Reflective Writing:Cox’s reflective practice model applied to cross-cultural competence

Reflective Writing:Cox’s reflective practice model applied to cross-cultural competence

• Description of the experience

Through Cox’s reflective practice model, I have learnt the importance of work-based activities and the way these activities have provided me with unique experiences. Through the learning module, I have developed skills, knowledge and motivation for adapting to cross-cultural environments. I have understood the importance of cultures, and it has enabled me to contribute to intercultural effectiveness (Ryback and Motschnig 2017). Through the module, I have learnt adaptability to different cultures with a core set of competencies. Through the results, I have determined the objective outcomes of my performance and analyze them accordingly. I have realized that the performance has been influenced by several factors, such as intuitive reasoning. Inference and inductive thinking. These factors are generally tacit and do not involve any more analysis. I have also successfully judged the three strands of learning, that is, learning at work, learning for work and learning through action. I have also realized that each of these components of work-based learning can be accomplished through the structural use of the reflective practice model.

• Reflection

Through these learning sessions, I was trying to achieve cross-cultural competence, that is, efficiency in adapting to the cross-cultural environment. I was encountered a lot of intercultural communities that had differences in their cultures. I had to deal with them and struggle to cope up with the differences. In certain situations, I could understand the challenges and solved them with my ideas and logic. In other situations, I responded negatively with the people having cultural differences (Sit et al. 2017).  I felt that the experience was quite different and challenging as I had to deal with a lot of uncertain situations and found out suitable solutions to come out of these difficult situations. Other people had mixed reactions in the process. Many of them responded positively to my actions, whereas others reacted negatively to some of my ideas. I created a comfort zone between me and culturally different people such that they do not hesitate to share their issues with me. This has helped me to understand them properly so that this cultural difference could be mitigated up to a greater extent. I have also implemented communication platforms through meetings and discussions, which were conducted in groups, to understand the mental perspectives of the culturally different peers.

• Influencing factors

In developing cross-cultural competencies, I have been affected by many internal and external factors (Karbasian and Tansaz 2017). The cultural identities of the people, such as their values, attitudes, norms and practices, have influenced my responses towards them. Another critical factor that has affected my reaction is the ethnic identity that is the interaction among ourselves.

Other internal factors that I found necessary in this context are age, social class and role of gender (Aleksandrova 2016). Some of the external factors that contributed to my cross-cultural business are language barriers, nonverbal communications, external environment intertwined with technology, social organization and history of our relationship.  I have realized that my interaction with the cross-cultural communities has been influenced by many factors such as intercultural knowledge, skills or attitudes.

The knowledge and skills of the respective communities have jointly formed the personal attributes, which have been integral parts of effective communication and interaction between culturally and linguistically different people. I have also found certain other traits, which are possessed by these cross-cultural communities. These traits have also influenced my behaviour towards them. Some of these traits are emotional resilience, openness, perceptual acuity, empathy and tolerance of ambiguity (Ng et al. 2017). I have also conducted an open survey through a Multicultural personality questionnaire, which has vividly helped me in finding out suitable opinions, judgements and viewpoints these culturally different people. Through the analysis, I have been able to modify my responses to suit myself in their environment.

• Learning

Through the development of my cross-cultural competence, I have gained maximum awareness of the people and their surroundings. From this experience, I have developed an understanding of the perceptions, thoughts, and psychology of the culturally different people. This has enhanced the effectiveness of my interactions with them. For developing cross-cultural competence successfully, I have restricted myself only to some specific options (Bird and Mendenhall 2016). I could have easily opted for other opportunities in these situations. However, I believe that those options might not be useful for me in gaining an understanding of the cross-cultural communities. My chosen options have helped me create a good rapport and a relationship with the culturally different members, bridging the gap of cultural division.

In the course of this development, I have understood that cross-cultural competence is a crucial trait that should be possessed by all to achieve professional goals. I have also learnt new ways of reaching out to these people through the improvisation of unique communication techniques (Cai et al. 2017). In certain situations, I have found my values getting hampered due to this cultural gap. However, I have tried to adjust to such conditions to come out of my discomfort. Overall, my experience with my peers has been excellent, and I have suitably developed cross-cultural competence for bridging this cultural gap between us.

Cultural and organizational environments of Amkor Technologies

An organizational environment is very crucial for defining its culture. This is because the behaviour, attitude and performance of the employees build up a corporate culture, which is directly influenced by the organizational environment. It is essential for employees to understand the culture of their organizations (Fellows and Liu 2016). This is because the organization’s culture helps them in gaining an understanding of the philosophy of the organization. The key elements that make up a particular organizational culture are the stated and the unstated values of the organization, expectations of the individuals, customs and rituals and the regulatory climate.

