International Organisational Behaviour - What is meant by culture shock - Essay Example

?INTRODUCTION Culture is a combination of norms, values, beliefs and standards. Based on such factors the person feels comfortable in the environmenthe/she lives in. But providing an individual with a completely different culture can lead to cultural shock. Cultural shock takes place when the individual is provided with such a culture that the person is completely unaware of. For an organization, cultural shock could create difficulties in the performance of individuals which can reduce the chances of accomplishment of goals and objectives (Bochner, 2000). Culture plays an important in defining and shaping the individual and how an individual behave in different situations. The role of culture is significant as culture is the core values of the individual (McLaren, 1998). Moreover, culture has a significant role in the overall personality and how one acts, behaves, how he is motivated, how he feels about different situations, how capable he is to manage difficult situations, how he or she speaks, how one acts and reacts etc. All these characteristics are highly critical for every individual and these characteristics for the individual in either making him a successful individual or making the individual an unsuccessful person. So it reveals that culture has a significant role in the life of the individual. Moreover, culture varies from one society to another as people live their lives and therefore it is important to understand and analyze the differences among different culture and how different people behave (Bochner, 2001). So this report would discuss such important aspects of humans. The aim of this assignment would be to provide a clear definition of the term cultural shock along with the elements and symptoms of cultural shock. Furthermore, this assignment would highlight the understanding of international organizational behavior with examples from daily life. In addition to all these, some of the ways to bridge the cultural confusion or differences are also mention in the assignment. Cultural Shock Cultural shock or culture shock is a common term that indicates the confusing and nervous feelings of an individual after leaving an environment that he/she was familiar with. The best example that could be observed regarding the cultural shock is the migration of people from one country to another. This migration often leads to psychological distress due to the unfamiliar environment and culture (Bochner, 2001). Culture shock aims to describe the unfamiliarity that an individual may have or face when entering different culture (Paige 1993). In addition, Kalervo Oberg (1960) indicated that this term was to be applicable only on those people that travel from one place to another into new cultures. According to Adler (1975), cultural shock is a combination of emotional reactions when an individual is provided with a new culture which has no or little meaning and can lead to misunderstanding of new culture and experiences. The definition provided by Weaver (1968) indicates the concept of cultural shock in daily life. According to Weaver (1968), cultural shock is much like common cold as there is no particular way or approach to prevent it as a person may catch it over and over again. Each time a person tries to adjust or readjust his culture according to the place and environment, he/she go through cultural shock. Cultural shock is referred as a distress experience of a person as a result of unfamiliarity with the culture. Losing of all those factors that made the person a part of the society and community is one of the major reasons of cultural shock (Oberg, 1960). Furthermore, six aspects of cultural shock were identified by Oberg (1960) that includes i. Psychological adjustments that leads to strain ii. Sense of loss and unfamiliarity which leads to deprivation iii. Lack of social recognition iv. Confusion in terms of role and loss of self-identity v. Awareness regarding cultural differences followed by surprise and anxiety vi. Low morale as the person might not be able to cope with the new environment provided. On the other hand, Anderson (1994) considers cultural shock as frustration reaction of an individual. As the person is being provided with an unfamiliar culture that requires time and consideration to adjust, the individual might feel frustrated to create a balance between his/her personality and the environment. On the other hand, Pantelidou and Craig (2006) indicate that the cultural shock differs from person to person. They further indicated that the origin of person leads to difference in culture and the level of adjustment made by the people also vary because of such origin. Some of the symptoms identified by (Adler 1975; Pantelidou, and Craig, 2006) due to cultural shock includes; low morale, low self-esteem, social isolation, dissatisfaction towards job, depression, confusion, constant complains about the climate, unwanted criticism of the culture and people, distress, and deprecation. Some of the elements that could lead or contribute to cultural shock are as follows; Climate Climate is one of the elements that contribute to cultural shock. It can be observed that individuals that are familiar with warmer climate finds it difficult to live at places with colder climate and give rise to cultural shock. An example of such element could be of person from Saudi Arabia. If the person is provided with UK’s climate, the person would suffer from cultural shock as the person would not be able to accept the climate in UK (UKCISA, 2012). Food Food is also one of such elements that could lead a person to cultural shock. A person may migrate from one place to another in search of job or residence but the food available at the new location would be different in taste along with the method. This may lead to cultural shock unless the person can cook for him/herself (Hofstede, 1986). Language People from different origin often find it difficult to communicate in foreign language. For example an individual from Asia visits UK. Even though the person would be aware of English, the person would face cultural shock based on the accent used in UK (Hall, & Hall, 1990). Values Culture is a set of norm, values and beliefs; it has been observed that even change in values can lead to cultural shock. A person may find that the values of his/her culture are quite different from other culture and can lead to cultural shock. This may lead a person to distress as the value held so important by a person actually means nothing in the new culture (Bond, 1995). Understanding International Organization Behavior In order to reduce cultural shock, it is essential to understand the international organization behavior. This would help the organization to reduce cultural shock that may lead to decline in performance and productivity which will eventually reduce the possibility of the organization to accomplish its desired goals and objectives. In order to understand the international organization behavior, Hofstede theory regarding the culture would be used. This would allow the organization to understand the behavior of the