Predictors of cultural adjustment: Intergroup status relations and boundary permeability

We examined intergroup predictors of cultural adjustment among Asian international students in Australia. Sociostructural beliefs (status, legitimacy, and permeability) and initial adjustment were assessed (N = 113) at Time 1, and measures of adjustment were obtained (N = 80) at Time 2 eight weeks later. International students who perceived their cultural group to be relatively low in status experienced lower levels of psychological adjustment. Also, as expected, the effects of status were moderated by perceptions of both the permeability of intergroup boundaries and the legitimacy of the status differential. At high levels of legitimacy, perceptions of permeable group boundaries were associated with better psychological, sociocultural, and academic adjustment among international students perceiving their group to be low in status, but lower levels of adjustment among students who perceived their group to be high in status. At low levels of legitimacy, irrespective of group status position, perceived permeability was not related to adjustment.

The cultural facet of suicidal behaviour: Its importance and neglect

Culture is a central but debated concept in many disciplines and its complexity may become an even bigger source of argument in Suicidology. In spite of the intricacy of the study of this construct, the paper illustrates that various scholars have recognised the relevance of culture and ethnicity in the understanding of suicidal behaviour. The author provides evidence of the need to pay more attention to the meaning and interpretation of suicide in cross-cultural research and underlines the necessity to establish cultural-sensitive prevention strategies. The paper closes by providing methodological considerations and suggestions for future research on cultural aspects of suicidal behaviour.

A comparative analysis of cultural value orientations of Indians and migrant Indians in the USA

Understanding the cultural value systems of nations is a key factor in anticipating the behaviour of business managers and employees in a specific business environment. Many research studies have acknowledged the impact of culture on communication across nations and its impact on business operations, however no study has attempted to measure and quantify the cultural orientations of people originating from one nation, but working in two different national settings. This study adopted Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's framework to examine cultural dimensions of a total of 580 Indian respondents comprising two groups: 429 Indian natives living and working in India and 151 Indian migrants living and working in the USA. It initially compares the cultural orientations of the total population of each of the two groups and then examines cultural differences in the same based on demographic characteristics consisting of occupation, gender, age, and level of education. The study found significant cultural value differences between the two groups on both levels of analysis. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in detail.

Strategic HRM through the cultural looking glass:mapping the cognition of British and Indian managers

This study examines the issues of `integration' of human resource management (HRM) into the corporate strategy, `devolvement' of HRM to line managers and the perceived influence of national culture on HRM in a cross-national comparative context. In order to achieve this, the cognition of personnel specialists from a matched sample of 48 Indian and British firms in the manufacturing sector using the `Visual Cards Sorting' and `CMAP2' methodologies are analyzed. The findings show that even where there is an apparent convergence of strategy — e.g., the desire of both Indian and British personnel managers to increase integration between HRM and business strategy, and to increase the level of devolvement to line managers, the two sets of specialists clearly follow a different logic of action, which is subject to a different set of cross-cultural influences. The implications of pursuing apparently similar HRM solutions in different cross-national contexts are considered. The analysis shows that HRM strategies, when considered in a cross-national context, vary a lot. Different logic leads to the adoption of similar HR strategies, and similar strategies in turn are perceived as producing different outcomes. This variance centres around the existence and perceived influence of several contextual variables such as industrial relations systems, operation of labour markets, and changes in business systems. Specific cross-cultural influences, along with different aspects of competitive business environment associated with the generic HR strategies of integration and devolvement in the two countries are highlighted. This research contributes to the fields of cross-cultural management research, international HRM and managerial and organizational cognition. It also has important messages for policy makers.

