In this example I am a US professional and am contemplating taking a job internationally in the Philippines.
According to a project done by GLOBE, the Philippines, a country in the southern asian cluster, is one with strong cultural practices. To begin, there is a high degree of power distance in this country meaning that the power is not expected to be distributed equally and that the community supports authority, hierarchies, and status privileges. Going off of this, they highly respect their superiors and interact with them in a very professional manner.
Another aspect of this culture is the attention to detail and emphasis of timeliness that they exhibit. It is a sign of respect to show up on time and communicate when you are unable to.
Additionally, this culture is one of low context communication, meaning that they are not as direct with their words and communication as we are here in the US. When having conversations with people native to this culture, you have to read in between the lines and take in context clues as you are being spoken to which is different from the US because the communication style here is very direct and it is acceptable to have to repeat things whereas in the Philippines it is not as common.
I think that if I were to be offered this position i would take it because of how important it is to work in diverse groups in order to become a better leader. I think international relations are very important and learning how to work with people who have different cultural practices and leading styles is very beneficial to an individuals personal and professional growth.
I also think that groups who have diverse perspectives are also more successful and end up having more in depth and meaningful meetings/conversations because they are incorporating different views which allows them to work better with others in different situations and opens up more opportunities for them.
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