Fall 2005 IMQ by Intercultural Management Institute

Intercultural Management Quarterly Integrating Culture and Management in Global Organizations

Fall 2005 Edition Volume 6, Number 4

Inside this issue of IMQ... Page Third Culture Kids: Prototypes for Understanding Other Cross-Cultural Kids by Ruth Van Reken and Paulette Bethel 3 Common Civilizational Values as Perceived by an American Muslim by Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad 4 Culture and the Development of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Education Services by Rebecca Dirks 6 Contrasting German Cultural Differences from the Outside and Inside by Sybille Reinke de Buitrago and Miguel Buitrago 10

Intercultural Management Quarterly (IMQ) is a publication of the Intercultural Management Institute (IMI) at American University. IMQ is a forum for experts in the field of intercultural management to share their knowledge with a broad audience interested in intercultural issues. IMQ is produced with the active involvement of faculty, graduate students, and alumni of American Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School of International Service. INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT QUARTERLY: www.imquarterly.org INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE: www.imi.american.edu

From the Editor

IMQ STAFF Publisher • Dr. Gary R. Weaver Managing Editor • Adam Mendelson Publication Manager • Anna Lee Contributing Writers Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad Paulette M. Bethel Miguel A. Buitrago Sybille Reinke de Buitrago Rebecca Dirks Ruth E. Van Reken

Taking Another Look

Welcome to the Fall 2005 edition of Intercultural Management Quarterly. In this edition of IMQ, we present four articles which take a fresh new look at some of the most interesting issues in the field. Ruth Van Reken and Paulette Bethel examine the issue of Third Culture Kids (TCKs), many of whom are our colleagues and family members. They introduce a new term, Cross-Cultural Kids (CCK), which is intended to broaden our understanding of what it means to grow up in multiple cultural contexts. In his article, Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad discusses the common civilizational values between the American and Muslim cultures from his perspective as an American Muslim. His article exhibits a detailed and unique familiarity with both cultures, and underlines the importance of recognizing the underlying commonalities between cultures despite what may be more superficial differences. The nexus between culture, health, and program development, an increasingly discussed topic, is the focus of Rebecca Dirks’s article. Her article provides an example for how culture can be used advantageously in healthcare program design. And finally, Sybille Reinke de Buitrago and Miguel Buitrago examine German cultural differences from the perspective of a German and from the perspective of a non-German, both of whom live in Germany. Their analysis is a thoughtprovoking and valuable example of the multiple lenses through which we can see different cultures. The past few months have been very gratifying at IMQ. Since our Summer issue, when we introduced the IMI Associates program and IMQ subscription fees, we have been thrilled how many people have signed up for both programs. This response only serves to reinforce the saliency of our mission, and we hope that if you haven’t already signed up, you will consider doing so. Also, if you haven’t yet taken the opportunity, I encourage you to visit our completely revamped website at www.imquarterly.org. I hope that you enjoy this issue of IMQ, and I look forward to seeing many of you at the Intercultural Management Institute’s Seventh Annual Conference in March. Best wishes, Adam Mendelson

Announcing the Intercultural Management Institute’s

7th Annual Conference March 16-17, 2006 at American University Offering over 25 sessions on intercultural strategies and skills for international business, government, education, training and development professionals.

Editorial Review Board Dr. Gary R. Weaver, Dr. David Bachner, Brad David, Anna Lee, Annmarie McGillicuddy, Adam Mendelson, Darrel Onizuka, Sherry Zarabi Interculutral Management Quarterly (IMQ) is published by the Intercultural Management Institute at American University. IMQ combines original research conducted in the field of interculutral management with the applied perspectives of industry experts, professors and students.

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Third Culture Kids: Prototypes for Understanding Other Cross-Cultural Kids By Ruth Van Reken and Paulette Bethel In 1984, sociologist Dr. Ted Ward stated that Third Culture Kids1 (TCKs) were the prototype citizens of the future. We believe that future is now. With the increased mobility and cultural mixing of today’s world, a childhood lived in, among, and between various cultures is no longer rare but has become the norm for children from a wide variety of backgrounds. The question is how those in the intercultural and social science fields can best evaluate the long-term outcome of this global change for the individual as well as for society. Is it time for new developmental norms to be established? Do we need to find more useful ways to define identity? Should we continue expanding traditional models of diversity? How can we look at these universal issues when the details of each person’s story are so different? We believe that it is time to seek a way to expedite such discussion, first, by finding new language through which we can join our research, and second, by using the traditional TCK model as a “Petri dish” to compare and contrast the long term effects of a childhood lived in and among a multiplicity of cultural milieus. Finding new language When Dr. Ruth Hill Useem first defined TCKs in the mid-1950’s, her study focused on American children whose parents moved overseas as part of a career path (e.g., military, corporate, missionary, educational, or foreign service). Since then, many who have grown up cross-culturally but not in these particular contexts call themselves TCKs because they identify so strongly with the characteristics David Pollock described in his classic TCK Profile. 2 This, in turn, has caused researchers and interculturalists in the field to engage in scholarly debates about who can rightfully be called a “third culture kid.” Questions have been asked, such as, “Should the term include a child who accompanies parents into another culture because of immigration or as refugees?” and “What about children whose parents change cul-

tural worlds within national borders?” While such discourse is necessary, it also offers the potential of detracting from conversations that lead to a more productive dialogue regarding issues children often face when growing up among multiple cultural worlds for any reason. Because of this, we propose a new term: Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK). Who are Cross-Cultural Kids (CCKs)? A Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK) is a person who has lived in—or meaningfully interacted with—two or more cultural environments for a significant period of time during developmental years.

