This document discusses a study on whether expatriates working in the UK experience culture shock. It conducted qualitative case studies of six expatriates from different countries working in the UK. The study aimed to determine if they experienced culture shock and what factors like cultural differences, demographics, training and organizational support influenced their experience. It provides background on international human resource management, culture shock, and factors that can impact an expatriate's experience of culture shock like training, personality traits and organizational support.

1. Do Expatriates Experience Culture Shock
in UK? Case Studies of Six Expatriates in
UK

2. Executive Summary
In an ever shrinking world, international human resource management is becoming a very important
part of overall human resource management. More and more managers are being sent to other
countries by large multinational corporations, however in spite of the phenomenon of global village,
expatriates tend to experience culture shock and problems in adjustment in new cultural environment.
There is a presence of large piece of literature which explores culture shock experience in Western
expatriates in non-western cultures and society; however there is little or no research on expatriates
living in the UK. This may be so because of relatively smaller number of expatriates working in the UK.
This report has carried out qualitative case studies of six expatriates working in the UK and tied to find if
they have experienced culture shock and what have been the causes, in addition it has also tried find
whether training, and organisational support have played an important role in helping them to adjust in
a new and alien environment.

3. Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5
International Human Resource Management .............................................................................................. 5
Culture Shock and Expatriate Employees ..................................................................................................... 6
Purpose of Study ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Research Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Research Questions .................................................................................................................................. 9
Research Hypotheses ................................................................................................................................ 9
Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................................. 10
Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 11
Culture Shock .............................................................................................................................................. 11
Stages of Cultural Shock.......................................................................................................................... 13
Expatriates and Culture Shock .................................................................................................................... 15
Factors Impacting Expatriate Culture Shock ............................................................................................... 16
The Effect of Training .............................................................................................................................. 16
Pre-departure Visit.............................................................................................................................. 16
Pre-Departure Cross-Cultural Training (CCT) ...................................................................................... 17
Post-arrival orientation ....................................................................................................................... 17
Demographic Factors .............................................................................................................................. 17
Family Status ....................................................................................................................................... 18
Gender ................................................................................................................................................ 18
Age ...................................................................................................................................................... 18
Previous International Experience ...................................................................................................... 19
Personality of the Expatriate .................................................................................................................. 19
Cultural Flexibility ............................................................................................................................... 19
Ethnocentricity .................................................................................................................................... 20
Stress ................................................................................................................................................... 20
Interpersonal Skills ........................................................................................................................ 20

4. Willingness to Communicate .............................................................................................................. 21
Organisational Support ........................................................................................................................... 22
Chapter 3: Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 24
Research Question ...................................................................................................................................... 24
Research Methodology: Case Study ........................................................................................................... 25
Limitations .................................................................................................................................................. 26
Chapter 4: Interviews .................................................................................................................................. 27
Background ............................................................................................................................................. 27
Interviews.................................................................................................................................................... 27
Chapter 5: Discussion .......................................................................................................................... 36
Demographics ............................................................................................................................................. 37
Culture Shock .............................................................................................................................................. 38
Training ....................................................................................................................................................... 38
Organisational Support ............................................................................................................................... 39
Chapter 6: Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 39
Overview of Report ..................................................................................................................................... 40
Findings ....................................................................................................................................................... 40
Limitations .................................................................................................................................................. 41
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 42
Appendix 1 .................................................................................................................................................. 43
References .................................................................................................................................................. 43
Appendix 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 49
Questions .................................................................................................................................................... 49

5. Chapter 1: Introduction
International Human Resource Management
Increasing international businesses and globalization has led to an increase in expatiation and
transfer of employees from their native countries to different host countries for international
assignments. This extraordinary level of competition both locally and internationally,
organisations are now starting to understand that international business is a very important issue
for managers, however for finding and developing international human resources. For this a
distinct international HR policy strategy is required to deal with human resource issues (Dowling
et al., 1994, 59). Most of the research currently available on expatriate management is related to
North American Multinational, and that mostly experiences of western managers in other host
nations. There is almost no real research done on expatriates working in the UK. When
researching this topic it became obvious that there are no statistics reading expatriates working in
UK although there are many people, from Europe, North America, Asia and Africa who are
presently working as expatriates in UK. Adler (1997, 103) has observed that a majority of studies
in international human resource management has been carried out in America and is from the
American viewpoint.
It is also a fact that financial and human price underperformance of expatriates or their failure is
a much more serious issue internationally then in a local situation. This underperformance or
failure of employees may be because of cultural and social disparity between the host nation and
the native country. There is also proof that organizations who consider international employees

6. international expatriation as a simple issue are mistaken – the issues are very complex and the
failure of business may be because of failure to perform by expatriates in a different country
(Forster, 2000, 129).
Research also shows that country specific factors are very important. For instance Germany and
Japan have a large number of expatriates working in their countries, while the number of
expatriates in America is very low (Harzing, 1999, 24).
Culture Shock and Expatriate Employees
Cultural shock is a complex occurrence ensuing from several causes or stressors which take
place when an individual comes into contact with another culture. Culture shock is an emotional
uncertainty due to confusion or not understanding the signs in another culture. It takes place
because things like lack of understanding, little or no prior experience of the new society and
personal inflexibility. When one lives in a new culture it can lead him or her to go through daily
questioning of previously held philosophy and ideas that may lead to confusion and anxiety. It
can occur almost immediately when a person enters a new country or may occur a few months
later. It may start with feeling generally unwell, lack of sleep, homesickness, isolation and
anxiety. This is also accompanied by dissatisfaction with the host country, the university or
living conditions. The term Culture Shock was first defined by Oberg when he referred to the
stress and anxiety experienced by American expatriates when they went abroad.1 In another
study conducted by Mumford, (1998, 151; 2000, 78) the most significant determinant of culture
shock was the Culture distance or the degree of distance between host and native culture. The
1
Oberg (1954)

