Comparative Study of Chinese and Indonesian Intercultural Sensitivity
Hora TJITRA & Nan ZHOU
in collaboration with Dr. Hana Panggabean of Atma Jaya University, Jakarta - Indonesia
Along with the tendency of
intercultural competition and collaboration,
intercultural sensitivity is crucial for allover the
world, especially for Chinese facing the rapid
increase of international exposures since the 21
century. Intercultural competence (IC) is the
ability to think and act in interculturally
appropriate ways (Bennet, 2001), and intercultural
sensitivity (ICS), as the core of IC and best
indicator of success in cross-cultural situations,
is the ability to discriminate and experience
relevant cultural differences (Hammer et al, 2003).
Using indigenous approach, from non-western perspective, Panggabean (2004) showed that there are cultural specific characteristics in dealing with cultural differences in German-Indonesian workgroups. Tjitra & Deng (2006) demonstrated that Chinese ICS exhibits particular characteristics from cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions, which reflects the uniqueness of the Chinese culture, by using ground theory approach in the research of the indigenous intercultural sensitivity of the Chinese people working in the international tourism industry.
Objectives:
- To elaborate the uniqueness of Chinese intercultural sensitivity in dealing with cultural differences
- To explore the similarities and differences of Intercultural sensitivity within Asian cultures on the examples of Chinese-Indonesian comparison
- To develop an instrument to measure the uniqueness of Chinese Intercultural sensitivity in cultural encounter situations
Research Questions and Hypothesis:
- What are the influences of the intercultural experiences on the intercultural sensitivity? At the beginning, the intercultural experiences will have positive influence on the IS. After a while, there are other factors that strongly influence intercultural sensitivity.
- What are the differences between Chinese and Indonesian ICS characteristics? Chinese will have a higher score in most of the dimensions (i.e. ethno identification, differences harmonization) according to the Chinese IS model;Indonesian will have a higher score in most of the dimensions (i.e. ) according to the Indonesian IS model;
- What are the IS common characteristics of
Indonesians and Chinese in dealing with cultural
differences?There are no significant differences
between Chinese and Indonesians in some of the
dimensions according to the Chinese IS model (i.e.) as
well as the Indonesian IS model (i.e.);
Research Method:
Quantitative online survey with two channels web-base online questionnaire and paper-pencil questionnaire.
Participants:
The participants are Chinese and Indonesian students and employees. Further we differentiate the participants into different levels:
- College/University Students: 1) living and studying abroad for at least one year; 2) living and studying abroad more than three month and less than one year; 3) just participated in abroad programs or teams.
- Employees: work at least in international companies
or multinational teams, which involve employees from
different nationalities.
Expected Results and Possible Applications:
- Better understanding of Chinese behaviors in culture encountering situations.
- Indicators on Chinese intercultural performance through the evaluation on intercultural sensitivity;
- Clear proposals and practical suggestions by
integrating the specific Chinese needs and uniqueness
in working, living and studying in intercultural
encounter situations.