ethnicity of the country in which they live •International adoptees—Children adopted by parents from another country other than the one of that child’s birth •“Domestic” TCKs—Children whose parents have moved in or among various subcultures within that child’s home country We believe this model accomplishes several purposes. First, by looking at the commonalities of issues children face when they are raised in meaningful interaction with two or more cultural worlds, each group does not have to “re-invent the wheel” and assume all responses are due to their specific situation. This can

Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK) Model “Traditional” Third Culture Kids (TCKs)

CCKs

Children of Bi/multicultural Parents

Children of Immigrants

“Domestic” TCKs

International Adoptees

Children of Refugees

Some groups included in this definition are: •Traditional TCKs—Children who move into another culture with parents due to a parent’s career choice •Bi/multi-cultural/ and/or bi/multi-racial children—Children born to parents from at least two cultures or races •Children of immigrants—Children whose parents have made a permanent move to a new country where they were not originally citizens •Children of refugees—Children whose parents are living outside their original country or place not by personal choice but due to circumstances such as war, violence, famine, other natural disasters •Children of minorities—Children whose parents are from a racial or ethnic group which is not part of the majority race or

Children of Minorities

help to normalize each of these experiences rather than having them lead to a sense of “terminal uniqueness” as described by Janet Bennet.3 Also, by keeping the different circles, each subgroup can also more clearly see what, in fact, are the specific issues related to its type of experience. This validates the different ways children experience cultural mixing while they can still identify with the larger whole. Furthermore, by seeing the many intercultural patterns possible for today’s children, we get a clearer vision of the growing complexity many children face as they try to define their own identities and sense of belonging. In today’s world, children are often in more than one of these circles at the same time (e.g., a traditional TCK who is also from a minority group, a child of immigrants whose parents are from two Continued on page 8

Common Civilizational V alues as PPer er ceiv ed by an American Muslim Values erceiv ceived By Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad There is a pressing need for Western non-Muslims engaged in development projects in the Muslim world or with management responsibilities in offices with both Muslim and non-Muslim staff to understand the common civilizational values between these two cultures. A proper understanding of these commonalities can facilitate cross-cultural communication in developmental, educational, business, and organizational settings. I don’t know if anyone has as strong a claim to have straddled these two cultures as I. I was literally born between the Old World and the New, on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in 1948 as my mother fled Palestine seeking refuge in America from the nakba, the Catastrophe. My father had already been an American citizen since 1936. An extremely intelligent, but uneducated peddler from a tiny village in the suburbs of Jerusalem, he had come to America while still a boy, and sought refuge from the xenophobia he found there in assimilation. Were it not for his refusal to eat pork or drink alcohol one would never guess that he was a Muslim (though he couldn’t hide his Arab features and idiosyncratic accent). It was my mother, highly educated, both a teacher and a radio announcer (the first female to ever read the news on Jerusalem radio) who gave me a copy of Yusuf Ali’s translation of the Qur’an the summer that I turned nine, when I asked her what our religion was. “It’s in here,” she said. If I had any questions, I could ask her. Thus, I bring to this journal a perspective from the twilight zone between an immigrant and a native of America, between a convert to Islam and one born into the religion. Both America and Islam are my native cultures and both aren’t. My biases cancel out. I can afford to be objective. Or, perhaps I am biased towards both Islam and Americanism. My vision for a better world is centered on the understanding that those values that we boast are “Western” or “Islamic” are in reality universal values that, seen in a certain light, are shared by all people. What are the values of America? Individualism, tolerance, family, justice, liberty,

prosperity, security, and innovation in technology and the sciences are the usual candidates. What are the values of Islam? Tawhîd, taqwa, ahl, adl, falâh, salâm, sabr, and salahât must be included. Many would add jihâd. And what about tradition? One who has not lived in both cultures may think these quite different sets of values, but from the intersection of the two cultures, I do not see it that way. Individualism has a bad name in much of the world only because it has been tainted with concepts like materialism, hedonism, and a lack of concern for the rights of others, concepts that are really not inherent in it. I propose that the multinational corporations that manufacture Nike shoes or write their advertisements are not the quintessential manifestations of American individualism. The archetypical American individualist is Henry David Thoreau, a man of intense spirituality, simple tastes, and an uncompromising concern for rights of all men. Like Thoreau’s transcendentalism, the Islamic concept of tawhîd, that none is worthy of worship except God, can be seen as individualistic when viewed in the same spiritual, modest, and egalitarian context. That is, that each human is directly responsible to the Almighty, a fundamentally individualistic perspective. It is no coincidence that the Qur’an is a document that addresses the individual directly. The ideal community is that which is created by the assemblage of devout individuals: “Verily Mankind is in loss, except such as have Faith and do righteous deeds and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth and of Patience and Constancy” (103:2-3). The concept of taqwa, or God-consciousness and self-restraint, is strong in Islam and weak in the Western world today. Yet, there was a time when Westerners too would chasten companions who were bordering on the commission of evil acts to “fear God!” If someone uses such language today, of course, they are thought quaint at best and religious fanatics at worst. Yet in recent decades there has been a reawakening realization that the lack of awareness of God may be responsible, at least in part, for the decline

