Importance of a Cross-Cultural Management - Assignment Example

This report summarizes the information collected during an interview with an expatriate working and living in Singapore for more than eight months now. The person interviewed was 28-years old Indian male (referred as Mr. A throughout the report) who works in Singapore in Sales department of a medium-sized corporation (referred to as company ABC) having around 180 employees. The interviewee had prior sales experience in his hometown India. The company sells electronic products and technical services and the sales people in the company are expected to sell electronic and technical support services to the clients. It is Mr. A’s first experience of staying away from his hometown (India). Following presents the interview findings (see appendix-I for the interview questions) along with the quotes from the interviewee to present his views on his experiences of staying and working in a culture different from his hometown. When the interviewee was asked to share his experience from leaving his hometown to his very first assignment in Singapore he told the interviewer that “leaving home and going to a completely new place was not an easy job especially when I have never been to any new country”. Mr. A highlighted that going as a visitor and going as an employee are two completely different things. In the words of Mr. A “it was a sort of cultural shock which was aggravated due to high expectations of the employer leaving lesser time for adjustment; I was expected to get to work immediately and produce results which was not an easy task as I was still in the phase of understanding my surroundings and adjusting to it.” Mr. A told the interviewer that his first assignment was to close a deal with a client and he found it very difficult to set the meeting and meet the client in person. Mr. A says “though I have good product knowledge and prior experience of selling goods and closing deals in India but meeting the person of a new culture and convincing him to use the services of our company is something needs experience of selling in the same culture.” Then the interviewer asked Mr. A how he has prepared for the immersion in a new culture to which Mr. A replied “I have learned about the culture of Singapore from the internet sites and a few friends of mine who have been to Singapore but experiencing a culture in person is totally a new experience.” Continuing the conversation the interviewer asked Mr. A about his feelings upon knowing that he will be going to Singapore and about his first few days in Singapore. To this Mr. A replied “when I got selected for the post of sales person in ABC company I felt so excited. In our tradition, in India, we celebrate good news enthusiastically and in our culture going to foreign country for a job or studies is considered like a person has achieved something great for which he/she should be honored; so the day when I informed my parents that I got a job in Singapore I was like a king in my house, so I was kind of overwhelmed.” About first few days in Singapore it was period of adjustment for me and since in India we live in joint family systems where house lady is responsible for all the household work so first few days were too difficult for me as besides adjusting to a new place I have to do everything on my own from preparing my breakfast to polishing my shoes.” When asked “were there things that surprised you about the way people thought or worked?” Mr. A replied “the thing that surprised me the most is the diversity in culture; there are several cultures in Singapore and all of them despite of differences stay together in a good manner. People at work are friendly but the strange thing is the distance which is inevitable and stays there even after months of working together; at least I feel so.” Mr. A continued “I am not sure if it is actually like this but I strongly feel that there is lack of attachment and bond and the environment is bit of superficial unlike in India where we can feel the enthusiasm and emotional attachment with each other.” Next question was about the first big ‘aha’ to which Mr. A replied “it is the quality of life that I felt from the day one. The environment is safe, clean and healthy; there are no security concerns and you can go anywhere at any time and you know you are safe”. Mr. A continued “things are different in India; there are poor people, there are unclean streets, it is polluted, and crime rate is also high; environment is not that safe whereas here in Singapore things are pretty different. Quality of life here is much better than in my home town.” Summing up first six months in Singapore Mr. A stated “it was fun meeting new people and adjusting to a new place but at the same time there were things I have learned during the process. I learnt how to stay calm and organized and how to absorb new things and make them a part of your life. I met different people in my sales job in the first six months and I have gained a lot many tips on interacting with people of different cultures. I think I have become friendlier and absorbent over the course of time and can handle change more easily than ever before.” To the question “did you have someone who could explain the local culture to you and that you could confide in?” Mr. A replied “I have made a few Indian friends in the first few weeks and that was quite helpful in understanding local culture.” Interviewer then asked Mr. A about how he thinks people see him to which he replied “in Singapore, there is a large Indian population due to which Singapore is just like second home. We get to see a lot more Indians and it is comfortable to see people you belong to.” Mr. A continued “people in Singapore are welcoming and since there are several cultures in Singapore the people of Singapore have become tolerant of others and show acceptance for others; this is something I really appreciate