preview

Should Citizens Being Able For Interact And Communicate With Local Nationals?

Better Essays

The importance of expatriates being able to interact and communicate with local nationals is emphasized by the contact theory assuming that interpersonal contacts between individuals from different cultures lead to understanding and adjustment. One of the ways that expatriate newcomers become aware of appropriate behaviours in the host country is interacting with host country nationals in a social setting, as local people would be the sources of information and help to understand. The successful expatriates are socially well-integrated. Therefore, expatriates who often communicate and interact with locals will be less surprised and frustrated by differences in non-work circumstances of the host country comparing with expatriates who are socially isolated from the host culture. In the host country, inappropriate behaviours are more likely to result in negative outcomes, leading the expatriate to make the wrong attributions about the culture of the host country and consequently to further withdraw from it. Avoiding interaction with the host country nationals in daily life outside work leads expatriates to ignore local thinking and mentality, which affects their ability to assess work situations and make them develop inaccurate assumptions about the people they are managing. However, others have argued that to bring about adjustment merely interacting with host nationals is not enough, suggesting that adjustment will be facilitated if the expatriates have the cultural empathy

Get Access