indian culture at a glance

8/10/2019 Indian Culture at a Glance

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SHARZIN SHAVINA REZA

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INTRODUCTION

Cultural shock was initially conceptualized (Oberg, 1954, 1960) as the consequence of

strain and anxiety resulting from contact with a new culture and the feelings of loss, confusion,

and impotence resulting from loss of accustomed cultural cues and social rules. Taft (1977)

reviewed a range of definitions of cultural shock and provided a summarya feeling of

impotence from the inability to deal with the environment because of unfamiliarity with

cognitive aspects and role-playing skills. (Winkelman, 1994, p. 1)

CULTURAL ADAPTATION

Adaptation is a physical or behavioral characteristic that has developed to allow a

person to better survive in its environment. (Kennedy, p. 1)

This might mean that a revised version of the way of living due to changes of the

surrounding environment. When a person is exposed to a new culture and tries to cope up with it

to survive well, is referred as Cultural Adaptation. Cultural adaptation is a convenient way of

alluding to the important capacity of groups and individuals to shape the pattern of life of

themselves and those around them. We understand the phrase to refer to the reorganization and

rearrangement of popular culture, entertainment, consumption, creative design and the like on a

large, even global, scale to fit the needs of particular situations, peoples, places and times.

Originality, creativity, invention, breakthrough and discovery are not in question. Rather, the key

dynamic of this flow of cultural ideas from one place to another and from one time to another

involves multifarious processes of identification, selection, adaptation, possible rearrangements

and redeployment of cultural forms and styles, often and highly productive circumstances.

(Moran & Keane, 2013, p. 2)

Culture is mans most important instrument of adaptation. A culture is made up of the

energy systems, the objective and specific artifacts, the organizations of social and political

relations, the modes of thought, the ideologies, and the total range of customary behaviors that

are transmitted from one generation to another by a social group and that enable it to maintain


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life in a particular habitat. Although a capacity for culture is not the exclusive property of Homo

Sapiens, only human culture evolves. Correctively as far we know, man is the only animal

capable of self-consciousness with respect to his cultures-the only animal able to blush, laugh at

himself and think of himself as a culture-bearer in third-person terms. It is mans culture that has

enabled him to free himself from the restrictions or limitations of his genetic constitution and his

natural milieus. The evolution of mans adaptations, as embodied in his cultures, is one of the

themes that lend coherence and continuity to his historical development. (Cohen, 1971, p. 1)

Adaptation for Business Expatriates

Business expatriates are sojourners sent to a foreign country by multinationals with the

intent to control the company operations and to provide technical and administrative services. A

marked upsurge of interest in the topic of expatriates cultural adaptation has been provoked not

only by the growth in the volume of expatriates but also due to the financial costs associated with

expatriation as well as premature repatriation. Successful cultural adaptation of business

expatriates affects their organizational commitment as well as other performance variables. At

the same time, the organizations perspective on expatriation as part of the career path affects

greatly the desire to adapt culturally. Business people are not free from the culture shock

experienced in daily life in a new cultural environment. Cross-cultural problems may be

manifested in the marketplace when individuals fail to understand and accept the local

consumption and market practices due to different cultural backgrounds. Birdseye and Hill

(1995) found that the expatriate's material life dissatisfaction is strongly associated with turnover

tendencies. Our emphasis on the expatriate's (and his/her family's) interface with the host

marketplace, a major element in his/her material life (dis)satisfaction, is relatively unique to the

literature on expatriate adjustment. (Jun, Gentry, & Hyun, 2001, p. 369)

Business expatriates and their families may be a social segment vulnerable to frustration

in the marketplace due to their different cultural backgrounds. Few studies of businessexpatriates have addressed alienation from the host marketplace in the process of cultural

adaptation. In the domain of consumer research, the emphasis has been how "they" differ from

"us" in the marketplace, not how they cope with differences. With market alienation as the focal

construct, the present study has three objectives: first, it specifies the meaning of market

alienation for business expatriates in the cultural adaptation process. Next, it explains the


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sequential process of cultural adaptation in terms of antecedents to market alienation and its

effects on successful cultural adaptation. Finally, the results of empirical tests are incorporated

into the current literature on expatriation. (Jun, Gentry, & Hyun, 2001, pp. 369-370)

CULTURAL ADAPTATION

Cultural adaptation is a social cognitive process that reduces uncertainty and an affective

process that reduces anxiety; the outcomes of cultural adaptation in- include psychological well-

being and satisfaction as well as social competence (Gao and Gudykunst, 1990; Ward and

Kennedy, 1992). Failure to adjust successfully may lead to negative consequences such as

lowered mental health status, feelings of marginality and alienation, heightened psychosomatic

symptoms, and identity confusion (Berry et al., 1987). Acculturative stress is not inevitable but

varies depending on how the individual perceives the changes in a new cultural environment and

how s/he develops coping strategies. It is not the cultural differences themselves but the internal

processes used to cope with the differences that are important to successful cultural adaptation.