in justice, charity, and perhaps even good manners. In 1965, Time magazine published its famous “God Is Dead” cover, but religion of all varieties has grown by leaps and bounds since then (perhaps Islam fastest of all). Six months later, commenting on John Lennon’s “We’re more popular than Jesus,” a Jewish friend of mine jokingly asked how many albums Jesus had sold in the last year. Less than five years later, the rock album Jesus Christ Superstar was released to an enormous success that signaled that it was the seekers of spirituality who would have the last laugh. Ahl means family, and the centrality of family values to Muslims is something that has not completely been lost in the West. On the contrary, I believe that the dysfunctional families of television are the perceptions of Hollywood and New York and not the reality of Middle America. I do not deny that the family has declined in importance in the West—in substantial ways pushed out of its function as the building block of society by the growth of the welfare state and mass schooling. However, any consequent changes in attitude are not inherent in the American heritage, but are bred out of contemporary cultural forces that seek to disassociate the freedom of choice with the responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions. If you ask most Americans what they think of family values they still think highly of them. Adl means justice. The Qur’an emphasizes justice strongly. In the Arabic language map the notion of justice lies near the heart of the notion of religiosity, so that the word for religion, dîn, connotes justice itself. It is true, as Muslims have hastened to emphasize since Sept. 11, that salâm, the opening word of the Muslims greeting means peace and that it comes from the same root as the name of the religion, Islam. But so does silm which means security. Islam teaches, and we would all do well to learn, that without justice there is no peace. The capitalist system has been very successful in the accumulation of material goods. Islam has no objection to material prosperity. Falâh means prosperity, and following a Qur’anic injunction, Muslims Continued on page 5

Values... Continued from page 4 routinely pray for “good in this world and good in the Hereafter” (2:201). In the Islamic worldview material goods are not evil, but morally neutral. What you have is of no significance: what counts is how did you get it and what you are going to do with it now that you have it? I believe this is an attitude most Westerners could understand. But what about the value of tolerance? Does not jihâd by definition rule out tolerance? Jihâd simply means struggle. One can engage in jihâd for good or bad purposes. The Qur’an only endorses jihâd fî sabîl Allah (struggle in the path of God). This can, but does not necessarily, mean military struggle, but in any case it cannot be struggle against justice and the other good values of which we speak. It may be a struggle for tolerance and the rights of the oppressed, but under no circumstances should it be against them. Jihâd is not an action but an intensity with which an action is pursued. The actions endorsed by Islam are salahât, good deeds: “To each is a goal to which God turns him; then strive together (as in a race) toward all that is good” (2:148). Accordingly, the Muslim affinity for tradition is properly understood as a resistance to human invention of new religious traditions and not a resistance to scientific or technological innovation. For hundreds of years Muslims led the world in such innovations. If they would reassert their right to original critical thinking, they might do so again. Cynics in the West say that democracy is not valued by Muslims while cynics among the Muslims say that brotherhood is not valued in the West. It is true that Muslims have done poorly at building democratic institutions, as it is also true that Westerners have done poorly at establishing brotherhood that crosses ethnic, racial, and class lines. In my vision this is an opportunity to teach one another (and to learn from each other’s mistakes). If the West shall be judged on its ability to put behind it notions of supremacy (especially racial supremacy), Muslims shall be judged on their treatment of women. It is often said in defense of Islam

that Muslim women received greater respect for their rights from the beginning than Western women. For example, Islam granted women a right of inheritance when Western women couldn’t own property at all. Yet, that was then and this is now. Muslim criticism of the problems women face in the West is irrelevant to the fact that Muslim women are denied their rights under Islamic law. Western claims that Muslim daughters are only entitled to half the inheritance of Muslim sons and Muslim rebuttals that the equity of the Islamic system lies in the fact that women are maintained by men both miss the cruel reality that Muslim women often get none of the inheritance and are not properly cared for either. Debates as to whether adultery is or is not a capital crime in Islam miss the cruel reality that whatever punishments Muslim governments impose for sexual misdeeds, they are disproportionately imposed on women (as in America punishments for various crimes, death penalty included, are disproportionately imposed on black people.) In other words, Muslim women get neither equity nor equality. Of course, Western women have achieved neither as well, but overall, Muslim women are so far behind that unless the gap is narrowed, Muslims shall remain vulnerable as to their commitment to justice and equity. It is a common thing to hear it said that liberty is not a value at all to Muslims. I think this is due to a very serious misunderstanding. An acquaintance articulated this misunderstanding after we shared a meal at a recent conference, when, because he could tell from my body language that I disapproved of his wine drinking, he inferred that this somehow meant that I would favor imposing prohibition of alcohol on him even though he did not share my religion. The horrifying notion that anyone who has values must wish to forcibly, evenly violently impose them on others has driven the world into its current state of relativism, which is the real source of its malaise. Yes, the Qur’an prohibits me from drinking wine, but it also prohibits me from coercing others in to my way of life: “Let there be no compulsion in reli-

gion” (2:256). The salvation of the world lies in the abandonment of aggression, rather than the abandonment of values. It is in this principle of non-aggression that my vision for a better world lies. The idea that one is entitled to defend oneself, but not to aggress against others is a truly universal ideal found in both Islam (e.g., 2:190, 2:256, etc.) and in the Western Enlightenment. It is one of the highest values, an ethical corollary of tawhîd and the moral pre-supposition behind the notion of political liberty. In my vision, actualization of this ideal is the key to peace. To achieve this, we need an intracivilizational dialogue in which Westerners and Muslims confront people within our respective civilizations who do not appreciate this principle and convince them that its implementation is a duty worthy of jihâd. The immediate past president of Iran, Mohammad Khatemi called for direct contacts between the people of the Muslim world and the West. Arranging conferences to which managers from Western countries and Muslim countries are provided an opportunity to meet and exchange perspectives and experiences might be a way that those in the management field can take advantage of an idea that should extend to them as much as to artists, scientists, and civil society activists. Managers of development projects in the Muslim world or of offices with diverse staffs anywhere are in an opportune position to encourage such a dialogue at the grass roots and enhance their managerial effectiveness in the process. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Ph.D., president of the Minaret of Freedom Institute, is an internationally sought-after speaker on matters relating to Islam and Muslims. He is author of Signs in the Heavens, coeditor of Islam and the West: A Dialog, and co-author of Islam and the Discovery of Freedom. He teaches courses on related subjects at the University of Maryland.