7. other determinant was the level of ethnic and racial prejudice and discrimination demonstrated
by the local population and the fluency of the local language in the host country, age and
personality of the individual (Bhugra and Jones, 2001, 220; Ryan and Twibell, 2000, 428).
Culture shock happens in immigrants like international students, expatriates who move to a new
country because of work assignments. The nature of societies like the UK and The US which are
multicultural societies can lead to cultural conflict between the new entrant and the host country
and create conflict and stress in the dealings of the new entrant (Winkelman, 1994). The
reactions from culture shock can lead to psychological problems and social isolation and when
these things hinder a person in his or her academic or work-related performance. In a
multicultural environment like the UK many individuals go through cultural shock in alien
cultural or sub-cultural environment (Merta, Stringham, & Ponterotto, 1988, 242-245). The
situation aggravating cultural shock and the person’s response rely on a range of issue, together
with earlier experience with other societies and cross-cultural adjustment (Furnham & Bochner,
1986).
In today’s’ global environment, corporations seek individuals who have international exposure
to lead the organisation. This experience can be gained from working in international projects
and cross-border groups, however expatriates are preferred as they have broader exposure and a
truly international perspective, and this is the reason that even today in the age of information
technology expatriates are preferred. Today many organisations consider the social and
psychological impact of cultural differences when assigning international assignments to
individuals. Researchers have discovered that 16% to 40% of the employees leave their
international assignments early because of poor performance and their failure to adjust
successfully in another cultural and social environment (Black, 1988, 283). In addition those who

8. continue usually demonstrate low levels of work efficiency. Culture shock occurs in expatriates
because of disparity between the cultural values of the host nation and the expatriates. The
inability of expatriates to deal with culture shock and their failure to adjust can cost in terms of
financial expenses, lack of effective management and low rate of efficiency. According to
Mendenhall and Oddou, (1985, 44) this failure can cost an organisation between $65,000 and
$300,000.
Purpose of Study
This study is conducted to understand whether expatriates working in UK experience culture
shock. Culture shock is a kind of stress as will be discussed in the next chapter, which expatriates
experience when they enter a new cultural environment. The disparities between different
cultures, traditions and values lead people to experience this phenomenon. Most of the existing
research related to expatriates working in different multinational organisations has been
conducted on Western expatriates who have been relocated to other countries in the world and
majority of the studies are about American expatriates. On the other hand there are very few
studies related culture shock experienced by non-westerners in Western countries.
Purpose of this study is to find out whether expatriates working in the UK are experiencing
culture shock and what the factors which impact culture shock are. This is a very small study,
limited by inexperience of the researcher; however it strives to identify culture shock as
experienced by different individuals from different cultural background in a cosmopolitan city
like London.
This study is a qualitative research based on unstructured interviews of 6 individuals hailing
from different parts of the world. Two participants are from Europe (Finland and Romania), one

9. is from Nigeria, one from India and one each from China and Korea. All the participants work
for different multinational corporations
Research Objectives
Following are some of the research objectives of this study:
To find out if the participants have experienced culture shock
To identify the cultural disparities responsible for culture shock as perceived by the participants
To analyse the four main factors which effect the degree of cultural shock experienced by the
participants has any influence on them
To pinpoint the coping techniques of these participants
Research Questions
Following are the research questions of the study:
Have the participants experienced culture shock in the UK?
What were the main cultural differences which resulted in culture shock?
Whether different factors related to demographics, training, and organisational support have
effected them and how?
How have they coped with culture shock?
Research Hypotheses
1Ho: Expatriates in UK experience culture Shock

10. 2Ho: specific cultural differences result in culture shock
3Ho: demographic, training and organisational support determine the degree and intensity of
culture shock
Significance of the Study
This study is important because it seeks to explore an area of international human resources
which has been understudied, there is almost no existing statistics which this researcher could
find about number of expatriates working in UK and their percentages based on their native
countries. This study although small and qualitative aims to provide detailed information about
the experiences of the participants and how they perceive the culture shock and what was the
difference between the two cultures, in addition they also identify their coping techniques. This
would be a small step forward in understand the reactions of non western individuals in a
western country.

11. Chapter 2: Literature Review
This chapter is a review of existing literature related to culture shock and the factors whish effect
the degree of culture shock experienced by individuals.
Culture Shock
Culture can be explained as a collection of lifestyle, values, ethical and moral standard,
belief systems, language, style of interaction and thinking patterns which are developed by a
social order to make sure that this prevails in certain physical and human conditions (Pusch,
1979, 15). Culture can be divided into implicit and explicit elements (Hofstede et al., 1990,
310). Implicit elements include the basic assumptions, the basic belief system and the core
culture, while explicit elements are represented by behaviour patterns, traditional customs and
the language. National cultures are formed on the basis of geographic location, while
organizational culture has a different set of variables like the structure of an organization, and
management practices lead to a pattern of behaviour which represents this unit (Hofstede, 1994,
87).
According to Fernandez (1988), culture shock
"includes all those beliefs and expectations about how people should
speak and act; the social structure and organization; the relationship and rules
that govern kinship systems; one's ethnicity; one's socioeconomic status; and the

12. ideals, customs, and learned behaviour that have become second nature to a
person (158)."
According to the culture shock rationalization, the time when persons encounter
unfamiliar surroundings, they start having a sense of uncertainty and vulnerability (Sue, 1981,
45). These unconstructive feelings develop when the foreign students realise that their past
adaptive behaviours and skills are now ineffective in dealing with the new socio-cultural
environment. Furthermore, due to temporary nature of stay, the students have a short time frame
to adjust swiftly to the altered principles and philosophy to which they are not used to in their
native country. Therefore they tend to experience more psychological turmoil as they face the
changed environment and a different set of values.
The phrase culture shock was originally introduced by anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in
the late 1950s. Oberg (1960, 178) described it as a "sickness" experienced by persons setting in a
new cultural setting. According to him, culture shock stemmed from the loss of familiar cultural
symbols and representations, leading to individuals to experience apprehension, disturbance, and
vulnerability. Since the time of Oberg this term has undergone many changes, it has been
constantly changed and renamed in research. For instance, culture shock has been defined
differently by different people and academicians, Befus, (1988, 397) and Searle & Ward, (1990,
454) believe it to be cross-cultural adjustment other think it is culture learning (Paige, 1990,
172), stress of f cultural adjustment (Anderson, 1994, 312). Despite its numerous explanations,
academics appear to concur that culture shock means the manifold needs for change that
individuals go through at different levels which include behavioural, cognitive, psychological,

13. collective, and physiological levels, when they move to other cultural surroundings (Searle &
Ward, 1990, 459).
Stages of Cultural Shock
Ferraro, (1990), Kohls, (1984) and Preston (1985) have defined 4 different stages of culture
shock. The phases can be both sequential and cyclical in nature. As with each new encounter the
person may go through the whole process repeatedly. However when a person becomes
bicultural the adaption may become bicultural.
Honeymoon phase
In this first stage, the fresh entrant may experience exhilarated and delighted by all of the new
things experienced. It is categorised by curiosity, enthusiasm, elatedness, restlessness, optimistic
outlook, and respect about the new society. The variations are thrilling and appealing. Even
though there may be concern and tension, these are taken in a positive manner.
Cultural shock phase
When the honeymoon stage passes the next phase the culture shock phase depends on personal
qualities, groundwork, and many other issues (Furnham & Bochner, 1986, 179). This phase starts
right off just after the arrival of the individual or it may set in late but it usually appears in a few
weeks or a month. During this stage the individual may face a number of crises and problems in
the daily routine. Things start going wrong, and the individual may face some problematic
situations and may encounter some difficult times and predicaments in daily life. Minor and
inconsequential things might start seem significant and important and cultural and social