Within-country ethnic differences and product positioning:a comparison of the perceptions of two British sub-cultures

While cross-cultural consumer behaviour and its impact on marketing strategies has received considerable interest within the marketing literature, differences between ethnic groups within countries have received significantly less attention. This study examines the effect of within-country ethnic differences on brand positioning, using the UK automobile industry as a context. Both qualitative and quantitative research is used to identify the perceptions of two sub-cultural groups: British of Indian extraction, and Caucasian British. It was found that these two groups display appreciably different values, and also place different levels of importance on different product attributes when evaluating brands. Furthermore, the two groups exhibited different perceptions of the same set of brands. The results suggest that, to position brands effectively, marketers should take account of cultural diversity within countries as well as between them.

Squaring the circle: the cultural relativity of 'good' shape

The Gestalt theorists of the early twentieth century proposed a psychological primacy for circles, squares and triangles over other shapes. They described them as 'good' shapes and the Gestalt premise has been widely accepted. Rosch (1973), for example, suggested that shape categories formed around these 'natural' prototypes irrespective of the paucity of shape terms in a language. Rosch found that speakers of a language lacking terms for any geometric shape nevertheless learnt paired-associates to these 'good' shapes more easily than to asymmetric variants. We question these empirical data in the light of the accumulation of recent evidence in other perceptual domains that language affects categorization. A cross-cultural investigation sought to replicate Rosch's findings with the Himba of Northern Namibia who also have no terms in their language for the supposedly basic shapes of circle, square and triangle. A replication of Rosch (1973) found no advantage for these 'good' shapes in the organization of categories. It was concluded that there is no necessary salience for circles, squares and triangles. Indeed, we argue for the opposite because these shapes are rare in nature. The general absence of straight lines and symmetry in the perceptual environment should rather make circles, squares and triangles unusual and, therefore, less likely to be used as prototypes in categorization tasks. We place shape as one of the types of perceptual input (in philosophical terms, 'vague') that is readily susceptible to effects of language variation.

Cultural intelligence: Extending the nomological network

This dissertation consists of three independent studies, which study the nomological network of cultural intelligence (CI)—a relatively new construct within the fields of cross-cultural psychology and organizational psychology. Since the introduction of this construct, CI now has a generally accepted model comprised of four codependent subfactors. In addition, the focus of preliminary research within the field is on understanding the new construct’s correlates and outcomes. Thus, the goals for this dissertation were (a) to provide an additional evaluation of the factor structure of CI and (b) to examine further the correlates and outcomes that should theoretically be included in its nomological network. Specifically the model tests involved a one-factor, three-factor, and four-factor structure. The examined correlates of CI included the Big Five personality traits, core self-evaluation, social self-efficacy, self-monitoring, emotional intelligence, and cross-cultural experience. The examined outcomes also included overall performance, contextual performance, and cultural adaption in relation to CI. Thus, this dissertation has a series of 20 proposed and statistically evaluated hypotheses. The first study in this dissertation contained the summary of the extant CI literature via meta-analytic techniques. The outcomes of focus were significantly relevant to CI, while the CI correlates had more inconclusive results. The second and third studies contained original data collected from a sample of students and adult workers, respectively. In general, the results between these two studies were parallel. The four-factor structure of CI emerged as the best fit to the data, and several correlates and outcomes indicated significant relation to CI. In addition, the tested incremental validity of CI showed significant results emerging in both studies. Lastly, several exploratory analyses indicated the role of CI as a mediator between relevant antecedent and the outcome of cultural adaption, while the data supported the mediator role of CI. The final chapter includes a thorough discussion of practical implications as well as limitation to the research design.^

