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Cross Culture in Society

posted July 4, 2009 - 2:30pm
Cross Culture in Society

Abstract
Cross culture issues relates with social behaviors, personality differences, problem solving intellectual abilities, perceptual abilities and communication gap.
The cross culture learning is best described as the learning between the person and the culture. The paper describes about the relationships between culture, learning and success in cross culture and the learning styles which adapts towards the influence of the culture. Finally we are about to see the implications of cross culture in management development and education strategies. We are about to discuss about the cross culture issues in both organizational level and education level because it plays an important role in both the line of work.

Introduction
Cross culture has become more important recently in globalized market because it recognizes the fundamental differences required to manage people from different culture. It is not only important to business world but also to the training place, because the main problems occur with a learner’s interaction with the teacher in the class area. Now-a-days many organizations are comprised of people working around, the accomplishment of any organization goal will require cooperation and commitment of workers of people who has come from different parts of world and who hold divergent worldviews. This paper explains to better understand these issues through a critical review and cultural survey .In the recent world many managers of multicultural organizations are overlooking an opportunity for an improvement by ignoring the cultural realities and sometimes these ignorance may affect the success and failures of the organizations.
Businesses are becoming international and the role of human resources are becoming important especially the need of for cross-culture capabilities. Globalization has affected business by increasing the competition in the market places, creating new challenges for managers who deal with multinational companies. Hence, a critical need exists for managers “to develop a new repertoire of skills and abilities to manage and/or work with people whose cultures and value systems can be significantly different from those at home” (Tung, 1995, p. 485).
Overview of Cross Culture Issues
Cross culture is the term related from culture. So let us discuss about the culture that individuals follow.
Culture
Individuals are socially adapted to their culture (Zakour, 2004).Cultural differences in different nations, religions, ethnic groups have always existed for centuries. Kluckhohn (1962) states that culture “consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts” (p. 73).It consists of different terms which are explicit and implicit Most of the terms are explained by related terms such as behaviors, values, norms and basic assumptions.
The majority of cultural theories we studied focus on group value orientations such as value dimensions of national culture or the competing values framework at the organizational level (Leidner & Kayworth, 2006).Hofstede has given a good cultural dimensional model with definitions and examples which best describes about the model.

