Cross Cultural Management Paper
Expatriate Interview
Your task is to interview an organization member (profit/non-profit; private/public are all acceptable organizations) who has worked overseas. Their nationality is not important, but it is important that they have lived and worked for a while (at least six months in full-time status) in a country other than their own.This also includes foreign nationals who are currently working in Singapore.Cross Cultural Management Paper
1.For the first part of your written report, briefly describe who the person is (e.g., age, sex, countries where s/he worked and lived in, educational and professional background). If the person wishes to remain anonymous, you may use her first name or initials in the report; however, you should be ready to submit full name, for verification purposes, if we ask you to. Describe the person’s present job and organization and the job and organization s/he had when working in the foreign country.
2.In the second part, include the essential elements of the interview you conducted. One format is to list the question you asked followed by a quoted answer from the interviewee. You may include your comments or explanations too, if you feel they contribute to understanding the dynamics and content of the interview.Cross Cultural Management Paper The format is not crucial, but we want to see you using direct quotes from your interviewees to illustrate your points.
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3.Lastly, in the third part of the report describe what you learned about working in the country your interviewee worked in. In this part, we encourage you to be analytical and creative and to write on two levels. On the personal-reaction level, write what you felt and thought about the person’s experiences. Do you think your experiences would be similar? Why? Feel free to include value statements and ‘raw’ reactions to the interview. In addition, we expect you to react to the interview on the analytical level. Review what you learned from the interview and assess it in light of what you learned in the course. Which aspects support or relate to some of the studies we covered? Are there any issues you learned about that contradict or are not covered by the models and studies addressed in class and in the readings?
The relocation to an entirely new country or state is always a leap into the unknown and the process of transitioning can be quite complex and multifaceted. The process of crossing borders into another environment always leaves with an individual with the difficult decision to sacrifice and leave behind their families, friends, employment and even the larger community. A new country comes with new cultures, ways of living, new languages and even different people. Consequently, most individuals have a rough time coping with the culture shock aspect since it leads to confusion, anxiety, panic or even feelings of stress. Hence, it is crucial for people who intend to travel or have already done so to possess skills that will enable them to manage cross culture.
The manner of interaction with other people as well as how emotions are handled helps a lot in fitting into a new culture. This paper is an essay that discusses aspects of cross-cultural management by interviewing a person who has lived and worked in America. The essay also explores the differences that they experienced in culture between this new country and the native country of Singapore.
- a) Part One: Background details of the interviewee
The person chosen for this interview goes by the name Justin Bowers. He is 35 years of age and has lived and worked in America for the past 9 years. The educational background of Justin is in community development and social work where he holds a Master’s Degree in community development and sustainability and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. Prior to working in America, Justin worked in his home country of Singapore in different regions of the state. The organization that Justin works for is known as Cry America. This organization is a nonprofit entity that solely focuses its efforts on protecting children from impoverished backgrounds as well as those who are underprivileged.Cross Cultural Management Paper
This organization centers its activities on the impoverished countries so as to motivate the young children to realize their hidden potential and use it to transform their societies. At the same time, Cry America is an organization that aims at having children who are both healthy and happy (Baba and Hosoda, 2014). They do this by ensuring the rights of children are obeyed and respected so that the society honors them in a manner that provides dignity, equity and justice. Additionally, Cry America is an organization that strives to ensure each child has their own basic needs in the form of decent housing, education and even health care (Shannon, 2015). This also means protecting these children from exploitation or mistreatment from within the society. Justin Bowes admits that working at Cry America has been an entirely eye-opening and thrilling experience that enabled him to learn a lot of things.
Part two:
The two chosen topics: crisis/cultural shock phase and adjustment and gradual recovery phases
Personal and analytical reflections (Experiences learnt from living in a new country).
The cultural phase and gradual recovery phase are very important when it comes to cross cultural management. The cultural or crisis phase deals with the discovery and realization of an individual that the new country they are in is highly different from what they were used to in their native country (Ineson, 2006). They begin to realize that the environment is different, the weather, climate as well as geographical boundaries. What’s more, it is at the crisis stage that people discover that the language, culture and social norms of the new country are contrary to their own.
