International Marketing Review #56

Cindy King — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:14:55 +0000

International Marketing Review – Culture Shock

Culture shock refers to the anxiety and feelings of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty and confusion people have when they move to, or have to deal with a different and unknown cultural, such as a foreign country. Culture shock come from the difficulties in assimilating the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not. This is often combined with a dislike for or even disgust with certain aspects of the new or different culture.

Reverse Culture Shock, also called Re-entry Shock, is the shock you get when you return to your home culture after growing accustomed to a new culture. Reverse culture shock can produce the same effects as culture shock. A person often finds reverse culture shock surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock.

Christopher F. Lynch presents The Life of the Expat posted at Questions for International Business Blog saying “Recently, a former student of mine wrote from his first overseas position with an international company. He told me that though he appreciated my class, he felt that there was one area that I didn’t address — how tough it was to be the expatriate. He was excited by the position but felt lonely and isolated.”

Aimee Barnes @aimeenbarnes presents Go West, China! But, Find Someone To Meet You There First posted at Aimee Barnes saying “Stories about American companies entering the Chinese marketplace- and royally screwing up in the process- have provoked laughter across the globe while forcing Western executives to pack up what little dignity they have left and take the first flight home. In business, a simple cross-cultural foible may end up translating into a seven-figure mistake and, once you “lose face” in China, it’s difficult to get it back. But, what about Chinese companies that are planning to enter the US market? Can differences in language, technical knowledge, reputation, product safety standards, marketing, design, strategy, R&D, corporate behavior, networking and negotiation (am I forgetting anything?) sabotage Chinese-owned firms heading West?”

BetterWorld4YouAndMe presents a YouTube video, Communication Between Cultures saying “Culture is often at the root of communication challenges. Exploring historical experiences and the ways in which various cultural groups have related to each other is key to opening channels for cross-cultural communication. Becoming more aware of cultural differences, as well as exploring cultural similarities, can help you communicate with others more effectively. Next time you find yourself in a confusing situation, ask yourself how culture may be shaping your own reactions, and try to see the world from the other’s point of view.”
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Joshua Reich @josh_reich presents Reverse Culture Shock posted at mostly slow saying “After 3 days of being back, I’m finally just starting to realize that I truly am here. And it’s a bit strange, particularly the little details. One of the first things that struck me when I got back, the first morning in fact was how luxurious everything here is. My parents’ house (where I’ll be living until I head out to Seattle on June 22nd – a story for another time) is a nice, but not ostentious place. But I easily had the best shower of the last 11 months there. There was so much hot water and it was so hot, as hot as I could possible want it. And consistently so, no points where the temperature fluctuated – in most of the places I’ve been, while the hot water lasted (which often wasn’t long) I’d spend half of the shower fiddling with the knobs as the water kept moving back and forth from too cold to scalding. There was just hot water, perfect temperature, and seemingly endless. Then I dried off and the towel was so soft. Softer by a good measure even then the towels at the resort in India where we stayed for a weekend so long ago. ”

John Gapper @gapperblog presents Corporate culture shock is a big deal posted at FT.com saying “It is tempting to think that some nations will never work together fruitfully in business because of cultural divides and historic enmities. The Germans are too stuffy, the French too insular, the Italians too excitable. The best-remembered British encounter with a Spanish fleet was when Sir Francis Drake fought the Spanish Armada in 1588. But there is reason for hope. Cross-border mergers are tough to execute but that can be nothing to do with national cultures or proclivities. And more enterprises, from developed and emerging economies, are learning to make them work.”

Ambrose Clancy presents Corps values: Giving peace a second chance posted at libn.com saying “Leaving Mineola and finding himself in a village 4,000 feet up in the mountains of Colombia was not the true culture shock for Paul Arfin. Nor was having a horse for transportation or washing his clothes by beating them on rocks. The real shock was when the Peace Corps volunteer came home. “I’d developed a world view which most volunteers came back with,” Arfin, 68, said in his home in Hauppauge, remembering his American re-entry in the mid-1960s. “Coming home we saw the United States as part of the world of nations and not as God’s answer on earth.”

André Paris presents We’re going to be spending our lives in several cultures posted at Mondialogo saying “The Dutch social scientist Geert Hofstede has been conducting research for many decades now into the issues surrounding ‘intercultural dialogue and communication’. In the Mondialogo interview he explains why cultural skills are important and what mistakes should be avoided.”

Tomoko A. Hosaka and William Foreman presents Chinese Muslims face culture shock in Palau posted at statesman saying “They came from a land of scorching deserts, snowcapped mountains, camels and mosques. Now after several miserable years imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, 13 Muslims from China will try to resettle on the tiny Pacific nation of Palau — a land of lush beach resorts.”

Joe McKendrick @joemckendrick presents The end of management? Hold that thought posted at smartplanet saying “If a CEO or top corporate executive from 1960 were teleported through time to today’s organization, would he suffer culture shock? (And it would have been a “he.”) Maybe not, according to Gary Hamel, thought leader and author of The Future of Management. My FastForward colleague, Jim McGee, surfaced this passage from Hamel’s book, which makes one realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same”

Regina presents Reverse Culture Shock posted at Where The Hell Am I? saying “Let the reverse culture shock begin! And, it’s begun in earnest for me. It’s just the little things for the most part. I’ll just talk about a few because they’re the ones that are resonating the strongest with me right now.”

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Regina

Cindy King's International Business Blog » Corporate culture shock

International Marketing Review #56