INVESTIGATION OF THE CULTURAL ADAPTATION EXPERIENCES OF EXPAT TEACHERS IN OMAN
Yıl 2024,
Cilt: 8 Sayı: 14, 83 - 109
Zeynep Hatipoğlu
,
Esra Jones
Öz
This study examines the cultural adaptation experiences of expat teachers living in Oman, focusing on the impact of cultural differences on intercultural adaptation and communication. Using the Cultural Intelligence Scale CQS, the study investigates how expat teachers navigate Oman's significantly different cultural landscape. It also explores the role of cultural intelligence in successful adaptation by examining the multifaceted nature of culture and its stages of adaptation. Prior to the research, a literature review was conducted on cultural adaptation and the display of emotions in intercultural experiences.
Interviews with 16 expat teachers in higher education were conducted using six questions based on the cultural intelligence scale to uncover the difficulties encountered and the strategies used to manage cultural differences in communication in both professional and social contexts. The aim was to highlight the experiences of expat teachers in responding to the cultural differences they encounter and their adaptation processes by emphasizing the distinct cultural differences between Omani culture and other cultures.
Kaynakça
- Abu-Odeh, L. (1991). Post-Colonial Feminism and the Veil: Considering the Differences. New Eng. L. Rev., 26, 1527.
- Al Mahrouqi, A. (2018). Cross-cultural communication and the adjustment of western and non-western expatriates in multicultural companies: investigating operations in Oman (Doctoral dissertation, University of Glasgow).
- Adler, P. S. (1975). The transitional experience: An alternative view of culture shock. Journal of humanistic psychology.
- Aycan, Z. (1997). Expatriate adjustment as a multifaceted phenomenon: Individual and organizational level predictors. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(4), 434-456.
- Black, J. S., & Gregersen, H. B. (1990). Expectations, satisfaction, and intention to leave of American expatriate managers in Japan. International journal of intercultural relations, 14(4), 485-506.
- Black, J. S. (1988). Work role transitions: A study of American expatriate managers in Japan. Journal of international business studies, 19, 277-294.
- Black, J. S., & Mendenhall, M. (1990). Cross-cultural training effectiveness: A review and a theoretical framework for future research. Academy of management review, 15(1), 113-136.
- Bozionelos, N., & Singh, S. K. (2017). The relationship of emotional intelligence with task and contextual performance: More than it meets the linear eye. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 206-211.
- Caligiuri, P. M. (2000). The big five personality characteristics as predictors of expatriate's desire to terminate the assignment and supervisor‐rated performance. Personnel psychology, 53(1), 67-88.
- Caligiuri, P. M., Hyland, M. M., Joshi, A., & Bross, A. S. (1998). Testing a theoretical model for examining the relationship between family adjustment and expatriates' work adjustment. Journal of applied psychology, 83(4), 598.
- Collins, H., Dailey-Strand, C., & Callaghan, D. (2021). ‘Those First Few Months Were Horrible’: Cross-Cultural Adaptation And The J-Curve In The International Student Experience In The UK And Norway. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 13(4), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i4.3267
- Daher, R. F. (2021). The fragmentary production of knowledge on cultural heritage on the Arab world: From an orientalist vision to a scarce engagement with epistemological and theoretical spheres. Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, 15(3), 839-853.
- Dervin, F. (2012). Cultural identity, representation and othering. In The Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication (pp. 195-208). Routledge.
- Dettwyler, K. A. (2011). Cultural anthropology & human experience: The feast of life. Waveland Press.
- Dinglasa, R. A. (2020). Cultural and emotional intelligence: its role in the cross-cultural adjustment of Filipino expatriates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 10(1), 276303-276303.
- Earley, P. C., Ang, S., & Tan, J. S. (2006). CQ: Developing cultural intelligence at work. Stanford University Press.
Feldman, D. C., & Bolino, M. C. (1999). The impact of on-site mentoring on expatriate socialization: A structural equation modelling approach. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10(1), 54-71.
- Florkowski, G. W., & Fogel, D. S. (1999). Expatriate adjustment and commitment: The role of host-unit treatment. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10(5), 783-807.
- Furusawa, M., & Brewster, C. (2019). The determinants of the boundary-spanning functions of Japanese self-initiated expatriates in Japanese subsidiaries in China: individual skills and human resource management. Journal of International Management, 25(4), 100674.
