Behavior

The behavioral aspects of the interviewees in the host country was one of the factors that was extensively commented on by all of the interviewees. The interviewees shared several important revelations about the behavioral aspects of the host country.

Change of emotions in the host country

The interviewees were asked whether they change their emotions while interacting with the host country nationals. Six out of ten interviewees pointed out that they change their emotions while interacting with the host country people. For example, it was said by one interviewee, that modifying emotions

according to the situation and people, was necessary to create a better impression.

In India you need to be more social and have discussion about things, and that kind of things you just need to be -- I think they are confused if they know this that I am tired for example or when I am not talking so much. So it is confusing

for them. (Inter-02)

People can change their emotions initially to make more comfort the interaction with the host nationals. However, emotion cannot be controlled artificially all the time, as the true emotion of a person can come out when people have a longer communication. One interviewee brought out the risk in changing emotion as follows;

I try to do it, but things are, of course, -- people are acting differently. Of course, you can plan to act in a way, but during this journey when you are sitting with people that you perhaps come into a very intensive discussion.

(Inter-06)

One’s own behavior can earn respect during interacting with the people from the host culture. The behavior of a person is understood by others via communication. According to the situation, communication has to be modified or exhibited appropriately. Strong character is important to gain respect according to a interviewee who said as follows;

I try to behave more calm in India, in fact. Then this is what I try to do. It might be that I -- normally I don't like to raise my voice or be aggressive or

nothing. I try to keep calm whatever comes. (Inter-10)

People can change their emotions by seeing the emotions of the people with whom they interact, even though the person does not intend to change their emotion at the start of the interaction. Emotions have to be adjusted according to the person with whom one interacts with. This was explained as follows;

Well, I do feel that I'm energized with the people I interact with, and quite often Indians have a bit more higher energy level. They speak maybe faster. And I --

that carries to me too. I'd say, yes, yes. (Inter-18)

The perception of people understanding each other’s emotions, can bring a greater understanding about its culture. For example, in the home country people like to be quiet and this may not be understood by the host country people.

People can also feel uncomfortable by seeing the emotions that are not familiar among their own people. One interviewee explained, this as follows;

A little bit yes. You can be a little bit more alert. So you have to keep on talking all the time a little bit. But also I think that is also sometime in India that perhaps they don't feel so comfortable with us from Finland if we are quiet. So I

think that they wonder what guys are ones now. (Inter-20)

It was also said by one of the interviewee, that emotions can change spontaneously while interaction with the host country people. The interviewee shared his thoughts, as follows;

I think you do that, although you don't think about it I think. And also a little bit how you speak and so on. Here you need to be very clear if you really want

something done and get the message through (Inter-21)

Exhibiting wrong emotions may result in confusion for the participant from the host country. Besides, the participant can also get offended without understanding what kind of emotion is being exhibited. Therefore, showing the emotions has to be dealt carefully in the host country. Likewise, one cannot emote artificially all the time, the real emotions of a person have to express in the long run. During the introduction or when a person is met at first, this is the obvious time for a person to change their usual emotion. However, once the person gets to know the other person there is some kind of comfort that develops, then there is no need of changing emotions. Once a certain understanding happens between the host and home country, the emotions are exhibited as usual by both the parties.

Reasons for not changing emotions

Four of the interviewees said that they do not change their emotions while interacting with the host country people. One of the interviewees, also mentioned that he does not change his emotions during interaction, instead he listens in-depth to the person with whom he is interacting. It was also said that changing emotion cannot be done all the time, as the true emotion cannot be hidden indefinitely. For instance, one of the interviewees explained;

I usually don’t change so much. I use a lot of hands even if I'm with India and I talk a lot. – Do not change (Inter-01)

The change of emotion takes place according to the person whom you interact with. For example, the emotion is more neutral when the person is familiar, whereas, interaction with the unfamiliar person the emotions have to be controlled. One of the interviewees said that being alert during the interaction with the host country people is a way of changing emotions.

No. I think it's not going to probably change. I'm more cautious. Actually what I say -- in Finland you can do a lot of things. But let's say -- but not just in

India, but all, I'm much more cautious on these things. (Inter-04)

Extensive communication is more usual in host country which is not very common according to the interviewee he is used to have shorter interaction with his own people, who said it as below that he does not change his emotions as follows;

No. Yes. No, no my problem is that for example when I work now this year a lot in India and India-related issues, there are many persons who speak a lot

and I avoided blah-blah-blah. (Inter-13)

Another interviewee, also said that he would not change his emotion, as he cannot remain himself and commented as follows:

No, I wouldn't say so. At least I cannot feel myself (Inter-16)

Changing your emotions in the culturally different environment is clearly a personal choice. People decide their choice according to the circumstance and environment. However, in a cross-cultural environment, changing emotion has both advantages and disadvantages.

