TCC-A2-seminar 7-GROUP 4 by Jingna Zhao

Positioning Theory

jingnaz — 2024-09-15 09:30:04 UTC

Positioning Theory offers a framework for understanding how power is constructed, claimed, and legitimized within groups (Debray and Spencer-Oatey, 2019). An individual’s “position” is determined by characteristics such as language ability, cultural background, or professional skills. Second-order positioning occurs when individuals challenge or redefine their roles based on first-order positioning (Debray & Spencer-Oatey, 2019). Initially, Jack’s foreign identity led his colleagues to label him as someone who does not understand Chinese culture, which exempted him from certain tasks, such as overtime. However, as the project progressed, Jack was expected to adapt to the high-intensity overtime culture, a role he refused to accept.

Marginalisation

jingnaz — 2024-09-15 09:30:29 UTC

Debray and Spencer-Oatey (2019) define marginalization as exclusion due to linguistic or cultural differences, which can diminish individuals' contributions and participation (Debray & Spencer-Oatey, 2019; Eades, 2004). Jack's resistance to integrating into the company's power structure, along with linguistic and cultural barriers, reduced his influence, leading to marginalization. In large corporations, employees are often evaluated based on relationships rather than performance, disadvantaged foreign nationals like Jack. His refusal to follow the "managing up" culture of overtime strained his relationship with his supervisor, further reducing his participation.

jingnaz — 2024-09-15 09:33:50 UTC

Ciecierski, T. (2020). Indexicality, meaning, use. Semiotica, 2021(238), 73–89. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2018-0056

Debray, C., & Spencer-Oatey, H. (2019). ‘On the same page?’ Marginalisation and positioning practices in intercultural teams. Journal of Pragmatics, 144, 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2019.03.002

Eades, D. (2004). Understanding Aboriginal English in the Legal System: A Critical Sociolinguistics Approach. Applied Linguistics, 25(4), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/25.4.491

El-Ouali, F. Z., & Mouhadjer, N. (2019). Cultural Identity reconstruction in the study abroad context: The case of Algerian Sojourners. Global Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 9(4), 226–237. https://doi.org/10.18844/gjflt.v9i4.4366

Guo, C., & Yin, H. (2021). Localized PUA culture and gender politics in contemporary China. JOURNAL OF GENDER STUDIES, 30 (5), 609-620. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1929093

Kang, J. H., Matusik, J. G., & Barclay, L. A. (2015b). Affective and Normative Motives to Work Overtime in Asian Organizations: Four Cultural Orientations from Confucian Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(1), 115–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2683-4

Paltridge, B. (2012). Discourse analysis : an introduction (pp. 15–37). Bloomsbury Academic.

Spencer-Oatey, H. (2008). Face,(im) politeness and rapport. Culturally speaking:
Culture, communication and politeness theory, 2, 11-47.

Yip, W. (2021, September 1). China steps in to regulate brutal “996” work culture. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58381538

jingnaz — 2024-09-15 09:35:35 UTC

How has your identity evolved while working in culturally diverse environments? Can you share an example of how you adapted to new cultural expectations?
Reviewing Rapport Management, how have you dealt with situations where there are face-saving issues or conflicting expectations in the transcultural workplace? What strategies have you found effective?

This text highlights how Jack, a British man, adapts to the Chinese work culture.

jingnaz — 2024-09-15 09:35:59 UTC

Identity and Indexicality theories show how Jack's personal and cultural identity changes as he adapts to the stressful working environment in China and how his understanding of specific industry terminology helps him to communicate effectively within the team.
Positioning Theory highlights how, over time, the convenience of working as a foreigner faded and his behaviour was required to conform to local norms.
Rapport Management points out the effect of cultural differences on interpersonal relationships as one of the important moderating variables of jack self-esteem and job satisfaction.
Marginalisation outlines the decline in Jack's influence and strained workplace relationships due to cultural barriers.

jingnaz — 2024-09-15 09:50:58 UTC

The main text comes from Jack, sharing on Chinese social media apps, who recounts his experience of working in China's 996 work culture - six days a week, from 9am to 9pm (Yip, 2021). His country, the UK, emphasises work-life balance and focuses on leisure time in contrast to China.

Text description

jingnaz — 2024-09-15 09:51:19 UTC

Jack is a 28-year-old British man, who works hard in a big firm in China and is described as a “牛马” in the text. While having high salaries, he suffers from overtime work and PUA (boss’s control over him). In the UK, people have lighter workloads and can obtain a work life balance. This makes Jack unable to accept certain rules and practices at the Chinese workplace, he realizes that there is a huge difference in work culture between the UK and China.

Interpretation of certain words

jingnaz — 2024-09-15 09:51:38 UTC

The Chinese phrase “牛马” originally means cattle and horses, animals that work for humans (e.g. farming). Nowadays, young Chinese people use it to describe people who work hard to make a living. Some people use “牛马” to describe themselves to complain about heavy workloads.
“PUA” (Pick-Up Artist) has its origins in the US, which means a man uses certain strategies to achieve greater control in an intimate relationship with a woman (Guo & Yin, 2021). The phrase was localized in China, it can not only be used in intimate/sexual relationships, but also in other unequal power relationships (e.g. boss/manager and employee).

2024-09-15 10:15:09 UTC

Rapport Management

zhanxueying386 — 2024-09-15 13:38:34 UTC

Rapport management is a kind of interpersonal relationship management. It can explain how to maintain harmonious relationships when analyzing transcultural communication (Spencer-Oatey, 2008). It consists of three main interrelated parts:

zhanxueying386 — 2024-09-15 14:00:54 UTC

Face management: in Jack's interactions with his supervisor, the supervisor uses phrases such as “where is your value?” and “why don't you work harder?” to undermine Jack, who feels uncomfortable in these interactions. The supervisor's actions are actually challenging Jack's face. This kind of questioning makes Jack feel that his work performance and value are being denied, which affects his self-esteem and confidence.