- Gelfand, M. J., Erez, M., & Aycan, Z. (2007). Cross-cultural organizational behavior. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 58, 479-514.
- Grim, B. J., & Hsu, B. (2011). Estimating the Global Muslim Population: Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 7.
- Harvey, M., & Moeller, M. (2009). Expatriate mangers: A historical review. International Journal of management reviews, 11(3), 275-296.
- Kim, Y. Y. (1988). Communication and cross-cultural adaptation: An integrative theory. Multilingual Matters.
Lapointe, D., & Coulter, M. (2020). Place, labor, and (im) mobilities: Tourism and biopolitics. Tourism Culture & Communication, 20(2-3), 95-105.
- Leung, K., Zhu, Y., & Ge, C. (2009). Compensation disparity between locals and expatriates: Moderating the effects of perceived injustice in foreign multinationals in China. Journal of World Business, 44(1), 85-93.
Louis, M. R. (1980). Career transitions: Varieties and commonalities. Academy of management review, 5(3), 329-340.
- Lueke, S. B., & Svyantek, D. J. (2000). Organizational socialization in the host country: The missing link in reducing expatriate turnover. The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 8(4), 380-400.
- Matsumoto, D., Takeuchi, S., Andayani, S., Kouznetsova, N., & Krupp, D. (1998). The contribution of individualism vs. collectivism to cross‐national differences in display rules. Asian journal of social psychology, 1(2), 147-165.
- McNulty, Y., & Brewster, C. (2017). The concept of business expatriates. In Research handbook of expatriates (pp. 21-60). Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Minces, J. (1982). The house of obedience: Women in Arab society. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Moore, T. E. M. (2009). The sojourner's truth: Exploring bicultural identity as a predictor of assignment success in American expatriates.
- Oberg, K. (1960). Cultural shock: Adjustment to new cultural environments. Practical anthropology, (4), 177-182.
- Omair, K. (2009). Arab women managers and identity formation through clothing. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 24(6), 412-431.
- Palthe, J. (2004). The relative importance of antecedents to cross-cultural adjustment: Implications for managing a global workforce. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28(1), 37-59.
- Pereira, C., Lourenço, I., & Cachado, R. (2017). Introduction: representations of India at home and abroad. Etnográfica. Revista do Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, 21(1)), 99-106.
- Przytula, S. (2024). Expatriate academics: what have we known for four decades? A systematic literature review. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 12(1), 31-56.
- Selmer, J. (2002). Practice makes perfect? International experience and expatriate adjustment. MIR: Management International Review, 71-87.
- Shortland, S. (2015). The ‘expat factor’: the influence of working time on women's decisions to undertake international assignments in the oil and gas industry. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(11), 1452-1473.
- Şahin, F., Gürbüz, S., Köksal, O., & Ercan, Ü. (2013). Measuring cultural intelligence in the Turkish context. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 21(2), 135-144.
- Singh, S. K., Tarba, S. Y., Wood, G., Bozionelos, N., Del Giudice, M., Pereira, V., & Latan, H. (2022). Adjustment and work outcomes of self-initiated expatriates in the United Arab Emirates: Development and testing of a model. Journal of International Management, 28(3), Article 100953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2022.100953
- Stephan, W. G., Stephan, C. W., & De Vargas, M. C. (1996). Emotional expression in Costa Rica and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27(2), 147-160.
- Sulong, R. S., Dousin, O., & Ward, M. (2022). The Driving Force of Self-Initiated Expatriation: A Case of Teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Global Business and Management Research, 14(3s), 1208-1221.
- Toh, S. M. (2003). Host country nationals to the rescue: A social categorization approach to expatriate adjustment. Texas A&M University.
- Toh, S. M., & DeNisi, A. S. (2005). A local perspective to expatriate success. Academy of Management Perspectives, 19(1), 132-146.
- Torstrick, R. L., & Faier, E. (2009). Culture and customs of the Arab Gulf States. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
- Wang, C. H., & Chen, Y. P. (2024). A process perspective on the expatriate social capital–knowledge transfer and expatriate adjustment relationships. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 12(2), 333-354.
- Ward, C., & Kennedy, A. (1994). Acculturation strategies, psychological adjustment, and sociocultural competence during cross-cultural transitions. International journal of intercultural relations, 18(3), 329-343.
