Stereotypes of the Japanese manager in Singapore

Semantic profiles of the Japanese manager were obtained from a questionnaire study of Japanese and Singaporean managers in the Singapore subsidiaries of Japanese companies, to establish an autostereotype and a high-contact heterostereotype. Questionnaires were also administered to Singaporean, British and American managers in the Singapore subsidiaries of British and American companies, to establish low-contact heterostereotypes of the Japanese manager. Discriminant analysis was used to map the stereotypes in perceptual space. No significant differences were found between the low-contact heterostereotypes of the Japanese manager held by the British, American and Singaporeans, but very significant (α < 0.1%) and interpretable differences were found between the low-contact and high-contact heterostereotypes, and between each of these and the autostereotype. The differences between the stereotypes are discussed, and the implications for multinational organizations are considered.     

Acculturation, stress and coping : Some implications for research and education

Acculturation processes are conceptualized as requiring a multivariate model with variables operating at four psychosocial levels: cultural, ethnic, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Examples of changes in mental health status, social networks, cognitive style, social orientation and child rearing values consequent to immigration are considered. The primary focus is on the delineation of several approaches to the study of acculturative stress and coping. These include stressful life events, chronic role strains, and Lazarus's cognitive appraisal model.The implications of the model for research emphasize the importance of multivariate, multi-method, multi-level approaches involving both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of situational and process variables. Since the school is a critical acculturation context, an intensified analysis of the strains, stresses and coping responses in that context is required. Promising approaches to such an analysis include parent and teacher cultural sensitivity training, classroom restructuring in order to reduce devaluation of immigrant children by the dominant ethnic group, and stress-innoculation training specifically designed to help children to learn to cope more effectively with the stresses of the school environment.     

International perceptions across the sea: Patterns in Japanese young adults

The international perceptions of Japanese young adults were explored in 172 professional education students in two Tokyo colleges. They classified 30 nations according to their “current” and “future” affinity to Japan. Little difference was detected in the Q-sorts between institutions arid sexes, while the “current” and “future” sorts correlated .96 with each other. In cluster analyses, many two-nation units (e.g., Czechoslovakia-Yugoslavia) were found to be the building blocks for the overall pattern. The total configuration consisted of three broad groups: mostly Western European nations, problematical nations (China, Russia, Israel, Egypt, etc.), and remote and neutral nations. Structurally, the results were similar to those for American young adults, but the contents were different. The notion of cultural metastereotypes thus received tentative support.     

Ethnic identity: Myth and reality in Western Canada

The paper analyzes eleven research projects which have focused on the issue of ethnic identity. Each study addresses the question of how important ethnicity is to the individual. The results suggest that ethnicity, as measured in the present studies, is of little importance to Canadians. Ethnicity, however, should be viewed as an adaptive response to the conditions governing the context for acquisition of scarce and desired goods! What is clear is that assertions of the universal and constant import of ethnicity to Canadians are not true.     

Person perception in cross-cultural settings: A review of cross-cultural and related cognitive literature

The purpose of this paper is to review cross-cultural studies and other relevant cognitive literature concerning person perception in a cross-cultural setting. A summary is made of the major findings and hypotheses are suggested which would significantly increase our understanding of this very underresearched field. The authors determine that cross-cultural research in those areas reviewed suffers from lack of unity as a result of little common theory-driven research. Finally, potentially contributive cognitive theories and concepts are briefly mentioned that might improve research paradigms and provide a more unified approach to cross-cultural person perception research.     

Women as androgynous managers : A conceptualization of the potential for American women in international management

Women in international management, where are they? While many female managers appear to have the qualities necessary for international management, they have been implicitly and explicitly excluded from overseas assignments.This paper will begin by describing some of the dimensions on which the international business environment is different from the domestic United States environment. Research on the attitudinal and behavioral skills found to be associated with success in the international environment will be presented. It will be suggested that this list of international management skills goes beyond those characteristics generally associated with either the male or the female role in North America. The Model of the Androgynous International Manager will be introduced as a way of conceptualizing an appropriate orientation for the role of the international manager. The need for future research is delineated.The scope of the discussion is limited to the role of American 1 women working in multinational business settings around the world.     

The impact of cultural,ethnic, and national variables on attitudes towards the disabled in Israel: A review

Studies in Israel relating to attitudes of various ethnic, cultural and religious groups towards the disabled were reviewed. The results indicate that although there were differences in attitudes towards the disabled, these differences appear to be a function of interaction effects between many other variables and not necessarily only related to ethnic, cultural, and religious affiliation.     