14. differences may become more annoying and frustrating. The person may feel preoccupied with
hygiene food and living conditions. There is a lot of stress as the individual may feel rising
dissatisfaction, irritation, intolerance, and anxiety. Life becomes chaotic as feeling of
vulnerability, bewilderedness, ostracising by the locals settles in. The perception that one is not
in control may be evident and may lead to depression, loneliness, resentment, or aggression and
the person may become very emotional, wary, and obsessed and the feelings of being robbed are
also one of the characteristics (Rhinesmith, 1985, 74). In such a condition the individual tends to
criticise and one tends to find reasons to dislike the new culture. In this situation the individual
looks at more familiar environment and people so that the person may have a sense of protection
from the foreign culture.
Adjustment and gradual recovery phase
this stage is when the individual starts to understand the new social order and culture of the host
country. The person starts to learn about the ways to adjust effectively in the new environment.
The resolution of culture means learning how to adapt in an acceptable manner to new social
conditions. The person develops some problem solving skills, to deal with the differences and
demonstrates a positive view of the constructive behaviour. The individual start accepting the
new culture as its makes some sense to him or her and pessimistic reactions are minimised, as the
person learns that the problem is there because he or she refuses to understand recognize, and
adjust in the new environment. In this phase although the problems don’t stop but the individual
learns to deal with them in a positive manner.
Adaptation phase

15. The fourth stage is attained when one can successfully adapt at managing problems and adjust to
the new culture. The adaptation options are different and may vary from one person to another
and one condition to another. The individual realises that the new culture has both negative and
positive characteristics. And the individual starts perceiving him or herself in an acceptable role.
A successful adaption would ultimately lead to a bicultural identity it will also integrate the new
culture with the old culture thus the self concept of a person changes with this change. And the
person gets over the culture shock through adaptation.
Expatriates and Culture Shock
Basically expatriate culture shock is based in uncertainty. When an expatriate goes to another
country with a new culture and traditions there are certain doubts about the individual’s
behaviour which might be considered unacceptable. With time the expatriates realize that
behaviours which might be acceptable in their own country are not acceptable in the host country
(Black & Gregersen, 1991, 475). According to Black et al., (1991) when an individual leaves his
own country and enters new alien environment old habits are effected and a kind of
psychological insecurity crops up. This may lead the person to desire to minimize the differences
and uncertainty in the new setting. According to Black & Gregersen, (1991, p. 462) culture
shock from the perspective of expatriates is: "stress induced by all the behavioural expectation
differences and the accompanying uncertainty with which the individual must cope"
Culture shock can be explained as the emotions that expatriates might feel on entering the when
entering another country with a different culture and even a different language in many cases.
Culture shock experienced by expatriates can be either immediate, which may cause devastation

16. and fatigue. On the other hand culture shock can impact very slowly developing as the person
gradually becomes aware of the differences. Expatriates experience different levels of
frustrations and experiences which build up and finally results in an explosion of anger and
homesickness (Harrison, 1994, 20; Winkelman, 1994, 125).
Factors Impacting Expatriate Culture Shock
The Effect of Training
The emergence of culture shock after the honeymoon period might impact the employee. In this
period any training by the company may have an important influence in helping the expatriate
cope with the shock (Harrison, 1994, 27). However the nature of training and orientation
provided to the employees varies from one organisation to the other.
Pre-departure Visit
In many organizations there is a pre-departure visit, which is for the expatriates and their
spouses to orient themselves with the new environment (Solomon, 1994, 55). This allows the
employees and his or her family to experience firsthand what it would be like for them in the
new country. According to Black & Gregersen, (1991, 474) the visit could help in lowering
uncertainties about the country and lead to reducing the culture shock. But visits have to be as
realistic as possible rather than tourist visits of a new country, because the expatriates can
perceive life in the country as unrealistic. These misperceptions can be harmful and intensify
culture shock in future as the eventual reality is very different from the perceived reality
(Harrison, 1994, 30).

17. Pre-Departure Cross-Cultural Training (CCT)
Pre-departure cross-cultural training (CCT) is another kind of training which is formulated to
lower uncertainty linked to the new environment. The purpose of this training is to familiarize
the expatriate with the culture of the host country and how to interact with people there (Black &
Medenhall, 1990, 126-127). Depending on the host country and how different the two cultures
are, expatriates who don’t undergo this training may remain unfamiliar with the expected
behaviour and as a result experience culture shock.
Post-arrival orientation
After entering the host country an expatriate will go through a post-arrival orientation training
which aims to minimize the problems associated with cultural adjustment. This also includes
host country social support; this helps the expatriate in essential necessities like finding a school
for children etc. (Mendenhall &Wiley, 1994, 619; Taboada, 1998, 43).
Some managers are not very enthusiastic about training as not is it very costly, it is also thought
to be ineffective. (Harrison, 1994, Black et al., 1999) since the results of the training are not
quantifiable. However in a large study conducted by Black and Mendenhall (1990, 127) it was
found that pre-departure training helped expatriates in cross-cultural adjustment.
Demographic Factors
Studies have shown that demographic qualities are related t the level of culture shock
experienced by the expatriates. Review of literature shows that following are demographic
factors effecting culture shock.

18. Family Status
This is considered to be the most important demographic variable related to expatriate culture
shock. There is widespread acceptance among researchers that family status is arguably the most
important demographic variable with regard to expatriate culture shock (Black, 1988, 289; Black
& Stephens, 1989, 540; Black & Gregersen, 1991, 475; Shaffer & Harrison, 2001, 252;
Takeuchi, et al., 2002, 664). The expatriate’s experience is greatly influenced by their family
and its reaction, Shaffer and Harrison (2001) found that it was easier for smaller children to
adjust to school as compared to older children. A large number of expatriate turnover and failure
is related to expatriate’s family (Harvey, 1985, 88). Despite the fact that family plays a very
important part in the life of an expatriate, most of the training does not include family of
expatriates (Black & Stephens, 1989, 538).
Gender
There is little or no research on age of gender playing a role in culture shock. In case of gender,
almost all --90 percent to 97 percent of expatriate employees are men (Shaffer & Harrison, 2001,
250; Takeuchi et al, 2002, 663-664). Some cultures are male dominated or masculine societies,
like Arab countries, Far East and Latin America. In these kinds of cultures female expatriates
may feel more intense culture shock. But in other studies it was found that the cultural bias was
there only for local female population, while expatriate women are considered foreigners
working there (Adler1984, 91; Adler and Izraeli 1988, 65).
Age

