Building trans-cultural communities

Building trans-cultural communities A travel to learn approach

Erik van ‘t Klooster, PhD

Rotterdam School of Management

Background

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1. Towards an international perspective

2. Focus: ontological security

3. Cultural differences & dynamics

4. Dealing with uncertainty

5. Personal development

Content

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Towards an international perspective

Opportunities

1) International business

2) Discover new ways of living

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Uncertainties

1) International value chains, global reorganizations, interdependent markets.

2) Global power is shifting from West to East. Cultural differences increase the chance of conflicts in international business and politics.

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Example: Ukraine

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Underlying cultural differences threaten our core assumptions of how we view the world

Huntington, S. P. (1993). The clash of civilizations. Foreign Affairs 72(3): 22-49.

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Cultural values below the surface

Behavior Language proficiency

Factual knowledge Relationship etiquette

Values / Attitude Personality characteristics

Cultural values

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Cultural differences / Human differences

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Ontological security

“a security of being, a sense of confidence and trust that the

world is what it appears to be. Trust of other people is like an emotional inoculation against existential anxieties” (Giddens 1991; Kinnvall 2004).

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Identity & security

Identity is seen as an anxiety-controlling mechanism reinforcing a sense of trust, predictability, and control (Erikson 1950).

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Question

1) Which competencies are needed to succesfully deal

with ontological security?

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Answer

1) Understanding cultural differences and their dynamics

2) Understanding uncertainty coping mechanisms

3) Understanding personal development

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Understanding cultural differences

and their dynamics

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Cultural zones

Huntington, S. P. (1993). The clash of civilizations. Foreign Affairs 72(3): 22-49.

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World values survey

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Dynamics of cultural values: Transition from agrarian to industrial economy Traditional values that are commonly found in pre-industrial

societies include relatively low levels of tolerance for abortion, divorce, tend to emphasize male dominance in economic and political life, a deference to parental authority, and the importance of family life. They are relatively authoritarian and religion plays an important role. When an economy becomes more industrial, values move towards the opposite sides of these spectrums (Inglehart and Baker 2000).

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As an economy develops further, becoming more post-industrial, cultural values shift further from survival to self-expression and embrace general trust, tolerance, subjective well-being, and political activism.

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Dynamics of cultural values: Transition from industrial to service economy

Persistance of traditional values

Although economic development triggers these shifts in norms and values, the nature of the actual cultural changes is dependent on a country’s broad cultural heritage (e.g. Protestantism, Catholicism and Communism).

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World values survey

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Understanding uncertainty coping mechanisms

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How to deal with the culture of that shadowy Other?

“At the root of this turning inward and disconnect is a great fear – one of the most primal known to man, and perhaps

the least understood” (50 Cent and Robert Greene 2009)

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Cross-cultural competencies

Relationship Foreign language proficiency Factual cultural knowledge

Relationship efficacy

Perceptual Conceptual cultural knowledge Contextual cultural knowledge

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Opening the black box: Schema theory

Schemas can be defined as generalized collections of knowledge of past experiences. This knowledge includes associations between social roles, identity, facts, etiquette, procedures, problem solving strategies and emotional states (Bartlett 1932; Nishida 1999).

Developmental psychologists suggest that a child’s fundamental value schemes are anchored by around the age of ten, due to ‘mental programming’ which starts in the family and develops further through schools, associations, work, public life and community (Hofstede 2003: 20).

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Schema theory & Stereotypes

Schemas are gradually formed by conscious and unconscious lessons learnt from daily events and experiences. When a person encounters a familiar situation, the already built cognitive structures are retrieved, helping the person to categorize information, interpret stimuli and then select appropriate reactions.

Stereotypes are a product of knowledge schemes. They represent mental ‘files’ or images that people use to help them process new information by comparing it with past experience. Although stereotypes may be useful for rapid decision making, they can be counter-productive when rigidly applied in unfamiliar situations (Schneider & Barsoux 2003).

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Schema theory and cultural encounters

A cross-cultural encounter leads individuals to assimilate and accommodate new stimuli, thus adjusting their schemas:

Assimilation: the process of making the experienced world fit into the existing schemas.

Accommodation: modification of the existing schemas to fit the new experience.

Withdrawal: Instead of changing the schemas that have proven inadequate in a new context, they choose to change their situation and environment (Chang 2009).

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Neurosis and the need to gain control In line with schema theory, but from a psycho analysis

perspective, according to Horney (1950) neurotic needs can be classed into three broad categories of personality types:

Aggressive: move against the environment Compliant: move toward the environment Withdrawn: move away from the environment

Karen Horney believed neurosis to be a continuous and normal state of human condition to gain some control of a person's external environment. Well-adjusted individuals utilize all three of these strategies, shifting focus depending on internal and external factors.

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Understanding personal development

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Personal development

Independence

Flexibility

Self awareness Expanded view of the self

Self-assurance

Expanded worldview Perceptual questioning skills Awareness of the state of the

world

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Conclusion

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In modern society, human instincts and

cultural traditions have lost their place. The result is an existential vacuum, an absence

of meaning or purpose in life.

The pursuance of pleasure or power cannot bring substance to this void, as they are

merely empty quests. Growth is the result of the discovery of meaningful connections

with others (Frankl 1969).

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For more information: Erik van ‘t Klooster Email: eklooster@rsm.nl Website: www.getupandgo.nl