MBA-443 CQ Homework Assignment

By Jack Brummett
The University of the Pacifics cultural workshop was developed to support
and enhance a persons ability to make successful cultural adjustments both before
going overseas and upon returning home from their experience abroad. It was
produced primarily for traditional, undergraduate American university students
participating in semester abroad programs. The first seven sections of the workshop
were designed for students preparing for travel abroad while the final four sections
were designed for students that are about to, or have, returned home from their
international experience. The focus is generally on the concept of culture and how it
impacts students ability to understand and function in a new and unfamiliar foreign
environment. It concentrates on the skills, attitudes, and behaviors that all students
studying abroad, regardless of their specific destination, should find useful.
A main point that I learned in the workshop is that culture is a strong part of
everyones lives. It influences every persons views, values, humor, hopes, loyalties
and fears. Regardless of who you are, a persons culture has affected them and their
personality in ways that they may or may not be acutely aware of. So when an expat is interacting with other foreigners and their culture, it is extremely helpful to
have some perspective and understanding of their culture in order to build better
relationships with them.
As an ex-pat explores other cultures, it's important to remember how much
they have in common with other people. An ex-pat who grew up in the United
States will probably see the world very differently than a person who grew up in
China; however, but both people are human beings with some similar desires to
love, have friends or families, acquire knowledge, aspire to accomplish their hopes
and dreams. Each person will also have experienced some degree of pain, fear, and
other negatives in their lives. At the same time, people can't pretend that their
individual cultures and their differences arent important to relationship building.
People can't neglect cultural differences and pretend they don't exist; therefore,
ex-pats shouldnt pretend that foreign cultures wont discriminate against cultural
faux pas committed by ignorant or neglectful ex-pats.
Another main point that I learned in the workshop is that the central focus on
understanding the relationship between a person and their culture is on
understanding the underlying values and assumptions of their society and the
specific behaviors that people derive from those values. It is important to
understand that what people do and say in a particular culture is never arbitrary
and spontaneous whether it be your own or in a foreign country. Peoples actions
are generally consistent with the beliefs, values, and cultural norms of other people
in that culture. By understanding the other values and beliefs of the foreign country,
ex-pats can come to expect and predict the behavior of people in that specific

foreign country where the ex-pat is living. Once a specific foreign culture is no
longer catching an ex-pat off guard with their actions and once an ex-pat is no
longer simply reacting to their actions, that ex-pat is well on their way to
successful cultural adjustment.
Moreover, once an ex-pat can accept that other foreign cultures behave the
way they do for a reason, regardless of what that ex-pat may think about that
reason, that ex-pat can extend beyond simply reacting to a different cultural
behaviors and begin to figure out how to build relationships within it. Knowing
where a foreign cultural behavior is derived from doesnt mean that an ex-pat has
to like or accept it; however, it should help evolve that ex-pat to not be surprised
by it. This is a considerable step toward successful interaction with other cultures.
Another main point that I learned in the workshop is that culture can been
aptly compared to an iceberg. An iceberg has a visible section above the waterline
and a larger, invisible section below the water line. Like an iceberg, culture has
some aspects that are observable and others that can only be suspected, imagined,
or intuited. Also like an iceberg, that part of culture that is visible (observable
behavior) is only a small part of a much bigger whole. In the workshop iceberg
examples, ex-pat stories showed how certain aspects or features of foreign culture
are visible (i.e. they showed up in peoples behavior) while many other aspects of
culture are invisible, existing only in the realms of thought, feeling, and belief. The
examples in this workshop show examples of these two realms, the visible and the
hidden, and how the values and beliefs a person cant see affects behavior.
Overall, in this workshop, I learned the universal behaviors that are common
to all cultures and the personal behaviors that are specific to every individual. These
is an important topic to understand. Because of some universal behaviors, a person
may not be surprised nor confused by many of the ways a foreign culture acts;
however, because of individual cultural differences, a person may not expect nor
understand what someone in a foreign culture says or does even after theyve
learned about some host country cultural generalities. To understand where cultural
behavior is derived and why a foreign culture behaves the way they do, means
learning about their values and beliefs. The behavior of people from foreign cultures
may seem strange to a person; however, it probably makes sense to them and vice
versa. The reason any behavior makes sense is simply because it is consistent with
what a given person also believes or chooses to uphold. Conversely, when a person
is confused that something cultural doesnt make sense, what they really mean is
that that action contradicts what they personally believe, value, or want in their own
culture.