask, is how have they managed to manage their teams, which comprises of people from different cultures and countries (Gannon, 2010). Some of the methods used in managing these multi-cultural teams, is the use of translators, for purposes of translating communication between the members of the team. Other methods include taking these people into classes, with the intention of teaching them how to interact with one another, and survive in an environment that is foreign to them. The intention of these classes is to prevent culture shock, and the negative effects that it could have on these players. It is therefore possible to denote that a cultural diverse team has the capability of performing very well. This is as opposed to a team that is not culturally diverse. Real Madrid and Manchester United are perfect examples of a cultural diverse team that have managed to perform extremely well, in their leagues or championship. Efficiency in performance is not only limited to a football team, but it is also applicable to a commercial organization, and a non-governmental organization. Inter-governmental institutions such as United Nations and NATO are managed by a culturally diverse team that comprises of people from different countries. The management of these institutions has been effective in meeting the objectives of the institutions. From this class, I also came to learn that different cultural values shape the manner in which people are able to behave and act in certain situations. For instance, an individual who comes from a collectivist culture would tend to pick upon one principle, and believe in it. For example a country such as United States is dominated by a collectivist culture, and hence they believe in democracy and liberalization. Another example is that of a high power distance culture. These cultures general rely on rules and the decisions of their leaders or authority. An example is China, where loyalty is on leaders, and they are ruled by one party, the Communist Party of China. People in this country normally rely on opinion of leaders, and rules established for purposes of regulating their behaviors. Diversity in culture is a phenomenon that most organizations normally want to implement. This is because having a diverse workforce would be important, most specifically in the marketing department. Take for example an organization that seeks to sale its products to the Chinese, to the Indian, and to the Latinos. I believe that this organization would be forced to have its salesmen from these cultures. This is because an Indian salesman will know the best methods to use for purposes of selling the products of the organization to Indians, and the same applies to a Chinese salesman. Therefore, I believe that having a diverse workforce that comprises of different cultural groups, is beneficial to the organization. I also came to learn so much about leadership in this class. Leadership refers to a process of social influence whereby an individual has the capability of enlisting the support and aid of other people for purposes of accomplishing a specific objective that is common to him or her, and the people whom the leader has enlisted their support. From this class, I was able to learn very new concepts about the characteristics of a leader, and the best methods of leading a culturally diverse team. First of all, before attending this class, I used to know that leadership only applied to politicians, such as members of the legislature, the President, mayors, etc. This class managed to change my perception towards the concept of leadership. I started appreciating that leaders can also be found in the business world, and this includes leaders of reputable companies such as Google, Face Book, Microsoft, Apples, etc. The founders of these business organizations are leaders because they are able to manage thousands of employees, and these are employees who are coming from different cultural backgrounds. Another important lesson that I learnt in this class, is on the differences between a leader and a manager. This is a very confusing concept, because most people normally confuse managers to leaders. This is because a manager will have the responsibility of overseeing the works of his or her employees, and some people think that this is an element of leadership. However, management and leadership are different. From the class, I was able to learn that John Kotter is one of the scholars who talks extensively on this concept of management and leadership (Mead and Andrews, 2009). Kotter manages to provide a difference between these two concepts, and one difference emanates on how they make a decision. For instance a leader manages to provide direction on how the company should be managed and operated. These directions include the setting of a vision, mission, and the strategies that the organization should use for purposes of meeting their objectives. On the other hand, a manager has the responsibility of implementing the strategies developed by a leader, with the intention of meeting the objectives of the organization. It is therefore prudent to denote that a manager works under the direction of a leader. Examples of famous business leaders include Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jack Zuckerberg, and Richard Bronson etc. These are business leaders because they managed to establish companies, which have become global corporate leaders in their respective industries (Samovar and Porter, 2008). Take for example Bill Gates who has managed to form Microsoft, which is one of the leading software companies in the world. Steve Jobs on the other hand, together with others, managed to form Apples, which is a leading computer hardware company in the world. Through the leadership of these two people, they were able to transform their companies into global leaders in their respective industries. In regard to the creation of networks and building of relationships, I learnt that it is the responsibility of a leader to align the employees of the organization to the vision of the same organization. This is a role that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were able to perform efficiently, through their leadership styles. Steve Jobs was an authoritarian leader, but was also motivational. On the other hand, Bill Gates was a democratic leader, and he was also motivational. These two leaders were able to achieve efficiency through their leadership styles, in instilling the mission and mission of the organization to their employees. Efficient and effective leadership is therefore an important factor that plays a role in determining the success or failure of an organization (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 2004). Motivational leaders are normally successful in making employees work hard, and hence meet the objectives of the organization. I believe that the problem lies if a leader is unable to manage a cultural diverse team. To mitigate upon these occurrence, there is a need of training a leader on the importance of cultural diversity, and how to carter for the interests of its employees, who are coming from different cultures. It is only through this method, that a leader may achieve efficiency in leading his or her organization. Another important lesson learnt was on cultural intelligence. From these studies, I came to learn a very new concept, referred to as cultural intelligence. This is a term that is extensively used in academic research, government circles, business, and education. Cultural intelligence refers to the ability of working and relating with other people of different cultures