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Developing Intercultural Competence

The seminar content has helped me to develop my intercultural competence, understand the context of my environment better,  and appreciate my opportunities (study abroad, intern abroad, and volunteer abroad) in humble, curious, and open-minded way. I have been able to translate my expectations and realities into a meaningful way, that I can now take with me forever. Specifically, with my internship experience, I was able to get a better perspective of what it means to see the world from a global point-of-view. The company I worked with works with retailers from several countries and not only do they know several different languages, but they know how to adapt their work style (attitudes and expectations) to each of those different cultures.  My intercultural development action plan was to mostly focused on improving my knowledge of the Spanish language through immersion and practice. I have been able to expand on that goal by learning that in Spain there are four other languages with slightly varying cultures. Catalan was probably the main language that I did not realize was going to be such a huge impact on my experience here in Barcelona. I also did not realize that I would learn so much contextually about other cultures and the role cultural dimensions affect cultural norms. This affected the extent of my relationships with others in regards to my expectations. I had previously lived in Germany before and I based a lot of my expectations off of my interactions with Germans. Understanding the differences between the US and Germany, Germany and Spain, and Spain and the US in regards to:

Universalism versus particularism

Individualism versus communitarianism

Specific versus diffuse

Neutral versus emotional

Achievement versus ascription

Sequential time versus synchronous time

Internal direction versus outer direction

My original main goals of this trip were to work on my Spanish, build my self-confidence, and build my networking skills. With my internship, I have been able to practice my Spanish when my supervisors send me on errands around the city. A lot fewer people speak Spanish in Barcelona than I originally thought and a lot more speak Catalan. I definitely speak more Spanish than I did before, but I do feel as if this trip was not long enough because I am still not as comfortable speaking it as I would like. I do however feel a lot more confident in the workplace and networking. Challenges I have encountered while trying to achieve my goals mostly have to do with my Spanish speaking. My biggest challenge is myself. I feel as though I am wasting time to try and practice my Spanish because it is just more efficient to speak English. That is something that I will just have to get over though. Something that I can do to overcome that challenge is to force myself to get over it. My supervisors are very supportive of me speaking Spanish but I need to be more confident in myself and understand that it will be hard work and not give up just because it seems uncomfortable. Another challenge I have is the idea of putting too much on my plate. This affects my time management and I probably should not have intentionally overwhelmed myself because this will have a reverse effect in other areas of my life like my school, work, relationships, etc. Something I can do in the future is focused less on quantity but quality because I want to provide quality outputs for all of the things that I am involved with. In regards to progress, I am realizing things about myself like working with certain people on projects affects my energy and outlook on the project (If I don’t like my team then it is hard for me to have passion for the project). I am still working on a way to keep my passion and energy intact so that others can not affect that because I do not want to provide bad outputs. Something that was affirmed for me was my passion for events; although I still enjoy marketing and even visual merchandising. My internship has introduced me to a lot of fashion production things that I do like and appreciate. There are so many things that are behind the scenes that are so important and I appreciate being a part of that effort.

The internship seminar course made all the difference in apprehending my experience. I also lived with my parents in Germany which really affected my outlook on the environment, whereas this is my first time living on my own in a foreign country. Challenges to achieving my intercultural competence goals were mostly internal as it took me a long time to get used to my environment. Four months was way too short of a time to live abroad and truly feel integrated with the culture. I am still in the process of overcoming this challenge. I try to speak more Castellano and I try to appreciate the present more and what I have control over (rather than focusing on what I cannot control). As far as the internship in helping me to achieve my goals, my supervisors provide a very comfortable environment for practicing my Spanish, I just feel bad about utilizing it because I feel I take too long and do not say anything meaningful as it pertains to my job. Again, this is internal and something that I need to give myself time to get out of and be comfortable. During the internship, I was able to work on my independence, organization, Spanish skills (speaking and understanding) as well as understanding the entrepreneurial side of a fashion business and what it takes to run it by yourself. I aided in the creation of new and essential documents for the company to contact with other publications, retailers, partners, etc.