19. Age may or may not have an impact on culture shock; there are though virtually no studies
which discuss age as a demographic factor. Birdseye & Hill, (1995, 809) conducted a study
which shows that it is relatively easier for older expatriates to deal with culture shock than a
younger expatriate.
Previous International Experience
researchers agree that previous international experience of an expatriate may help them deal
with culture shock and culture shock may be reduced Black et al. (1999, 57) state that people
with prior experience usually know what to expect when they relocate to a new country. The use
their knowledge to adjust, therefore culture shock may be lower and culture adjustment for these
expatriates is easier (Black et al., 1991, 313).
Personality of the Expatriate
Existing studies show that some fundamental personality qualities and capabilities that
individuals have can lead to an amplified or reduced possibility that individuals will be
negatively influenced by culture shock (Black, 1990; Harrison, 1994). Main qualities are:
Cultural Flexibility
The degree of cultural flexibility determines the amount of time that a person would take to
adjust to a new environment. A person who is receptive to new customs and cultural traditions
and behaviours is able to through his or her flexibility to substitute the missing traditions or
behaviours which might be missing in the host country. This substitution is part of overcoming
culture shock. Lack of flexibility on the other hand can lead to an intensification of culture
shock (Black, 1990, 124; Harrison, 1994, 19; Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985, 42).

20. Ethnocentricity
It is believed that ethnocentricity has a very significant impact on culture shock and cultural
adjustment. Ethnocentricity is the concept that one’s culture is better than culture of other
societies and people (Wortzel & Wortzel, 1985, 117). Research indicates that ethnocentric
expatriates are more prone to experiencing severe culture shock and even experience failure
compared to individuals who show a more tolerant attitude (Caligiuri & Di Santo, 2001, 32-33;
Church, 1982, 558). Ethnocentric individuals tend to ignore or make little effort to understand
the culture and concepts of the host country, According to Black (1990,131) since they consider
themselves and their culture superior they make little effort to understand the other culture and
also fail to change and adjust with the environment.
Stress
Researchers think that response of an individual to stress can determine if he or she can adjust to
the culture shock. It is accreted that culture shock is a kind of stress that leads to depression,
anger and frustration. Researchers believe that going to another country with different cultural
norms and tradition can lead to stress in the expatriate (Black, 1988, 284; 1990, 128). Ratiu
(1983) suggests that those expatriates who deal with the culture shock successful used areas of
stability, where they retreated when the environment became too stressful for them. Instead of
being overwhelmed by the isolation, they busied themselves into things like hobbies, religion
and other activities which reduced stress to a great degree. And they were able to deal with their
stress in an effective manner. The researcher further states that those who used their stability
zone retreats got over their culture shock and finally made cultural adjustment.
Interpersonal Skills

21. Other researchers show that a general cause of culture shock was related to interpersonal conflict
between expatriates and local people (Hammer, 77; 1987; Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985, 41).
Capacity to manage interpersonal struggle in a "concerted style", with a spotlight on shared
acceptance, was associated to reduced culture shock and faster adjustment and, consequently,
contributed to expat achievement. According to Mendenhall & Oddou, (1985, 41) is the cause of
culture shock is interpersonal conflict then good communication and PR skills can be an
advantage. They further found that those who had good personal skills in their home country in
family environment tended to overcome culture shock and adjusted quickly and better than
others, in addition their skill of making long-term friendship allowed them to overcome culture
shock . These individuals permeate many of the cultural impediments as well as steer clear of
cultural lapses with the help of their local friends (Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985).
Willingness to Communicate
Language skills and the ability to talk and communicate in the local language of the host country
is a personal quality which can impact the success or failure of the expatriate, language skills can
help these individuals overcome the hurdles of cultural shock and help them make cross cultural
adjustment (Black, 1990, 136-137). Conversely failure to successfully talk with locals is likely to
augment culture shock and, consequently, hinder adjustment (Black, 1990, 136-137).
Mendenhall and Oddou (1985, 46) have found that the willingness of an expatriate to
communicate in the native language usually is more successful then the degree of fluency of the
language. The expatriate's enthusiasm and wish to interact as opposed their aptitude to
communicate, was found to be the more significant factor in control culture shock and make an
effective change.

22. Organisational Support
Research studies also indicate that expatriate culture shock is impacted by the level to which the
expatriate identifies and experiences organizational support once they leave their native country
(Punnett, 1997, 244). Expatriates usually reach this conclusion based on the steps taken by their
organisation to the new international transfers. Black and Gregersen (1992, 68) believe that
greater the perceived organisational support the better is the commitment on part of the expat
employee to contribute to the international assignment. They argue that the higher the level of
commitment on part of the organisation the chances that individuals would make an effort to
alter their behaviour which in turn can reduce culture shock and allow employees to make the
transition more easily.
Punnett (1997) has found that more support an expat receives in the host country from his or her
organisation, the individual is able to overcome culture shock and make cross-cultural
adjustment more rapidly. In addition support in form of social assistance from the organisation
makes the transition easier, this is further supported by Black et al. (1991, 310).
Job related skills are the most important factor when employees are being chosen for an
international assignment; it is also found that this ability help expats with all the job related skills
are usually very helpful in getting over culture shock and making the cross-cultural transition.
(Black et al., 1999, 86)
Black's (1990) contention after studying Japanese expats in US is that individual with better
technical and managerial abilities are better able to deal with cultural differences and cultural
variations. . One of the three things necessary for successful adjustment is the job. Takeuchi et al.
(2002, 661) has confirmed these findings, they have further suggested that a failure to adjust to

23. work by the expatriate overflew and negatively influenced the expatriate's broad change which
could increase culture shock.