With complete adjustment, individuals not only accept the customs of the new culture as another

way of living but also actually begin to enjoy them or at least terminate the projection of

discomfort onto the host culture (Oberg, 1960). Thus, successful cultural adaptation can be

conceptualized as an individual's general satisfaction with one's personal situation in the host

country (Gudykunst and Hammer, 1983; Torbiorn, 1982). (Jun, Gentry, & Hyun, 2001, p. 370)

MARKET ALIENATION

Market alienation occurs when individuals fail to accept the prevailing patterns of

consumption or fail to find fulfillment in the offerings of the marketplace, and/or when

individuals lack trust in the market system. The psychological state of market alienation can be

expressed as feelings of separation from the norms and values of the marketplace, feelings of

lack of acceptance of or identification with market situations, practices, and outputs, and feelings

of separation from the self when one is involved in the consumption role (Allison, 1978). (Jun,

Gentry, & Hyun, 2001, pp. 370-371)


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Ways to Adapt to a New Culture

Although some aspects of cultural shock adaptation vary as a function of individuals

characteristics, their intents and needs, and the cultural and social contexts of adaptation (Taft,

1977), others are universal. The universal features of cultural shock require adjustments based on

an awareness of cultural shock, the use of skills for resolving crises, and acceptance that some

personal change and behavioral adjustment is fundamental to cultural shock resolution and

adaptation. This is not to say that an individual must assimilate, but one must accommodate

(acculturate), understanding the local culture and the means of adapting effectively. Adaptation

requires suspending at least some culturally based reactions (practicing cultural relativism) to

become more tolerant of the local culture. This does not mean that one must give up ones

identity, values, or culture. Many individuals (e.g., international students) may effectively

manage cultural shock without making major changes in their personality or preexisting lifestyle.

The challenge is doing so in a new cultural environment that does not provide the accustomed

supports. (Winkelman, 1994, p. 3)

PREDEPARTURE PREPARATION:

Assessment of ones ability to adapt to a new culture (e.g. Harris & Moran, 1987,

Appendixes AD; Redden, 1975; Smith, 1986) is a good first step before even going to a new

culture. Not all individuals are equally prepared to accept the rigors of cultural shock and

adaptation, nor are they disposed to change in the ways necessary to acculturate effectively. One

needs to be realistic about the necessary changes and aware of the problems inevitably

encountered in living in a foreign country.

TRANSITION ADJUSTMENTS:

Successful adjustment also depends on the availability of transition resources necessary

for comfortable adaptation in the new culture. The needs of physical well-beingfood and

securitymust be effectively met if one is to meet work requirements and address subsequent

needs for social relations, self-esteem, and personal development.


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PERSONAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS:

Managing cultural shock requires that one maintains or reestablishes a network of

primary relationsfamily or friendswho provide positive interpersonal relations for self-

esteem and for meeting personal and emotional needs.

BICULTURALISM

This stage comes very near the end of the stay of an individual, or sometimes doesnt

really emerge until the individuals returns to their native countries. This is when they realize that

they have become competent in another culture, and can see the world and function from

another, very different point of view. When this stage emerges toward the end of the exchange

year, it all seems very unfair to the person. Just as they are getting to experience the benefits of

really knowing how to function well in their host culture, they have to go back home. (White, p.

2)

Developing the competence to succeed in another culturethat isgoing through the process of

culture shock, may be better understood by analyzing the process of developing competence at

anything. Essentially, we go through four stages:

Unconscious Incompetence: This is a stage when we not only dont know how to do

something; we dont even know that we dont know how to do it. We are ignorant. Most of us

think we know the proper way to greet someone. For example, when we go to another culture

where greetings are done quite differently, we may just breeze along doing it our way, not even

knowing that what we are doing may be perceive as rude or insulting.

Conscious Incompetence: In this stage we may be aware that we are doing something

wrong, but we just may not have the skills yet to do it properly. We may know that4 another

culture spends more time in greetings inquiring about ones relatives, but if we are not skilled at

the language, we may have trouble doing it, even if we want to.

Conscious Competence: In this stage we have developed the necessary skills to do what

is necessary, but we still have to consciously remind ourselves to do it. We may think it is a

waste of time to stop and discuss the well-being of all of our family members when we greet a


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friend, but we know how to, and more importantly, we know it is important to do so in this

culture in order to appear civilized and polite.

Unconscious Competence: In this stage we have become so skilled at the new cultural

behavior that we do it without thinking. We may find that it becomes very natural to stop and

chat with friends as we greet them, inquiring about the mutual health of both families, as if it is

the most natural thing in the world to do.

