Breaking Through Culture Shock

"It is a myth that experiencing culture shock is a weakness or a negative indication of future international success. Culture shock in all its diverse forms is completely normal and is part of a successful process of adaptation."

"The symptoms of culture shock that you are experiencing can obviously affect your work, therefore it is important to be aware of the kind of situation that can arise where a symptom can become a serious problem."

"We use the word culture all the time without considering the exact definition, but in this context, we can define culture as 'the way things are done'."

"Identity is a very abstract concept, so it may be easier to think about how our interests and values change as a consequence of international work. This will ultimately depend on one fundamental decision?which lifestyle we decide to adopt."

"The ultimate task of senior management is to turn the diversity of the merged organizations and the related culture shock into a competitive advantage."

"Managers whose spouses were negative about moving overseas received the worst performance appraisals. It seems that the spouse's support acts as a strong buffer against the stress of international transition."

"Personality characteristics and attitudes that are frequently mentioned in the context of international competence are empathy, openness, flexibility, self-confidence and self-possession, optimism, independence, initiative and intelligence."

"Organizations need to know how likely it is that person will succeed, what their risk areas are, what development needs the manager should target and what type of support the organization should ideally provide."