Assignment6

Preparing for International Employment

Linda Dotson

Walden University

Preparing for International Employment

• Identify a culture to study for an international job assignment as a communication consultant. Explain why you have selected this culture and/or country.

I chose to study Chinese culture. I selected this culture because I have always been intrigued by their customs and work ethic. The Chinese customs are very unique and interesting and their value hard work is in line with my personal belief in working towards improving one’s life. China’s economy is growing at a fast rate which makes it a primary target for companies that are seeking to expand internationally. Understanding the country’s culture will make it easier for any company to expand to the country successfully.

• Describe your personal culture and how it compares to the culture of your international job assignment.

I will use the Hofstede cultural dimensions to compare my culture and Chinese culture. The Chinese culture has a much higher power distance index than my culture. I believe that all people are equal and superiority is not allowed (Mercer, 2006). I am therefore comfortable when approaching my seniors and correcting them on certain issues. The Chinese culture, however, believes that it is okay to have inequalities among members of the society and people have respect and fear of people who are in power. The Chinese also have a low individualism score. This means that people are very interdependent and act in the interest of the general community (Nedelko & Potocan, 2018). My culture is partly similar to this since I believe in collaborating with others to achieve my life goals.

China also has a high long term orientation score. This means that the Chinese culture can easily adapt based on the circumstance, time and space. I also believe that one has the power to alter the present and the future (Liu & Li, 2016) therefore one should be able to adapt to the conditions to provide themselves with the greatest chances of success. The Chinese also has a high masculinity score, which means the culture is very motivated and focused on success. The Chinese live to work and make great sacrifices to achieve success in their lives (Nedelko & Potocan, 2018). This is in line with my belief that one can change their situation and one should, therefore, work hard to improve their situation.

• Describe your prior knowledge of the culture you have selected to study and why you selected this culture.

I had very little knowledge about this culture. I only knew that the Chinese are hard workers and they have rich vibrant traditions. I also knew that they have a different calendar from the common calendar and their New year is not on January 1st. I selected this culture because it is very intriguing and shares many similarities and differences from my culture.

• Explain what you hope to learn or achieve by studying this culture in this manner.

I hope to learn about Chinese customs and culture. This will allow me to avoid any cultural faux pas and miscommunication with the members of the culture. Different cultures may have different interpretations of specific actions. For instance, a casual greeting with your senior may seem harmless in my culture but would be seen as very disrespectful in the Chinese custom. Learning the Chinese culture will allow me to coach my company’s employees on how to interact with the Chinese people to prevent any misunderstandings (Nedelko & Potocan, 2018). This will allow me to give proper advice to the employees.

References

Liu, Y., & Li, B. (2016, March). Research on Traditional Cultural Elements Penetrating into Interior Design. In 2016 International Conference on Education, Sports, Arts and Management Engineering. Atlantis Press.

Mercer, C. (2006). Cultural planning for urban development and creative cities. Self-published manuscript.

Nedelko, Z. & Potocan, V. (2018). Personal values as drivers of managerial innovation: emerging research and opportunities. Hershey: Business Science Reference.