Cross-cultural competence

Abstract: This study seeks to determine a definition and appropriate assessment methods of inter-cultural competence as agreed on by a panel of internationally known intercultural scholars. This information ...

Abstract: In a global market where international teams, initiatives, and joint ventures are increasingly common, it is extremely important for people to integrate themselves quickly in new cultures. Current theories in management and psychology do not provide adequate frameworks to explain the successes or failures of people working and managing in foreign cultures. In this book, the authors develop the idea of cultural intelligence and examine its three essential facets.

Abstract: Today, the importance of intercultural competence in both global and domestic contexts is well recognized. Bennett (1986, 1993b) posited a framework for conceptualizing dimensions of intercultural competence in his developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS). The DMIS constitutes a progression of worldview ‘‘orientations toward cultural difference’’ that comprise the potential for increasingly more sophisticatedintercultural experiences. Three ethnocentric orientations, where one’s culture is experiencedas central to reality (Denial, Defense, Minimization), andthree ethnorelative orientations, where one’s culture is experiencedin the context of other cultures (Acceptance, Ad aptation, Integration), are identified in the DMIS. Basedon this theoretical framework, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was constructed to measure the orientations toward cultural differences described in the DMIS. The result of this work is a 50-item (with 10 additional demographic items), paper-and-pencil measure of intercultural competence. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability analyses, and construct validity tests validated five main dimensions of the DMIS, which were measured with the following scales: (1) DD (Denial/Defense) scale (13 items, alpha=0.85); (2) R (Reversal) scale (9 items, alpha=0.80); (3) M (Minimization) scale (9 items, alpha=0.83), (4) AA (Acceptance/Adaptation) scale (14 items, alpha=0.84; and(5) an EM (EncapsulatedMarginality) scale (5 items, alpha=0.80). While no systematic gender differences were found, significant differences by gender were found on one of the five scales (DD scale). No significant differences on the scale

Abstract: Many international business failures have been ascribed to a lack of cross-cultural competence (CC) on the part of business practitioners. However, the international business literature appears to lack an adequate conceptualization and definition of the term ‘CC’, focusing instead on the knowledge, skills and attributes that appear to be its antecedents. In this conceptual study, we propose a definition of CC as it applies to international business and develop a model for understanding how CC is nurtured in individuals, linking our definition to the concept of cultural intelligence. We discuss the components of the model and suggest that there are environmental and contextual impediments to the effective application of the requisite skills, knowledge and attributes that have been identified as necessary for CC, resulting in a gap between ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’. We conclude by discussing the implications of the model for practitioners, and by suggesting appropriate directions for further research.

Abstract: Second edition. Examines the role that culture plays in families' and professionals' beliefs, values and behaviours. Explores the difficulties involved in adapting to a different culture and provides strategies for effective cross-cultural interactions with families of infants, preschoolers and young children. Aimed at teachers.