I am still very young and at a place of self-discovery in my life. I am learning how to translate my experiences in a meaningful way (which I have not been able to do in a long time), not allow other people to affect my motivation, and how to surround myself with like-minded people. I am very thankful for this experience and am so excited for all of the opportunities to come moving forward.

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Cultural Differences in the Workplace

Regarding the next journal entry, and the past few weeks, I was able to notice the presence as well as lack of cultural differences in my places of work. I started this discovery by asking one of my supervisors a few questions. I found that They represent two nationalities: Belgian and Spanish. Also, their brand began in the states (NY) but they ended up leaving and coming to Barcelona because of their visa status. Both supervisors speak many languages, and although there are still some language barriers, there are fewer currency barriers and English is becoming more widely spoken in the industry. Their brand is international so they have many aspects from everyone and other cultures. They have “roots” and bits from everywhere and every culture. Their main target market is Americans but the Japanese are also a very large market. Europeans are the smallest market because the style is more of a niche in the region and its harder because not as many people buy online. Americans tend to buy more online and Japanese tend to buy larger quantities. Because I work with only them, clothing and times are not as strict and the environment is relaxed between us. However, their work with retailers and suppliers from what I noticed is that they expect professionality and attention to time. From speaking with Joris he explained to me that in working with other cultures he has noticed, Europe is concentrated whereas Americans are integrated. Their brand reflects the art, street style, and slow life which is interesting considering trends specific to the culture. The Japanese and Americans tend to favor the style of the brand over Europeans. The company blends both western and eastern culture.

The biggest issue with sustaining a business beyond borders is trying to appeal to all markets and sales regarding buyers. Europe is not like the states, there are different markets in each country. That’s why it is easier to sell in the states because there is only one market. Joris and Adriana (my supervisors) had an advantage starting in the states because the US because they have the biggest target group for the kind of business that they want to do. Something to regard is that Americans are more informal and open Europeans and Japanese are very hierarchical. They are most focused on status’ and set positions (Japan more hierarchy and Europe is more reserved) also reflecting the government structures. Something I thought that was interesting from talking to Joris was that in his experience, Americans were almost inauthentic meaning they say more, but mean less. Open culture is sometimes a downside because they tend to over exaggerate and not stay true to their words. Europe, on the other hand, is different because they say what they mean. In regards to the reading, Chapter 3: Culture and Communication by Jerome Dumetz, the non-linguistic communication styles like haptics (touching) is relevant in European culture during greetings in casual and workspaces. The paralinguistic aspect, when people tend to speak very quickly, was something I noticed this at my volunteer program. English as a hyper central language and nearly 50% of the world being bilingual was something my supervisor brought up which was neat to parallel in the text. I do deal with many accents and regarding pauses in conversation, they only happen when people are trying to figure out a specific word. “Culture influences our behavior, and quite logically, the way we communicate with others and how we understand them. Cultural awareness begins with acknowledging that or patterns might be different from others. Observing preferences it’s the first step towards ethnorelativism, the new accept the validity of the other's opinion.” This is important incompetency and understanding how to navigate the intercultural workplace.

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Reconciling expectations with reality

It has now been four weeks that I have worked as a marketing assistant for Revisited Matters. My work as of now has consisted of me creating contact lists for current and prospective shops Revisited is/ or would like to do business with, running errands for Adriana (mail, garments, food), and accompanying them during fairs or shopping trips. Because I work with the two founders and it is only them, they can get busy with all of the many things they deal with in running a business. I am still trying to find an efficient way to be helpful the best way I know how and make sure that I understand the company and their vision. During one of the trips I took with Adriana and Joris, we discussed the company’s goals, vision, and mission for the company. This helped me to get more of an understanding about who the company is and its purpose. During my business classes, I am also taught many strategic brand management, business, and marketing tools to add value to my role.

