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Personality clash or intercultural conflict?
job which enables him to continue working with young people. But Y cuts short his account of his work experience; he prefers to talk about the challenges ahead. Amid bursts of laughter, he describes the few young people he looks after. Although he has a lot to say, he does not discuss the practical aspects of the work or the way the team functions. The very informal style of this first work meeting embarrasses X, who expected to receive instructions. He begins to doubt Y’s credibility. For his part, Y wonders why X is so reserved and doubts his skills. He seems to be shy and asks very few questions. He wonders how he will interact with young people in search of authority.
CASE STUDY
ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION
SITUATION
From the moment they see each other, the two men judge each other on their physical appearance and attitude. This first impression gives rise to misperceptions. Perceiving others solely in terms of visible differences usually leads to errors of judgment. Each (future) co-worker interprets the attitude of the other according to his own frame of reference, in other words by referring to his own code of conduct at work (formal/casual), code of interaction (reserved/extrovert) and code of communication (listening/speaking frankly). For each of them, the (future) co-worker does not conform to their “expectations of normality”. Because they do not decode these different ways of behaving and expressing themselves in the light of patterns of cultural behaviour, the relationship between the two men may lead to misunderstandings typical of cultural incomprehension.
X is beginning his first day at work in a public institution providing health and prevention services for young people with problems. He is from Latin America and was a teacher before he immigrated. On this first day he is to meet his colleague Y. When he arrives, Y remarks that the “newcomer” looks like a young “businessman” with his suit, tie and briefcase. He thinks X is trying to impress him. For his part, X thinks that Y looks “slovenly” and not bothered about setting an example to the young people. When X goes to shake hands, Y offers him a chair and suggests a coffee before they “have a chat”. X is surprised by such a casual attitude. He begins to tell him about his past experience in order to explain that he is happy to have this
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS/SKILLS REQUIRED It would be helpful for staff to be made aware of cultural differences that might affect co-operation between colleagues and relations with users. This situation is a typical “critical incident”, in other words, the type of conflict analysed in intercultural training. Use of critical incidents during a training course helps to make participants more aware of differences in attitudes and cultural behaviour. Analysis of critical incidents is an aid to critical thinking in real-life health and social work situations (Green Lister and Crisp, 2007). Tripp’s work (1993) has influenced the use of critical incident analysis in social services training, leading to greater open-mindedness to cultural differences. Lastly, training should highlight the advantages of a diversified work team, especially when they are working with a clientele which is itself diverse, and should strengthen the synergy-creation effect of various ways of working and the complementary effects of diversified skills.
Methods of use
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A B C D E
Target group All staff. In practice • How would you describe the cultural values of the organisation in which you work? What impact do they have on the way you interact with users? • What are the main values/points of reference that guide your action? • What codes of professional conduct do you follow? • Do staff show themselves to be aware of individuals’ cultural differences and special characteristics? • Do they make an effort to understand users’ concerns and make themselves understood by users? • Do they display a positive attitude to learning, sharing and applying new knowledge? • What could be done to improve staff knowledge about people with different cultural characteristics?
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Intercultural skills: models for training and action