Kelly's Struggles With Cultural Diversity in Japan - Essay Sample

Introduction

When Kelly decided to take the new job in Japan and relocate with her family to USA she did not expect life to be very different in her new residence. She started experiencing cultural diversity problems immediately she settled in Japan which contributed to cultural clashes (Markus & Conner, 2013). The cultural conflicts were evident both in her personal life and workplace which made life in Japan extremely difficult for her and her family.

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The first cultural clash that Kelly encountered after arriving in Japan was the size of her apartment. Kelly and her family were used to a spacious apartment in the United States of America. However, when they settled in Japan, their apartment was very small and packed with many things which made it uncomfortable for them. Kelly and her family were not used to such small apartments in her mother land. She was not psychologically prepared either that her new home will be less comfortable for her and her family.

Kelly faced challenges in her workplaces due to poor interactions with her coworkers. In her motherland she was used to socializing with colleagues and the socialization process did not take long. However, the Japanese were hesitant to interact with her at first owing to their poor socialization nature. Their culture was different from what Kelly was used to in the United States of America. The Japanese culture involved less touching which was new to her. Kelly also tried to imitate the new culture which was not well appreciated by her colleagues. She attempted to copy their greeting styles which involved bowing down. Kelly also tried to communicate to the Japanese using their language which was unwelcomed due to her poor mastery of the foreign language. Being an American she was used to English which was often not understood by her hosting community.

Kelly had high expectations of a comfortable life once she arrived in Japan. However, the situations both at her home, workplace, and the city proved to more complicated than she could have ever imagined. Life in her new place of work was incomparable with what she was used to in the United States of America. Kelly expected her host to be more welcoming and help her adapt to her new domicile. However, the circumstances surrounding her arrival and settlement proved that she was alone with her family in a foreign country.

What stage of culture shock is Kelly's Family Experiencing?

Kelly's family experienced two stages of culture shock that is the honeymoon stage and the frustration stage. According to Li (2012), in the honeymoon stage, a person is very curious and expects excellent things form the new places. However, in the frustration stage, people start feeling inferior and detrimental about their area and the people around them.

When Kelly and her family landed in Japan, they were in the honeymoon stage. They had heard a lot of good stories about how beautiful the country is during the spring. They spent the first few weeks touring Japan, and they could not get enough of the fantastic experiences. Kelly and her family planned to tour every part of Japan during their stay there, and they were positive of good experiences throughout their stay. Kelly expected that her work would be easier, and her family will be happier in Japan than they were in the United States of America. Her family was full of expectations of good moments and lots of excitement from experiencing fun moments in their hosting country.

Kelly's family honeymoon stage did not last for long. After the first stage of excitement was over, Kelly's family experienced frustration or irritability and hostility stage of culture shock. After they finished touring the beautiful places in Japan, Kelly realized that her colleagues were challenging to deal with. She was not respected in her workplace due to her gender. Kelly's husband could not find a job in Japan. He struggled to deal with the unemployment problems posed by his current location. The children were more affected than both parents due to the difficulties in adapting to their new schools. The family's problems from their apartment situation and challenges experienced in their daily tasks were overwhelming for Kelly's family.

What, if anything, should have been done differently, and by whom?

After receiving the job proposal from her employers, Kelly should have done more research before agreeing to go with her family to Japan. She would have requested to know from her employers to inform her of the challenges that she had to face before adapting to life in the new place. Her employers should have done more research on the possibility of employment for Kelly's husband. Her employers would have been more h caring by organizing with the workers in Japan to host the family and to give them the orientation of their new habitant after landing in Japan.

Kelly should not have agreed to relocate with her family before establishing that the standards of living will be favorable to all of them. She should have carried out more research on the availability of schools for her children and the state of apartments in Japan. The company should have trained her on the culture of the people in Japan to help her understand the diversity in their culture and know-how to deal with them before relocating.

If I were Kelly, I would request a transfer from the company and explain to them the challenges my family and I are experiencing in Japan. If the company refuses my request, I will seek alternative employment in the United States. However, if my family would be patient to wait for things to get better in their new place, I would seek a mentor both for my family and me. I would seek support from my employers to help my husband secure employment in Japan and transfer my children to international schools in Japan.

References

Li, D. (2012). Culture shock and its implications for cross-cultural training and culture teaching. Cross-Cultural Communication, 8(4), 70-74. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Li%2C+D.+%282012%29.+Culture+shock+and+its+implications+for+cross-cultural+training+and+culture+teaching.+Cross-Cultural+Communication%2C+8%284%29%2C+70-74.+&btnG=

Markus, H. R., & Conner, A. (2013). Clash!: 8 cultural conflicts that make us who we are. New York, NY: Hudson Street Press. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Markus%2C+H.+R.%2C+%26+Conner%2C+A.+%282013%29.+Clash%21%3A+8+cultural+conflicts+that+make+us+who+we+are.+New+York%2C+NY%3A+Hudson+Street+Press&btnG=