Hence, this stage is characterized by a myriad of problems for foreigners and citizens (Alban and Reeves, 2014). With time, people learn to deal with the differences and that is when they enter the adjustment and recovery stage. Here, they begin to adapt to the ways of life within the new country, their culture, behavior and even learning their language (Alban and Reeves, 2014). Most people are able to do this with the help of the local citizens who teach them their culture, beliefs and practices.Cross Cultural Management Paper
There are numerous lessons and concepts that I picked up from the interview I had with Justin Bowers with regards to relocating to a new country. To begin with, there is a lot of euphoria that comes with knowing that one will move out of their native country to join another country that holds a lot of potential (Winkelman, 2014). What’s more, there is feeling is accompanied by intense enthusiasm and energy because people visualize that their future is destined to be bright (Joy and Poonamallee, 2013). This feeling is then replaced by a stage of emotional crisis where the person begins to experience culture shock, nostalgia, loneliness and even depression due to the change in environment (Alban and Reeves, 2014).
Sometimes, a person can even begin to question whether they made the right decision when they decided to relocate. In the case of Justin, I noticed that at some point, he faced a feeling of being dissatisfied and uncomfortable with the new environment of America. There were too many drastic changes that he had to make if he was to continue surviving and co-existing peacefully with others. This is where he made me aware that culture shock could be quite serious if a person does not know how to manage deal with it (Ineson, 2006).
Sometimes, if one moves to a country where the language is different, then simple things like communication become a problem. This can lead to the person developing negative feelings such as anger, irritability, sadness or even depression (Jack, 2014). All the features are very consistent with the crisis or cultural shock phase. Alternatively, a person can be able to rise out of this stage when they enter the adjustment and gradual recovery phase (Mor et al, 2013). At this stage, the person is able to realize that the only way to assume a normal life in the foreign country is by learning the ways of life and culture of the state. This is followed by adapting into these ways, such that one’s feeling of confidence and self-esteem is restored (Doberstein and Tadgell, 2015).Cross Cultural Management Paper
The process of deciding to interview Justin Bowers was arrived at after he gave his consent to take part in this process. I notified him that the interview would last one hour at most so that I would be able to collect resourceful information on issues of working within a culturally different country. The topics I selected to cover for this interview are the crisis and cultural shock phases as well as the adjustment, reorientation and gradual recovery phases. Conclusively, the differences in culture from one country to the next are what define the communal and societal forms of living. Therefore, it is essential to understand and learn these cultural differences when moving to a new country so that the phase of culture shock is not prolonged.
Appendices
Appendix A: Questions for interviewee
- What was your first reaction and thoughts when you first learned about the possibility of going to America?
- What did you think when you first heard you were going to America?
- What were the first few days when you first moved to America?Cross Cultural Management Paper
- Were there things that surprised you about the way people thought or worked?
- What was your first big “aha” about the culture?
- How would you sum up your first six months?
- Can you describe your relationship with your co-workers?
- I was excited about my new job because it provided the most suitable platform of learning
- What did you think about your job?
- What did your family/spouse think about living in America?
- Whom did you mainly socialize with while in America?
Appendix B: Questions and Answers to the interview
Me: What was your first reaction and thoughts when you first learned about the possibility of going to America?
Justin: Like most people, I was thrilled and overjoyed at the thought of expanding my career to an entirely new country. Actually, the fact that I was relocating to America made things much better and I anticipated leaving even more. America is one of the well developed nations (Young, 2014) so I was sure that I was making progressive growth with regards to my career, social life and even my way of living in general. I was also excited that I would be joining one of the most popular and renowned nonprofit organizations all across the globe.
Me: What did you think when you first heard you were going to America?
Justin: My first reaction was obviously intense excitement and celebration at the thought that I would be moving to one of the most prestigious countries globally. However, I also knew that I would have to forget my friends, family, cultural environment and my most enjoyable meals.
Me: What were the first few days when you first moved to America?
Justin: The first few days that I moved to America where quite hectic, tedious and very frustrating.
The organization Cry America had luckily arranged for the places where I would be residing Cross Cultural Management Paper
So all I had to do was move in the day I arrived. However, this was not enough because the
way of life here was quite different from what I was accustomed to in my native country. For instance, most of the meals that are prepared in America are either deep fried or made from too much starch and calories. What’s more, most of their meals are processed and not authentic or organic like what I was used to back at home. Additionally, Americans happen to be very anti-social people who are always busy with their lives. Therefore, I found it difficult to interact with my neighbors or even go on a social outing with someone. The law of this country was also too harsh such that there were strict and stringent rules concerning driving, shopping, making phone calls or even working. Consequently, I had quite a rough time adjusting to all these differences in culture and living to suit the American lifestyle. The difficulty came about because I was not prepared to immerse myself into another culturally different environment.