Culture and the Development of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Education Services By Rebecca Dirks Culture influences nearly every aspect of health care and education, from the architectural style of a hospital or clinic to the communication patterns used between a patient and a health care provider. Culture is a learned and transmissible reality through which one acquires beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, language, traditions, and a worldview, among other things. There has been a growing acknowledgement in development that cultural pressures in health care systems must be taken into account, as they vary from community to community. This article examines a HIV/AIDS project that used an understanding of cultural context to design and implement successful HIV/ AIDS prevention and education services throughout communities in Uganda. At the peak of HIV prevalence in Uganda in 1992, health workers, families, and communities were feeling overwhelmed and powerless against an enormous tide of healthcare and prevention challenges. THETA (Traditional and Modern Health Practitioners Together Against AIDS) was created in response to this emergency.1 THETA’s work began in 1992 with two pilot projects based in Kampala, Uganda. The first project aimed at evaluating traditional herbal treatments for some specific AIDS symptoms. The second project tested the effect of empowering traditional healers as STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) /AIDS educators and counselors through training. Overall, these two projects, which lasted three years, yielded very encouraging results.2 While the clinical part of the study demonstrated that chronic conditions faced by PLWHA (Persons Living with HIV/ AIDS) could be alleviated by local herbal preparation, this paper focuses on the THETA training program due to its cultural sensitivity. THETA’s main goal was to improve and expand access to HIV/ AIDS prevention, education, and care for disadvantaged populations by taking advantage of the role of traditional healers already in place in Uganda. THETA recognized that by mobilizing and training tra-

ditional healers, community members would be more likely to receive and use HIV/AIDS education and health care. The program demonstrated traditional healers as effective and enthusiastic community educators and counselors for HIV/AIDS. They demonstrated the ability to deliver preventative messages in culturally specific ways, through the use of personal testimonies, stories, song, dance, drama, and proverbs. After the successful training program was piloted in Kampala, it was expanded due to several requests from other districts.3 To begin, a key asset of the training program was its very structure. The actual training process had been designed with the Ugandan culture in mind. The THETA training cycle lasts two years. First, site selection and community mobilization last a period of three to six months. Then opinion leaders in each district are consulted to identify county and traditional healers for training. Training is spread over 18 months, with the first six focusing on information sharing, and the last 12 emphasizing collaboration and skill development. The traditional healer training is quite time intensive and conducted in two phases. Initial training is three days a month for six months and aimed at giving healers basic facts about STIs, collaboration, counseling and patient care and support. THETA trainers use this period to create rapport and to learn more about healers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards HIV and AIDS. The second phase of training is intended to enhance collaboration and further develop skills in community AIDS education, counseling, and referral, and includes filed visits to local AIDS NGOs and hospitals. Biomedical health practitioners training workshops also take place regularly and are aimed at promoting collaboration between traditional healers and biomedical health practitioners.4 The second phase of training emphasizes the common interests of the community. The traditional healers and biomedical health practitioners

are trained to collaborate, refer patients to each other, and work together in order to improve the condition of the community as a whole. Before THETA initiated activities in the districts, healers reported that they were doing little or nothing regarding AIDS and that they did not see AIDS patients. Healers were often known for their witchcraft and rarely cooperated with each other or the biomedical health services.5 However, since 1992 THETA has enrolled and certified in its training program almost 300 healers in AIDS prevention and care in eight districts of Uganda. In addition, THETA has sensitized almost 1000 healers in numerous districts in three-day STI/HIV/ AIDS sessions. Following training, healers are offering a range of new services, such as AIDS community education, counseling, home visits, condom distribution, and improved patient management using referrals among themselves and to health units. According to THETA’s 1998 Evaluation Report, community members from many districts have commented that they only believed the information about AIDS when they heard it from the traditional healers. This highlights the crucial role healers play in the community. According to a community member named Katakwai, “The information about AIDS used to be rumors in my ears; today, I got the privilege to hear from my healers some information that is going to help me save my life.”6 An unplanned benefit of training healers has been their enthusiasm in planning HIV/AIDS education events for their community members. After training, many traditional healers became eager to impart their knowledge, realizing they possessed information to help their community. These community education events proved to be a very interactive process whereby traditional healers designed their own training materials, and developed and used culturally appropriate approaches such as storytelling, personal testimonies from persons living with HIV/AIDS, music, dance, poetry and drama to convey their messages.7 Continued on page 7

