Effect of Cultural Shock and Cultural Adjustment on International Essay

Effect of Cultural Shock and Cultural Adjustment on International Mobility - Essay Example The movement of people between and within countries has been noted to be on the rise especially with the increased globalisation. In some countries, the number of foreigners could be exceptionally high such as in the Gulf countries where Furnham (2010) notes that foreign workers comprise about 75% of the total semi-permanent population. Business people, students, missionaries, volunteers and asylum seekers among other groups of people would become temporary or permanent sojourning expatriates in foreign countries more often. These people face a myriad of challenges when in a new environment. In the context of this paper, focus would be on the educational sector and how cultural shock affects international mobility. Most universities have more than a third of the students classified as foreign or international, an observation that continues to take prominence even in other lower institutions of learning (Akhtar & Bo 2010). Various push and pull factors inform on the increase in migrations: leisure, to proselytise or to trade, among others. Some move so as to escape the difficult conditions back in their homelands whereas others would be attracted to specific places. They could face persecution due to their political or religious stands and therefore seek asylum or refuge. Others would move due to employment opportunities as well paying jobs attract them or education, attracted by the superior education systems. Furnham (2010) observed that American universities, for instance, have over half a million of the international students. The US is said to offer the greatest opportunity for higher education for international students globally.... Cultural Shock With the world continuously shrinking due to globalisation, researchers have been keen to study the characteristics of expatriates who succeed in foreign countries. Analysing various research studies tackling this issue, Furnham found out that majority of the researchers concur on the importance of social skills and uses the term â€Å"cultural intelligence† to refer to the â€Å"blend of social and emotional intelligence, reflecting sensitivity to and ability to manage people’s beliefs, behaviours and motivation in culturally diverse settings† (2010, p. 28). The social identity theory explains one’s social self which borrows from being a member of a group. Further, the social identity concept argues on a combination of one’s knowledge of being a member of a social group and the associated value or emotional component (Terry et al. 2006). But it has been noted that most expatriates fail in their assignments in foreign countries becaus e of cultural differences (Yue & Le 2012). As such, those who develop the ability to quickly adjust and acquire intercultural competencies would have a competitive advantage. Those who take long in cultural shock could be greatly disadvantaged. Coined by the anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in 1960, the term cultural shock refers to an affective disturbance resulting from an interaction of one’s conceptualisations and realities. According to Miller, Matveeva and Nekrassova (2011), cultural shock results from an individual’s psychological expectations not conforming to the new cultural setting. Individual management in a foreign country could cause one frustration, depression and homesickness. Cultural shock