Constructing Image-Based Culture Definitions Using Metaphors: Impact of a Cross-Cultural Immersive Experience

ABSTRACT

This study provides an approach to teaching and learning in the international business (IB) classroom about cultural values, beliefs, attitudes, and norms through the study of cultural metaphor. The methodology is based on established qualitative methods by using participants’ visual pictures and written explanations—representative of their initial perspectives of another culture—as units of analysis. Prior to and after a cross-cultural immersion experience in China, students are asked to contribute a tangible visual image of their impression of Chinese culture and briefly write about it. Upon their return, students are once again asked to submit another image of culture along with an additional written explanation in order to explicate their further understanding of culture’s role in cross-border interactions. Findings point to the increased capacity to construct redefinitions of culture based upon their experiences. They also reveal a glimpse into the ideas, imaginings, and attitudes of students as they attempt to make sense of unfamiliar world views, practices, and norms in light of the increasing interconnection in our world.

KEYWORDS:

• International business education
• Cultural metaphor
• Metaphor analysis
• Social constructivism
• International immersion

Acknowledgments

The author extends special thanks to research assistants, Emily Mosby and Catherine Latell; and to the guidance and feedback provided by Dr. Anne Tsui and Dr. Martin J. Gannon.

Notes

¹ File: #99420278; the author is bluejeanstock—Family at Traditional Round Table Meal; Fotolia.

² File: #27841754; the author is mipan—Barcode Made in China; Fotolia.

³ File: #136192895: the author is liusa—Image of Panda; purchased through FotoliaWords below panda by DreamWorks Animation (http://www.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/k/kung_fu_panda_take_home.pdf), public domain (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37565245).

⁴ File is by Leonard G. at en.wikipedia; CC SA 1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/sa/1.0/) via Wikimedia Commons.

⁵ File: #94735885—The Sky’s The Limit sign with sky background; © gustavofrazao/Fotolia.

⁶ File: #106190494, the author is chachanit—Chinese Lanterns; Fotolia.

⁷ File: #66689030, the author is Rawpixel.com—Chinese Students and Flag; Fotolia.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth A. Tuleja

Elizabeth A. Tuleja, PhD, is an Associate Teaching Professor at the Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame, where she teaches intercultural communication and intercultural management. Prior to Notre Dame, she taught at the Wharton School and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is the author of the book Intercultural Communication for Global Leadership: How Leaders Communicate for Success (Routledge, 2017). Dr. Tuleja spends her summers teaching in Shanghai and Chengdu and and has moved her cultural metaphor research to a transnational level by exploring Chinese students’ images of culture while a Fulbright Scholar at Sichuan University.