When an individual gets to this pointunconscious competence, s/he has gotten to the bicultural

stage of adjustment to culture shock. The person has developed an effective ethno-relative world

view. So one can seek that culture shock is not a problem to avoid. Instead, it is a necessary

discomfort that one must go through to really experience the rich and varied joys of intercultural

living. (White, The Middle Wave of Culture Shock )

Ways to Develop Biculturalism

Mistry and Wu address an important and neglected point when they note that

biculturalism is facilitated by specific environmental conditions. When the individual is

embedded in a community that integrates the heritage and receiving cultural streams, and where

comfort with both cultures is essential for day-to-day living, then biculturalism is most likely to

emerge. That is, in environments characterized by ethnogenesis (Flannery, Reise, & Yu, 2001)

essentially, when the environment itself is bicultural individuals who function within such

environments should also be bicultural. Over time, this bicultural context itself may evolve and

become dissimilar from both of the original cultures, although it incorporates elements from both

cultures. However, this argument overlooks an important detail even in a bicultural

environment, not everyone can be characterized as bicultural.

What this suggests is somewhat more nuanced than what Mistry and Wu appear to imply. The

family is not merely a conduit for larger environmental and cultural influences; rather, parents

can actively decide how they want their children to acculturate, and their attempts to socialize

their children culturally can complement or clash with the effects of the larger cultural

context. This implies a degree of agency and intentional action on the part of parents, consistent

with a developmental-contextual perspective. Although Mistry and Wu seem to describe the


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developmental-contextual perspective as somewhat deterministic, Lerner and colleagues'

(Gestsdttir & Lerner, 2008) perspective does indeed allow for such intentional action.

So, in essence, biculturalism can be said to emerge from one or both of two factors. The first is a

social-cultural context characterized by ethnogenesis where both the heritage and receiving

cultural streams are emphasized and valued. The second involves active and intentional efforts

by parents to socialize their children toward the heritage culture. Indeed, in more monocultural

contexts oriented largely toward the receiving culture, parental socialization efforts may be

especially important, given that the larger cultural context may not promote or encourage

preservation of the heritage culture. Of course, many parents also actively encourage their

children to integrate themselves into the receiving culture (e.g., achieving in school, making

friends) (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001)], and adolescents often experiment with behaviors, values,and identities that go against those of their parents, especially if their peers engage in those

behaviors but in the end, parental ethnic socialization does tend to promote heritage culture

retention in children. (Umaa-Taylor, Bhanot, & Shin, 2006)

When Is Biculturalism Most Adaptive?

Biculturalism has often but not always emerged as the most adaptive approach to

acculturation. Biculturalism, traditionally operationalized as endorsing the cultural practices

characteristic of both the heritage and receiving cultural contexts, should help the person be

comfortable in both settings (Chen, Benet-Martnez, & Bond, 2008), use coping strategies from

both cultures, and be able to interact with people from the larger society and from the heritage

culture community. Some investigators have even found that bicultural individuals are more

likely to display advanced reasoning (e.g., seeing both sides of an argument, understanding

multiple perspectives on complex social issues) than individuals adopting other approaches to

acculturation (Tadmor, Tetlock, & Peng, 2009). However, as (Schwartz & Zamboanga,

2008) have contended, biculturalism is most adaptive in a bicultural environment.


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RECOMMENDATION

From the citations above we already know enough about the last two stages of Culture Shock.

And this means its quite clear to us that adapting with a new culture and being properly tuned in

with the culture is not an easy process. An expatriate going abroad and finding everything alien

might suffer from the problems below:

S/he tends to brood and dwell on the negative side of things.

S/he tends to become tearful over small matters.

S/he has no appetite even for food s/he usually like.

S/he finds it hard to fall asleep, and often wake up in the middle of the night or early

morning.

S/he has no energy to do anything.

S/he feels worthless or thinking of him/herself as a failure.

S/he thinks it would be better if s/he disappeared from this world.

So the factors expatriate needs to follow are:

Find ways to relieve stress.

Do something that reminds you of home.

Make a list of things to do in your host city and try something new every day

Talk and share his intercultural experience with someone.

Visit the ISA Office and talk.

Connect with family and friends back home.

Get some exercises. Stay active.

Not to be afraid to seek out help. There is always someone or some service available to

help someone.

Get involved in intercultural activities. ---Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs.

Join ISA Office programs. ---Small World Coffee Hour.

Be patient; adjusting is an ongoing process of adaptation to new situations. It is going

to take time.


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Adaptation and Biculturalism: Bangladeshi Students in Malaysia

There were three Bangladeshi students living in Malaysia for their higher studies and earnings.

