Effect of Cultural Shock and Cultural Adjustment on International Essay

Effect of Cultural Shock and Cultural Adjustment on International Mobility - Essay ExampleThe crusade of people between and within countries has been noted to be on the rise especially with the attachd globalisation. In some countries, the number of unknowners could be exceptionally mellow 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 ephemeral 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, digest 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 slay prominence even in other lower institutio ns 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 callable 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 superior 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 th is issue, Furnham found out that majority of the researchers concur on the importance of social skills and uses the term cultural intelligence to refer to the intermingle of social and emotional intelligence, reflecting sensitivity to and ability to manage peoples beliefs, behaviours and motivation in culturally diverse settings (2010, p. 28). The social identity theory explains bingles social self which borrows from being a member of a group. Further, the social identity concept argues on a combination of sensations 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 relegate in their assignments in foreign countries because 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 ones conceptualisations and realities. According to Miller, Matveeva and Nekrassova (2011), cultural shock results from an individuals psychological expectations not conforming to the new cultural setting. Individual management in a foreign country could cause one frustration, depression and homesickness. Cultural shock