24. Chapter 3: Methodology
Research Question
Previous two chapters have discussed the phenomenon of culture shock as it has appeared in
existing literature. This research seeks to find out whether expatriates experience culture shock
when they enter UK, what in their view are the cultural differences or other issues which lead to
culture shock and whether training, demographics and organisational support has made any
difference. This chapter details how the researcher has gone about carrying out primary research.
Research questions need in-depth answers where the feelings of the respondents can be assessed
as it allows the respondent the freedom to respond in the way they think is correct, therefore
qualitative research is the more obvious choice. The reason for choosing qualitative research is to
allow the respondents the freedom to answer the question in his or her own way and does not
limit their answers to simple yes or no and there are no restrictions because of a structured
questionnaire. Qualitative research focuses on observations and experience to explore truth and
endeavours to portray individuals in natural work situations. The research hypotheses are:
1Ho: Expatriates in UK experience culture Shock
2Ho: specific cultural differences result in culture shock
3Ho: demographic, training and organisational support determine the degree and intensity of
culture shock

25. Research Methodology: Case Study
International human resource management is a very important field in a rapidly shrinking world.
As more and more organisations become global, employees are increasingly being sent on
assignments to different countries in the world. This study will use case study method to
understand the incidence of culture shock in expatriates working in multinational organisations
in UK and what are the factors which they believe were important in their experiencing culture
shock. Case studies of six individuals will try to answer the research questions.
Six individuals who presently work in multinational firms were approached and they agreed to
take part in this research, though all of them were insistent on keeping confidential their names
and names of the organisations they work for. The questions were related to three specific areas:
Whether they experienced culture shock—what were their symptoms
What were the main issues which increased their culture shock? Whether they were related to
differences in cultural traditions
What were the demographics of the group?
If any training was provided and was there any organisational support?
The interviews are standard open-ended interviews this is the most inflexible of all the
interviews. The interviewer has to follow a strict script. There is no flexibility in the wording or
the order of the questions. This is though still a qualitative interview as the responses are open-
ended. This technique is the most structured and efficient of the interviewing techniques, it is
useful as it reduces the bias especially in the case of less experienced or less knowledgeable of
interviewers. For this particular research a list of questions all open-ended except for

26. demographic details like age, gender, nationality and marital state all other questions are open-
ended.
The subject of the research was such that qualitative in-depth interviews were the most
appropriate ways and therefore close-ended questions would not have been helpful. The idea was
to understand what the respondents thought and felt. And this would not have been possible
through a structured questionnaire. The qualitative research was carried out in form of
interviews, which though open ended were standardised this was done because of the
researcher’s lack of experience.
Limitations
Critics of the case study method believe that the study of a small number of cases can offer no
grounds for establishing reliability or generality of findings. Others feel that the strong exposure
to study of the case biases the conclusion. Some dismiss case study research as useful only as an
examining tool. Yet researchers carry on to use the case study research method with success in
cautiously planned and crafted studies of real-life situations, issues, and troubles. Reports on case
studies from many disciplines are extensively accessible in the literature.

27. Chapter 4: Interviews
Background
UK does have an expatriate population which enters the country because of organisational
transfers and international assignments; however the proportion of expatriates as compared to
Germany or Japan is relatively smaller. In addition this researcher could find virtually no
information regarding statistical details about expatriates in UK. Culture shock is a worldwide
phenomenon and has been discussed in great detail; however the experiences of people coming
from diverse environment are not discussed in the literature.
For this small study there are six subjects hailing from different parts of the world. There are two
Europeans—one from Finland and the other from Romania, there is Nigerian, and Indian a
Chinese and a Korean. All of the respondents have been working from different multinational
corporations and have been lining in UK for at least a year. All of them are mid-level managers
and all except two have no prior international transfer exposure. All the respondents are male.
Interviews
The interviews for the case studies were conducted over a period of 3 days. Five were conducted
in face-to-face, one-on-one meetings while one was carried out over phone. All the respondents
were frank and forthcoming when they responded to the pre-set, open-ended questions. The face-
to face meetings were carried out at a public place to make the respondents feel for comfortable.
The interviews can be categorised into 3 major sections: Culture shock, Training and whether it
has been helpful, Organisational support and if it has or has not helped in adjusting into the new

28. environments. The researcher jotted down notes to their detailed answers and following is a
formal version of all the six conversations that took place.
Interview 1: Hans
Demographic Details
Hans2 is from Finland and has been living in London for the past two years. He is 33 years old
and married for the past five years with two young children. He is working as a marketing
manager for a mobile phone company and expects to be repatriated to another country in a year’s
time. Coming to London was his first inte4rnational assignment.
Culture Shock
Hans admits that he and his family went through a phase of adjustment problems before his
family including him was able to settle down in UK. He says that although there are no major
cultural differences, however he and his family felt very isolated in the beginning and at one
point even considered going back because of social isolation and language differences. He says it
was difficult for him to communicate effectively in English and felt that his work was suffering
because of this.
The language problem and lack of social interaction made him and his wife feel very isolated and
this came out in bouts of anger and stress which even affected his marital relationship. In
addition his work also suffered. He says it was time which eventually made him and his family
adjust.
Training
2
All names have been changed to keep their anonymity

29. Hans says he received pre-transfer intensive training and post transfer orientation; however there
was no visit before the transfer. He says that the training did not really help him though the post
arrival orientation was more helpful as it was more specific.
Organisational Support
The organisation he works for believes in providing employees strong organisational support
especially to expatriates He says that he adjusted into his new environment because of strong
organisational support both at work and the social support provided by the company
Interview 2: Alex
Demographic Details
Alex is from Romania and his real name is Alexandru. He has been living in London for over
two- and a half years. He is 28 and is associated with a Pharmaceutical company as an internal
analyst. Alex expects to live here for at least five years. This is his first international assignment
and he is single.
Culture Shock
Alex says that initially he faced many cultural and social problems. He says that it is not very
easy to adjust in a new country because not only is the society different but culture, tradition and
especially language is quite different. He says because of language problems he had difficulty in
communicating and adjusting because it affected not only his work but his day to day existence.
He recalls time when he became a complete introvert and increased the isolation he was feeling.
He felt very depressed and lonely.

30. He says that he realised that he was not only ruining his chances for development of career but
his mental stability was also at stake, so he made serious efforts to find other Romanians and
took up English language classed to aggressively deal with culture shock. Once his language
skills improved he was able to interact socially with the local population too.
Training
Alex says that he did not receive any formal training, he just received a brief pre-departure
training and when he arrived he got another very short orientation—both-- he believes, did not
prepare him. He says that he had assumed that both Romania and UK are European countries;
therefore there will not be any major problems, however he says he was in for a shock.
Organisational Support
Alex says that his organisation did not provide him with sufficient backing or support. Most of
the steps he took were on his own, however the organisation did encourage and support him in
taking up English language classes, in fact it was sponsored by the company.
Interview 3: Sunil
Demographic Details
Sunil is originally from India, and has been working in the same Fast Moving Consumer Goods
(FMCG) Company for the past 12 years in the field of production. He is 45 years old and this is
his third assignment, though first outside Asia and Middle-East, he was previously sent to Sri
Lanka and UAE. He is married with four children ranging between 8 and 17.
Culture Shock

