Cross culture adoption

Cross-cultural adaptability is becoming general issues as world is transforming into singleton region. Especially in service industry, countries have come up to meet one another’s cultural aspects requirements. "Thank You" & "Sorry" or Greetings are common and expected in personal behavior in well-developed countries. As an individual to what extend are you free to cross cultural adaptability?

Cross-cultural communicational flexibility is a major requirement for successful communication in our modern world. "Body-talk," onomatopoeia, expressive sounds, facial and other gestures, posture, bodily movements, and the three ‘distances’ (intimate, personal and social) which vary in cross culture. In the global workplace we tend to minimize or even to ignore our cultural differences while mythologizing that they no longer exist. But this is a dangerous myth for it greatly heightens the potential for miscommunication.

Answering following questions and rating your self, decide 'To what extent are you free to adapt living in another culture and to interact effectively with people of other cultures'.

Hobbies

Trying new things,
Making friends,
Enjoying new foods,
Involving self in any religious or cultural festivals,
Public speaking and
So others

Belief & Perception

Live anywhere and enjoy life.
All people of whatever race are equally valuable
Realistic perception of how others see yourself
All cultures have something worthwhile to offer
Consider impact of actions have on other
Expectation from others to respect me regardless of their cultural background

Capabilities

Ability to deal with stresses of new situation, new circumstances or people
Ability to understand people’s thoughts and feeling while talking with them
Ability to laugh at self when you make cultural faux pas
Ability to cope with life, no matter where you are
Ability to meet critical or set goal in any situation
Ability to cope well with whatever difficult feelings are experienced in a new culture.

Inabilities

Unable to understand people when they are different then self
If own ideas conflicted with those others who are different then self, would follow own ideas rather then their ideas.
It is difficult to approach unfamiliar situations with a positive attitude
Preference to decide from own values, even when those around me have different values
Personal value system - is based on own belief and not according to others

Like & Dislike

Like new experiences and experiments
Like spending time alone, even in unfamiliar surroundings
Like to communicate with people who think differently than yourself do

Motivation

Not discouraged when work with people who are very different from self
Impressing people different from self is more important than being self with them
Interpret people’s behavior in the context of their culture
Function in situations where things are not clear
Take interest in learning from others people who are different from you
Keep open mind when you are new
Trust your ability to communicate accurately in new situations

Learning

Languages
Cooking
Dances & music
Body language
Cultural beliefs & traditions
An open mind

Much of the conflict we experience in our global ‘market place’ today is due to the experience of unfulfilled culture-specific expectations.

We can avoid the conflict by understanding what causes it cross-culturally, in other words by understanding what is ‘acceptable’ and what is not, cross-culturally. This process begins with recognizing the sources and contexts of cross-cultural miscommunication. It involves knowing the answer to the all important question ‘what are the expectations of the other.’ But this is not easily discovered. Such cultural expectations are implicit.

Their discovery involves a process of ‘negative feedback’ and inference. And it requires the discovery of one’s own culture-based expectations.

Reference & Readings

Cross Cultural Adaptability - Kelley & Meyers