There are many things coming up from the company including creating the lookbook, preparing for New York and Paris Fashion Week, and now sending out the new collection to customer and stockists. Soon Joris and I plan to create a marketing plan for the company.  It is interesting to learn from them and how Adriana’s and Joris’ dynamic translates to how they deal with different things like unprofessional/ inconsiderate clients, disappointment or excitement in how a project turns out, etc. To make a meaning statement in the company, I need to work on stepping out of my comfort and I am satisfied with the opportunity to work on my communication skills and confidence. That has probably been the most challenging part; the fact that I have been given such a great opportunity, but making sure that I do not squander this time. I still feel like it is maybe too soon to consider what has been rewarding from working in this position because I have not necessarily seen any of the benefits of the work I have done yet, but know that even being given this opportunity has been beneficial as long as I remember to make a conscious effort to push myself daily.

I work for a company founded by and Spanish (Catalonian) woman and a Belgian man. The company was started in New York but they moved their base to Barcelona. When speaking about the text, “The values Americans live by,” and the work that I am involved in for the company, some of these principles apply, many of them are blanket statements that are not necessarily American values, but capitalist ideals that Americans adapted. Another thing to note is that the company I work for is not rooted in be geographically specific as their customer is all of the world from Canada, to Spain, Switzerland, Japan, and their main customer in the US. The brand, however, does not reflect many of the ideals stated as their brand is “with the intention to create effortless pieces that transcend season and trend. The collection is made with natural materials, an easy One size fit and designed to last. By combining meticulous craftsmanship with modern ways of thinking we try to give an alternative to fast fashion. We are committed to sustainability and ethical manufacturing.”

Regarding the first point made, “Personal control over the environment”, this statement holds true to an extent because of capitalism but that depends. “Americans no longer believe in the power of Fate, and they have come to look at people who do as being backward, primitive, or hopelessly naive. To be called “fatalistic” is one of the worst criticisms one can receive in the American context; to an American, it means one is superstitious and lazy, unwilling to take any initiative in bringing about improvements.” First, when did Americans believe in the power of fate? From the perspective of my company whose main target is Americans, this statement holds no relevance.  “Time and control”, is another ideal that is dependant on the environment because the people I work with care about time as it affects their customer and the context of being a student, punctuality is key to success here in Spain and in the US. Individualism and privacy, is probably the best objective example as it states fact that in some languages, privacy does not exist therefore in the States, “privacy is not only seen as a very positive condition, but it is also viewed as a requirement which all humans would find equally necessary, desirable and satisfying.” But the fashion industry is mainly made up of the western world with many of the same “values” worldwide. Individualism and privacy are key in fashion, as well as the idea of “self-help” in running your own business.

Regarding the reading, honestly, it rubbed me the wrong way as the information seemed skewed and only reinforced the idea that generalizations are the only way to understand people, an idea that I do not agree with that. While a lot of the information was insightful and true, none of the information relates to the content of my journal entry.  L. Robert Kohls,  an American author, makes a claim, “we can say that if the foreign visitor really understood how deeply ingrained these 13 values are in Americans, he or she would then be able to understand 95% of American actions -- actions which might otherwise appear strange, confusing, or unbelievable when evaluated from the perspective of the foreigner’s own society and its values.” There is no frame of reference or objectivity to the information to reference how that 95% was collected and the information is dated (1984) calling into question its relevance. My understanding of intercultural awareness has been that it is about observing and the new environment with an open mind and respect. It is not about casting judgments and overgeneralizing. Kohls also states in the beginning, “we feel confident that the values listed in this booklet describe most (but not all) Americans,” yet the entirety of the document is meant to represent all Americans. There are far too many discrepancies to pose objective or even relevant bias.

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Anticipating your internship

