Migration-Relocating the workforce from culture shock to acculturation

The Difference between Blending and Adapting

Many people believe that these two phrases are interchangeable, but they are not. Blending in is about assimilating yourself in the culture so that you are immersed in becoming a part of it. This requires involvement in local experiences, not just an acceptance of them.

Adapting to life in a new country, on the other hand, means getting used to its quirks and its many differences from your country of origin. This is often done as part of the acculturation process that involves many stages, including culture shock.

Ethnic minority migrant Chinese in New Zealand

The focus of this study is on the acculturation process experienced by ethnic minority migrant Chinese in New Zealand as they strive to adapt to various aspects of their new surroundings. The adaptive strategies used almost certainly mean that the immigrants will have to make changes to their thinking, attitude, speech, and social conduct. There is a particular emphasis on the study of intercultural dynamics at play in the face of workplace interpersonal conflict between immigrants and members of the host society.

Acculturation Strategies

There are a number of strategies to pave the path of the acculturation process for immigrants. Harris & Moran (1991) suggest that cultural preparation can be achieved by learning, observing, and immersing oneself into the local ways and practices including the unique expressions in language use in day-to-day communication. The authors advocate that learning about the non verbal communication system in the country such as the significant gestures, signs and symbols, expected courtesies, and typical customs, all serve to improve intercultural relationships.

According to Berry, acculturation consists of four strategies. They are:

1. integration;

2. separation or rejection;

3. assimilation; and

4. marginalisation or acculturation.

These four strategies are illustrated by Pio (2005). Pio states that a person who retains a strong ethnic identity and who also identifies with the host society is considered to have an integrated identity. An individual who has a strong ethnic identity and who rejects or does not identify with the new culture is said to have a separated identity. One who gives up their previous ethnic identity and only identifies with the new culture is deemed to have an assimilated identity.

There are a variety of factors that influence the different ways in which people acculturate which may impact on their acculturation strategy. The factors include family structure and function, adherence to certain religious beliefs and practices, gender, power relationships between the majority and minority groups, personality and behaviour characteristics, and age of onset of intergroup contact. If the immigrants possess more knowledge of the host cultures, then they are more likely to become acculturated.

From a New Zealand perspective, Ritchie (2003) finds evidence of the earliest acculturation efforts of the first Chinese. The excavation of Chinese sites revealed that the early Chinese made notable efforts in the acculturative process. According to Ritchie, the adoption of Western-style clothing probably represents the most voluntary acculturative response of the Chinese miners in New Zealand. They quickly adopted European miners’ working clothes and boots to combat the cold conditions, and employed similar tools for winning gold, such as picks, shovels, pans and cradles. Further, Ritchie asserts that archaeological evidence and ethnohistorical records indicate that the Chinese miners attempted to maintain their traditional material culture and lifestyle. The changes that the Chinese miners made were few and only for practical purposes. Being practical people, the Chinese miners readily adopted European things they considered useful. Although they managed to adopt the trappings of the Anglo-European majority, they maintained their ‘Chinese-ness’ where it mattered most – in social behaviour, religious beliefs and philosophy.