INVESTIGATION OF THE CULTURAL ADAPTATION EXPERIENCES OF EXPAT TEACHERS IN OMAN
Yıl 2024,
Cilt: 8 Sayı: 14, 83 - 109
Zeynep Hatipoğlu
,
Esra Jones
Öz
This study examines the cultural adaptation experiences of expat teachers living in Oman, focusing on the impact of cultural differences on intercultural adaptation and communication. Using the Cultural Intelligence Scale CQS, the study investigates how expat teachers navigate Oman's significantly different cultural landscape. It also explores the role of cultural intelligence in successful adaptation by examining the multifaceted nature of culture and its stages of adaptation. Prior to the research, a literature review was conducted on cultural adaptation and the display of emotions in intercultural experiences.
Interviews with 16 expat teachers in higher education were conducted using six questions based on the cultural intelligence scale to uncover the difficulties encountered and the strategies used to manage cultural differences in communication in both professional and social contexts. The aim was to highlight the experiences of expat teachers in responding to the cultural differences they encounter and their adaptation processes by emphasizing the distinct cultural differences between Omani culture and other cultures.
Kaynakça
- Abu-Odeh, L. (1991). Post-Colonial Feminism and the Veil: Considering the Differences. New Eng. L. Rev., 26, 1527.
- Al Mahrouqi, A. (2018). Cross-cultural communication and the adjustment of western and non-western expatriates in multicultural companies: investigating operations in Oman (Doctoral dissertation, University of Glasgow).
- Adler, P. S. (1975). The transitional experience: An alternative view of culture shock. Journal of humanistic psychology.
- Aycan, Z. (1997). Expatriate adjustment as a multifaceted phenomenon: Individual and organizational level predictors. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(4), 434-456.
- Black, J. S., & Gregersen, H. B. (1990). Expectations, satisfaction, and intention to leave of American expatriate managers in Japan. International journal of intercultural relations, 14(4), 485-506.
- Black, J. S. (1988). Work role transitions: A study of American expatriate managers in Japan. Journal of international business studies, 19, 277-294.
- Black, J. S., & Mendenhall, M. (1990). Cross-cultural training effectiveness: A review and a theoretical framework for future research. Academy of management review, 15(1), 113-136.
- Bozionelos, N., & Singh, S. K. (2017). The relationship of emotional intelligence with task and contextual performance: More than it meets the linear eye. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 206-211.
- Caligiuri, P. M. (2000). The big five personality characteristics as predictors of expatriate's desire to terminate the assignment and supervisor‐rated performance. Personnel psychology, 53(1), 67-88.
- Caligiuri, P. M., Hyland, M. M., Joshi, A., & Bross, A. S. (1998). Testing a theoretical model for examining the relationship between family adjustment and expatriates' work adjustment. Journal of applied psychology, 83(4), 598.
- Collins, H., Dailey-Strand, C., & Callaghan, D. (2021). ‘Those First Few Months Were Horrible’: Cross-Cultural Adaptation And The J-Curve In The International Student Experience In The UK And Norway. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 13(4), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i4.3267
- Daher, R. F. (2021). The fragmentary production of knowledge on cultural heritage on the Arab world: From an orientalist vision to a scarce engagement with epistemological and theoretical spheres. Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, 15(3), 839-853.
- Dervin, F. (2012). Cultural identity, representation and othering. In The Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication (pp. 195-208). Routledge.
- Dettwyler, K. A. (2011). Cultural anthropology & human experience: The feast of life. Waveland Press.
- Dinglasa, R. A. (2020). Cultural and emotional intelligence: its role in the cross-cultural adjustment of Filipino expatriates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 10(1), 276303-276303.
- Earley, P. C., Ang, S., & Tan, J. S. (2006). CQ: Developing cultural intelligence at work. Stanford University Press.
Feldman, D. C., & Bolino, M. C. (1999). The impact of on-site mentoring on expatriate socialization: A structural equation modelling approach. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10(1), 54-71.
- Florkowski, G. W., & Fogel, D. S. (1999). Expatriate adjustment and commitment: The role of host-unit treatment. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10(5), 783-807.
- Furusawa, M., & Brewster, C. (2019). The determinants of the boundary-spanning functions of Japanese self-initiated expatriates in Japanese subsidiaries in China: individual skills and human resource management. Journal of International Management, 25(4), 100674.