My first week at my internship placement was a lot different than I had originally expected. I have worked for a designer before and I had worked in an office setting so I expected it to be busy but I do not think I was as prepared mentally to start right away as I had thought. I had started off my first morning getting lost on my way to the CEA Barcelona center. Then, on my way to my placement, I was walking with Experiential Learning Coordinator and on her way to showing me the way to the placement, we passed by such a beautiful charming area that looked a lot different from the neighborhood that I live in. We were walking pretty fast though to keep time so it felt like I was moving through the motions but still mentally I was not present because I still felt bad that we were late in the first place. It did not help that on my first day I was feeling sick and coughing a lot. I felt disgusting and like I was making a horrible first impression. While there, I started work almost immediately, acquainting myself with the company and the company’s competitors. One of my supervisors was telling me a lot about the company and its future goals almost like he had to let it all out, it was a lot of information. Luckily I was prepared physically and I was very attentive and taking notes. But I couldn’t help but feel still like mentally, I was in a different place and was not prepared for where I was. They walked me out to show me the train station to get to my class after and I could not help but think that it had to be really easy to get lost by myself. It seemed as if everything this trip was moving very fast, and I could not keep up. I ended that day feeling very out of place. I was even a little sad and confused as to why I would willingly choose to leave everything I know and go to another country by myself. I did not have many expectations for my travel, but the more I talked to people about the trip and listened to their advice/ input, the more I built an idea about what to expect coming to Barcelona. What I have come to know is not the experience that I have heard from others which makes sense because everyone experiences things very differently. For example, the work environment I am in is not the traditional Spanish workplace that I had heard about. “Time being relaxed” and “not a set construct” is not something I had come to believe about my environment. I think it depends on the business setting if it is relaxed or not. I realized this when I came late to the Barcelona center (about 10 minutes). The look on Maria’s face made me feel really bad because it was only me and her and she was waiting for me. The time is flexible with supervisors because they run their own company and the are really the only ones doing it but I am not necessarily convinced that that goes the same for all business environments. It is hard to compare that as this is the only business experience that I am involved with. “Lunch is the most important meal of the day”. This is another concept that I have not experienced in the work environment. As mentioned before, there is a lot of work and only two people trying to get it done so it is almost normal to work through lunch. Another thing to understand is that the couple I work for is a couple and one is Spanish, the other is from Belgium. As an international fashion brand, they work with people from all over the world and speak many languages. I would say that I am truly in an international workplace based in Spain rather than a Spanish workplace. The work I do is not that much different from what I would expect an upcoming fashion company works to be. Of course, I am still getting over the fact that I need to consciously and daily make an effort to speak Spanish if I want to learn because speaking is important. It shows my determination for growth. Overall, my experience started a little rocky, I have come to adapt my comfort by the following Thursday and feel a lot better about where I am and what I am doing. Being in the right place mentally to experience a new surrounding is a crucial part of intercultural competence and that is something I plan to work on throughout my entire experience here in Barcelona.

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What was the most unexpected thing I learned?

I learned a lot from being a merchandising student at VCU, both inside and outside my major.  For all of my life I thought I wanted to be a teacher until I moved to Maryland around my fourth grade year and met a girl named Alesha.  She was the one who made me start realizing my love for fashion and my desire to own my own company.  Of course many years have passed from the time, and my parents are in the military so I moved shortly after.  Since Maryland I have lived in New Mexico, Germany, and now Virginia and I have always stayed with the idea of being a part of the fashion industry.  I never expected to grow so much, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually this year at VCU.  In fashion 241, I took my first “evening class.” It was once a week from 4:00-6:40pm and once a week on Mondays.  Honestly I knew this would be a class I would hate going to because it was for so long and at such an awkward part of the day.  Surprisingly enough I actually didn’t dread the class.  Was hard because we started off with many snow days which really took a toll on the progression of the class and the assignments. I also was upset because I wanted to have the same teacher I had in 240 which was Ms. Arrington.  I was comfortable with her and a lot of my other friends were in that class.  Overall my 241 experience was not all that bad, I actually quite enjoyed the classroom.  There was one day that I was sitting in class, kind of zoned out, but I began to wonder if the fashion industry was even for me.  I considered changing my major.  I’m not sure what it was but I was thinking, “Do I really want to do this for the rest of my life?” That was the scariest thing because I have spent so much of my life focused on this thing and for me to change, I though would be a step back.  True, I am at a young age where I can change majors, but fashion merchandisers get straight into their majors and I would have a few wasted credits. It wasn’t until I actually met with my fashion advisor that I regained the confidence I once had to proceed in my major headstrong.  Overall my VCU experience has been great.  In some aspects, it is what I was expecting, but in the same manner, I don’t think I had huge expectations for my freshman year.  Nothing really stuck out to me as out of the ordinary, but maybe that is just how I am and the lifestyle I am used to.  I am very accustomed to adapting to situations, as my military dependent life would have to but I just wish the very best for my oncoming years.  I will say that freshman year went by a lot faster than I thought.