Cultural Intelligence: Extending the Nomological Network

This dissertation consists of three independent studies, which study the nomological network of cultural intelligence (CI)—a relatively new construct within the fields of cross-cultural psychology and organizational psychology. Since the introduction of this construct, CI now has a generally accepted model comprised of four codependent subfactors. In addition, the focus of preliminary research within the field is on understanding the new construct’s correlates and outcomes. Thus, the goals for this dissertation were (a) to provide an additional evaluation of the factor structure of CI and (b) to examine further the correlates and outcomes that should theoretically be included in its nomological network. Specifically the model tests involved a one-factor, three-factor, and four-factor structure. The examined correlates of CI included the Big Five personality traits, core self-evaluation, social self-efficacy, self-monitoring, emotional intelligence, and cross-cultural experience. The examined outcomes also included overall performance, contextual performance, and cultural adaption in relation to CI. Thus, this dissertation has a series of 20 proposed and statistically evaluated hypotheses. The first study in this dissertation contained the summary of the extant CI literature via meta-analytic techniques. The outcomes of focus were significantly relevant to CI, while the CI correlates had more inconclusive results. The second and third studies contained original data collected from a sample of students and adult workers, respectively. In general, the results between these two studies were parallel. The four-factor structure of CI emerged as the best fit to the data, and several correlates and outcomes indicated significant relation to CI. In addition, the tested incremental validity of CI showed significant results emerging in both studies. Lastly, several exploratory analyses indicated the role of CI as a mediator between relevant antecedent and the outcome of cultural adaption, while the data supported the mediator role of CI. The final chapter includes a thorough discussion of practical implications as well as limitation to the research design.

Leading from the Edge: Marginal Leadership at Cultural Crossroads

If a church reflects its larger community, it will have more dynamic interactions among different people. Current U.S. communities consist of very diverse people who have different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Since the mid 20th century, various immigrant communities who have dissimilar cultural, religious, and linguistic traditions have accelerated the need of change in American churches. The drastic cultural change has demanded churches to equip their lay and clergy leaders with multicultural competencies for effective ministries.

My thesis explores imaginative leadership in cultural crossroads. Emphasizing the leadership imagination of cross-cultural ministry, I approach it in biblical, theological, and missional perspectives. In this dynamic cultural milieu, the study topic may help the church renew its ecclesial purpose by seeing cross-cultural ministry as a creative opportunity to reach out to more diverse people of God. I begin with a conceptual framework for cross-cultural ministry and cultural intelligence. Then I explain why cross-cultural ministry is significant and how it enhances the spirit of Christ Jesus. As I develop the thesis, I discuss leadership challenge and development in the cross-cultural ministry context. This thesis may contribute to equipping lay and clergy leaders by overcoming the homogeneous ‘in-group’ mindset in the church.

The primary focus is on developing marginal leadership of church in the post-Christendom era. Church leaders must creatively hold the tension between the current church context and Christian faith resources and seek a hopeful resolution as a third way through integrative thought process. While conventional leadership emphasizes a better choice out of the given options, marginal leadership takes time for integrative thought process to seek a new direction for the future. Conventional leaders take the center with their power, status, and prestige, but marginal leaders position themselves on the edge. Leading from the edge is a distinctive cross-cultural leadership and is based on the servant leadership of Jesus Christ who put himself as a servant for the marginalized. By serving and relating to others on the margin, this imaginative leadership may make appropriate changes desired in today’s American churches.

In addition to academic research, I looked into the realities of cross-cultural leadership in the local churches through congregational studies. I speculated that church leadership involves both laity and clergy and that it can be enhanced. All Christians are called to serve the Lord according to their gifts, and it is crucial for lay and clergy persons to develop their leadership character and skills. In particular, as humans are contextualized with their own cultures, church leaders often confront great challenges in cross-cultural or multicultural situations. Through critical thoughts and imaginative leadership strategies, however, they can overcome intrinsic human prejudice and obstacles.

Through the thesis project, I have reached four significant conclusions. First, cultural intelligence is an essential leadership capacity for all church leaders. As the church consists of more diverse cultural people today, its leaders need to have cultural competencies. In particular, cross-cultural leaders must be equipped with cultural intelligence. Cross-cultural ministry is not a simple byproduct of social change, but a creative strategy to open a door to bring God’s reconciliation among diverse people. Accordingly, church leaders are to be well prepared to effectively cope with the challenges of cultural interactions. Second, both lay and clergy leaders’ imaginative leadership is crucial for leading the congregation. While conventional leadership puts an emphasis on selecting a better choice based on the principle of opportunity cost, imaginative leaders critically consider the present church situations and Christian faith values together in integrative thoughts and pursue a third way as the congregation’s future hope. Third, cross-cultural leadership has a unique characteristic of leading from the edge and promotes God’s justice and peaceable relationships among different people. By leading the congregation from the edge, church leaders may experience the heart of Christ Jesus who became the friend of the marginalized. Fourth, the ‘homogeneous unit principle’ theory has its limit for today’s complex ‘inter-group’ community context. The church must be a welcoming and embracing faith community for all people. Cross-cultural ministry may become an entrance door for a more peaceable and reconciling life among different people. By building solidarity with others, the church may experience a kingdom reality.

