Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Chapter 4Chapter 4
Cultural ShockCultural Shock
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
TopicsTopics
• Stages of Cultural Shock
• Alleviating Cultural Shock
• Aspects of Cultural Shock
• Relationships and Family Considerations
• Public and Private Self
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
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, and fear for personal safety.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
People experience cultural shock when they are in a country where yes may mean no, where prices are negotiable, and where laughter may signify anger.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Upon her arrival in La Paz, Bolivia, from Atlanta, Georgia, Katherine
Montague asked directions to the ladies’ room at the local university. Upon
entering, she observed three males using urinals and made a hasty retreat. Her
U.S. colleagues explained that all restrooms were unisex; Katherine decided to take a taxi to her hotel.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Major Symptoms of Cultural ShockMajor Symptoms of Cultural Shock
• Homesickness
• Boredom
• Withdrawal (avoiding contact with host nationals)
• Need for excessive amounts of sleep
• Compulsive eating/drinking
• Irritability
• Exaggerated cleanliness
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
• 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)
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Asia Shock (a type of cultural shock Asia Shock (a type of cultural shock U.S. people experience) has five U.S. people experience) has five
progressive stages:progressive stages:• Frustration with the culture, e.g., the language,
food, and 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.• Avoidance of the culture; U.S. persons form clubs
rather than intermingle with people of the culture.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Strategies for Coping with a New Strategies for Coping with a New Culture During Short VisitsCulture 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 he/she would ordinarily use in the home culture.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
• 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.
• 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).
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Stages of Cultural ShockStages of Cultural ShockStage 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: excitement, crisis or disenchantment, adjustment, and adaptation.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Problems Related to Reentry ShockProblems 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.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
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).
To alleviate cultural shock, try to see To alleviate cultural shock, try to see the environment from the perspective the environment from the perspective of the host nationals.of the host nationals.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Alleviating Cultural Shock by Careful Alleviating Cultural Shock by Careful Selection of Overseas PersonnelSelection 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 of values in other cultures
• Reaction to criticism
• Understanding of U.S. government system
• Ability to develop contacts in new culture
• Patience and resiliency
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Training ModelsTraining 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
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
• 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
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Feedback and RewardsFeedback 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 may 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).
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Developing Employees to Developing Employees to Their PotentialTheir 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.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Aspects of Cultural ShockAspects 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.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
• 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.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Relationships and Family Relationships and Family ConsiderationsConsiderations
The failure of a spouse and other family members to adapt to the new culture can cause early return of expatriates; companies should provide training for employees and their family to minimize adjustment problems. Encourage children to discuss their anxieties and fears.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
The Johari Window can be translated The Johari Window can be translated into one’s public self and private self.into one’s public self and private self.
• 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.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Public and Private SelfPublic and Private SelfThe Johari WindowThe Johari Window
Things I Know Things I Don’t Know Things
Others
Know
Things
Others
Don’t
Know
Arena Blind Spot
Hidden Unknown
Ferraro, The Cultural Dimension of International Business
"One of the byproducts of a successful "One of the byproducts of a successful adjustment to the host culture is that our old adjustment to the host culture is that our old notions of our culture will never again be the notions of our culture will never again be the
same. After one lives for a while in Switzerland same. After one lives for a while in Switzerland or Germany, the U.S. no longer seems to be the or Germany, the U.S. no longer seems to be the epitome of cleanliness; when compared to the epitome of cleanliness; when compared to the
Japanese, the typical American seems loud and Japanese, the typical American seems loud and boisterous; after a stint in a developing nation, boisterous; after a stint in a developing nation,
people in the U.S. seem rushed and impersonal. people in the U.S. seem rushed and impersonal. Somehow home isn't what one had remembered."Somehow home isn't what one had remembered."
Ferraro, The Cultural Dimension of International Business
“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.”
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