Culture... Continued from page 6 An excellent example of culture-specific education is that of a typical traditional healer community education event, as described in the UNAIDS report: [The] event begins late in the afternoon, at around 3pm. People converge usually under a mango tree, at a school or somebody’s home, their numbers continuing to grow as the event unfolds. Usually conducted by a team of three or four traditional healers trained by THETA, the session begins with introductions of the healers, community leaders and guests, and is followed by the program of the day. Generally, topics discussed in community education include the impact of AIDS on the community, the difference between HIV and AIDS, HIV transmission and prevention, stages of HIV infection and positive living. Since the healers conduct AIDS education in teams, a point missed by one is usually caught by another. Community education is participatory and the methods used usually include brainstorming, question-and–answer sessions, music and drama, personal testimonies, use of posters and condom demonstrations. The local language is used, including proverbs and stories. Community education events sometimes run late into the evening, depending on the need for the community counseling or clarification of an issue.8 This passage clearly describes how cultural dimensions have been incorporated in the education process. First, the local language was used which diminishes the chance of misinterpretation or misunderstanding of the message. Next, the use of Ugandan music, drama, proverbs, and stories were used to demonstrate cultural competence with the community. Lastly, the education event respected the Ugandan treatment of time. Though the event began around 3pm, community members gradually increased throughout the afternoon. The event ended whenever the community felt it had the information it wanted. A preliminary assessment was conducted one year after the end of the training program, comparing three communities where healers had completed the

THETA curriculum with one community where traditional healers had not been trained. The community members with trained healers showed increased knowledge about HIV/AIDS and reported increased condom use (50% versus 17% in communities where the traditional healer was not trained) and reduced risk behavior.9 The success of THETA’s HIV/AIDS project, among others worldwide, highlighted the important role of culture in health care systems. Development programs worldwide are now learning to design HIV/AIDS prevention, education, and health care strategies that are supported within the cultural practices of local communities. In fact, UNAIDS initiated a project in 1997 to examine HIV/AIDS prevention communication theories/models. Following the project, a new communications framework for HIV/AIDS was developed to move the focus on the individual to a focus on five domains of “contexts” that influence behaviors: government policy, socioeconomic status, culture, gender relations, and spirituality.10 Next, the General Assembly of the United Nations held its first ever gathering to discuss the future of a disease in June 2001. The issues of culture and allocation of funds for treatment and prevention research were the focus of attention. The meeting ended with the recognition that any global action must be respectful of cultural traditions in many parts of the world, including the culturally appropriate language and culturally sensitive treatment of taboo issues, such as condom use.11 The THETA example proves that health campaigns can take advantage of social networks that are already in place in a society. Framing HIV/AIDS prevention within existing cultural systems promises to be efficient and successful. The THETA program demonstrates how cultural norms of the community were applied as frameworks for education and prevention. The use of traditional healers in Uganda provided a culturally comfortable environment, upon which transmission of HIV/ AIDS information could be provided. As HIV/AIDS education and prevention cam-

paigns continue to incorporate cultural aspects into their strategies, their potential to become effective will undoubtedly increase. Rebecca Dirks is a second-year Masters Candidate at American University with a focus on International Health Communication and Development. She began a research fellowship with KMS Global Inc. in May 2005, working on HIV/AIDS, Child Labor and Education projects. Through the fellowship, she spent four months in South Africa and now works in the DC office. 1. King, R. “Ancient remedies, new diseases: Involving traditional healers in increasing access to AIDS care and prevention in East Africa: UNAIDS Case Study,” 2002. Retrieved on 25 August 2005 from http:// www.unaids.org/html/pub/publications/ircpub02/jc761-ancientremedies_en_pdf.pdf, p.31. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid, p.33. 5. Ibid, p.37. 6. Ibid. 7. King, R. “Collaboration with traditional healers in HIV/AIDS prevention and care in sub-Saharan Africa: A literature review.” UNAIDS, 2000. Retrieved on 25 August 2005 from http://www.unaids.org/html/pub/ publications/irc-pub01/jc299tradheal_en_pdf.pdf, p.19. 8. King, R., 2002, p.37. 9. King, R., 2000, p.19. 10. Airhihenbuwa, C.O., Makinwa, B., Obregon, R., “Toward a new communications framework for HIV/AIDS.” Journal of Health Communication 5, 2000, p. 101. 11. Bardhan, N.R., “Accounts from the field: A public relations perspective on Global AIDS/HIV.” Journal of Health Communication 7, 2002, p.223.

Kids... Continued from page 3 different cultures, etc.). Using the TCK model as a “Petri dish” Because TCKs were among the first cohorts identified in the literature to grow up among many cultures, they also give us a longitudinal view on some possible longterm outcomes of such a childhood. By identifying lessons learned from the traditional TCK experience, we can compare and contrast them with other groups of CCKs. As we see similarities, we can better test hypotheses for how this new way of growing up impacts children and our world. As we see differences, we can do further research for each group into the reason for those dynamics. To begin our discussion, we have chosen to look at what we see as the most elemental issue many CCKs face—the primary question of personal and cultural identity. Who am I? Where do I belong? A common quote from many adult TCKs (ATCKs) is that they belong “everywhere and nowhere.” In “Phoenix Rising: A Question of Cultural Identity,” Barbara Schaetti, herself an ATCK and child of a bi-cultural marriage, writes an excellent description of this sense of cultural marginality as it relates to TCKs: “Cultural marginality describes an experience; one typical of global nomads [a.k.a. TCKs] and others who have been molded by exposure to two or more cultural traditions. Such people don’t tend to fit perfectly into any one of the cultures to which they have been exposed but may fit comfortably on the edge, in the margins, of each.”4 A quick word search on “cultural marginality” also brings up a plethora of articles written by members of each sub-circle of CCKs describing very similar feelings. In many of these writings, a common theme related to marginality begins to emerge. How others would define many CCKs in terms of race or culture is not who they internally see themselves to be. In other words, the traditional ways of defining cultural belonging, diversity, or ethnicity rarely apply to cross-cultural kids. This type of cultural marginality has been a hallmark of the TCK experience but defined in different words. By the mid-

