Chapter 4

Cultural Shock

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Topics

• Stages of Cultural Shock

• Alleviating Cultural Shock

• Aspects of Cultural Shock• Relationships and Family

Considerations

• Public and Private Self

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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

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Cultural shock includes- hearing yes when someone means no - having to bargain when shopping in the market- having laughter used for anger

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On her first day of teaching at the university in La Paz, Bolivia, a college professor from 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, the professor decided to take a taxi to her hotel.

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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

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• 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)

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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.

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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.

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• 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.

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• 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).

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Stages 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: initial euphoria, crisis or

disenchantment, adjustment, and adaptation.

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U-Curve

Honeymoon

Crisis

Adjustment

Acceptance

Reentry

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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.

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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.

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Repatriation

• Returnee expectations—realistic positions

• Returnee feelings of alienation and isolation can 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

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Replace the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you) withThe Platinum Rule (Do unto others as they would have done unto them).

To alleviate cultural shock, To alleviate cultural shock, try to see the environment try to see the environment from the perspective of the from the perspective of the host nationalshost nationals..

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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

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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.

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• 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.

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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).

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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.

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Success or Failure Due To:

• Self-efficacy• Prior international

experience• Age• Cross-cultural fluency• Interpersonal skills• Flexibility• Cultural sensitivity• Adaptability

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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.

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• 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.

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Relationships and Family Considerations

• Spouse or family member who cannot adapt

• Family training to minimize adjustments

• Encourage children to discuss their anxieties and fears

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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.

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Public and Private Self

The Johari WindowThings I Know Things I

Don’t Know ThingsOthersKnow

ThingsOthersDon’tKnow

Arena Blind Spot

Hidden Unknown

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