Managing Across Culture - the Concept of Cultural Intelligence - Coursework Example

Managing Across Culture---The Concept of Cultural Intelligence Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course: Date: Managing Across Culture---The Concept of Cultural Intelligence In the current era of corporate management and globalization, there has been need to rely on cross-cultural managerial processes to understand complexities of work related demands. Additionally, with the growing implications of global organisations, multinational teams, and international joint business, it remains imperative that we gain better comprehension of the factors that enhance managers and employees to perform efficiently and effectively when faced with cross-culturally diverse situations or contexts. Studies from scholars such as Bruhn (2005) have called for a greater understanding and awareness of nuances of different cultures and their implications which foster the smooth social interaction and business transactions. This study therefore introduces the concept of cultural intelligence as a precursor for understanding the process of managing across cultures. From the one hand, the definition of cultural intelligence has been seen in terms of ‘behaviors that serve people's goals’ (Brislin et al. 2006, p. 41). Brislin et al. (2006) define cultural intelligence as the adaptability of individual to different cultural contexts. This study believes in today's business associations, where people should skillfully cooperate with or oversee others with different cultural interactions and social foundations, we develop social knowledge that would likely enhance authority strategies and preparing mediations, subsequently giving an aggressive edge to people and partnerships. This study therefore assesses the concepts of cultural intelligence from broader perspective with a view of managing across cultures. Theoretical Exploration of Cultural Intelligence and Managing Across Cultures Available studies have reported the link between cultural intelligence and managing across cultures (Moon, 2010; Ott and Michailova, 2016). According to multiple intelligences theory, the connectedness between management across culture and cultural intelligence is understood as precursors for individuals who aim to interact with people from different cultural orientations or those in need of managing cultural differences effectively (Taipale, 2012). Background information on the two concepts indicate that for long, cultural intelligence has been integral part of business as society has been using the former to understand, explore, value and acknowledge social-cultural backgrounds as far as managing people from different culture is concerned. The most common approach that has been adopted in understanding the link between cultural intelligence and management across cultures was offered by Rockstuhl et al. (2011) who described cultural intelligence as the approach that provides managers with the ability of understanding the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of others and self within a working environment. Such definitions provide that cultural intelligence is the process of understanding interpersonal situations so that managers can work effectively and appropriately depending on cultural needs of employees under managers. There general understanding that cultural intelligence, or CQ, measures our capability to relate and work effectively in culturally diverse situations. It is a form of intelligence that has been tested by academic researchers in over 98 countries for nearly two decades. Literally, it would mean that CQ predicts our readiness for working and relating effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds. The higher ones CQ, the more likely they will gain new opportunities (Rockstuhl et al. 2011). Cultural intelligence is a necessary element concerning diverse parts of social studies since it is the foundation for acknowledging qualities and social-social foundation concerning ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, social class and sanity within work place. By appreciating these diversities Holley and Steiner (2005) opine that managers embrace the quality of managing across culture. This view has been supported by Spencer-Oatey (2012) who noted that recognizing these values enables one to comprehend distinctiveness among employees and help managers utilize our insight in executing a specific social introduction as indicated by uniqueness and similarity of that culture (Brislin et al., 2006). According to the theory of generation X, recognizing and appreciating different cultures is the point where cultural intelligence builds our inward mindfulness in regards to our qualities, learning process, shortcoming, feelings and qualities (Chen et al., 2016). Contextualizing this arguments and the theory within the setting of my experience, I was raised up in a large family and my parents taught me the need to integrate effectively with others regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds. As a result of including the need to recognize and appreciate other cultures, I enjoyed growing up where our strength was to see cultural difference as a way of understanding dynamism within people. This process (recognizing cultural intelligence) has indeed inculcated in me the sense of responding as well as understanding areas of tension and conflict when I encounter people from different or unfamiliar cultures. Based on this experience, different theories regarding cultural intelligence advocate for the need to develop an awareness about the uniqueness of other cultures in the sense that it will not only help in the management of others but provides an opportunity to accommodate different and new cultures within places of work. To conclude from this experience, the this paper borrows definition from Menon and Narayanan (2015) who noted that cultural intelligence is the person’s ability to effectively adapt to new cultural contexts so that management across cultures is premised on the diversities observed. Contemporary studies that have investigated cultural intelligence in multinational companies with diverse cultures have recognized the link between cultural intelligence and managing across culture means have the natural ability to interpret another person’s ambiguous and unfamiliar gestures in just the same approach and manner the colleague expects (Guðmundsdóttir, 2015; Rosenauer et al., 2015). From these perspectives it is apparent that a focus on development of skills to adapt culturally, relate interculturally, as