Process Of Culture Shock Free Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Process Of Culture Shock. Answer: In the globalized world of today, as more and more companies are operating beyond the confines of the local market, the profitability of these companies is also increasing at a high pace. However, one of the major challenges as encountered by the multinational companies is the culture shock as experienced by the expatriate employees. As employees of one country are sent to a different country with different set of values and ideals, the employees most often experience a sense of psychological disorientation, referred to as culture shock (McFarlin Sweeney, 2011). Although the entire process of culture shock is regarded as an essential part of the process of cultural adaptation in a new country, the impact of culture shock can be highly undesirable for the employees and the company at large. First of all, cultural shock is a huge problem as it causes stress, anxiety and disillusionment amongst the employees. As an employee goes to a foreign nation, that has a completely different cultural outlook on every issue, the employee has hard time in socializing with the people, making friends with the new co-workers and enjoying motivation at workplace. Most often, the employee who is not sufficiently trained in cultural background of the other country will miserably fail to comprehend the how differences in culture can affect the way business is conducted abroad. Lack of appreciation of a new country, inability to form social connections as well as incapacity to adjust in a new place will inevitably end in employee inefficiency (Martin, 2010). The employees in such circumstances tend to become highly unproductive and inefficient, often more than willing to return to the native country. Thus, the employees inability to complete the foreign assignment for which he was sent abroad , can prove to be a financial loss to the company, that has spent huge amount of money for sending the expatriate abroad. It might be important to note here that most often people tend to focus on employee disorientation, while speaking about culture shock. However, often the employee is sufficiently trained in the cultural outlook of a different country, and yet he may fail to accomplish foreign assignment because of family concerns. In fact, research reports do suggest that partner dissatisfaction and family concerns, emerging from issues such as lack of understanding about the best educational institution in a foreign land, can also leave the employee de-motivated. The inability of the family members to adjust in a new cultural set-up can also develop a negative attitude in the employee towards the host culture. This resultant cross-cultural failure is undesirable for both individuals as well as the organizations. It is important to understand how to combat the problem of culture shock in case of expatriate employees. First of all, most of the large and medium size organizations arrange different cross-cultural training programs for the employees which help in developing cultural awareness about the host nation. Some of the training sessions intend to glorify the home culture as well as the host culture so that the employees can better appreciate both the cultures, and do not end up romanticizing their own only. At the same time, though it is a less acknowledged fact, companies should also heavily invest in the cross-cultural training sessions for the spouse and other immediate family members of the employees (Briscoe et al., 2014). This can help the family members understand the reason behind going abroad as well as the career prospects the employee will enjoy in future as a result of going abroad. This form of grooming can encourage appreciation of the family members and help them support th e employee abroad (Kovaleski, 2013). Apart from making the employee aware of the cultural background of the new place and enhancing his linguistic base, it is also important to organize cultural seminars that can help them understand the educational opportunities abroad, or the socio-economic condition of the foreign land. As an employee encounters a radically different cultural environment, he tends to experience a sense of hopelessness and disorientation. It is the responsibility of the organization he is working for, to prepare him and his family in a way that he can adjust himself in an alien culture, and can a country as a well-informed person. The effects of prolonged culture shock can prove to be highly detrimental to the well-being of the employee as well as the financial health of the company. Hence, proper care should be taken care of. References: Briscoe, D., Schuler, R. Tarique, I. (2012). Global HRM: International Human Resource Management (4th Edition). New York, NY: Routledge [extract is pp 281-285] Kovaleski, A (2013). Managing Culture Shock for Employees in International Business Settings. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236610956 [extract is pp. 3-8] Martin, J, (2010). Key Concepts in Human Resource Management. Retrieved from https://www.mylibrary.com?ID=328899 [extract is pp. 120-123] McFarlin, B. Sweeney, P. (2011). International Management: Strategic Opportunities and Cultural Challenges. London, United Kingdom: Routledge [extract is pp. 415-17]