eighties, Norma McCaig5 and Pollock were already describing TCKs as “hidden immigrants” when they re-enter their passport culture. Unlike most traditional immigrants, TCKs appear to be the same externally as the majority of their fellow citizens, but internally they have as different a world view and life experiences as any true immigrant would have. Who others expect them to be is not who they are. In the years since McCaig and Pollock began using the hidden immigrant term, co-author Ruth Van Reken noticed while doing research for Third Culture Kids that TCKs who physically resemble the majority population of their host culture often have reactions similar to those typical of TCKs re-entering their home cultures. Soon the hidden immigrant description expanded to include any situation where the TCK looks like those in the dominant surrounding culture but thinks quite differently. Meanwhile, co-author Paulette Bethel read Third Culture Kids while abroad during her Ph.D. studies. She soon realized that her experience of growing up as a fairskinned African American in the Creole culture of New Orleans gave her a profound sense of connection with many aspects of the TCK/ATCK experience. In particular, as she looked at the Pollock/ Van Reken Cultural Identity6 box designed to describe the TCK experience, Bethel realized it was a viable model for delineating her experience as well, although the circumstances of her childhood had been very different from the traditional TCK’s. As a member of a minority group, Bethel had, in fact, changed cultural worlds daily as she moved between the larger cultural context of her local community, both black and white, her Creole culture, and transitioning between home and school cultures following de-segregation. Recently, we have wondered if perhaps the phenomenon of the TCKs’ hidden immigrant experience became labeled because it was one of the first times many from the affluent dominant cultural group experienced being in a minority situation without realizing it.

Applying what we’ve learned from TCKs to others Pollock/Van Reken Cultural Identity Box: TCKs/CCKs in Relationship to Surrounding Dominant Culture Foreigner

Hidden Immigrant

Look Different Feel Different

Look Alike Think Different

Adopted

Mirror

Look Different Think Alike

Look Alike Think Alike

If we apply the identity box to the larger world of CCKs, perhaps we can begin to see some of the shared experiences that relate to cultural identity. In the end, this chart is another way of reflecting how the interaction of the visible and invisible aspects of culture as described in the iceberg model7 impact a CCK’s sense of identity. Like the TCK, when CCKs are in the foreigner or mirror box, their identity is clear and life is relatively simple. Who they are inside is who others expect them to be when looking from the outside. However, when CCKs are in the hidden immigrant or adopted box, life can become quite complicated. Who others expect them to be is not who they are. As international adoptee Crystal Chappell writes in “American, Korean, or Both? Politics of Identity Reach Personal Levels,” “Because of their racial features, Korean American adoptees face assumptions that, as Asian-Americans, they are foreigners.They always expect a story explaining why you’re here, why you’re so acculturated. I’ve been complimented on how well I speak English! Duh! That’s the final clincher.”8 Another reality is that in today’s mobile world, a CCK’s cultural identity as it relates to the surrounding culture is not static. Whether CCKs change cultural worlds overnight with an airplane ride or daily by commuting on a school bus, the relationship of their identities to the world Continued on page 9

Kids... Continued from page 8 around them is often shifting. As Bethel has discovered from her own experience, sometimes CCKs may be in more than one box at the same time. In Bethel’s case, she recognized that she had been in all four boxes simultaneously. The main stress, however, for most CCKs is not from the multiplicity of cultures they experience in their childhood per se. In fact, one of the strengths for many CCKs is that ultimately they learn to navigate their way quite well between the different cultural worlds in a way Muneo Yoshikawa describes as “dynamic inbetweenness.”9 The deepest sense of cultural marginality most often comes, we believe, when CCKs try, or are expected, to fit into a cultural framework defined in the traditional expectations of a particular race, nationality, or ethnicity. Where do we go from here We believe one of the most important things to do in helping CCKs stop feeling so marginalized is to “de-pathologize” or normalize the CCK experience. How can we help to normalize the CCK experience? Perhaps one of the greatest gifts to give a CCK is to acknowledge the reality that this world of multiple cultures they have experienced as children is a valid place of belonging, even if not rooted in one geographical place or ethnicity. As Pollock describes in his TCK definition, the sense of belonging is related to those of like experience rather than the traditional ways of defining cultural belonging.10 Another way to help both the CCKs and our society as a whole to think more constructively about this topic is to again think of changing the language. On the surface, at least, the term “marginality” sounds as if a person is forever on the fringes rather than having any place to belong. And if so many are marginal, who, in fact, is left at the core? We suggest a new term to name the reason behind what is often described as a sense of cultural marginality. Hopefully, this term will also help others who interact with them to better understand the CCK experience: T h e term we wish to use is “Hidden Diversity”— meaning a diversity of experience that shapes a person’s life and world view but is not readily apparent on the outside,

unlike the usual diversity markers such as race, ethnicity, nationality, etc. We also believe this term can help those who work with diversity issues to recognize that some people who do not appear “diverse” may be far more diverse than expected. Sathnam Sanghera writes a stunning commentary on this when he talks about how he as a dark-skinned Asian who has been brought up quite British and lived in one country most of his life, is frequently asked to attend or speak at meetings related to diversity while his white friend who has traveled the world from childhood on and had far more experience with diversity than he has ever known is never recognized as a resource for these same meetings. Conclusion This article seeks to use the TCK Model to begin a new level of dialogue on how interacting closely with several cultural worlds during developmental years may affect a child in the long term. We have taken a beginning look at issues related to identity. In the future, we would like to compare and contrast some of the findings regarding the hidden losses identified for the traditional TCK with these other subgroups of CCKs and continue to use the experiences of third culture kids as the backdrop for expanding the conversation about cultural evolution.