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Just some fun this year and this semester

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Ikea’s campaign ad

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Ikea expands

Brand extension, also known as brand stretching, is defined a marketing strategy in which a marketing firm of a well-known brand takes the product and develops images with the same brand name in a different product. For example, Oreos making a brand of ice cream. (brand extension.org) According to an article in Women’s Wear Daily, by Lorelei Marfil, "Armani Exchange; L’Oréal’s color cosmetics brand NYX, and the German and French lingerie brands Hunkemöller and Undiz will join names including Adidas, Calvin Klein Jeans, Converse, Gap, Lacoste, Levi’s, MAC, Marks & Spencer, New Balance, Nike, The North Face, Tommy Hilfiger, Topshop and Zara,” through Ikea centre Russia in attempts to diversify their customers. The strategy used will be combing many top name designers into various branches to suit a more diverse customer.  This is important because it caters to the mass majority more effectively, thus bringing in more capital for all of the companies. These extensions are set to take place in 2020.  The downside to all of this diversity is that the customer might get confused with the integrity of the original company’s style. I think this is a great Idea to look into more to see who all the companies intend to work together.  

http://wwd.com/retail-news/specialty-stores/armani-exchange-nyx-hunkemoller-undiz-russia-ikea-centres-10397431/

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Trade in Buenos Aires

The country I selected was Argentina.  In an article posted on Women’s Wear Daily, Kristin Ellis wrote that the United States and Argentina signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement launching a more “comprehensive trade arrangement.”  This happened as of President Obama’s trip to the country. "As part of the case, the U.S. challenged widespread licensing restrictions maintained by Argentina on the importation of goods, including $3.5 million worth of U.S. apparel products. The U.S. exported nearly $11 billion in goods to Argentina, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said. Apparel, textile and footwear exports were impacted by the import licensing restrictions imposed by Argentina according to industry groups.” This benefits both countries by allowing trade to flow more directly helping both economies.

http://wwd.com/business-news/government-trade/u-s-and-argentina-sign-trade-framework-agreement-10397314/

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Animal rights in Fashion Industry

Animal Rights has always been an issue in society when it comes to fashion. Between the affects mankind has done to their habitat and the mistreatment of animals, animal activists have been hard at work in the influence of the fashion industry. According to an article in WWD, “Artist Anne de Carbuccia’s message…reflect[s] the damage mankind has done to nature and animals…There is no pointing fingers but there are questions on what we want for the future.”  Specifically in fashion as well as art, organic materials have been used in construction. http://wwd.com/eye/people/anne-de-carbuccias-moments-in-time-10333681/

In another article, PETA became a shareholder of Hermes. "As a shareholder, PETA U.S. will work from inside to demand a permanent ban on accessories made from exotic animal skins, including crocodile skin bags and alligator skin watch bands.”  When it come to the trapping and raising of animals for their fur, I personally just think that is wrong.  Animals should be free olive healthy and free lives.  Once they die, then should we use their assets.  Even the same for eating animals. http://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/peta-becomes-hermes-shareholder-to-protest-exotic-skins-shareholder-meetings-10194841/

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Rayon is my fall fabric though!!!

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Home knitted scarves and sweaters are perfect for this weather.

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Natural Fibers vs. Synthetic fibers

Fibers are not something that I am particularly familiar with but everyone wears clothes so most are able to feel the difference between clothing made of natural fibers and one made of manufactured fibers.  Personally I prefer the feeling and comfortability of natural fibers more but the durability and style of manufactured fibers suits me more.  I have always been a girl that preferred fashion over comfort sadly so this situation leaves me at a cross roads.  Materials like rayon and spandex work well for me although natural materials like cotton and silk are most likely the majority of my closet.  Also natural material are a plus for the environment where as manufactured fibers are not.  To conclude though, I would choose natural fibers as preferable for their comfort and safety.

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My computers for fashion projects!