Cross Culture Concepts
In multicultural societies, improving group processes and outcomes has been a wide issue over the few years. The advance of information technology makes it possible for the distributed teams to be supported through collaborative technologies such as group support systems (GSS) and computer mediated communication (CMC). These are grouped together which are called as collaborative software (CSW).It refers to the computer systems which combines both communication and technologies which support decision inorder to facilitate and formulate the group activities.
In the recent world, internalization of management education and learning has become well established. Effective mangers are working on the culture situations but also must learn to work with multicultural issues and analyze the situation to eliminate cross culture environmental issues in the organization. The cross culture experiences occur in many forms like encounters with individuals of different cultures, jaunts to overseas customers or suppliers, short visits to international divisions, and long term emersion in a new host culture have become important for management success (Adler, 2001; Mintzberg & Gosling, 2002).
Culture is the mid path as how people express themselves, communicate with each other, sharing of concepts, decision making and expressing each other. According to Leidner & Kayworth (2006), “culturally neutral and may come to symbolize a host of different values driven by underlying assumptions and their meaning, use, and consequences” (p. 359).Considering a group in which the group members who share their beliefs and values in different ways will either accelerate or oppose the implementation of technological changes. These changes are related to both organizational and education field of work because comparing organizational view group discussions happen in a team meeting where the members are given an opportunity to speak up the requirements and in education the facilitator will organize the group discussions within the learners to share their ideas.
The main solution to these issues can be learnt through experience.For example, many management and organizational practices developed in western countries are viewed with suspicion and always fails when introduced to other cultures. (Kim, Park, & Suzuki, 1990).The cross culture learning mainly includes participants from different cultures, Use of certain CSW software in face-to-face concept and culture as a key conceptual construct.
Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory
Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning theory (ELT) remains one of the most pervasive theories of how managers learn from experience. He described the experiential learning theory in four learning modes (CE, RO, AC, and AE).Each of these learning modes relates to a set of learning skills.CE is concrete experiences which refers to interpersonal skills such as leadership, relation-building etc.RO is reflection and observation which requires understanding the meaning of thoughts and situations by means of watching and listening.AC is abstract conceptualization which requires thinking analyzing and building general theories.AE is active experimentation which includes behavioral skills such as goal setting, actions and initiative taking responsibilities related to the individuals and these techniques are best described in the cross culture learning techniques.
Developmental Learning
In addition to specific abilities, skills and the concept of Experiential Learning, Kolb (1984) had described a another type of learning called adaptive flexibility more commonly known as developmental learning.He said that developmental learning emerges from extensive learning and growth over time and is also considered as the higher order or developmental learning ability. Unlike learning styles, which focuses on general concepts and learning skills, focus on situational abilities, developmental learning describes the stable changes that occur as individuals learns to adapt to changing circumstances over time.
Kolb and Wolfe (1981) provided examples of developmental learning. Example, the engineer who utilizes planning and decision making in her work but quickly shifts modes to utilize caring and nurturing at home; or the actor/playwright who actively expresses deep emotions on the stage but moves to more reflective activities when writing. Developmental describe learning adaptation and flexibility in responding to changing environmental demands.
ELT and Cross Culture Learning
Considering several factors of experiential learning, the unique aspects of ELT (Experiential Learning) explains the usefulness of the theory related to Cross Culture Learning.
As an integrative approach to learning, ELT describes a set of skills which includes valuing, thinking, deciding and acting. These are the various issues related to cross culture in training. The humanistic values underlying the ethnic approach to learning that values differences, self-development and self-actualization. These values have the ability to learn and develop in accordance with cross culture experiences in learning (Kolb & Wolfe, 1981)
According to Stolovitch and keeps, the most applicable and meaningful principles for adult learning are Readiness, Experience, Autonomy and Action. The readiness principle focuses on the training of the learner needs. It involves solving a problem or avoids a problem, provides an opportunity or increases status and includes professional or personal growth (p.47).Experience is considered as the effect of prior knowledge to learning. Adult learners come to each learning event with their unique former knowledge. This is based on the experience of the learner. Adult learners possess a great deal more experience than do children. The experience principle suggests that the more factor the experience of your learners into the design and delivery of your training, the more effective the learning outcomes (p.49).
Autonomy is described as the freedom of choice. Adult learners tend to make their own decisions. Decision making is a major characteristic of childhood. There are two values compared to autonomy in learning. The first value is the decision making that requires gathering of information, an analysis of that information, a generation of alternative decisions, a weighing of the consequences of each alternatives and sorting and selection of what appears to be the optimal decision. The second value to decision making is that more the learners participates in the decision, the higher the probability that the participant will consider the decision credibly and will commit to it (p.51).Adult learners in the work setting participate in training to learn how to improve or alter their performance on the job. Without an action orientation back to the job, learning dissipates quickly (pg.53).
Nature of Cross Culture Learning
The nature of the learning depends on the interest in the program, nature of cross culture issues, degree of comfort and interest in applying the knowledge gained in future work.
The nature of learning also depends on the experience from each individual. Leadership practitioners can enhance the learning value of their experience by a) Creating opportunities to get feedback
b) Taking a 10 percent stretch
c) Learning from others
d) Keeping a journal of daily leadership events
e) Having a development plan.
The author also defines that in achieving the skills of learning one has to have expectations, capabilities, opportunities, motivation and team building skills. (Hughes, Ginnet & Curphy, 2006)
Skills for successful cross culture adaptation
This topic relates to the findings on the skills related to successful cross culture adaptation are communication. Learning is a multidimensional process growing out of ones interaction with other. The communication pattern relates a linear characterization and will results in good benefits of the proper communication. Conceiving of the communication process of multidimensional rather than linear comports well with the diffuse and growth centered tenets of constructivist learning. Its most striking elements, perhaps, is the reassignment of authority from professor to students (Galbraith, 1990).
Limitations
Current research on cross culture learning suffers from a number of limitations. First, it lacks a cross-disciplinary approach that is divided into diverse findings; make a sense of multiple methods for investigation and guides researches and practices.
Secondly, the review has focused on the skills and abilities necessary for training, success and job related approaches, but has failed to note the fact that how those skills are learned and developed.
Third, the cross culture learning in individuals lacks communication between them and lacks the approach of words between the learners.
Conclusion
Cross culture learning is an important concept in learning as it plays a major role in understanding each individual in organizations and in the learning techniques. Cross culture issues can be reduced by the proper communication gap between the individuals and the use of proper verbal approach also plays an important role.

Abbreviations
GSS – Group Support Systems
CMC – Computer Mediated Communication
CSW – Collaborative Software
ELT – Experiential Learning Theory
CE – Concrete Experience
RO – Reflection and Observation
AC – Abstract Conceptualization
AE – Active Experimentation

References
Adler, N. J. (2001). International dimensions of organizational behavior (4th ed.).Cincinnati, OH: South-Western.

Galbraith, M, W. (1990).Adult Learning Methods: A guide for effective instruction. Krieger Publishing Company, Florida.

Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. Berkshire, England: McGraw-Hill Book Company Europe.

Hughes, R, L., Ginnet, R, C., & Curphy, G, J. (2006).Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience.Newyok: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Kim, K., Park, H., & Suzuki, N. (1990). Reward allocations in the United States, Japan and Korea: A comparison of individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Academy of Management Journal, 33(1), 188-198.

Kluckhohn, C. (1962). Culture and Behavior. New York, NY, USA: The Free Press of Glencoe.

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Kolb, D. A., Wolfe, D., & Collaborators. (1981). Professional education and career development: A cross-sectional study of adaptive competencies in experiential
learning. Final report NIE grant No. NIE-G-77-0053. (ERIC No. ED209493 CE
030 519)
Leidner, D. E., & Kayworth, T. (2006). A review of culture in information systems research: Toward a theory of information technology culture conflict. MIS Quarterly, 30(2), 357-399.

Mintzberg, H., & Gosling, J. (2002). Educating managers beyond borders. Academy of
Management Learning and Education, 1(1), 64-76.
Stolovitch, H, D. & Keeps, E, J. (2002).Telling ain’t Training. Baltimore: ASTD Press
Tung, R. (1995). Strategic human resource challenge: Managing diversity. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 6(3), 482-494.



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