in an effective and efficient manner (Lewis, 2005). In as much as I knew that there is a need of relating with other people of different cultures in an efficient and effective method, I did not know that this concept is referred to as cultural intelligence. Most people are always unable to work efficiently or socialize with people who come from different cultures as theirs. It is therefore possible to denote that these people are not culturally intelligent. After my bad experiences in Brazil, I vowed to myself that before going to any country or socializing with people of different cultures, I would make an effort of knowing some of their cultural values, and this is to prevent myself from being unable to efficiently socialize with them. It is only through these actions that I believed I could manage to acquire some elements of cultural intelligence. However, from these studies, I managed to learn that there are three major components of cultural intelligence. These components are, cognitive, the physical and motivational or emotional. This means that for an individual to have some elements of cultural intelligence, then it must occur on three parts, namely the head, heart, and the body. Head is thee cognitive element, heart is the motivational element, and the body is the physical element. On my part, in trying to acquire cultural intelligence, I was only concentrating on the cognitive part, ignoring the emotional and the physical part. From these studies, the cognitive part involves a situation whereby an individual learns about the cultural values of other people and how to associate with them. An example includes the decision by a football manager to learn Spanish, for purposes of communicating with his Spanish footballers. Emotional element lies on the heart of an individual, and this are their capability to emotionally connect with the cultures under consideration. Physical, is the actual interaction between the members of different cultures. It is important to explain that on my part, I was only able to develop the cognitive and the physical elements of cultural intelligence. This was a very important lesson to me, because it practically applied to my life. We are living in a society that is culturally diverse, and thanks to the tools of globalization. Having knowledge and capability of interacting with people of these different cultures would play a significant role in ensuring the success of the socialization process, or a business activity that an individual does, and it involves the interaction of different people. It is therefore necessary and mandatory for government institutions, colleges and business schools to train people on how they can develop some skills that can help in cultural interactions (Gannon and Newman, 2001). Another important lesson learn was on motivation, and management development. In my knowledge, motivation is one of the most important factors that play a role in determining the success or failure of a business organization. It is important to explain that an organization that does not have a highly motivated workforce, would most definitely fail to achieve its objectives. I my knowledge, one of the reasons that an employee may be de-motivated, is if he or she is constantly discriminated against, because of their racial, cultural, or religious values. This is a de-motivating factor, and therefore business leaders have to develop a policy aimed at ensuring that these types of discrimination do not occur. In my opinion, one of the best methods that business leaders can use for purposes of reducing discrimination within the workplace is developing the skills of the top management of an organization, and this can be conducted through training and coaching sessions. In my opinion, one of the areas that the management should emphasize while training its managers involves on imparting more knowledge to its employees. This knowledge should center on the best and most efficient methods that can be used for purposes of promoting a positive interaction between the employees of an organization. One of my favorite topics in this class was the training process. I was able to learn on the methods and the process in which an organization should use for purposes of training its employees. The first step is analysis of needs. This would involve a situation where an organization would analyze the various skills that it needs to impart on its employees, and hence develop a training program or syllabus that is aimed at catering for the identified needs (Adler, 2007). The determination of the training method is the third step in the training process. In my opinion, there are a variety of ways that an organization can train its employees, and this includes the classroom training, on job training, and coaching sessions. I believe that the best training methods are the coaching sessions. This is because a manager would sit under an experienced coach, who will then train and impart skills to them, on the best methods of managing a culturally diverse team. Finally, I was also impressed by the contributions of Edward Hall, in the field of cultural anthropology. Edward Hall specialized in cross-cultural research, and he was an American anthropologist. One of the reasons that I admire Edward Hall, is because he was able to develop the concept of social cohesion. This concept manages to give a description on the manner which people are able to react and behave when they are faced with different cultural situations. To me, the contributions of Edward Hall have shaped my perceptions and attitudes towards cultural communication, in a positive manner. This is because I managed to learn on the factors that shape and contribute to efficient communication amongst the various cultural groups within the society. In conclusion, this class has managed to instill in me some of the most important knowledge that I did not have. This included knowledge on how to manage my relationships, with other people, from different cultural groups. However, my favorite lesson was on culture shock. This is because it directly affected me, when I had visited some of my relatives to a foreign state. On the issue of cultural intelligence, this was a very new concept to me, and hence the lessons learnt were very beneficial. Therefore, in general, this was a good class, that imparted some very good knowledge and skills to me. References: Adler, N.J. (2007) (5th Edition)( International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, PWS Kent Publishing Company: California. French, R. (2010) (2nd ed) ‘Cross Cultural Management in Work Organisations’ CIPD London. Gannon, M. and K.L. Newman (eds) (2001) Handbook of Cross-Cultural Management, Blackwell: Oxford. Gannon, M.J. (2010)(4th ed) Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through Twenty-Three Nations, Sage Publications: London. Hofstede, G. (2005) (2nd ed) Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, Sage: London. Lewis, R.D. (2005) (3rd ed) When Cultures Collide: Managing successfully across Cultures, Nicolas Brealey Publishing. Mead, R. And Andrews, T.G. (2009) (4th ed) International Management Culture and Beyond,John Wiley Publishers: Chichester. Samovar, L. and R. Porter (2008) (12th ed) Intercultural Communicataion Wadsworth: Belmon, California. Thomas, D.C. (2008) (2nd ed) Cross-Cultural Management – Essential Concepts, SAGE Publications Ltd.: London. Tayeb, M. (2004) International Management: Theories and Practices, Pearson Education Ltd: Harlow. Trompenaars, F. And Hampden-Turner, C. (2004) Managing people Across Cultures Capstone Publishers: Oxford. Read More