31. Sunil believes that his previous experiences had prepared him somewhat for the new western
environment. He though admits that there was a certain kind of culture shock as his socio-
economic position which was much higher in Dubai and India dropped. In addition his children,
especially the older ones had problems adjusting to the new environment; this was despite the
fact that his family is fluent in English. The issue was the social environment. He says he
suffered more because of his children’s problems.
Sunil thinks that the stress levels increased here because of family pressure and also because of
the socio-economic pressures felt by him. He says that he did not really do much except for
engaging his family in religious activities and the local Indian population provided a lot of social
and moral support.
Training
Sunil says he received both pre-departure and post-arrival training and he even visited UK on an
orientation visit. He says that training is helpful but only while coping with the on-job tasks.
Family, social and cultural issues were not part of the training therefore it is successful only
partially. The training made him deal with work related disparities, especially the way work is
done and the communication system in Asian and Middle Eastern societies and in Western
Organisational Support
The organisation, Sunil says has provided him with a lot of support and has helped him in
locating schools for his children and accommodations. He says that his organisation is willing to
support him more but the cultural issues were solved by the local Indian community.
Interview 4: Ahmed

32. Demographic Details
Ahmed is a Nigerian and he is associated with a petro-chemical organisation as a technical
associate. He is 26 and youngest of all the respondents. He is married but his wife is still back in
Nigeria and expected to be here in a month’s time, he has no children. He has been living in UK
for about 18 months and this is his first assignment.
Culture Shock
Ahmed says that coming to UK and living here has been the most difficult thing he has ever
done. Not only does he feel that the western culture is very different from his cultural
background which he says is a blend of African traditions and Islamic value system. He says that
in the beginning he found it very difficult to deal with the large disparity between the two
countries, and he felt not only lost and isolated, but he felt depressed and with each passing day
found it difficult to make the adjustment. He says that language was not a problem however; lack
of social support and the western cultural values made him feel lonely and frustrated. This was
further aggravated by the physical distance between his wife and himself. He feels that if she
was in UK at the time of arrival it would have been different.
He says the Muslim community provided him great social support and as a result of depression
he became more religiously inclined and eventually managed to deal with culture shock.
Training
Ahmed says that he received no formal training; rather the organisation he works for arranged an
interview with the HR manager in the pre-arrival phase. But on arrival he received some
intensive training regarding work environment and this eased his work-related worries. In his

33. view training helped him to the extent of the work environment. The major social and cultural
issues he dealt with were on his own. He says though that he would have failed if the post arrival
training had not been as rigorous as it was.
Organisational Support
Ahmed says he did not receive organisational support to deal with cultural and social issues, His
organisation did not provide him with any organisational support to deal with the cultural and
social issues that he encountered in his day-to-day life. Therefore the culture shock that he
experienced was very severe.
Interview 5: Kim
Demographic Details
Kim is a Korean living in UK for four years now and this is his second assignment, though first
in a western country. He was previously sent to Malaysia for a period of 5 years. He is 48 and
married with three children between the ages of 3 and 12. He works for electronics multinational
as a marketing manager. He expects to stay in UK for at least two more years.
Culture Shock
Kim says that he and his family experienced many problems associated with international
transfer. He says that this assignment was much more different from the Malaysian experience
because the Malaysian culture is similar to Korean culture in its values and traditions. In
Malaysia he says he and his family learnt the local Malay language and very basic English.
Coming to UK was a shock in many ways, first because both he and his family did not speak
English well- and secondly because there was a distinct difference in cultural attitude and

34. behaviours. Kim says that he not only felt very frustrated and lonely but also inadequate when it
came to communicating with people.
He says that he was on the verge of exploding, when gradually with a lot of support from his
wife and his organisation he was able to adjust.
Training
The training that he received included a visit a formal pre-departure and post arrival training, but
the human resource department failed to pinpoint the differences in behaviours and attitudes,
which came as a real shock to him. He says that the training did not prepare him for the feeling
of insolence that he felt because Western managers in UK tended to talk very directly and which
offended him and made him question his ability.
Organisational Support
Kim believes that the social support provided to him by other Korean expatriates and their help
in adjusting to the British society was very helpful. He says he dealt with cultural adjustment
very gradually. The support of the organisation also translated into enrolling his whole family
into English language classes.
Interview 6: Wong
Demographic Details

35. Wong is a Chinese and has been in UK for a year now. He works for a multinational investment
company to analyse the Stock market first hand, he has been sent to UK for a period of 3 years.
He is 37 years old and single.
Culture Shock
Wong identifies language as the major issue which acted as a hurdle to his adjustment in UK. In
addition he says that since his family is back in china he has felt and is still feeling lonely,
isolated and depressed. He says that social contact and interaction is very important for someone
to settle down. He feels that because of the language barrier he is unable to communicate
effectively this has been extremely frustrating as this problem persists not only at work but also
in his daily life. He says he feels depressed and lonely and also angry because of his inability to
communicate properly. In the beginning he experienced lot of stress and after seeking help he
has been able to deal with the problems.
Training
Wong says that he received a lot of coaching in English language in a very short time, in addition
he got some informal training, in the post arrival period he also went through an orientation but
he says that the initial training was not very helpful and he struggled on his own to deal with the
problems.
Organisational Support
The organisation he said has provided some support but most of the time he has had to fend on
his own. He personally enrolled himself into a communications class, in addition he was not
given much help with fining the right accommodation or the places he could buy oriental food.

36. He believes that the aggravated level of shock and his struggle to adapt have been because of any
kind of social support from the organisation.
Chapter 5: Discussion

37. This chapter analyses the details of chapter 4 in detail to determine what the outcomes are. Six
participants have very candidly answered the questions related to their cultural adjustment and
the phenomenon of culture shock. Secondly they have also highlighted the role of the
organisation they work for and discussed whether it has helped in any way in their cultural
adjustment. The open ended questions allowed the respondents to give details about their
adjustment process. The following sections analyse the interviews.
The first three questions were related to the cultural and social differences that the respondents
encountered when they first arrived in UK. The three questions were framed in such a way that
asked the respondents to pinpoint the issues which made them experience these problems.
Demographics
The six respondents are from different places. Two are from Europe, however one is Romanian,
while the other is a Finn. There is a Nigeria, an Indian a Korean and a Chinese. All of them are
middle level managers in big corporations. There are two single men, while one is married but he
lives alone in the UK waiting for his wife to join him, while the other three—the Indian, the
Korean and the Finn are married with Children. Hans the Finn has small children therefore their
adjustment was not a big issues compared to the problems faced by Sunil and Kim who have
adolescent children who found it difficult to adjust to the new environment. This finding
supports prior research (Shaffer and Harrison, 2001, Takeuchi et al., 2002). In addition both Kim
and Sunil in their mid forties are much more comfortable with their adjustment and since they
also have prior experience of living in other countries, they are relatively more experienced in
being prepared about what to expect.