well as empathy. Currently, Coca-Cola has introduced what it is termed as ‘The Coca-Cola Asian/Pacific-American Forum’ where employees from different cultural background are given opportunities bond and understand the need to embrace diversity (Joncka and Swanepoelb, 2015, p. 32). The latest episode of Coca-Cola’s Pacific-American Forum helped in the development of community engagement and development of relevant business insights that help develop respect for other cultures. From the other hand, cultural intelligence helps in conceptualization of the processes of communication within an organization as it entail the ability of workers and managers to stand back and become aware of different cultural orientations, beliefs, perceptions and values. So it should come as no surprise that the human actions, gestures, and speech patterns a person encounters in a foreign business setting are subject to an even wider range of interpretations, including ones that can make misunderstandings likely and cooperation impossible. But occasionally an outsider has a seemingly natural ability to interpret someone’s unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures in just the way that person’s compatriots and colleagues would, even to mirror them. We call that cultural intelligence or CQ. In a world where crossing boundaries is routine, CQ becomes a vitally important aptitude and skill, and not just for international bankers and borrowers. Putting this argument rightly, Bogilović and Škerlavaj (2016) observed that the process of managing across culture in modern organizations needs one to understand the tenets of cultural intelligence so that one can articulate different cultural identities. Articulation of different cultural identities essentially means that managers move from seeing their cultures as superior to embracing flexibility when it comes to other people’s culture. Concluding from these theories and management across cultures, cultural intelligence helps one to develop high levels of awareness needed in the creation of a positive working environment and harnessing of personal skills especially when working across cultures. Participation in a cross cultural awareness is one of the ways of developing cultural intelligence however, it has to be noted that this process need a given set of cross-cultural attributes which may be difficult to develop unless they are partly influenced by upbringing, personal experience or environmental setup. Application of Cultural Intelligence in Internal Business It has been proved in different researches that there is strong business case for companies to recognize the need and value of understanding and embracing the construction of cultural intelligence as organistions continue to become global. Coupled with this, in contemporary competitive business environment, manager’s success in cross-cultural settings will be greatly influenced by her or his ability to manage the problems and challenges linked with living and working in a multi-cultural environment. Such situation can be a case where managers have been tasked with the responsibility of working in diverse culture and simultaneously, adjusting their management styles to accommodate multiple cultures, at the same time being conversant with multiple languages (Quappe and Cantatore, 2005). In yet a different study, Russell (2011) found that failures of managers to embrace cultural intelligence may make the work of expatriates very difficult as expatriates often intend to be accommodated within the organization. The commonalities that have been cited in these cases recognize that at managers’ level, they need to possess cultural intelligence not only to help them in accommodating expatriates but have the innate sensitivity awareness that stretches beyond self which in turn, recognizes that business operations are occupied by people who can operate beyond their cultural limits (Lokkesmoe et al., 2016). Studies such as Jyoti and Kour (2015) took case studies on expatriates from Cuba working in Canada. According to the study, failure of managers at different organisations to embrace their cultural identities caused expatriates stress, depression and trauma as they complained of negligence, loneliness and segregation at places of work. Business management in general and management across cultures in particular, need to embrace workplace planning. One of the core values of workplace management is the review on human capital and it is relationship to aspects such as retention. The increased significance of human capital has been apparent at both the supply and the demand side of the labour and as such, embracing cultural diversities will not only ensure Cuban expatriates feel wanted but it will be a step towards realizing inclusivity. Effective management across cultures has been argued to have propelled the performance of different organisations including Pepsi. Basically, cultural inclusivity is an approach Pepsi has adopted to help the Company get involved in different policy development that follows the linear model or rational model (Jyoti and Kour, 2015). The form of recruitment and selection within Pepsi is determined by job related knowledge and the level of skill of an individual which to that extent, ensure that diversity is included and respected. For that matter, when Pepsi developed Cheetos and Doritos to replace Lay---different cultural orientation and marketing was involved to promote the product beyond the parent company. While Jyoti and Kour (2015) recognized this step as a policy that followed linear model to ensure that brand developments are balanced, it was a clear case of managing across cultures so that cultural differences are factored in the design and taste of the product. Additionally, when Cheetos and Doritos were introduced, recruitment of field operators was conducted from different socio-cultural backgrounds to ensure that product design reflects people from different regions. Figure 1 below has been adopted from Pepsi’s model of applying cultural intelligence (what they term as CQ) in management of different cultures or across diversity. According to the figure cultural intelligence is seen in terms of Drive, Knowledge, Strategy and Action. For instance, cultural intelligence if looked at in terms of Drive is the manager’s cultural knowledge that allows him management strategies to instill motivation so that his/her interests and confidence can effectively manage in culturally diverse settings. Furthermore, the model calls for CQ knowledge where managers are expected to develop cognition and an understanding how cultures are similar and different but what matters is performance of individual within the organisation. The other aspects (CQ Strategy and CQ Action) are as explained in the figure. Figure 1: Model for Understanding Cultural Intelligence and Across Culture Management Source: Menon and Narayanan (2015) Summarizing the figure above, organisations should strive to have working environments that accommodate different cultures. Such environments should be embedded on a strong emphasis on communal consensus building and humanistic views. There is need for managers to promote strong collaboration and teamwork and in most cases, adopt slogans such as ‘empowerment’ in the process of describing employee engagement rather than treating people according to their socio-cultural backgrounds. Just like Menon and Narayanan (2015) has recognized in their studies, appreciating cultural differences is one sure way of making sense because it forms the social context in which people within the organization can come to work and improve the performance of the organization. The views that have been presented regarding cultural intelligence and business operations call for cultural brokering. Cultural brokering in this sense means that if managers embrace different cultures in their organisations then they are likely to gain a renewed focus and understanding when it comes to deliverance of appropriate working environment that captures global contexts and needs (Menon and Narayanan, 2015). Such steps will also necessitate competitiveness within organistions. The single most essential point to consider is that managing across cultures can effectively meet specific needs of workers within a given setting if cultural intelligence is made to oversee decisions we make as managers. It therefore requires managers to approach workers/employees not as generic category, but as people operating in a social context that includes the cultural and geographical realities. In most cases, studies acknowledge that managers tasked with the responsibility of managing across cultures fail to recognize that working is seen as part of cultural practice and as a result, managers need to move away from assuming that there is only one workplace culture that should be adopted for operations. There is however, the need to appreciate that there is difference between striving against perception of cultural global dominion (such as the belief that English culture is the best way of transacting business) and running a centralized working function across the organization. In the real essence, the problem of balancing between cultural orientations and business operations remains to be complex because even the simplest business operations is affected by the fact that we are having a diverse world that is coexisting simultaneously with the logic of the organization that further assumes and presumes that there is a universal character in managing. Cultural Intelligence and Qualities of Management One question that researchers have attempted to answer is the role of cultural intelligence in management of effectiveness in global business. While it is apparent that there is anecdote of literature on the topic of management or managing across cultures, the focus of this section is to evaluate ways in which cultural intelligence shape management. Put differently, the relationship between effective management across culture and cultural intelligence as far as global business is concerned. Research conducted by Guðmundsdóttir (2015) indicated that management of global organisations need managers who do not only understand the technical processes of executing business operations and strategies but one who has an acute comprehension of culture and international business processes within such cultures. This means that the traditional approaches and models for managing across cultures, which historically focused on the technical abilities of managers and executives, continue to be inadequate (Joncka and Swanepoelb, 2015). Such inadequacies call for new models that fully recognize and embrace current needs of global business and how cultural intelligence is integrated into executive management. Figure 2 below has been adopted from Joncka and Swanepoelb (2015) to provide an understanding on how contemporary managers can discern and comprehend different cultures in an organization. Figure 2: New Models of Cultural Intelligence in Managing Across Cultures Source: Joncka and Swanepoelb (2015) The model to follow as shown in figure 2 above is that managers should seek to work harmoniously with other cultures. The ability to differentiate between universal concepts and their practical manifestations means that culture should be understood from the perspective of individual background not the working environment. For instance, managers need to understand what motivates his/her workers and as a result, have the ability to demonstrate the organizational commitment to cultural diversity (for instance, the ability of managers to develop a given global standards that help the organization to assess and promote performance). This view has been supported in different studies that have agreed that failure to pay attention to cultural differences is likely to generate additional product development (Quappe and Cantatore, 2005; Russell, 2011). As a matter of fact, in countries such as Saudi Arabia, establishing cultural relationship before talking business is considered as a pre-requisite, and in most cases, these conditions leads to supplier or contractor A chosen ahead of B. Such decisions are not based on performances, but on trust and quality because the chosen company or person recognizes and appreciates Arabic cultures in business operations. Russell (2011) connects this argument to recent practices in stores where global consumer chains are seen to be rearranging the approach they present their items and products on the shelves so as to match the cultural needs of their workers and preferences of their local customers. Conclusively, embracing cultural diversity is about putting on the spirit of Chameleon as it will provide managers with the ability to assimilate others without surrendering, to flex our needs and even reflect the prevailing culture without necessarily losing our original self. It is about adjusting and welcoming others while expecting to experience a new way of management. To be culturally intelligence requires that managers embrace the spirit of diversity. References Bogilović, S., & Škerlavaj, M. (2016). 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