Chapter 4 Cultural Shock Topics Stages of Cultural

Chapter 4 Cultural Shock

Topics • Stages of Cultural Shock • Alleviating Cultural Shock • Aspects of Cultural Shock • Relationships and Family Considerations • Public and Private Self © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2

Topics Cultural shock is • the trauma you experience when you move into a culture different from your home culture • frustrations may include - lack of food - unacceptable standards of cleanliness -different bathroom facilities -fear for personal safety © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 3

Culture shock includes - hearing yes for no - having to bargain - having laughter used for anger © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 4

On her first day of teaching at the local university in La Paz, Bolivia, Katherine Montague of Atlanta, Georgia, asked directions to the ladies’ room. Upon entering, she observed three males using urinals and made a hasty retreat. After her U. S. colleagues explained that all restrooms were unisex, Katherine decided to take a taxi to her hotel. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 5

Major Symptoms of Cultural Shock • Homesickness • Boredom • Withdrawal (avoiding contact with host nationals) • Need for excessive amounts of sleep • Compulsive eating/drinking • Irritability • Exaggerated cleanliness © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 6

• • Marital stress Family tension and conflict Chauvinistic excesses Stereotyping of host nationals Hostility toward host nationals Loss of ability to work effectively Unexplainable fits of weeping Physical ailments (psychosomatic illnesses) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7

Asia Shock has five progressive stages: • Frustration with the culture, which includes the language, food, and an exasperation with local customs. • Unwillingness to understand the rationale behind the local ways of doing things. • Ethnocentricity; U. S. persons label Asians as dishonest because they say one thing and do another; consider face-saving as dishonest. • Racism – use of unflattering labels for Asians (Japs). • Avoidance of the culture; U. S. persons form clubs rather than intermingle with people of the culture. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 8

Strategies for Coping with a New Culture During Short Visits • Nonacceptance of the host culture; traveler behaves as he/she would in the home culture. • Substitution - The traveler learns the appropriate responses/behaviors in the host culture and substitutes these responses/behaviors for the ones ordinarily used in the home culture. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 9

• Addition - The person adds the behavior of the host culture when in the presence of nationals but maintains the home culture behavior with others of the same culture. • Synthesis - Integrates or combines elements of the two cultures, such as combining U. S. dress and that of the Philippines. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 10

• Resynthesis - The integration of ideas not found in either culture (U. S. traveler to China chooses to eat neither American nor Chinese food, but prefers Italian). © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 11

Stages of Cultural Shock Stage 1: Excitement and fascination with the new culture; the "honeymoon" stage. Stage 2: Crisis or disenchantment period; excitement has turned to disappointment. Stage 3: Adjustment phase; you begin to accept the new culture, try new foods, see the humor in situations. Stage 4: Acceptance or adaptation phase; feel at home in the new culture and become involved in activities of the culture. Stage 5: Reentry shock; follows the stages identified earlier: initial euphoria, crisis or disenchantment, adjustment, and adaptation. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 12

U-Curve Honeymoon Reentry Crisis Acceptance Adjustment © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 13

W-Curve • Theory of cultural shock that explains that reentry actually takes the form of a second U-curve (thus forming a “W”) with a repetition of the stages experienced during initial adjustment to the foreign culture. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14

Problems Related to Reentry Shock • Finding a new niche in the corporate structure at home. • Adjusting to lower standards of living. • Problems reestablishing personal and professional relationships. • Dealing with readjustment problems of children, including the difference in their educational experience abroad. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 15

Repatriation • Returnee expectations—realistic positions • Returnee feelings of alienation and isolation cause trauma • Returnee can feel cultural dissonance caused by – – – personnel changes new company policies and procedures different performance valuation methods different benefits and compensation different job responsibilities © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 16

To alleviate cultural shock, try to see the environment from the perspective of the host nationals. Replace the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you) with The Platinum Rule (Do unto others as they would have done unto them). © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 17

Alleviating Cultural Shock by Careful Selection of Overseas Personnel • Sensitive, cooperative, able to compromise • Open to others' opinions • Reaction to new situations; appreciation of cultural differences • Understanding of own values and aware-ness of values in other cultures • Reaction to criticism • Understanding of U. S. government system • Ability to develop contacts in new culture • Patience and resiliency © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 18

Training Models • Intellectual or classroom model involves giving facts about the host country using a variety of instructional methods • Area training or simulation model emphasizes affective goals, culture specific content, and experiential processes • Self-awareness or human relations model - based on the assumption that the trainee with self-understanding will be more effective in the overseas assignment © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 19

• Cultural awareness model - emphasizes cultural insight and stresses affective goals and an experiential process • Interaction approach - participants interact with people in the host country • Multidimensional approach - attempts to combine cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of training © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 20

Feedback and Rewards • Appraisal and reward system must reflect the purpose and expectations of the assignment (profit or building a presence in the country). • Reward systems include special allowances for housing, hardship, home leave, medical, taxes, etc. • Reward system must compensate for what U. S. persons are leaving behind and must be based on the idea of equity (the ratio between what is contributed and what is received). © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 21

Developing Employees to Their Potential • Plan for repatriation, including reasons for the assignment and how the employee will contribute to the company upon his/her return. • Allow adequate time for readjustment before employee reports to work. • Provide appropriate compensation for transition expenses. • Assist in locating proper housing. • Show appreciation to family for their contributions. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 22

Success or Failure Due To: • • Self-efficacy Prior international experience Age Cross-cultural fluency Interpersonal skills Flexibility Cultural sensitivity Adaptability © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 23

Aspects of Cultural Shock • Cultural Stress - alleviate stress by reading up on the country, studying the language, and becoming aware of customs and traditions in the culture. • Social Alienation - cultivate friendships with persons from home and host cultures; include host nationals in social events. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 24

• Social Class and Poverty-Wealth Extremes - mentors in host culture can be helpful in advising U. S. persons regarding acceptable ways of dealing with poverty-wealth extremes. • Financial Information - should be provided before going to the culture; also financial counseling before reentry. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 25

Relationships and Family Considerations • • • Spouse or family member who cannot adapt Family training to minimize adjustments Encourage children to discuss their anxieties and fears © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 26

The Johari Window • The public self may include information about a person’s work, family, and interests. The public self is small for the Japanese; it is large for U. S. persons. • The private self may include feelings, personal information, and opinions. The private self is large for the Japanese; it is small for U. S. persons. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 27

Public and Private Self The Johari Window Things I Know Things Others Don’t Know Things I Don’t Know Arena Blind Spot Hidden Unknown © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 28

"One of the byproducts of a successful adjustment to the host culture is that our old notions of our culture will never again be the same. After one lives for a while in Switzerland or Germany, the U. S. no longer seems to be the epitome of cleanliness; when compared to the Japanese, the typical American seems loud and boisterous; after a stint in a developing nation, people in the U. S. seem rushed and impersonal. Somehow home isn't what one had remembered. " © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 29

“Upon return, U. S. people encounter friends, colleagues, neighbors, and relatives complaining bitterly that they are unable to find at the grocery store the correct color of toilet tissue for the downstairs bathroom. Such complaints stir up (1) considerable anger at how unaware and unappreciative most North Americans are of their own material well-being, and (2) guilt for having mouthed many of these same insane complaints at an earlier time. ” © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 30

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 31