The cultural environment of Amkor Technologies

American Biotechnology Inc. has been one of the fast-developing companies in the US. The company has developed a facility related to research and manufacturing in several parts of the world, such as England, Germany, Argentina and Japan. The company has recently entered the Korean market and formed a joint venture with Hangul Business Group (HBG). The new merger was named as AmKor technologies. The joint venture soon started witness growth with the help of Korean business culture (Kalaiarasi and Sethuram 2017).  The venture was led by Lee Sanghoon, who was responsible for developing relations with the Korean business community. This is because Lee was not well sound with the biotechnology industry. Another head of the company, Mathew Davenport, was an experienced executive and was well recognized for his approach of turnaround management. He could reorganize British and Argentine operations through corporate streamlining and cost-cutting procedures.

Alan Bird was the assistant of Davenport, who was highly known for his honesty and integrity. He also could compromise and reach consensus through his persuasive skills. Bird was fond of Korean culture and was pleased to return to Korea. The individuals of the Korean community belonging to the company were motivated by Bird to develop their value systems, beliefs and ideals without imposing them on others (Carneiro 2018). The company believed that developing complacency and superiority was not the right attitude, which might harm the organizational culture. Everyone should be treated equally with respect. After the arrival of Bird, the executive Davenport was delighted. This is because Bird was aware of the Korean business culture, and he would help Davenport in handling the complex interpersonal and administrative problems.

However, there have been constant changes in the behaviour of Bird, as he was becoming absorbed in the Korean culture. The expression of Bird was getting aligned with the Korean culture, which created ineffectiveness in administrative activities. There have been several examples that highlighted a complete emotional involvement of Bird with the Korean culture. Bird started the implementation of the Korean language in the office premises, which hampered the sentiments of English employees (Sari and Triono 2017).  The assistant was also engrossed in learning Korean history and religion utilizing the leave facility of the company, which created a problem for Davenport.  Bird started intermixing with the employees and also discussed personal issues with them. As a result, the employees sought to seek the assistance of Bird during any changes in personnel policies implemented by Davenport.

Davenport introduced a new promotion policy based on the Western-style that appraised the performances of the employees on an annual basis. However, the employees were disturbed by this policy and created conflicts among them. According to the point of view of the employees, the new system would jeopardize the existing harmony of the organization (Biryukova et al. 2017).  Despite several revolts from the part of the Korean employee, Davenport defended himself, arguing that the new policy is required for meeting up the demands of the global competition. This is because employee promotion should be dependent on the actual performance of the employee instead of seniority.

The organizational environment of AmKor Technologies

The organization witnessed a clear division of labour and a well-organized structure and management. The daily operations were handled by Mathew Davenport, who was appointed by the ABI, the parent company of AmKor technologies. Five Korean Senior managing directors were responsible for reporting to Davenport. These directors were responsible for controlling the operations of major functional areas of the organization, such as manufacturing, sales, finance, marketing and many others (Calabrese et al. 2018).  Alan Bird, another person from Korea, was appointed as the assistant of Davenport. The authority of the organization was primarily concerned about the research and development department as no person was recruited explicitly for carrying out the overall responsibility of the management.

The President of the organization was well connected with the Korean business community. The company has been engaged in supporting the activities of the ruling political party of the country (Škulj et al. 2019).  The company has also been an active participant of the Korean international business community and has also taken membership in the American Chamber of Commerce.  The authority has believed that these secure connections are required for the future success of the organization.

Davenport has been extensively involved in driving the growth and development of the business. He has a shift in his position and soon became the Vice President and the General Manager of the company. He delightfully took up the challenge of expanding the Korean operations. The assistant of Davenport, Alan Bird, was a proficient person in the Korean language and was well versed in the culture of the Korean community (Kouvaris et al. 2017). The person was recognized as a highly motivated person who could bring in new ideas and strategies to the business. Bird was well suited to the Korean culture, and he was responsible for trouble-shooting with the Korean customers and attending trade meetings for the organization.

The other significant activities of the organization included negotiation with the officials of the government, researching the market for finding out lucrative projects and day-to-day administration of the operations of the functional departments. With the joint efforts of both the partners, AmKor started to expand its product lines to cater to the needs and demands of the Korean marketplace. The company also took initiatives to provide massive investments in the area of research and development such that it can come up with new and innovative technologies to tap new markets (Pachura 2017). The efforts were jointly coordinated by the committee of members from both the parent companies such that there is no duplication of work. As a result of this organized structure, the venture has been able to offer its customers with a variety of new products, which later became very successful and popular. The management felt that the company has a promising future and would contribute to economic prosperity as well as political stability. The enhancement of the standard of living in Korea would also pave the way for the growth and development of the company.

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