Change of Behavior

The interviewees were also asked to what extent they have to change their communication (speak, listen and write) in with the host country people in the host environment. Majority of the interviewees agreed unilaterally that exhibiting appropriate communication in the host country is crucial.

English language and language issue

The host country was ruled by the British, therefore, the influence of English is very common. The use of the common language, English to communicate, is advantageous. However, while using the common language between non-native speakers, people tend to speak with their own accent and this has been mentioned as sometimes difficult to understand. One of the interviewees explained the use of the common language as follows:

To communicate is that -- good with Indians compared to other is that they understand very good English, mostly, very good in English. So that’s no

problem with communicating in that sense. (Inter-01)

Communication through virtual means

One of the interviewees commented on communication by virtual means. In the home country, according to this interviewee, the email received by a person is very personal and people do not share with anybody unless there is a situation.

Whereas, in the host country people do not maintain privacy, instead the email is shared with others as well. For instance, one of the interviewees brought out an important observation about email communication.

I think I can use pretty much the same methods because I have a feeling that they use e-mails a lot and also they like to share their e-mails for different

people. (Inter-02) Being polite

It was said by other interviewees that to avoid confrontation and misunderstanding, he does not use the humor while interacting with the host country people. Being polite with the host people was emphasized by the interviewees. At the same time using humor was also not common as it may lead to confrontations.

I'm being more polite with the Indians. I'm being far more politer with Indians.

(Inter-10) Listening carefully

Listening to the host country people carefully enable the interviewees to understand things more clearly. For instance, the following was said by the interviewee as follows:

If I know the person I communicate as with the Finns. If I don’t know, I listen a little bit more carefully than I would listen to Finn I don’t know. (inter-13) The interviewees may not be aware of the communication pattern in the host country therefore, listening carefully is more crucial.

Doing it differently

Once there is familiarity in communication, one does not realize how communication is done differently. For example, the following interviewee commented how communication is done differently:

I do it so much that I don’t perhaps see the difference by myself. I think that I’ll do that a little bit different way. But I don’t think I can find it out what I’m

doing. If you’re doing it in different way or not. (Inter-16) Energized in communication

People can change their emotions by seeing the emotions of the people with whom they interact even though the person does not intend to change his emotion in the beginning. The emotions have to be adjusted according to the person, with whom one interacts. This was explained as follows:

Well, I do feel that I'm energized with the people I interact with, and quite often Indians have a bit more higher energy level. They speak maybe faster. And I --

that carries to me too. I'd say, yes, yes. (Inter-18) Detailed virtual communication

In a host country environment, email communication has to be longer according to the interviewee who said as follows:

I would say it -- what I think long e-mails I think. So I think -- that's my experience and also I think -- I don't think anything particular. But I think if you look on paperwork, they need to make these kind of reporting and editing.

(Inter-20)

Apart from detailed virtual communication, communication has to be formal while dealing with the host country people. The host country was ruled by the British and the influence of British style of formal communication is also visible in the communication of the people of the host country. Also the extensive use of the English language is also due to the British legacy.

Being straight forward in communication

The adaptation to communication according to the host country communication norms is crucial. In the home country environment the interviewees are aware of the communication pattern of their own country and people. Due to the familiarity in the communication pattern, being straight forward in communication can be very normal. Whereas, in the host country the interviewees may not be aware of the communication pattern and therefore being straight forward in communication can lead to misunderstanding. Hence it is significant to be adapted to communication according to the interviewee who said as below:

I think you have to think about how you express something. Perhaps you cannot really do it so straightforward as you would like to do it. So you got to

very much adapt. (Inter-21)

Even though being straight forward in communication with the host country can create unpleasant situations, it can also bring advantage in certain cases. As it can be seen from the above quotes of the interviewee that being straightforward creates positive feedback among the host country customers. The host country customers are appreciative for being straight forward in communication, as the truth is spoken rather than giving a false information that can lead to confrontation.

Not change in communication

Even though majority of the moderate CQ interviewees said they change their communication style while interacting with the host country people, two of the interviewees said they do not change their communication. For instance, the experience of communication with different countries enables a person to have familiarity in communicating with the host country people, according to the interviewee who said the following:

I don't try to be anything else than what I am, and with all the people. (Inter-21)

Not very different

The following was said by an interviewee about the change of communication with the host country people:

Not very different, but it's different. […] it's much more formal in a way, even though that is formal and structured in Finland also, but it's not the same really. So it's much more strict and formal. […] it's more formal in India to be

honest in my understanding. (Inter-04)

While dealing with the host country people, one cannot go from the home country and do things just the opposite way how they used to do. However, in terms of communication, even though if one person believes that he or she does not communicate differently, the communication happens spontaneously and one cannot recognize. Moreover, common sense enables people to communicate differently when aware they are dealing with the person whom they are familiar with. At the same time, our minds also remind us to be careful while dealing with the unfamiliar or unknown people.

In document Managing across cultures with cultural intelligence quotient (CQ) : study of Finnish business leaders experience in India (sivua 142-149)