This thesis focuses on the mission of the church and marginal leadership of church leaders in ever-changing cultural crossroads. The church becomes a hope in the broken and apathetic world, and Christians are called to build relationships inside and beyond the church. It is significant for church leaders to be faithfully present on the margin and relate to diverse people. By consistently positioning themselves on the margin, they can build relationships with new and diverse people and shape a faithful life pattern for others.

Identity Text: an educational intervention to foster cultural interaction

Background: Sociocultural theories state that learning results from people participating in contexts where social interaction is facilitated. There is a need to create such facilitated pedagogical spaces where participants share their ways of knowing and doing. The aim of this exploratory study was to introduce pedagogical space for sociocultural interaction using ‘Identity Text’.
Methods: Identity texts are sociocultural artifacts produced by participants, which can be written, spoken, visual, musical, or multimodal. In 2013, participants of an international medical education fellowship program were asked to create their own Identity Texts to promote discussion about participants’ cultural backgrounds. Thematic analysis was used to make the analysis relevant to studying the pedagogical utility of the intervention.
Result: The Identity Text intervention created two spaces: a ‘reflective space’ helped
participants reflect on sensitive topics like institutional environments, roles in
interdisciplinary teams, and gender discrimination. A ‘narrative space’ allowed
participants to tell powerful stories that provided cultural insights and challenged cultural hegemony; they described the conscious and subconscious transformation in identity that evolved secondary to struggles with local power dynamics and social demands involving the impact of family, peers and country of origin.
Conclusion: Whilst the impact of providing pedagogical space using Identity Text on
cognitive engagement and enhanced learning requires further research, the findings of
this study suggest that it is a useful pedagogical strategy to support cross-cultural
education.

A Value Networks Approach to Implementing Integrated Cross-National Business Operations

The removal of trade impediments is expected to cause companies to integrate more of their operations among countries; however, experience shows that behavioral factors often impede the requisite cooperation and commitment among managers from different countries. This paper discusses these behavioral problems from a national perspective and examines an approach to integration, value networks, which is not bounded by nation-states and their differences or similarities.

La retroalimentación facial y su efecto en la evaluación de publicidad de humor

La hipótesis de retroalimentación facial planteada por Tomkins en 1962 sustenta que la activación de algunos músculos faciales envía información sensorial al cerebro y se induce entonces una experiencia emocional en el sujeto. Partiendo de dicha teoría y de investigaciones que la sustentan, el presente estudio se propuso confirmar el efecto de la emoción inducida a través de la retroalimentación facial sobre la evaluación de cinco tipos de humor en publicidad. Para ello se realizó un experimento con 60 hombres y 60 mujeres, que fueron asignados aleatoriamente a una de dos condiciones: estimulación de sonrisa –músculos hacia arriba- o inhibición de sonrisa –músculos hacía abajo-, mientras evaluaban 16 imágenes de publicidad de humor. A partir del análisis de los resultados se encontraron diferencias significativas entre las condiciones; en línea con la hipótesis formulada, los participantes expuestos a la condición estimulación de sonrisa –músculos hacía arriba- evaluaron más positivamente los comerciales. También se encontraron diferencias significativas en función del sexo y los tipos de humor evaluados. El estudio ofrece evidencia empírica de la teoría propuesta hace más de medio siglo y su efecto en el ámbito de la publicidad actual.