people and what could be done to eliminate or manage cultural shock (Hofstede, 2013). The dimensions provided by Geert Hofstede in his theory regarding culture are as follows; a) Power Distance The first dimension in order to understand the culture is in terms of authority and power provided to the individuals. This dimension indicates that the members of the society are provided with unparallel power which leads to inequality among the members. This indicates the unequal distribution of power and the role of society to eliminate such factor. It has been observed that each country has its own unique culture on the basis of which the authority and power are distributed among the members of the society. When an individual moves from one place to another, the person might not be provided with the same power and authority as the person was being provided in his/her country. For example, the supreme and absolute power in Saudi Arabia lies with the elites. This indicates that this country is one such that provides the elites of the country with absolute power in the society whereas, others in the society has to follows all the rules and regulations made by them without any justification. b) Individualism versus collectivism This dimension of the theory indicates the two sides of the society. The high sides refer to individualism which indicates that the individuals in the society only care about themselves and the closely related family members. This side of the dimension prefers loosely knit social framework where each individual has to take care of him/herself in order to survive. On the other hand, the other side of this dimension represents collectivism. This side of the dimension is totally opposite of the other side as in this side, individuals are expected to help others in the society in exchange for loyalty. The collectivism side of the dimension represents closely knit framework where all the individuals works together in order to enhance their performance. This side of the dimension focuses on ‘we’ rather than ‘I’ (Hofstede, 1980). For example, the American society is one such that focuses on the collectivism aspect in society. Every individual and organization in the American society plays an essential role in the betterment of the society and to enhance the lives of the members of the society by providing them with several opportunities from time to time. c) Masculinity versus femininity The masculinity side of this dimension focuses on individuals that seek higher achievement as compared to others in the society. These individuals work for the betterment of their personality in the society due to which, these individuals seek material reward for their success in the competitive society (Hofstede, 1980). On the other hand, the femininity side focuses on the betterment of society. In order to do so, this side of the society seeks cooperation and collaboration of individuals that could help in improving the quality of life of the weak in the society along with success of the society. Since this side of the society is completely opposite, this side of the society is consensus oriented rather than fueled by competition (Hofstede, 2003). For example, the United States of America is referred as masculine society where the people live in order to work. In comparison, Iran is one of such country that is considered a comparatively feminine society. The focus of such society is to work in order to live. d) Uncertainty avoidance This dimension identifies the extent to which individuals in the society feel unsatisfied with this dimension. It was observed that countries with strong uncertainty avoidance dimension works towards the elimination of those factors that could lead the individuals of the society to feel uncomfortable due to uncertainty and ambiguous ideas. On the other hand, the countries with low or weak uncertainty avoidance dimension focuses more on practice than principles. This allows the society to maintain an attitude that is fueled by practice more than principles. This is one of the major reason due to which an organization must understand the importance of behavior of its workforce. Being provided with uncertain ideas and concepts, the individuals might tend to feel uncomfortable which will eventually lead to uncertainty in performance of the workforce. For example, China and United Kingdom are both such countries that have low score on uncertainty avoidance. This indicates that the laws and regulations are observed based on the situation at hand which makes the Chinese adaptable to any situation provided. e) Long-term versus short-term orientation Societies that aim for short-term orientation focuses on establishing a society based on absolute truth. With such orientation at work, the society member aims to get the result as quickly as possible. In short-term orientation, the society works to enhance their quality of life by focusing on the present rather than the future due to which the propensity to save for the future is quite low in such individuals in the society (Hofstede, 1980). On the other hand, society with long-term orientation has high aims for the future due to which the members of the society focus on long-terms goals and objectives which could be accomplished in forthcoming years. In such societies, the truth depends on the situation at hand and time. For example, Japan is one of the long-term oriented societies that aim to enhance the lives of its members. In such society, the members live their lives based on good examples and are guided with virtues. f) Indulgence versus restraint Indulgence refers to a society that allows the gratification of needs and wants. This allows the society members to enjoy their life at the optimum level. Such a society has flexible social norms and allows the society members to enjoy and have fun during their life. On the other hand, a society that does not allow the members to enjoy their life at the best is referred to as retrained society. Such society restricts the gratification of such needs that aims to enhance factors such as pleasure and entertainment through strict social norms (Hofstede, 1980). In order to understand the international organization behavior, the theory presented by Geert Hofstede would be regarded as the best approach to do so. In each of the dimension presented above, an example is provided to enhance the understanding on culture and the societies. Managing Cultural Shock For an organization to manage the cultural shock, the organization should focuses more on cultural adaptation. According to Kumpfer et al. (2002) cultural adaptation refers to the changes in an individual to meet the demands of the organization. This cultural change is in response to the changes in cultural group based on traditional world views. On the other hand, Boyd and Richerson indicate that the changes in individual or group are based on environment. Furthermore, they indicated that the adaptation occurs in short-period whereas, the effects of the cultural adaptation remains for longer-time. Cultural adaptation is the change or alteration in the culture of individual. But according to Resnikow et al. (2000), the cultural adaptation