- Gelfand, M. J., Erez, M., & Aycan, Z. (2007). Cross-cultural organizational behavior. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 58, 479-514.
- Grim, B. J., & Hsu, B. (2011). Estimating the Global Muslim Population: Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 7.
- Harvey, M., & Moeller, M. (2009). Expatriate mangers: A historical review. International Journal of management reviews, 11(3), 275-296.
- Kim, Y. Y. (1988). Communication and cross-cultural adaptation: An integrative theory. Multilingual Matters.
Lapointe, D., & Coulter, M. (2020). Place, labor, and (im) mobilities: Tourism and biopolitics. Tourism Culture & Communication, 20(2-3), 95-105.
- Leung, K., Zhu, Y., & Ge, C. (2009). Compensation disparity between locals and expatriates: Moderating the effects of perceived injustice in foreign multinationals in China. Journal of World Business, 44(1), 85-93.
Louis, M. R. (1980). Career transitions: Varieties and commonalities. Academy of management review, 5(3), 329-340.
- Lueke, S. B., & Svyantek, D. J. (2000). Organizational socialization in the host country: The missing link in reducing expatriate turnover. The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 8(4), 380-400.
- Matsumoto, D., Takeuchi, S., Andayani, S., Kouznetsova, N., & Krupp, D. (1998). The contribution of individualism vs. collectivism to cross‐national differences in display rules. Asian journal of social psychology, 1(2), 147-165.
- McNulty, Y., & Brewster, C. (2017). The concept of business expatriates. In Research handbook of expatriates (pp. 21-60). Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Minces, J. (1982). The house of obedience: Women in Arab society. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Moore, T. E. M. (2009). The sojourner's truth: Exploring bicultural identity as a predictor of assignment success in American expatriates.
- Oberg, K. (1960). Cultural shock: Adjustment to new cultural environments. Practical anthropology, (4), 177-182.
- Omair, K. (2009). Arab women managers and identity formation through clothing. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 24(6), 412-431.
- Palthe, J. (2004). The relative importance of antecedents to cross-cultural adjustment: Implications for managing a global workforce. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28(1), 37-59.
- Pereira, C., Lourenço, I., & Cachado, R. (2017). Introduction: representations of India at home and abroad. Etnográfica. Revista do Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, 21(1)), 99-106.
- Przytula, S. (2024). Expatriate academics: what have we known for four decades? A systematic literature review. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 12(1), 31-56.
- Selmer, J. (2002). Practice makes perfect? International experience and expatriate adjustment. MIR: Management International Review, 71-87.
- Shortland, S. (2015). The ‘expat factor’: the influence of working time on women's decisions to undertake international assignments in the oil and gas industry. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(11), 1452-1473.
- Şahin, F., Gürbüz, S., Köksal, O., & Ercan, Ü. (2013). Measuring cultural intelligence in the Turkish context. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 21(2), 135-144.
- Singh, S. K., Tarba, S. Y., Wood, G., Bozionelos, N., Del Giudice, M., Pereira, V., & Latan, H. (2022). Adjustment and work outcomes of self-initiated expatriates in the United Arab Emirates: Development and testing of a model. Journal of International Management, 28(3), Article 100953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2022.100953
- Stephan, W. G., Stephan, C. W., & De Vargas, M. C. (1996). Emotional expression in Costa Rica and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27(2), 147-160.
- Sulong, R. S., Dousin, O., & Ward, M. (2022). The Driving Force of Self-Initiated Expatriation: A Case of Teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Global Business and Management Research, 14(3s), 1208-1221.
- Toh, S. M. (2003). Host country nationals to the rescue: A social categorization approach to expatriate adjustment. Texas A&M University.
- Toh, S. M., & DeNisi, A. S. (2005). A local perspective to expatriate success. Academy of Management Perspectives, 19(1), 132-146.
- Torstrick, R. L., & Faier, E. (2009). Culture and customs of the Arab Gulf States. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
- Wang, C. H., & Chen, Y. P. (2024). A process perspective on the expatriate social capital–knowledge transfer and expatriate adjustment relationships. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 12(2), 333-354.
- Ward, C., & Kennedy, A. (1994). Acculturation strategies, psychological adjustment, and sociocultural competence during cross-cultural transitions. International journal of intercultural relations, 18(3), 329-343.