A culture defines the world view and perception of an organization or a group of people. It encompasses their language, style of communication and the way of doing things. In a variety of cultures words share aspects of meaning with their translations therefore it is vital in communication for people to create a shared meaning which is shaped by and also shapes networking, shared learning and knowledge-sharing (Holden and Claes, 2001). Language and communication style are vital in the transfer and translation in order to create a common cognitive ground (Claes, 2001; Thomas, 1996b; Holden and Von Kortzfleisch, 2004).
As such the definition of culture and the amount of explanatory power attributed to it affects communication which is a social activity, that is, it is something people do with and to each other manifested in their behaviors (Samovar and Porter, 1997, p. 9) With the advent of globalization people are frequently moving or being called to work in environments beyond their local territories. Moreover the studies opportunities for graduate and undergraduate programs in adult and higher education globally are causing interactions beyond own cultures.
This is causing cross-cultural challenges in communication, adaptation, foods, and social interactions among many other cultural issues (Marouli, 2002). A country’s culture greatly affects the behavior of its citizens and institutions therein. For instance in some country’s cultures people prefer to act as a group rather than individually. Moreover a nation’s unique cultural attributes contribute a vital role in determining the selection of management and leadership style in institutions thus making an effective leadership style in one cultural setting ineffective in another.
Thus identifying and fostering appropriate leadership behaviors relevant to the given cultural situation is very important (Reilly and Karounsos, 2009, p. 2). For global leaders such as professors and others in international institutions recognizing cultural differences and learning to amalgamate them to their advantage rather than attempting to ignore them or letting the cause problems is an important step in cross cultural management (Adler, 2002).
Nonetheless every culture is prone to evolution and this renders most of the previously learnt norms, traditions and behaviors irrelevant thus up to date cultural information should be used in the process of cross-cultural management. 1. 1 Culture Shock and Cultural Stress Culture shock is an emotional feeling of disorientation given to the reality that a person has changed culture and has to communicate and cooperate with someone who perceives a situation differently and performs things differently.
This can be a stressful situation depending on the intensity of how strongly the worker perceives the cultural departure to be and the support accorded by the new culture’s colleagues (Zdenka, 2006). The desire to protect one’s identity as a result of feeling of threat and is one of the causes of cultural stress that people experience after change of cultural environments. This happens on the level of an individual as well as organization or institution.
Mores in which man lives and the basic presumptions, values and norms that he shares with the others provide the feeling of unity, patterns of behavior, firm and predictable environment and thus emotional wellness. In case of organization or institutional culture the extent of emotional wellness and identification with a certain culture depends on how much the organizational culture corresponds with personal principles and internal customs of an individual. However, organizations have their own identity connected to their history and are proud about their mark and tradition, which the staff identifies with, shares and tends to protect.
As such the definition of culture and the amount of explanatory power attributed to it affects communication which is a social activity, that is, it is something people do with and to each other manifested in their behaviors (Samovar and Porter, 1997, p. 9) With the advent of globalization people are frequently moving or being called to work in environments beyond their local territories. Moreover the studies opportunities for graduate and undergraduate programs in adult and higher education globally are causing interactions beyond own cultures.
This is causing cross-cultural challenges in communication, adaptation, foods, and social interactions among many other cultural issues (Marouli, 2002). A country’s culture greatly affects the behavior of its citizens and institutions therein. For instance in some country’s cultures people prefer to act as a group rather than individually. Moreover a nation’s unique cultural attributes contribute a vital role in determining the selection of management and leadership style in institutions thus making an effective leadership style in one cultural setting ineffective in another.
Thus identifying and fostering appropriate leadership behaviors relevant to the given cultural situation is very important (Reilly and Karounsos, 2009, p. 2). For global leaders such as professors and others in international institutions recognizing cultural differences and learning to amalgamate them to their advantage rather than attempting to ignore them or letting the cause problems is an important step in cross cultural management (Adler, 2002).
Nonetheless every culture is prone to evolution and this renders most of the previously learnt norms, traditions and behaviors irrelevant thus up to date cultural information should be used in the process of cross-cultural management. 1. 1 Culture Shock and Cultural Stress Culture shock is an emotional feeling of disorientation given to the reality that a person has changed culture and has to communicate and cooperate with someone who perceives a situation differently and performs things differently.
This can be a stressful situation depending on the intensity of how strongly the worker perceives the cultural departure to be and the support accorded by the new culture’s colleagues (Zdenka, 2006). The desire to protect one’s identity as a result of feeling of threat and is one of the causes of cultural stress that people experience after change of cultural environments. This happens on the level of an individual as well as organization or institution.
Mores in which man lives and the basic presumptions, values and norms that he shares with the others provide the feeling of unity, patterns of behavior, firm and predictable environment and thus emotional wellness. In case of organization or institutional culture the extent of emotional wellness and identification with a certain culture depends on how much the organizational culture corresponds with personal principles and internal customs of an individual. However, organizations have their own identity connected to their history and are proud about their mark and tradition, which the staff identifies with, shares and tends to protect.
Soruce: http://businessays.net
Comments
Post a Comment