Culture Shock in the Hospitality Industry

The world and business activities are gradually becoming more globalized as many firms extend their operations into overseas markets. With the advent of globalization, there are more influences than ever on the hospitality industry. Put simply, this means that people share their cultures with others. International hotel chains have been growing and because of this, the number of people engaged in foreign business markets has increased. An overseas assignment is an increasingly common career experience (Richardson & McKenna 2006, p. 6), and staff members often experience culture shock during overseas assignments or when serving foreign guests. Some guests also experience culture shock while staying in a foreign country. This essay will review the stages of culture shock and steps that can help to reduce the negative influence of culture shock.

Culture shock is defined as ‘the psychological discomfort one may feel when he/she attempts to adjust to a new cultural situation’ (Klyukanov, cited in Verderber, Verderber & Sellnow 2010, p. 112). There are several causes of culture shock, such as ‘the loss of familiar cues in one’s ability to interact with people of different cultural backgrounds, the language differences, the salience of the cultural differences and nonverbal communication difficulties with the local communities’ (Robin 2010). According to Kwintessential, homesickness, boredom, withdrawal, excessive sleep, compulsive eating/drinking, irritability, stereotyping host nationals and hostility towards host nationals are possible symptoms of culture shock. To prevent the potential problems caused by these symptoms, it is crucial to understand the specific cultural differences.

It is critical to understand the cultural differences to prevent unnecessary misunderstanding and miscommunication when serving foreign guests or working with team members from foreign countries. Culture includes the values, attitudes, beliefs, orientations, and underlying assumptions prevalent among people in a society (Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, cited in Verderber, Verderver & Sellnow 2010, p. 112). When encountered with unfamiliar aspects of culture, people experience culture shock. Among the common causes of culture shock, the language difference is a huge factor. If one does not speak the host country’s language, some problems in communication may occur, which can cause bigger problems.

Hofstede identified four dimensions of culture that may affect communication, one of which is “individualism-collectivism”. In individualistic cultures (i.e., the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, northern and eastern European countries, etc.), people place primary value on personal achievement, and conversely, collectivist cultures (i.e., countries in South and Central America, East and Southeast Asia, etc.) place more value on the interests of the group and on group harmony (Verderber, Verderber & Sellnow 2010, p. 117). According to Verderber, Verderber & Sellnow (2010), ‘collectivist societies are highly integrated, and harmony and cooperation are valued over competitiveness and personal achievement’ (p. 118). In addition, ‘notions of individualism and collectivism influence many aspects of communication, including our self-concept formation, conflict management style, and group communication behaviour’ (Samovar, Porte & McDaniel, cited in Verderber, Verderber & Sellnow 2010, p. 118).

Generally speaking, there are four stages of culture shock. According to Kwintessential, these four stages are Excitement, Withdrawal, Adjustment, and Enthusiasm. Assume that an Australian hotelier is assigned to an Asian branch as a new supervisor. Australia is a typical individualistic country, while an Asian country is a typical collectivist culture. When the Australian hotelier moves into this totally different culture, he will be excited and enthusiastic at first and will experience the excitement stage, which also often called as the “honeymoon” stage. The new environment is exotic and fascinating. However, after a while, he will go through the withdrawal stage, in which he may start to feel depressed and homesick. Moreover, he might question why the Asian do things differently than Australians do. During busy periods, local staff members work overtime continuously with little extra pay, and it is taken for granted that they will do this. This is because ‘in a collectivist culture, what affects self-concept and self-esteem is not individual achievement; rather, it is whether the group thrives and how people’s actions have contributed to their group’s success’ (Verderber, Verderber & Sellnow 2010, p. 118). However, the supervisor from Australia might feel unhappy, anxious and irritated, as he is accustomed to an individualistic country in which ‘people stress the self and personal achievement, and the individual is treated as the most important element in a social setting’ (Verderber, Verderber & Sellnow 2010, p. 118). In a collectivist culture, people emphasise group goals, and they often sacrifice personally for the sake of the group. As these different cultures have contrasting values and belief systems, the supervisor’s values might conflict with those of the host country in this situation, and he will experience culture shock. After that, he will go through the adjustment stage at some point, he will eventually get used to the new culture and will feel more settled and comfortable in dealing with the local people. Then in the final enthusiasm stage, he will be completely adjusted in the new culture and will ‘prefer certain cultural traits of the new culture rather than his own’, as Kwintessential states.

Life becomes easier in a new culture as time goes on. To overcome difficulties, it is important to acknowledge the barriers to intercultural communication. Verderber, Verderber & Sellnow (2010) suggest a need ‘to learn to tolerate ambiguity, be open-minded, and be altruistic’ to develop intercultural communication competence (p. 131). In this way, one might develop some flexibility in dealing with people who have different cultural backgrounds. The willingness to interact with people is what makes the difference. Moreover, having knowledge of a specific culture ‘through observing, formal study, and cultural immersion’ (Verderber, Verderber & Sellnow 2010, p. 131) helps to improve intercultural communication skills and allows one to adjust more easily without too much frustration when confronted with culture shock.

Many researchers argue that intercultural communication is imperative for successful performance in the contemporary business world (Gannon 2008, p. 2). In this globalized, rapidly changing world, opportunities to travel or work in overseas countries are common resulting in an increasing level of expatriates among hoteliers. When people are in an unfamiliar cultural environment, they experience some form of culture shock while adapting to a new culture. During this period, people deal with psychological frustrations and often feel helpless and depressed. To minimize the risk of negative effects, it is critical to recognize culture shock and to understand how to deal with it. People experience culture shock to varying degrees; therefore, the exact procedure to follow cannot be prescribed. However, expatriates and guests should bear in mind that there will be some form of culture shock at some stage and should prepare themselves by gaining knowledge of the culture. Being open-minded will also help to both prepare them for a new culture and develop a good understanding of their own values.

References

Gannon 2008, ‘Developing intercultural skills for international industries: The role of industry and educators’, Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Network, Oxford.

Kwintessential, The stages of culture shock, viewed 9 September 2011, <http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/cultureshock-stages.html>.

Richardson & McKenna 2006, ‘Exploring relationships with home and host countries. A study of self-directed expatriates’, Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 6-22.

Robin 2010, Culture shock, Hotel Mule Wiki, viewed 9 September 2011, <http://hotelmule.com/hospitality_travel_wiki/wiki/Culture%20shock>.

Verderber, S, Verderber, F & Sellnow, D 2010, Communicate!, 13th edn, Wadsworth Cengage learning, Boston.

References: Gannon 2008, ‘Developing intercultural skills for international industries: The role of industry and educators’, Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Network, Oxford. Kwintessential, The stages of culture shock, viewed 9 September 2011, &lt;http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/cultureshock-stages.html&gt;. Richardson &amp; McKenna 2006, ‘Exploring relationships with home and host countries. A study of self-directed expatriates’, Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 6-22. Robin 2010, Culture shock, Hotel Mule Wiki, viewed 9 September 2011, &lt;http://hotelmule.com/hospitality_travel_wiki/wiki/Culture%20shock&gt;. Verderber, S, Verderber, F &amp; Sellnow, D 2010, Communicate!, 13th edn, Wadsworth Cengage learning, Boston.