1. “Children who accompany their parents into another culture”—defined by Dr. Ruth Hill Useem, originator of the term, in NewsLinks: The Newspaper of International School Services, Vol. XII, Number 3, January 1993. 2. Pollock, David C. and Van Reken, Ruth E., Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds, London: Nicholas Brealey/Intercultural Press, 1999, 2001, p.77184. 3. Janet Bennet, “Cultural Marginality: Identity Issues in Intercultural Training.” in M. Paige, ed. Education for the Intercultural Experience, Yarmouth: Intercultural Press, 1993. 4. http://www.transition-dynamics.com/ phoenix.html 5. Founder of Global Nomads, International 6. Third Culture Kids, p.53 7. Gary Weaver, in R.M. Paige, ed. Cross-Cultural Orientation: New Conceptualizations and Applications, Lanham: University Press, 1986. 8. This feature appeared in the Spring/Summer 1998 issue of the Bastard Quarterly. Copyright 1998 Crystal Chappell. 9. Schaetti, “Phoenix Rising,” http:// www.transition-dynamics.com/phoenix.html 10. Third Culture Kids, p.19

Ruth Van Reken is an adult Third Culture Kid, co-founder of the Families in Global Transition conference, author of Letters Never Sent and co-author of Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds. Ruth has spent her career serving expatriate communities through various forms of trainings, on-site workshops, and writing. Paulette Martinez Bethel is a doctoral candidate in International Education and Entrepreneurship at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio Texas, an executive and international transition coach, and a retired United States Air Force Officer.

Intercultural Management Institute Spring 2006 Skills Institutes 1. PROGRAMMING FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION; March 4-5, with David Bachner 2. MANAGING INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMS; April 22-23, with Fanta Aw For more information or to register, contact Anna Lee at imi@american.edu or 202-885-6439. Registration forms and additional information available at www.imi.american.edu

Contrasting German Cultural Differences from the Outside and Inside By Sybille Reinke de Buitrago and Miguel Buitrago In our interactions with others we often find that our perceptions differ. Our perception and interpretation of events and people is influenced by our inherent perspective, which is delineated by our previous cultural experiences, which are personally unique. Thus, our culture defines our way of perception. Since groups of people share a culture, we can say that they generally also share similar perceptions. But even there significant differences exist within cultures. The repeated discovery of this fact on the micro level may still manage to surprise us when we experience it. As long as we find ourselves in a position where we gladly show goodwill and empathy, the existence of different perceptions is fascinating. However, when we are just our normal everyday, often less culturally aware, selves, it is often difficult and frustrating to readily recognize and comprehend cultural differences. And emotions can get in the way. Therefore, it is imperative that we seek to verify our perceptions. In the conclusion we will briefly point to how we can attempt to overcome the difficulties in the process of perception of others and ourselves. What we would like to illustrate here is how perception changes with the perspective of the person: whether one looks at a group of people from the outside versus the inside. We will be taking the case of Germany and German culture to illustrate this. We – the authors – find ourselves in a unique position to analyze and contrast the perspective of both the outside and inside: one author is a person not native to the German culture, but has lived in it for enough time to facilitate a deeper understanding of it, and the other author is a native German, who has also lived outside of Germany. Although we are analyzing the case of Germany here, the knowledge gained can also be applied to a general approach of understanding other cultures. We will examine a few aspects of German culture – generalized cultural characteristics of Germans as a group – and contrast them. Although these aspects are shared, they are not necessarily equally

strong in every German. For our analysis we have chosen characteristics often ascribed to Germans as stereotypical. These are: 1) the perceived lack of personal warmth, 2) directness and 3) strictness or inflexibility. For a clearer understanding, we introduce them as dialogues– on the one side typical statements about Germans by others and on the other side a prototypical German response to this cultural assumption. After each brief discourse, a more neutral explanation is given to help understand why a German is behaving a certain way, without making any value judgements about certain cultural characteristics. We term this explanation a type of meta-perspective. On personal warmth “Most Germans are cold. They don’t even say hello.”

“Why do you say that? Well, I am not cold.”

It is not customary for Germans to talk with people whom they do not already know or have some sort of personal connection. Doing so would be seen as impolite. Germans also reserve a more formal greeting for strangers, as their way of showing respect. This can be perceived by others as distanced or ‘cold.’ German interaction is also more marked by an analytical or a ‘head’ approach rather than a ‘heart’ approach, meaning that they often come across as reacting less emotionally. Furthermore, Germans are generally not accustomed to engaging in small talk. Overall, Germans have a longer warm-up time to develop a relationship. After this warm-up period, deep and affectionate friendships develop just as well as in other ‘warmer’ cultures. On the degree of directness “Germans are so brusque, it’s almost rude.”

“Why, we are just up front. At least you know what we think of someone.”

