Benefiting from intercultural competence: A phenomenological research on tour guides

Öz

This paper explores the concept, dimensions, and causes of intercultural competencies from the perspective of tour guides. A phenomenological research approach was used to explore how tour guides' intercultural competences emerge in intercultural experiences. Using purposive sampling, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior tour guides with international experiences until saturation occurred. The data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings suggest three dimensions, namely, cultural awareness & cognitive flexibility, cultural sensitivity and emotional flexibility, and cultural resourcefulness & behavioral flexibility are predominant in tour guides’ intercultural experiences. This study of exploring tour guides' experiences is expected to provide a useful framework and contribute to a broader understanding of intercultural competence in tour guiding.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Intercultural interaction
• Intercultural competence
• Phenomenological research
• Tour guides

Proje Numarası

1808E308

Kültürlerarası yeterlilikten faydalanmak: Tur rehberleri üzerine fenomenolojik bir araştırma

Öz

Bu makale, kültürlerarası yeterliliklerin kavramını, boyutlarını ve nedenlerini tur rehberlerinin bakış açısından araştırmaktadır. Tur rehberlerinin kültürlerarası yeterliliklerinin kültürlerarası deneyimlerde nasıl ortaya çıktığını keşfetmek için fenomenolojik bir araştırma yaklaşımı kullanılmıştır. Amaçlı örnekleme kullanılarak, doygunluk oluşana kadar uluslararası deneyime sahip kıdemli tur rehberleri ile dokuz yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme yapılmıştır. Veriler tematik içerik analizi kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular, kültürel farkındalık ve bilişsel esneklik, kültürel duyarlılık ve duygusal esneklik ve kültürel beceriklilik ve davranışsal esneklik olmak üzere üç boyutun tur rehberlerinin kültürlerarası deneyimlerinde baskın olduğunu göstermektedir. Tur rehberlerinin deneyimlerini keşfetmeye yönelik bu çalışmanın yararlı bir çerçeve sunması ve tur rehberliğinde kültürlerarası yeterliliğin daha geniş bir şekilde anlaşılmasına katkıda bulunması beklenmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kültürlerarası etkileşim
• Kültürlerarası yeterlilik
• Fenomenolojik araştırma
• Tur rehberleri

Destekleyen Kurum

Anadolu Üniversitesi

Proje Numarası

1808E308

Kaynakça

1. Adler, N. J., & Gundersen, A. (2007). International dimensions of organizational behavior. Cengage Learning.
2. Arasaratnam, L. A. (2012). Intercultural competence. A. Kurylo (Ed.). In Intercultural communication: Representation and construction of culture (pp. 47-68). Sage.
3. Bahang, M. D., Wello, B., & Akil, M. (2018). The professional role of tour guides and theoretical consequences of intercultural communication. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(4), 832-839. http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0904.22
4. Bennett, J. M. (2012). The developing art of intercultural facilitation. K. Berardo, & D. Deardoff (Eds.). (2012). In Building cultural competence innovative activities and models (pp. 13-22). Stylus Publishing.
5. Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Pearson Allyn & Bacon.
6. Brislin, R. W., Landis, D., & Brandt, M. E. (1983). Conceptualizations of intercultural behavior and training. D. Landis, & R. W. Brislin (Eds.). In Handbook of intercultural training: Issues in theory and design (pp. 1-35). Pergamon Press Inc.
7. Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Multilingual Matters. Byram, M., & Risager, K. (1999). Language teachers, politics and cultures. Multilingual Matters.
8. Chang, K. (2014). Examining the effect of tour guide performance, tourist trust, tourist satisfaction and flow experience on tourists’ shopping behavior. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 19(2), 219-247. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2012.739189

9. Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. (3rd Ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
10. Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. (4th Ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
11. Deardorff, D. K. (2004). The identificaton and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of international education at institutions of higher education in The United States. [Doctoral thesis]. North Carolina State University.
12. Deardorff, D. K. (2011). Assessing intercultural competence. New Directions For Institutional Research, 149, 65-79. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.381
13. DuBrin, A. J. (2012). Essentials of management. Cengage South-Western.
14. Erdem, F. (1996). İşletme kültürü. Friedrich-Naumann-Vakfı ve Akdeniz Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Yayınları.
15. Ersoy, F. (2017). Fenomenoloji. A. Saban, & A. Ersoy (Eds.). In Eğitimde nitel araştırma desenleri (pp. 237-277). Anı Yayıncılık.
16. Hammer, M. R., Bennett, M. J., & Wiseman, R. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27, 421-443. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(03)00032-4
17. HEFCE. (2009). The global people competency framework competencies for effective ıntercultural ınteraction. On February 11, 2020 http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/3272/ accessed from.
18. Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations software of the mind. McGraw Hill Book Company.
19. Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviours, ınstitutions and organizations across nations. Sage Publications.
20. Holt, K., & Seki, K. (2012). Global leadership: A developmental shift for everyone. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(2), 196-215. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-9434.2012.01431.x
21. House, R., Javidan, M., Hanges, P., & Dorfman, P. (2002). Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: An introduction to project GLOBE. Journal of World Business, 37(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-9516(01)00069-4
22. Huang, Y. (2011). Chinese tour guides’ strategies in intercultural communication implications for language teaching and tourism education. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(1), 146-150. https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.2.1.146-150
23. INCA, (2004). Theory intercultural competence assessment, Leonardo da Vinci, European Training in the UK. On February 11, 2020 https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/inca-project-intercultural-competence-assessment_en accessed from.
24. Johnson, J. P., Lenartowicz, T., & Apud, S. (2006). Cross-cultural competence in international business: Toward a definition and a model. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(4), 525-543. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400205
25. Kuo, N. T., Cheng, Y. S., Chang, K. C., & Chuang, L. Y. (2018). The asymmetric effect of tour guide service quality on tourist satisfaction. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 19(4), 521-542. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2018.1483283
26. Lin, Y. C., Lin, M. L., & Chen, Y. C. (2017). How tour guides’ professional competencies influence on service quality of tour guiding and tourist satisfaction: An exploratory research. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 7(1), 1-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v7i1.10602
27. Lu, C. Y., & Chen, B. T. (2011). The potential for active online learning in Taiwanese tourism degree programs based on online educational experiences of graduate students. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 11(3), 271-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313220.2011.597635
28. Manning, N., & Ramirez, K. (2014). How to be a tour guide: The essential training manual for tour managers and tour guides. Kindle Edition.
29. Navaitiene, J., Rimkeviciene, V., & Racelyte D. (2013). Methodology for development of intercultural competence. European Commission. Project NO: LLP- LDV- TOI- 2013- LT- 0145.
30. O’Brien, T.W., & Ham, S. H. (2012). Toward professionalism in tour guiding – A manual for trainers. United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
31. Paige, R. (2004). Instrumentation in intercultural training. D. Landis, J. M. Bennett, & M. J. Bennett (Eds.). In Handbook of intercultural training (pp. 85-128). SAGE Publications, Inc.
32. Patton, M.Q. (2002). Two decades of developments in qualitative inquiry: A personal, experiential perspective. Qualitative Social Work, 1(3), 261-283. https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250020010036
33. Pizam, A. (1998). Cross-Cultural Tourist Behavior. In Pizam, A., & Y. Mansfeld (Eds.) (1998). Consumer behavior in travel and tourism New York: Haworth Hospitality Press, 393-412.
34. Risager, K. (2007). Language and culture pedagogy. Multilingual
35. Ruben, B. D. (1976). Assessing communication competency for intercultural adaptation. Group & Organization Studies, 1(3), 334-354. https://doi.org/10.1177/105960117600100308
36. Ruben, B. D., & Kealey, D. J. (1979). Behavioral assessment of communication competency and the prediction of cross-cultural adaptation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 3(1), 15-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/0147-1767(79)90045-2
37. Scherle, N., & Nonnenmann, A. (2008). Swimming in cultural flows: Conceptualising tour guides as intercultural mediators and cosmopolitans. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 6(2), 120-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766820802364147
38. Sinicrope, C., Norris, J., & Watanabe, Y. (2007). Understanding and assessing intercultural competence: A Summary of theory, research, and practice. Second Language Studies, 26 (1), 1-58.
39. Spitzberg, B. H. (1997). A model of intercultural communication competence. L. A., Samovar, & R. E. Porter (Eds.). In Intercultural communication: A reader (pp. 379-391). Wadsworth.
40. Spitzberg, B. H., & Chagnon, G. (2009). Conceptualizing intercultural competence. D. K. Deardorff (Ed.). In The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 2-52). SAGE.
41. Syakier, W. A., & Hanafiah, M. H. (2022). Tour guide performances, tourist satisfaction and behavioural intentions: a study on tours in Kuala Lumpur city centre. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 23(3), 597-614. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2021.1891599
42. Stewart, E., Hayward, B., & Devlin, P. (1998). The ‘place’ of interpretation: A new approach to the evaluation of interpretation. Tourism Management, 19(3), 257-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(98)00015-6
43. Taylor, E. W. (1994). Intercultural competency: A transformative learning process. Adult Education Quarterly, 44(3), 154–174. https://doi.org/10.1177/07417136940440030
44. Triandis, H. (1979). Values, attitudes and interpersonal behavior. H. Howe, & M. Page (Eds.). In Nebraska symposium on motivation (Vol.27) (pp. 195-259). University of Nebraska Press.
45. Tsaur, S. H., & Tu, J. H. (2019). Cultural competence for tour leaders: Scale development and validation. Tourism Management, 71, 9-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.09.017
46. Tsaur, S. H., Chang, K. M., & Tu, J. H. (2019, 27th - 29th November). Exploring tour leaders’cultural competence. Paper presented at the International Academic Multidisciplinary Research Conference, Japan.
47. Tsaur, S., & Teng, H. (2017). Exploring tour guiding styles: The perspective of tour leader roles. Tourism Management, 59, 438-448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.09.005
48. WorldWork. (2008). The international profiler, interpretive feedback report. On February 11, 2020 https://www.10consulting.co.uk/download-The-International- Profiler?EID=19042124&CID=5469051 (Accessed on 11.02.2020) accessed from.
49. Wyatt, J. (1978). Native involvement in curriculum development: The Native teacher as cultural broker. Interchange, 9(10), 17-28.
50. Yu, X., Weiler, B., & Ham, S. (2002). Intercultural communication and mediation: A framework for analysing the intercultural competence of Chinese tour guides. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 8(1), 75-87. https://doi.org/10.1177/13567667020080010
51. Zakaria, N. (2000). The Effects of cross-cultural training in the process of acculturation of the global workforce. International Journal of Man-Power, 21(6), 492-510. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437720010377837
52. Turist Rehberleri Birliği. (2020, February 11). http://www.tureb.org.tr/tr/Oda
53. Antalya Turist Rehberleri Odası. (2020, February 11). http://www.aro.org.tr/index.asp