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Handling Culture Shock Effectively

Handling Culture Shock Effectively . Culture Shock Video. Overview. Defining the Terms: Culture Shock and Country Shock Stages of Culture Shock Managing Country and Culture Shock The Role of Culture in Conflicts and Conflict Resolution A Leader’s Role in Handling Culture Shock .

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Handling Culture Shock Effectively

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  1. Handling Culture Shock Effectively

  2. Culture Shock Video

  3. Overview • Defining the Terms: Culture Shock and Country Shock • Stages of Culture Shock • Managing Country and Culture Shock • The Role of Culture in Conflicts and Conflict Resolution • A Leader’s Role in Handling Culture Shock

  4. What is Culture Shock? • How would you define culture shock? • Reaction to psychological disorientation • Fish out of water feeling

  5. What is Culture Shock? • Causes of Culture Shock • Being cut off from cultural cues and patterns • Living/working over an extended period of time in ambiguous situations • Having your values questioned • Being expected to operate at maximum skill and speed without fully understanding “the rules”

  6. What is Culture Shock? • Effects/Symptoms of Culture Shock • Intense discomfort • Resentment • Homesickness • Depression • Variety of physical symptoms from psychosomatic illnesses

  7. Country Shock vs. Culture Shock • Country Shock • Physical circumstances • The setting of the culture • Occurs/resolves quickly • Culture Shock • Interaction among people • Behaviors that seem strange to others • Takes longer to begin/resolve

  8. Country Shock • What can bring on country shock? • Unfamiliar weather patterns • “Strange” foods • “Bugs” (insects, spiders, etc.) that make life uncomfortable • Infrastructure differences

  9. Country Shock • What can heighten the intensity of country shock? • New faces and communities • Getting physically sick

  10. Stages of Culture Shock • Honeymoon • Irritability/Hostility • Gradual Adjustment • Adaptation

  11. The Honeymoon Stage • Characteristics • Occurs at beginning of deployment • Positive mindset • High expectations • Focus on similarities between home and host culture • Typically lasts 1-6 weeks

  12. Irritability/Hostility Stage • Actions during irritability • Withdrawal from host culture • Interacting only with other Americans • Interacting only with other military personnel • Actions during hostility • Verbal aggressiveness • Physical aggressiveness • Stereotyping

  13. Gradual Adjustment Stage • What it takes to get there • Time • Recognizing subtle cultural cues • Less isolation/greater comfort • More interaction with host culture

  14. Adaptation Stage • How you know you’ve arrived • Greater enjoyment of local customs • Comfort with host culture communication norms • Realization that you will miss aspects of host culture when you return home

  15. Dealing With Country Shock • Ineffective responses • Returning to “mother culture” • Hide out (stay on base/compound) • Travel to areas of greater cultural diversity • Effective response • Establish new routines for basic life skills

  16. Managing Culture Shock • Effective responses • Realize almost everyone experiences a certain level of culture shock • Develop self-awareness of your behavioral expectations • Understand the local’s expectations for your behavior

  17. Managing Culture Shock • We inflict culture shock on others by… • being ethnocentric • not becoming “other” • failing to practice empathy • reinforcing the concept of “the ugly American”

  18. Conflict Video

  19. Conflict • What is conflict? • Struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power, and resources • Perceived divergence of interests • Our working definition: When two related parties find themselves divided by perceived incompatible interests or goals, or in competition for control of scarce resources

  20. Conflict • Causes of conflict? • Value differences • Relationship clashes • Disagreement over data • Diverging interests

  21. Culture and Conflict • Role of culture in conflict • It’s about who we are so it’s bound to impact conflict • It relates to what we think is important, and we often respond strongly when that’s challenged • It can be the direct cause of conflict • It can be a contributing factor

  22. Culture and Conflict • Culture affects conflict in how we… • Name (describe it) • Frame (conceptualize it) • Blame (assign fault for it) • Tame (resolve it)

  23. Culture and Conflict: An Example • Think about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict • How does culture affect how it is described? • From what framework is it viewed? • Who is blamed? • What is the best way to resolve it?

  24. Culture and Conflict Resolution • How would you define conflict resolution? • Eliminating the root cause of a conflict and seeking the solution to the problems which led to the conflict • Methods and processes of negotiation, arbitration, institution-building which promote the peaceful ending of social conflict and war

  25. Culture and Conflict Resolution • Methods of conflict resolution • Mediation • Diplomacy • Negotiation (most commonly used) • War

  26. Negotiation • What is negotiation? • Striking a deal with someone • Bargaining • Discussing an issue with the hope of settling it • When two or more parties confer with one another to reach a mutually accepted outcome

  27. Negotiation • Situations requiring negotiation skills • Personal life • Within squadron • While deployed with local population and leaders • With joint/coalition/allied forces • With other organizations (governmental and nongovernmental)

  28. Personality & Negotiation • Impact of personality on negotiation • Some traits more conducive to successful negotiation than others • Some traits counterproductive to negotiation • Some traits are better suited to other conflict resolution techniques, e.g., mediation, diplomacy, competing-forcing, etc.)

  29. Negotiation in the Military • Military personality and negotiation • Typical Airman may not be predisposed to negotiation • Hierarchical mindset (chain of command) • Leans more toward compliance than negotiation

  30. Negotiation in the Military • When can negotiation skills be helpful to you? • Contingency ops • Peacekeeping ops • Humanitarian relief responses • Personal life

  31. Cultural Dimensions & Negotiation • Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions • Power Distance • Uncertainty Avoidance • Individualism vs. collectivism • Long-term vs. short-term orientation

  32. Wrapping Up Our Discussion As an Air Force leader, what is your role in handling culture shock effectively?

  33. Summary • Defining the Terms: Culture Shock and Country Shock • Stages of Culture Shock • Managing Country and Culture Shock • The Role of Culture in Conflicts and Conflict Resolution • A Leader’s Role in Handling Culture Shock

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