Me: Were there things that surprised you about the way people thought or worked?
Justin: Yes. I was surprised at the way the things that are taken seriously in my county were so Cross Cultural Management Paper casual here. For example, I observed that children would talk back at their parents or even suggest to them how they wanted to be treated without any fear. This was quite surprising
because I have grown up knowing that a parent is the first and only voice of command in the house. Additionally, I was also surprised that students would dress according to how they wished when going to school. The same scenario was replicated working class people or those who were employed were going to their various places of work. People would dress either in official wear or in casual clothes. What’s more, some of them would even dress in very short clothes that left me surprised the more.
Me: What was your first big “aha” about the culture?
Justin: My big aha moment about culture was the fact that it was quite different from mine. In America, people did not have specific social norms or cultural rules that governed their way of life. Instead, they live as they please and this fact caught my attention.
Me: How would you sum up your first six months?
Justin: My first six months were a mixture of confusion, anxiety, surprise and nostalgia. In as much
as I was thrilled to move to America, I was also quite confused due to the culture shock that I faced.
I come from a place where people are friendly even to strangers and always ready to help them.
Therefore, when this was not reciprocated, I was placed at crossroads of confusion and nostalgia. However, I was able to readjust and settle in by the time the six months were lapsing.
Me: Can you describe your relationship with your co-workers?
Justin: My relationship with my co-workers was quite friendly and close knit such that we Cross Cultural Management Paper
were one big family. The fact that Cry America was a nonprofit organization meant that
the employees were selected from diverse countries. Hence, the organization had a mixture
of Africans, Americans, Asians and even Europeans. This made things easier because now I could be able to mingle with foreigners in this country and learn a lot about how to manage the differences in culture.
Me: What did you think about your job?
Justin: I was excited about my new job because it provided the most suitable platform of learning
about the operations of nonprofit organizations and how they are actively involved in improving
and transforming communities. At the same time, I was also interested and enjoyed the nature at
which the corporate team handled the junior staff members with a lot of respect and humility. This made me enjoy my job because there was internal motivation and encouragement from the top management team.
Me: What did your family/spouse think about living in America?
Justin: Initially, my family was worried that I would be moving to a new country and they were not sure I would fit in properly. With time, they were able to come around the idea of relocation and saw it as a means to improve my livelihood and theirs as well.
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Me: Whom did you mainly socialize with while in America?
Justin: The people that I mainly socialized with while in America were my workmates as well as the people from within my neighborhood. I was able to learn who my neighbors were after sometime and we would occasionally hold social parties, go on outings or even attend functions together. At the same time, I also interacted with the nationals of Cross Cultural Management Paper
References
Alban, D. J., & Reeves, P. L. (2014). Cultural Fusion: International Teacher Responses To Multiculturalism. Journal Of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, 9(1), 1-15
Baba, Y., & Hosoda, M. (2014). Home Away Home: Better Understanding Of The Role Of Social Support In Predicting Cross-Cultural Adjustment Among International Students. College Student Journal,48(1), 1-15
Doberstein, B., & Tadgell, A. (2015). Guidance For ‘Managed’ Relocation. Forced Migration Review, (49), 27-29
Ineson, E. M., Lyons, A., & Branston, C. (2006). Cross Cultural Change, Adjustment And Culture Shock: Uk To Usa. Tourism (13327461), 54(4), 355-365
Jack, A. A. (2014). Culture Shock Revisited: The Social And Cultural Contingencies To Class Marginality. Sociological Forum,29(2), 453-475. Doi:10.1111/Socf.12092
Joy, S., & Poonamallee, L. (2013). Cross-Cultural Teaching In Globalized Management Classrooms: Time To Move From Functionalist To Postcolonial Approaches?. Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 12(3), 396-413. Doi:10.5465/Amle.2012.0205
Mor, S., Morris, M., & Joh, J. (2013). Identifying And Training Adaptive Cross-Cultural Management Skills: The Crucial Role Of Cultural Metacognition. Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 12(3), 453-475. Doi:10.5465/Amle.2012.0202
Shannon-Baker, P. (2015). “But I Wanted To Appear Happy”: How Using Arts-Informed And Mixed Methods Approaches Complicate Qualitatively Driven Research On Culture Shock.International Journal Of Qualitative Methods, 14(2), 34-52 Cross Cultural Management Paper