focuses on making the group understand the core difference of their culture and other in terms of values, norms, standards, beliefs and lifestyles and based on such aspects, the culture is influenced to adapt some aspects of other culture. In order to manage cultural shock, Pedersen (1995) provided 5 main stages to cultural adaptation. Each of the stage proposed by Pedersen is as follows; Stage 1: The Honeymoon stage The first stage to manage cultural shock is called the honeymoon stage. In this stage, the individual feels everything fascinating and exciting. This is due to the fact that the individual is new to the place and finds many opportunities in the new culture. Since the individual is provided with many opportunities, the level of curiosity is very high and the individual is always ready to learn and understand the new culture and other dimensions of the new culture. Stage 2: The Rejection stage The second stage is where the individual realizes the differences between the live he/she has lived for several years and the struggles he/she has to overcome in the new environment. In this stage, the individual starts to get nervous and frustrated regarding the daily life and is overcome by negative feelings regarding the new culture. The results of such negative feeling are dissatisfaction, anger, sadness, hostility and feeling of incompetence. Stage 3: Humor stage The third stage in the adaptation of new culture is the humor stage. In this stage the individuals has to make a choice – to overcome the cultural shock or return home. Since the individual is constantly learning regarding the new culture and other dimensions related to it, the individual feels relaxed and laugh at his/her previous state of confusion and frustration. It has been observed that 30 percent of the individual head back to their home due to successful cultural shock. In order to help and assist the individuals to get through the cultural shock, the individuals are provided with transition management coaching so that the individual can adjust to the new environment and culture in the shortest time possible. Stage 4: Integration stage The fourth stage in managing the cultural shock is the integration stage. During this stage, the individuals learn that the new culture has much more to offer than expected. With the clear understanding regarding the new culture, the person tends to feel more like home in the new culture. The social isolation of the person reduces and the person eventually starts making friends and enjoys everything there is regarding the new culture. By completely understanding the patterns and the offerings of the new culture, the person is able to align him/herself to the surrounding. During this stage, the person learns to accept the similarities and dissimilarities which eventually lead to satisfaction and high morale. Stage 5: Re-entry shock The last and the final stage in the culture adaptation is the re-entry shock stage. This occurs when the people return to their home country and are astonished to find that the culture that was learned in the past is not the same and quite different from one another. The individual find it difficult to return back to the old culture due to which the person again has to go through the cultural shock stages i.e. honeymoon, rejection, and humor and integration stage. In order to manage the cultural shock, Black et al. (1991) provided three dimensions to in-country adjustment. The three dimensions proposed by Black are as follows; a) Adjustment to work, b) Adjustment to communicate with the locals, c) Adjustment to the general non-work environment. Some of the additional ways in which cultural shock could be effectively managed are as follows; Social activity In order to reduce the cultural shock, the people that are in such situations are to be encourages taking part in the social activities. Involvement in such activities will allow the person to understand and learn the culture along with different customs in the society. By involving the individual or person, he/she would have firsthand experience about the culture. Making friends from host country Making friends is another way to learn about the culture. It has been observed that person that are suffering from cultural shock often socially isolate themselves which eventually leads to the increase in frustration and depression rate. By encouraging the individuals to make friends can reduce the depression and frustration of the individual as by making friends, the individuals can ask questions regarding the culture without looking foolish. This is the major reason why organizations encourage orientation for new employees. With the help of orientation programs, the organization tends to introduce the employees with one another so that they can learn about the organization and its culture. Exercise Exercise is yet another way to manage the cultural shock. By focusing on exercise, a person can reduce stress and depression. Societies and sports clubs play an active part in the management of cultural shock as these help the individuals to meet new people and can learn and understand about the culture with the help of people at sports clubs and societies. Meeting others that are in the same situation Meeting with others that are facing with the same situation can help an individual to learn about the culture. This will eventually help the individual to manage the cultural shock and provide the individual with an opportunity to make new friends that are facing cultural shock as well. Talking and meeting to such individuals will allow the person to learn more about the situation and the ways through which the situation could be handled. Staying in touch with the family For a person to reduce the cultural shock, he/she must stay in touch with the family even if the person is in foreign country. Staying in touch with the family members is quite easy with the help of internet. But it is crucial to understand that staying too much in touch with the family will make it more harder for the individual. It is wise to contact the family once or twice a week. This will allow the person to manage the cultural shock effectively. Conclusion In order to conclude, it could be said that cultural shock can change the life of an individual. Cultural shock occurs when an individual is provided with a totally new environment which the person is unfamiliar with. The elements that can create such cultural shock includes the language, climate, food, dress, social roles and the change in values. According to several researchers and authors, the symptoms that were identified due to cultural shock included low morale, dissatisfaction regarding the job, negative productivity, frustration and depression, inability to establish trust, ineffective exchange of information and social isolation. In order to manage the cultural shock, an individual goes through 5 stages which involve (1) honeymoon stage, (2) rejection stage, (3) humor stage, (4) integration stage and (5) re-entry shock stage. Furthermore, there were some other methods and approaches which could be used to manage the culture shock. 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