38. Culture Shock
All the participants of this study experienced culture shock in one way or the other. Except of
Sunil and Ahmed all of the other respondents mention new language as a major barrier which
prevented them and their families to adjust more quickly. For Hans, Alex, Wong and Kim
language led to their feeling isolated and lonely they also felt socially alienated. In addition
language skills they assert also hampered effective communication not only in their personal
lives but also in their private lives. For Sunil the issue of his children settling down was a major
hindrance to adjustment and caused a great deal of anxiety and stress. Feelings that the
participants mention are Stress, confusion, anger, depression, loneliness and isolation. Which
range from mild to very strong for Wong who even after a year in UK feels very lonely. For
Ahmed on the other hand social and cultural values are very different in the western society
which increases stress, for Sunil a downward shift in socio-economic status was also a factor.
Coping techniques mentioned by the respondents varies, for Hans it was just time which finally
made him adjust as growing familiarity and gradual language fluency helped. For Alex language
classes in addition to his own efforts were helpful. For Sunil it was the religious activities and the
strong social support from the Indian community in UK. For Ahmed it was religion and the
Muslim community support. For Kim his family and Organisation’s support was a great help.
Wong has been unable to cope with the cultural stresses and even after a year is feeling very
depressed.
Training
With reference to training there is a general consensus between the participants that training of
any kind either formal, informal, pre-arrival, post departure does not really prepare an individual

39. for the cultural and social changes that an individual’s might face. In fact many were quite
critical of it. They believed that training had to become more focused and it should pinpoint the
issues which really matter like social and cultural differences, how to interact with locals in an
alien society. The overall perception of the respondents was that even though training was
helpful but most of the time it was mostly ineffective because of unknown variables and
organisations used a standard training format without really focussing on things like what may be
acceptable in one society may not be in the other, in addition communication was very
significant but it was most of the time ignored or overlooked. The general agreement points to
the fact as discussed in chapter two that the high costs of training may not be justified unless
training is really focused.
Organisational Support
In this study for organisational support half the members believed that they had received very
strong organisational support and they think that it has helped them in overcoming culture shock.
The other three who did not receive much organisational support believe that if they had been
given support it would have been relatively easier for them to overcome many of the problems
that they faced. In fact some of them seemed quite bitter. Therefore from this study it appears
that organisational support is very essential in helping expatriates to adjust in shorter time and
can lead to lower rates of expatriate failures and much quicker adjustments.
Chapter 6: Conclusion

40. Overview of Report
The study set out to find out whether expatriate living in UK experience culture shock and what
were the major factors leading to culture shock and how in any way demographics, training and
organisational support affected their socio-cultural experiences. This study used the case study
method and analysed six individuals who were interviewed in unstructured interviews, though
questions were pre-set but open-ended. The study first did a literature review of existing
literature and a thorough search showed that most of the prior studies were done on westerners
and hardly any study was found on people from other cultures and society. Therefore it is
believed that this report in some way will be able to contribute by analysing a different set of
individuals, including two Europeans. The research hypotheses were:
1Ho: Expatriates in UK experience culture Shock
2Ho: specific cultural differences result in culture shock
3Ho: demographic, training and organisational support determine the degree and intensity of
culture shock
Findings
Following are the findings:
All individuals faced culture shock in one form or other and of different intensity.
Demographic issues especially family status and prior experience.

41. There were several reasons which made them suffer from culture shock, but the most important
was the issue of language skill and the inability to communicate and interact socially with the
local people. In addition cultural differences like accepted norms also played a major role.
Social support, religious activity, personal effort, and some cases organisational support played a
major role in helping the respondents cope with the problems and made them adjust in the new
environment.
Training was thought to be only partly helpful as the organisations addressed broad concerns
rather than focusing on individual problems, therefore there was not much difference between
more or less training.
Organisational support was a very important action which was desired by all individuals and
respondents admitted that it helped them in coping with culture shock.
From the above findings it appears that first two hypotheses are validated while the last
hypothesis is also validated except in the case of training as the results of training are not
quantifiable. Culture shock occurs whenever there are cultural differences and problems which
prevent social integration into the society result in stress and depression and other feelings as
discussed in detail earlier, and expatriates tend to experience these adjustment problems and
delays.
Limitations
This report has several limitations associated with it:
Since the report was based on case studies of six individuals, there are many variables and issues
which have not been taken into account or ignored.

42. Limited resources and means to conduct the research have also set restrictions on how further the
research can be conducted.
Since the research was qualitative the bias of the researcher is present.
This research is not exhaustive.
The researcher is a student and therefore has little or no expertise in conducting the research.
Conclusion
This study has attempted to understand the phenomenon of culture shock and its incidence in a
western society where the number of expatriates is much smaller than in other countries. From
Human resource perspective this study has shown the importance of organisational support for
an individual as compared to training which received mixed result. Although very small this
study has also confirmed previous studies which have underlined the importance of
demographics. Because of a dearth in primary research on expatriates in British society there was
no way to compare the results with existing data. There is a need to explore this research further.

43. Appendix 1
References
Adler, N. J. (1984). ―Women in international management‖. California Management Review,
Vol. 26, 78-99.
Adler, N.J. (1997). “International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour,” PWS-
Kent, Boston, MA
Adler, N. J., & Izraeli, D. N. (1988). Women in management. New York: M. E. Sharp Inc.
Anderson, L. E. (1994). ―A new look at an old construct: Cross-cultural adaptation‖.
International Journal of Inter-cultural Relations, Vol. 18(3), 293-328.
Befus, C. P. (1988). ―A multilevel treatment approach for culture shock experienced by
sojourners‖. International Journal of International cultural Relations, Vol. 12, 381-400.
Bhugra D, Jones P (2001). ―Migration and mental illness.‖ Advanced Psychiatric Treatment
Vol.7, 216–223.
Birdseye, M. G, & Hill, J. S. (1995). ―Individual, organizational/work and environmental
influences on expatriate turnover tendencies: An empirical study‖. Journal of International
Business Studies, Vol. 4, 787-813.
Black, J. S. (1988). ―Work role transitions: A study of American expatriate managers in Japan‖.
Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 19, 277-294.

