The study relies on empirical research of using immigrants and personal experience in intercultural communications. Tange highlights sojourners and pays attention to how companies can benefit from employee who acquired intercultural competence. Thus, it can be seen that the main audience of this research is people in the business area, namely, multinational companies, which have branches in foreign countries.
Tange gives a model of the process of cultural adaptation. This model provides three stages: arrival, the two-year crisis and the intercultural phase (3). In the end she has made a conclusion that cultural adaptation takes a long time. Also she questions the Lysgaard’s model of acculturation, which consists of four stages, in terms of that it fails to account for overlapping boundaries (8). Finally, Tange pointed out that companies could benefit more by stationing employees in a foreign country at least for two or three …show more content…
In this case it occurs between the second stage, which is a culture shock, and the third, the acculturation phase (6). Furthermore, her points are supported with persuasive evidences and examples where appropriate. For example, she claims that cultural values are not permanent and gives consistent example of how Scottish immigrant, George noticed how his stand point concerning gender relations is conversely changed (7).
Conclusion
This essay has attempted to critically evaluate Tange’s study on the process of cultural adaptation. The main drawback of this paper is the chosen approach. The study would have been far more persuasive if the author raised the number of samples.
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Bibliography
1. Hofstede, G. 2001. Culture’s Consequences. 2nd edition, London: Sage.
2. Lysgaard, S. 1955. “Adjustment in a foreign society: Norwegian Fulbright Grantees Visiting the United States”. International Social Science Bulletin 7: 45-51.
3. Tange, H. 2005. In a cultural No Man’s Land – or, how long does culture shock last? Journal of Intercultural Communication, issue 10.
4. Ward, C., S. Bochner and A. Furnham. 2001. The Psychology of Culture Shock. East Sussex: