CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE

Cultural Intelligence

Table of Content

Introduction to Cultural Intelligence3

Importance of Cultural Intelligence3

Important Aspects of Cultural Intelligence6

Situations where Cultural Intelligence is Crucial8

References10

Cultural Intelligence



Introduction to Cultural Intelligence

Cultural Intelligence is the capability to interact efficiently in numerous cultures. A comprehensive competency that consists of knowledge of cultures, mindfulness and a range of behavioral skills (Thomas & Inkson, 2004).

It is when a person is capable of adjusting to diverse cultural settings (Ang, Van Dyne, & Koh, 2006).

At the turn of the 21st century the concept of Cultural Intelligence was conceived. This was a time the world was going through record changes in terms of globalization and interconnectivity. The advancements in the fields of communication and technology advancements in transportation had made traveling to foreign lands reachable, speedy and affordable (Ang, Van Dyne & Tan, 2011).

Peterson (2004) defined Cultural Intelligence as an individual's ability to engage in a behavior that uses specific skill and technique, such as language or interpersonal qualities like patience and flexibility that are in sync with the culture based values, norm and attitudes of the people with whom one deals with.

Importance of Cultural Intelligence

Human Resource Management practitioners understood long ago, how important it was for senior managers, especially International Business Managers to have the ability and know the techniques of dealing with different cultural settings, both organizational as well as national where they operate. Attention's been directed towards selection and training of individuals who will be expected to travel abroad and work in cultures foreign to them.

International Business managers, given the globalization of our economy have been in sudden demand in the fast growing management specialty department. They are expected to control entire projects from planning to delegation for businesses, companies and organizations with international connections. They encourage, motivate, coordinate and lead to achieve company goals in different cultural and governmental situations. In addition to having skills in leadership, communication, marketing, creativity, accounting, human relations and accounting they are required to have knowledge of different languages, understanding of government systems, politics, cultural norms and rules, cultural diversity and logistics.

Understanding cultures is becoming increasingly important as when International Business managers are sent abroad to negotiate a deal, they can only survive without difficulty or embarrassment when they have the knowledge of the specific culture, its language and norms etc. Underestimating the importance of it could put them in danger of compromising their performance and failing the company (Stening, B. W. (2006).

A good example would be of a business meeting of a United States multinational at its Paris location where a Turkish employee who was visiting used an aggressive loud tone with the U.S. and French executives while trying to discuss the financial situation of the company. He was also critical of his superiors without realizing he was being downright insulting. This eventually caused him embarrassment and left a negative impression. He had ignored the cultural cues in his attempt to impress those there with his knowledge of the company. What could have been a productive dialogue ended into an argumentative ...