44. Black, J. S. (1990). ―Personal dimensions and work role transitions‖. Management International
Review, Vol. 30,119-134.
Black, J. S., & Gregersen, H. B. (1991). ―The other half of the picture: Antecedents of spouse
cross-cultural adjustment‖. Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 3, 461-478.
Black, J.S., & Gregersen, H.B. (1992). ―Antecedents to commitment to a parent company and a
foreign operation‖. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 33, 61-72.
Black, J. S., Gregersen H. B., Mendenhall M. E., & Stroh, L. K. (1999). ―Globalizing People
through international Assignment s”. Reading: Addison-Wesley.
Black, J. S., & Mendenhall, M. (1990). ―Cross-cultural training effectiveness: A review and
theoretical framework for future research‖. Academy of Management Review, Vol. 15, 113-136.
Black, J. S., Mendenhall, M., & Oddou, G. (1991). ―Toward a comprehensive model of
international adjustment: An integration of multiple theoretical perspectives‖. Academy of
Management Review, Vol. 16, 291-317.
Black, J. S., & Stephens, J. K. (1989). ―The influence of the spouse on American expatriate
adjustment in overseas assignments‖. Journal of Management Science, Vol. 15, 529-544.
Caligiuri, P. M., & Di Santo, V. (2001). ―Global competence: What is it, and can it be developed
through global assignments? ―Human Resource Planning, Vol. 24, 27-34
Church, A. T. (1982). ―Sojourner adjustment‖. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 9, 540-572.
Dowling, P., Schuler, R. and Welch, D. (1994). “ International Dimensions of Human
Resource Management,” Wadsworth, Belmont, CA

45. Fernandez, M. S. (1988). ―Issues in counseling Southeast- Asian students‖. Journal of
Multicultural counseling and development, Vol. 16, 157-166.
Ferraro, G. (1990). ―The cultural dimension of international business”. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice –Hall.
Forster, N. (2000).―The myth of the international manager‖, International Journal of
Human Resource Management, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 126–42
Furnham, A., & Bochner, S. (1986). Culture shock. London, England: Methuen.
Hammer, M. R. (1987). ―Behavioral dimensions of intercultural effectiveness‖. International
Journal of Intercultural Relations, Vol. 11, 65-88
Harrison, J. K. (1994). ―Developing successful expatriate managers‖. Human Resource
Planning, Vol. 17,17-33.
Harvey, M. G. (1985). ―The executive family: An overlooked variable in international
assignments‖. Columbia Journal of World Business, Vol. 20, 84-92.
Harzing, A.W.K. (1999). “ Managing the Multinationals: An International Study of
Control Mechanisms”, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
Hofstede, G. (1994). ― Cultures and Organization”s. London: Harper Collins Publishers
Hofstede, G., Neujen, B., Ohayv, D. and Sanders, G. (1990). ―Measuring Organizational
Cultures: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study Across Twenty Cases‖, Administrative Science
Quarterly, Vol. 35, pp.286-316.

46. Kohls, R. (1984). ―Intercultural training: Don’t leave home without it”. Washington, DC: Sietar.
Mendenhall, M., & Oddou, G. (1985). ―The dimensions of expatriate acculturation: A review‖.
Academy of Management Review, Vol. 10, 39-48.
Mendenhall, M., & Wiley, C. (1994). ―Strangers in a strange land‖. American Behavioral
Scientist, Vol. 5, 605-621.
Merta, R., Stringham, E., & Ponterotto, J. (1988). ―Stimulating culture shock in counselor
trainees: An experiential exercise for cross-cultural training‖. Journal of Counseling and
Development, Vol.66, 242-245.
Mumford D B. (1998). ― The measurement of culture shock‖. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric
Epidemiology, Vol.33, 149–154
Oberg, K. (I960). ―Culture shock: Adjustment to new cultural environments‖. Practical
Anthropology, Vol. 7, 177-182.
Paige, M. R. (1990). ―International students: Cross-cultural psychological perspectives‖. In R.
W. Brislin (Ed.), Applied cross-cultural psychology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. 161-185
Preston, J. (1985). ―Cultural shock and invisible walls: SUNY‖. International Programs
Quarterly, Vol. I (3/4), 28-34
Punnett, B. J. (1997). ―Towards an effective management of expatriate spouses‖. Journal of
World Business, Vol. 3,243-258
Pusch, M. D. (1979) (Ed.) Multicultural Education NY: Intercultural Press, Inc.

47. Ratiu, I. (1983). ―Thinking internationally: A comparison of how international executives learn‖.
International Studies of Management and Organization, Vol. 13, 139-150.
Rhinesmith, S. (1985). ―Bringing home the world”. New York: Walsh & Co.
Ryan M E, Twibell R S. (2000). ―Concerns, values, stress, coping, health and educational
outcomes of college students who studied abroad‖. International Journal of Intercultural
Relations. Vol. 24, 409–435.
Searle, W., & Ward, C. (1990). ―The prediction of psychological and socio-cultural adjustment
during cross-cultural transitions‖. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Vol. 14, 449-
464.
Shaffer, M. A., & Harrison, D. A. (2001). ―Forgotten partners of international assignments:
Development and test of a model of spouse adjustment‖. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol.
86,238-254.
Solomon, C. M. (1994). ―Success abroad depends on more than job skills‖. Personnel Journal,
Vol. 4,51-59.
Sue, D. W. (1981). ―Counseling the culturally different”. New York: Wiley.
Taboada, M. B. (1998). “Firms try to ease shock of stranger in strange land‖. Business First
Columbus, Vol. 33, 43.
Takeuchi, R., Tesluk, P., & Yun, S. (2002). ―An examination of crossover and spillover effects
of spousal and expatriate cross-cultural adjustment on expatriate outcomes‖. Journal of Applied
Psychology, Vol. 87,655-666.

48. Winkelman, M. (1994). ―Culture shock and adaptation‖. Journal of Counseling and
Development, Vol. 73,121-126.
Wortzel, H., & Wortzel, L. (1985). ―Corporate culture and human resource management‖. In H.
Wortzel & L. Wortzel (Eds.), Strategic management of multinational corporations (pp. 114-
137). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

49. Appendix 2
Questions
Age:
Gender:
FamilyStatus:
Native country:
Industry:
Approximate time of stay:
1. In your opinion were there any social and cultural issues which led to your adjustment
problems? What were they?
2. How did you feel because of these problems?
3. How did you overcome these issues and problems?
4. Did you receive any type of training or orientation in the pre arrival and post arrival
period? Identify the training.
5. How helpful was this training in helping you to adjust to new cultural environment?
6. Did you receive any kind of organisational support? What was the nature of the support?
7. Was this support helpful in decreasing the problems associated with cultural adjustment?