Directness can be seen as brusque and even rude or – depending on the view – as sincere. For cultures like Germany, being direct with each other means being sincere, while being indirect signals a weak or insincere position. Thus, Germans tend to be much more direct in their speech and interaction than many other cultures. Germans also typically value honesty and at times make statements that come across – to others – as impolite and brusque, even though there is no negative intention behind them. This honesty is an integral part of the German tendency to be direct. On the level of strictness of inflexibility “Is it not good also, if people do what “Germans always say: ‘Das ist so.’ (That’s the way it is.) They stick to their they say?” rules, even if these don’t make sense. They are so inflexibile.” Germans may rely more on rules than some others for their daily decision-making, as it can help to simplify things. In that way, being strict and staying one’s course provides continuity and can also have benefits. The government plays a stronger role in Germany, and thus the country and just about every aspect of society is very regulated. The social structure is built in a way as to emphasize top-down fluidity, meaning that citizens perhaps accept more of what is told to them by their government, and that they rely on it more for guidance and, therefore, they perhaps question it less than in other open states. The regulatory nature of German society has likely shaped interpersonal interaction and communication as well. Continued on page 11

Contrasting... Continued from page 10 Now that we have shown how certain behavior can be seen differently depending on the observer’s perspective, it is important to say that we do not intend to devalue or minimize either view, since these can be the valid experiences of people. Neither perspective is wrong, only incomplete. By joining the perspectives from the outside and inside of a culture and entering into a dialogue with them, we arrive at a better understanding of the culture and its people (the so-called meta-perspective). That will not only help us to have more enjoyable experiences with other cultures, but also will allow us to contribute in a small way to an improved understanding of cultural differences and to a reduction of conflictual situations caused by intercultural misunderstandings. Since distinct experiences shape different world views of a group or a person, many different approaches to life and social interaction are consequently created. There will always be another perspective (or many others) besides our own, although we often have difficulty recognizing it. It takes much more effort to seek out other perspectives. We need to question the way we make decisions about and judge others. We need to learn about perspectives distinct from our own and give them room to exist within us. We should make it our personal challenge to approach each interaction with interest, curiosity and a willingness to learn about others and thereby also about ourselves. Specifically, we must withhold our prejudgements and perspectives with the reality of others. This means stepping out of and observing oneself, opening the path to a value-neutral view. We can then analyze why we feel this way and also begin to see the viewpoint of the other person from that person’s perspective – and feel this empathy. At that point we can arrive at the realization that the other person may just be as ‘right’ in his or her perspective. We are then better able to engage in constructive dialogue about the issue at hand and the different views involved. We can bring an understanding about the other side and mutually agree on how to deal with the issue in a manner which will avoid creating further conflicts. We can even agree

on certain rules for future interactions in order to avoid misunderstandings from the beginning. This discussion and awareness can be applied to the organizational and business world as well. There also, the cognizance of these differences in culture and communication styles is very useful and at times extremely important. Missing these cues in German communication dynamics can have dire consequences in organizational and business settings, either for negotiations of high-profile business deals or in the daily work setting in multicultural teams. These miscues can translate immediately into the loss of potential profit, reduced productivity and higher costs. For example, on the matter of personal warmth or the perceived lack of it, seeing Germans as ‘cold’ may slow the development of a productive business relationship or throw stumbling blocks into the daily teamwork of an organization. If it takes more time for constructive relationships to develop, and since in business settings ‘time is money,’ then it could raise costs. The German tendency of directness can take the effect of rudeness, and the interpretation of this directness by peers may hamper the smooth functioning of a team. Instead, the honesty contained in direct statements could be interpreted as clear and honest feedback and thus be valuable for the improvement of products or services, for example. Moreover, the awareness of Germans potentially seeing an indirect position as weak or insincere can be useful to know in international negotiations. The greater German reliance on rules can be seen as Germans questioning existing procedures less than others and being less creative when searching for new solutions to problems. However one could use the aspects of reliability and continuity as positive tools in business. Strategies to counteract these potential pitfalls – which are likely to cause trouble, if not paid attention to – and turn them into advantages can include the training of management on intercultural issues, assessments of the employee structure and its level of heterogeneity followed by tailored trainings on intercultural communication in the work place, constructive en-

couragement of voicing problems among co-workers and with management, regular team meetings where issues and problems are openly discussed, and advocating the idea that cultural diversity offers a rich pool of resources for a business or other organizations, if it is used wisely. Whether it is in an organizational, business or a private setting, being open to different perceptions and ways of thinking will of course challenge us and our construction of the world around us. We will feel uncomfortable, awkward and ‘out of place’ at times, yet it is well worth it as we become more culturally sensitive individuals and help to contribute to more diverse and productive organizations. And no matter how we think about it, it is absolutely necessary, because we can go a long way in better understanding other cultures. Miguel A. Buitrago is a doctoral student in the Political Science Institute at the Universität Hamburg, Germany. He was born in Bolivia, raised in the U.S. and now lives in Germany . Sybille Reinke de Buitrago is a doctoral student at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, Germany. She was born in the former East Germany, has lived in the U.S. and has studied intercultural communication dynamics. Sponsor an Issue of Intercultural Management Quarterly Sponsoring an issue of IMQ is an excellent way to make a valuable contribution to the study of creating better intercultural dynamics within global organizations. Not only will IMQ and its readership in general benefit from your contribution, but your organization will benefit as well. Included in your tax-deductible sponsorship of IMQ is a sizable amount of copies of IMQ which you can distribute in your organization in order to heighten your institution’s awareness of intercultural management issues. Your sponsorship will also be highlighted in IMQ and on the IMQ website. For more details about this program, please contact the Managing Editor at imqeditor@american.edu or at (202) 885-6436.

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