about this culture”. When the interviewer asked Mr. A about his relationship with his co-workers, Mr. A replied “my co-workers are supportive and they help me whenever needed; I have a good relationship with them and I enjoy the time I spent at office because the environment is friendly and we all work together like a family.” Mr. A’s was then asked to give his opinions about his job to which he replied “it was difficult to manage my job tasks in the beginning, as my job requires a direct contact with the locals and I was new to the culture but now I think after eight months of staying in this job I am comfortable and find my job interesting.” Then the interviewer asked Mr. A about the most important thing he have learned in the first six months of his stay in Singapore to which he replied “I learnt how to stay calm and organized and cope up with the things as they come your way.” Next few questions were about Mr. A socialization patterns to which he said he mostly socialize with people of his own culture but he added “it is not a must; in official parties and get-together and when we plan outings there are people from all different backgrounds”. When asked about the host-country co-workers, Mr. A replied “we have people from different backgrounds there are Chinese, British and Malaysian workers.” Next question was regarding any changes Mr. A feel as a result of working in Singapore to which he replied “life here in Singapore is materialistic,” and then referring to the five C’s (cash, car, club, condo, and credit cards) Mr. A said “do you know about five C’s which all professionals pursue for; I think this is deteriorating the value system. I believe this should be taken seriously if we are to grow a value-sensitive generation.” Mr. A continued “though this has not affected me directly but I think working in this environment forces one to be like this, to be fast paced and to live a robotic life; may be in sometime I may also feel my life to be following similar patterns but I can’t say anything about this at the moment.” When asked about any advice Mr. A would like to give to a friend who is on his way to a foreign assignment Mr. A replied “I would advise to learn about the culture and its people and of course the good sources of food beforehand to ensure they are knowledgeable enough to cope up with the change.” Mr. A added “it is good to learn about a few places for sightseeing to make the stay in new place fun.” It was nice talking to Mr. A and from the interview conducted with Mr. A I learned that it is not easy to jump into a new culture and get to know everything about it instantly. It takes time to adjust to the new place and it is better to have some prior knowledge about the culture a person is about to enter. It was found from the interview that it is obvious to feel culture shock as also mentioned by Sims (2002) that expatriate has to face cultural shock when they take up a new job in a new country and this is similar to what Mr. A had pinpointed during the interview. Martin and Chaney (2012, p. 12) has mentioned about the five stages of culture shock as “initial euphoria, crisis, adjustment, acceptance and reentry.” These stages are prominent in the experiences of Mr. A in Singapore. There was an obvious excitement when he got selected for the job and entered Singapore to work here; this is the first stage of initial euphoria. Then when he started spending time in Singapore he faced difficulties due to differences in the cultures and due to living here alone without his family where he was used to collectivism and culture of Singapore is more of individualistic nature; this represents second phase of crisis. Then there is the adjustment and acceptance phase and Mr. A has passed that phase well and reentered the culture with new perspectives and views which made his life in the new culture easier. From the interview with Mr. A it was learned that making adjustment in materialistic cultures is difficult for those belonging to a culture dominated by collectivism. The researcher believe that this fast paced track is now becoming common in all advanced countries as Eveland (2011) also mentioned about fast paced Singapore and the five C’s people of Singapore run after. This discussion makes clear the importance of learning about a new culture beforehand as this facilitates adjustment and acceptance. References Eveland, J. (2011). Frommers Singapore and Malaysia. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Martin, J. S., & Chaney. L. H. (2012). Global Business Etiquette: A Guide to International Communication and Customs. US: ABC-CLIO. Sims, R. R. (2002). Managing Organizational Behavior. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Appendix-I Interview Questions 1. Tell me about one of your overseas assignments, from the time when you first learned about the possibility of going to Singapore. 2. Did you prepare this immersion in another cultural environment? If yes, how? 3. What did you think when you first heard you were going to Singapore and how were the first few days like? 4. Were there things that surprised you about the way people thought or worked? 5. What was your first big “aha” about the culture? 6. How would you sum up your first six months? 7. Did you have someone who could explain the local culture to you and that you could confide in? 8. How did people see you? 9. Can you describe your relationship with your co-workers? 10. What did you think about your job? 11. What was the most important thing you learned in those first six months? 12. Whom did you mainly socialize with (people from your own culture, third-country expatriates, or host-country nationals)? 13. How many host-country co-workers did you interact with on an average day? 14. Did you feel you changed as a result of working in Singapore? If so, how? 15. What advice would you give to a friend who was on his or her way to a foreign assignment? Read More