Cross-cultural differences in attitudes towards disabled persons: A study of Jewish and Arab youth in Israel

Cultural values may be seen as the primary determinants of altitudes towards deviant or exceptional persons. The present study deals with the attitudes of Jewish and Arab youth in Israel towards the disabled as a function of cultural identity, existence of contact with a disabled person, and type of disability (blindness, amputation, facial disfigurement, or confinement to a wheelchair).A sample of 510 Jews and 655 Arabs filled out the Yuker Altitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP). The results indicated that overall, Jews were more positive towards the disabled than Arabs. Furthermore, the existence of previous contact with a disabled person was a positive factor in the formation of the Jews' attitudes, and a negative factor for the Arabs. In their ranking of different types of disability, Jews and Arabs differed significantly.The results are interpreted in the context of modern versus traditional cultures, whereby the Jewish youths' more tolerant Western approach seems to engender a more positive attitude than the Arab youths' conservative values.     

A communication approach to the acculturation process: A study of Korean immigrants in Chicago

This paper explores a theoretical and methodological basis for studying foreign immigrants' acculturation processes from a communication perspective. Communication patterns of immigrants are conceptualized on three levels — behavioral, attitudinal, and perceptual. The behavioral level of communication includes the immigrant's participation in communication channels of the host society as well as the ethnic community. The perceptual level refers to the immigrant's cognitive structure in perceiving the host society. The attitudinal level is examined by the immigrant's affective-evaluative orientation toward the host society. The three levels of communication patterns were empirically investigated in a survey of 400 randomly selected Koreans in the Chicago area. The communication variables were assessed through composite scores using questionnaire items that were tested for reliability. The results show an overall linear trend in the immigrant's interethnic communication with Americans, positive attitude toward Americans, cognitive complexity in perceiving the American society, and satisfaction level. A simultaneous increase is observed in the immigrant's interpersonal communication with Americans and with other Koreans. The immigrant's use of ethnic media rapidly decreases over the years while that of American media steadily increases. Findings are discussed in comparison to previous studies of foreign immigrants and students and to sociological theories of acculturation of minority groups.     

Phenomenology and hermeneutics: Evolving approaches to the study of intercultural and international communication

The thought models and theories of many individuals and disciplines have contributed to the study of human communication. In recent years scholars have become increasingly aware of the fact that methodologies superimposed upon the actual event of human communication have significantly shaped our perceptions of these events. Going beyond methodological approaches or quarrels, a phenomenological basis requires direct encounter with the event and an attempt to let methodology evolve out of that direct encounter, rather than attempting a so-called objective approach. Self, experience, values, and human relationships are of primary concern to the phenomenologist who sees meaning and interpretation as a unitary concept. Phenomenology thus concerns itself with understanding, and the bases for such understanding, rather than with the mere application of methodology. At the same time, phenomenology by its very approach, concerns itself not merely with the discovery of some abstract truth, but must be deeply concerned also with the improvement of the human condition founded in conscious experience. Behavior and meaning thus become conjoined. The ultimate aim of phenomenological studies becomes a concern with the ontological as well as the epistemological bases of human understanding.     

A cross-cultural confirmation of the dimensions of intercultural effectiveness

This study attempted to further our understanding of the construct of “intercultural effectiveness.” Specifically, the study compared the dimensions of intercultural effectiveness found in Hammer, Gudykunst, and Wiseman (1978) using American sojourners with the dimensions found using Japanese sojourners. The results revealed five dimensions for the Japanese sample: (1) the ability to communicate interpersonally, (2) the ability to adjust to different cultures, (3) the ability to deal with different societal systems, (4) the ability to establish interpersonal relationships, and (5) the ability to understand another. Both similarities and differences were found between the American perceptions and the Japanese perceptions of intercultural effectiveness. The implications of these results were then discussed.     

Finding and explaining differences: A reply to Gudykunst and Hammer

A rejoinder to Gudykunst and Hammer's critique of a recent paper is presented. We argue that their position is based on two mutually exclusive propositions and cannot therefore be credible. We continue to maintain that the evidence on intercultural effectiveness shows both culture-general and culture-specific components.     

Kiowa forty-nine singing: A communication perspective

Kiowa Forty-Nine singing is a social activity in which important aspects of Kiowa culture are performed and revealed through traditional communicative activities. The purpose of this study was to examine forty-nining as it serves to reveal cultural patterns of interaction. Rooted in ethnomethodology, this field research combined personal interviews and content analysis. The data first provided a general characterization of forty-nining; subsequent analysis produced distinguishable, but interrelated, sets of rules which regulate the nature and structure of forty-nines. Patterns identified in the fortynines can be extended to other intratribal interaction, as well as to intercultural communication. Better conception of these interactive patterns may foster better understanding of Kiowa intercultural relations.     

