The cultural diversity of Australia means that you will face people that originate from a vast array of different backgrounds, on top of that you will also be faced with the cultural differences that Australia has when comparing it to Saudi Arabia. As a result of this being able to adapt accordingly is a skill that will be very beneficial to you and will help you succeed (Boss, 2015).
It is important to be adaptable because you inevitably will face things that you are not familiar with, this range of differences can be anywhere from minute things like differences in the way people are greeted, to large systemic societal differences like language and religion. Interacting with people as much as possible is important because it helps improve your adaptability (Chang, Yuan, & Chuang, 2012), and training yourself to become more extroverted so that you will have an easier time engaging people, will also help you do that (Swagler et al., 2005). In order to successfully adapt when entering the culture of another nation, there are a number of actions you will need to take, both in preparing to adapt and undertaking the adaptation after you have arrived. The preparation is important because the adaptability skills that you acquire before arriving will have a greater impact than if you have to acquire them after arriving (Montagliani & Giacalone, 1998)
Recognising the need to adapt
Before you arrive you must recognize that arriving in another country will put a need on you to adapt to the cultural differences that you will encounter (Mckeown, 2012). To understand what it means to be adaptable, we will look at the two components that make up adaptability, flexibility and versatility (Alexandra, 2016).
Flexibility
In your efforts to improve your adaptability you will have to improve your flexibility. Being flexible when meeting new people means that you need to act in a way that is open to their individuality and personality, you need to give them space to comfortably show you what type of person they are and you must refrain from acting towards them with prejudice. Being able to tolerate that their point of view may be different (Alexandra, 2017), while still having the confidence to stand by your own beliefs and trust that things will work out. Try to put yourself in theirs shoes to understand how they are experiencing the meeting, be positive towards them while showing that you respect the differences that are between you. An example of something that will require your flexibility is the presence of women in the workplace, while you might not be used to it, you can help your own adaption of this difference along by being tolerant of their presence (Alexandra, 2017) and employing a positive attitude when interacting with them.
Being flexible towards toward the differences in the surroundings will benefit from the application of the same skills. Because of the effective public transportation systems present in most Australian metro areas, using public transport is an easy way to get around. Getting on a tram is itself a an opportunity to practice flexibility. You will have to think about how other people perceive your presence as to not disturb them or get in the way of them entering of exiting the tram.
Versatility
To improve your versatility your have to become analytical towards the behaviour you have when going about your daily work and the behaviour you should have in the future (Boss, 2015). Everyone makes mistakes when learning to relate to a different culture, but mistakes is not necessarily a bad thing, the important thing is that you learn from them (Alexandra, 2016). Dealing with mistakes helps your versatility positively, it improves your resilience to overcome setbacks and helps build your competency in dealing with mistakes in the future. Be attentive to your surroundings when meeting with your business partners, use the things that you notice in the surroundings to prepare for the next time that you will meet them.
Adapting
Given the examples above it is clear that arriving in Australia will compel you to do things differently than what you are used to. Having recognised the need to adapt, you will now need to prepare yourself mentally ahead of time(Mckeown, 2012).
REFERENCE LIST
Alexandra, Dr. Tony, 2016, Do You Have Adaptability?, Sucess.com, viewed 4 May 2017, <http://www.success.com/article/do-you-have-adaptability>.
Alexandra, Dr. Tony, 2017, 10 Ways to Improve your Adaptability, Alexandra.com, viewed 2 May 2017, <http://www.alessandra.com/freeresources/adaptability_report.asp>.
Amy Montagliani & Robert A. Giacalone (1998) Impression Management and Cross-Cultural Adaption, The Journal of Social Psychology, 138:5, 598-608, DOI: 10.1080/00224549809600415
Boss, Jeff, 2015, 14 Signs of an Adaptable Person, Forbes, viewed 5 May 2017, <https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffboss/2015/09/03/14-signs-of-an-adaptable-person>.
Chang, Yuan, & Chuang. (2012). The relationship between international experience and cross-cultural adaptability. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, International Journal of Intercultural Relations.
Mckeown, M. (2012). Adaptability (1st ed.). Kogan Page.
Mosseri, S. (2013). Workplace flexibility what you want? Here’s how to get it. [image] Available at: https://onthe5thfloor.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/silent-journey-destressing-with-workplace-flexibility [Accessed 6 May 2017].
Swagler, Michelle A., & Jome, LaRae M. (2005). The Effects of Personality and Acculturation on the Adjustment of North American Sojourners in Taiwan. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(4), 527-536.
Cruise to Australia 