Social rights and obligations: the supervisor's expectations of Jack's overtime work may be based on the implicit requirements of obedience relationship (guanxi) (obeying superiors) and benevolence orientation (working longer and harder has benefits) under Chinese culture (Kang et al., 2015). However, Jack's understanding of work expectations is different from that of the supervisor, and he pays more attention to work-life balance.

Interaction goals: the supervisor tries to push Jack to achieve higher transactional goals by belittling and questioning Jack's value. However, he neglects the rapport in interpersonal relationships . His behavior frustrates Jack and affects his emotional investment in the job and interpersonal relationship management. Therefore, Jack's relationship with his supervisor is conflicted in all three dimensions, leading to interpersonal conflicts.

Identity

2024-09-15 14:11:55 UTC

Jack is a 28-year-old British man. Before he came to China to work in a large company with a 996 working schedule, he cared a lot about work-life balance and would spend time enjoying life, working out and dressing up. However, since he joined a Chinese IT company, he is required to be on duty 80 hours a week. Due to the amount of time he spends on overtime, he is unable to enjoy his life, and thus changes his cultural identity in the workplace due to this cultural difference, therefore adapting better to the workplace life in China.

jingnaz — 2024-09-15 14:13:40 UTC

Indexicality

2024-09-15 14:14:00 UTC

Jack finds a lot of Chinese industry jargon in Chinese IT companies. For example, line up (dui qi) refers to having a meeting and exchanging ideas; gripper (zhua shou) refers to a key element that can be manipulated and influence a project and is usually used in strategy or implementation discussions. Such jargon usually has a special referential meaning only in Chinese IT giants and becomes unintelligible in other contexts. Jack has grown to understand this indexicality and adapted to this mode of communication based on his experience of the language in this workplace in a Chinese IT giant.

Question 1 feedback

2024-09-17 05:08:45 UTC

First of all, I think it's a great presentation and the example is vivid and relevant to the topic. As a student I once interned in the marketing department of an educational institution.

For question 1, I think that my identity has become more inclusive and flexible cause I needed to adapt to the environment and culture where I was working, such as business pressure from superiors and the respectful relationship between seniors and juniors, to ensure that I could integrate and do my job better.

zhouqi71725 — 2024-09-17 05:34:13 UTC

For the first question, I think in a new working environment, I will try my best to adjust my thoughts and attitude to be more inclusive.I admit that the overall working atmosphere will not change because of my joining. Therefore, if I need this job, I will adapt as soon as possible.When faced with a face issue, I consider the power hierarchy between me and the other person.If he is my leader, I will communicate in a gentler way. If he is my subordinate, I will point out the problem directly.

Feedback on Q1

2024-09-17 06:10:35 UTC

I really love this topic because challenges, like “996” and “PUA in workplace”, are very popular in China that I will likely face and pay attention to. Being in a diverse environment, I will take the initiative to adapt to the mainstream workplace culture where I am working. However, I also hope to stick to my own identity and be respected and accepted by the company. This can show the company’s inclusiveness and make me feel more comfortable working for the firm.

A2

2024-09-17 06:24:44 UTC

I generally try to stay calm first, understand the other person's position, and avoid directly challenging or embarrassing the other person. I find it important to respect each other's culture and give each other face. When resolving conflicts, I will choose to communicate privately, find a gentle way to express my ideas, and try to find a solution acceptable to everyone

KKKttt — 2024-09-17 09:53:15 UTC

When i experience more cultures, i would become more aware of my own cultural background and how it differs from other cultures. I may also pay more attention to actions that are interpreted by others and adjust accordingly to avoid misunderstandings. At the same time, I may develop a double or multiple identity, retaining my own cultural roots while becoming more integrated into other cultures.

And i really like this topic because it is a hot topic happened in China and we all don't want to be a "牛马"...

Question 1 feedback

huotianqing — 2024-09-17 13:50:10 UTC

Working in culturally diverse environments often fosters personal growth, reshaping one's identity through exposure to different perspectives, values, and norms. I remembered the first time when I cooperated with a group of students that comes from countries that preferred direct communication, while I preferred a more indirect and polite style. I had to consciously adjust my approach—being more direct when necessary while using more nuanced language in other interactions to ensure my communication was well-received across cultural lines. And this shift in identity reflects the importance of aligning with cultural expectations while maintaining flexibility in how to interact with different social context.

jiaweng4 — 2024-09-18 19:40:57 UTC

Q1:

My identity has evolved to be more adaptable and open to different cultural perspectives through exposure to diverse environments.

for example, Once, when I was working with a team from Japan, I encountered an expectation about hierarchy and indirect communication. At first, my feedback was more direct, but I quickly realised that this wasn't resonating with the team. I switched to a less direct approach to criticism and instead offered suggestions in a more collaborative way, using phrases like ‘How can we explore this option?’ or ‘Can we consider ......?’ This allowed me to maintain harmony while getting the point across.

Q2:

suggestions:

Constructively structuring feedback:I reframe criticism as an opportunity for growth and ensure that my suggestions are viewed as collaborative efforts rather than personal attacks.

Use third-party mediation:In situations of conflicting expectations, especially when hierarchies are involved, bringing in a neutral third party can help mediate without forcing either party to lose face.