International conferences: Significant measures of success

This article reviews the literature on evaluating international conferences identifying significant factors which contribute to measured success. Extensive previous research over the last twenty years has identified criteria for evaluating success which continue to be ignored as international conferences repeat the same mistakes. More systematic research is needed. A framework of 25 evaluation measures is described for future research on the assessment of international conferences.Responses to three items of a questionnaire sent out by the East-West Culture Learning Institute as part of a project studying international conferences are also discussed, relating to evaluation measures, problems of evaluation and potential benefits of evaluation. Guidelines and suggestions are provided synthesizing the available research toward planning more successful international conferences in the future. In conclusion, six issues are identified for further clarification in future research on international conferences.     

Challenging evaluation to the cross-cultural test: Program evaluation in cross-cultural settings

The author cites the recent emergence of two new fields in education: evaluation and international education. Each has developed unique methodologies in its area of most concern. Evaluators judge the process and output of national programs; international educators plan for programs overseas. Although the author believes such developments should be complementary, the professions have remained relatively isolated from one another in two distinct regards: as practitioners in a single field, and in the manner in which they train students. Drawing upon personal experience, the author illustrates how current evaluation methods fail to provide adequate guidance in cross-cultural settings. The author further identifies issues, poses questions, and calls for increased cooperation between fields of evaluation and international education as well as across the social science disciplines.     

The cross-cultural transfer of educational technology: A myth

This paper argues that technologies can never be transferred from one culture to another. The implementation by Costa Rica of the Open University system of technologies developed in England is used as a case in point. The paper focuses on the non-applicability of using the term “transfer” with its attendant connotations, to signify the implementation of similar technologies in different cultures; differentiates between system specific and culture specific problems in the process of this implementation: and discusses the interaction of three cultures in the process of “transferring” a system of technologies from one of these cultures to another. The Open University system of technologies is described as it exists in England and the system specific problems of these technologies are delimited. The system of technologies is then “transferred” to Costa Rica and the culture specific problems discussed as seen by two evaluators from yet a third culture (the United States). The expectations of individuals from all three cultures (English, Costa Rican and U.S.) are raised in tight of these culture specific problems.     

Gender,culture, and geography: A comparison of seating arrangements in the United States and Taiwan

The present study describes and compares seating preferences among Taiwanese and American respondents. Using a questionnaire method, seating preferences were obtained for 75 male and 100 female college students from the United Slates, and for 29 male and 54 female teachers of English in Taiwan. Responses were obtained for all possible combinations of sex of interaction partner, location (task or social), and six interpersonal activities. Results were summarized in the form of proportions of respondents choosing each of four possible angles of interaction: corner, opposite, diagonal, and side seating. Comparisons were made using Chisquare tests for independence.In general, results showed that Taiwanese respondents, when compared to Americans, are more likely to prefer side seating and less likely to prefer corner seating. Culture, sex of respondents, and sex of interaction partner interact in influencing preferences. In the United States, seating preferences function to unite males with females and to separate same-sex partners, while the opposite is true in Taiwan. Results are interpreted in terms of implications for intercultural communication.     

Images of life in America: The impact of American T.V. in Israel

The present study sets out to uncover young Israelis' perceptions of the American reality using the postulates and methodology of the cultivation analysis approach to mass communication. The comparison of the perceptions of “light” and “heavy” T.V. viewers with measures of the actual reality reveals that heavy viewers demonstrate a strong and consistent tendency to paint a rosier picture of life in the U.S., in terms of wealth and standard of living, even when other factors (age, gender, residence and ethnic group) are held constant. The findings of this study have methodological implications concerning the study of media effects as well as theoretical implications regarding the ongoing debate on “media imperialism.”     

A comparison of sex differences in career and achievement motivation in Iran and the U.S.

Differences in career and achievement motivation of U.S. and Iranian male and female college and high school students were compared, employing recently developed cross-cultural methodology. Of particular interest was the differential shift in achievement orientation at different age levels in the two cultural samples. Whereas achieving and career orientations were found to be higher in the U.S. college than in U.S. high school samples, the reverse was true in the Iranian samples. Compatible with observations made elsewhere, this suggests that age-related waxing and waning of achieving orientations occur in different cycles in different cultures. Also of interest was that the culture main effect was not significant but that the culture × sex interaction was. Thus, overall, achieving orientations between the culture samples were not different but Iranian males and females exhibited greater differences in achieving orientations than did U.S. subjects, as was predicted.