They stated that-

The daily life experience of them is quite good here. They are adjusting with the new

environment. They need to communicate in English with others, which are not their mother

tongue, but still they are trying their best to understand others.

While interacting with other nationalities, they face problems due to others pronunciation and

accent which is very different for them to understand, but still they have some international

friends who are very helpful to them.

The students are facing little difficulties in socio-cultural adjustment but the environment is

very satisfactory. They are very positive about getting introduced with people to take flavor of

different cultures.

Although they were facing difficulties in adjusting with local foods and climate for the first

time, but they are enjoying some of the local foods and also adapting with local climate.

All the respondents took part in local social activities. This reflects their eagerness to be

acquainted with the Malaysian culture and society.

At the beginning the students faced some problemsin understanding the class lectures properly.

But they are overcoming this barrier by taking notes in class and consulting with lecturers to

clarify their confusion. Most of the times, they are successful in expressing their ideas to the

class.

The students feel very comfortable in being grouped with other nationalities since they are

eager to gain knowledge about other cultures. By interacting with the local and overseas students

they are improving their English language efficiency.

The Bangladeshi students are very pleased with their working environment. Their boss treats

them very well and has a very cordial relationship. They face no difficulty in understanding

instructions given at workplace and are interacting fruitfully with other nationalities at their

workplace

All the respondents are handling their part time jobs inside and outside of the campus

successfully.


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The Bangladeshi students are satisfied with their jobs and gaining some extra experiences.

They can bear their living cost as well as tuition fees with the money earned. They can live

independently in a foreign country like Malaysia.

All the respondents reported that sometimes they feel very tired in handling both study and

work. At the same time, they become very upset; they miss their family and their country.

However, these students are balancing their job and study effectively by maintaining a good

socio cultural communication.

American Adapting with Different Cultures

Sam is a 35-year-old American professional. He has systematically gained experience

and expertise in his own field both in his own home country and even more internationally. He is

very committed to his work and enjoys its challenges. Even the Middle East crisis with all the

tensions and violence provides him a professional challenge. Sam systematically builds his

international career and his intimate family supports this.

Together with his family, Sam has considered options for the education of their present and

coming children as well as the impact of international living on the children. He shows wide

interest in the Middle East and global matters. The interest is related to his personal advancement

and profession. He has strengthened his professional competency by language and other studies.

He has a good command over English and French, the main western global languages. He also

manages with Arabic, which is a great advantage in the Middle East.

Sam works in a multicultural context. He has some friends in the Israeli and Palestinian societies,

but his close circle of friends consists of his expatriate colleagues. He spends most of his

holidays outside the Middle East. His transfer to the Middle East was a planned move in relation

to his past and future career path.

The key words, which would describe Sam, are:

o Determined in his career path

o Committed to his work

o Confident in his experience.


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Bibliography

Chen, S., Benet-Martnez, V., & Bond, M. (2008). Bicultural identity, bilingualism, and

psychological adjustment in multicultural societies: Immigration-based and globalization-based

acculturation.Journal of Personality, 806-838.

Cohen, Y. A. (1971).Man in Adaptation: The Cultural Present.Transaction Publishers.

Flannery, W., Reise, S., & Yu, J. (2001). A comparison of acculturation models. Personality and

Social Psychology Bulletin, 1035-1045.

Gestsdttir, S., & Lerner, R. (2008). Positive development in adolescence: The development and

role of intentional self-regulation.Human Development, 202-224.

Jun, S., Gentry, J. W., & Hyun, Y. J. (2001). Cultural Adaptation of Business Expatriates in the

Host Marketplace.Journal of International Business Studies, 1-3.

Kennedy, J. (n.d.).Adaptation. Retrieved from About Education:

http://marinelife.about.com/od/glossary/g/adaptation.htm

Moran, A., & Keane, M. (2013). Cultural Adaptation.Routledge.

Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. (2001). The story of the immigrant second generation.Berkeley:

University of California Press.

Schwartz, S., & Zamboanga, B. (2008). Testing Berry's model of acculturation: A confirmatory

latent class approach. . Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 275-285.

Tadmor, C., Tetlock, P., & Peng, K. (2009). Acculturation strategies and integrative complexity:

The cognitive implications of biculturalism.Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 105-139.

Umaa-Taylor, A., Bhanot, R., & Shin, N. (2006). Ethnic identity formation during adolescence:

The critical role of families.Journal of Family Issues, 390-414.

White, D. (n.d.). The Middle Wave of Culture Shock . The Rotary Youth Exchange Experience,

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White, D. (n.d.). Culture Shock. The Rotary Youth Exchange Experience:, 1-4.

Winkelman, M. (1994). Cultural Shock and Adaptation.Journal of Counseling & Development,

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