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We live in a universal society and a
competitive global economy that
requires modern world business executives to be equipped with the
necessary skills and competence in order to be
effective leaders. Future business leaders will
encounter diverse ideas, situations, and individuals and
will be challenged to think from a global
perspective and with cultural awareness and
insight. International boundaries and borders are
more obscure as technology enables instant and ceaseless communication and
business transactions are conducted around the clock.
It will not be sufficient to be knowledgeable
about only the business, economics, or trade
practices; business leaders also have to consider how
to communicate, interact, collaborate and lead through influence and understanding
of traditions, customs and mores. The delicate balance of interrelatedness is evident as
the economic conditions of the past year continue
to impact everything from national economies, corporations to individuals.
This impact is not constrained by boundaries of wealth – the impact has been felt both vertically
and horizontally across the world. The economic
state has clearly illustrated the need to recognize and
value the diversity of ideas and solutions as they relate
to global conditions with global consequences.
Global perspective means more than understanding the business and
economic practices; it also entails understanding the
common values and beliefs that transcend all cultures.
Since we work and interact in a global setting, we
must develop a cultural proficiency that includes
an essential understanding of intercultural competence. Intercultural competence enables
one to interact appropriately given the context of
the situation and in a manner that is acceptable
to others. While there are many commonalties
across cultures of mutual values and shared beliefs,
each individual culture will communicate both
explicitly and implicitly distinctive and unique qualities.
A common and accepted definition of culture can be thought of as shared beliefs, attitudes and
values that are transmitted through behavior,
expression and thinking.
In trying to define intercultural competence,
one has to differentiate between the definition and
the skills. Simply speaking, intercultural competence
is how one works and operates in different
cultures and implies some recognition, sensitivity
and awareness of differences. Specific attributes
that enable successful interaction with other
cultures include: communication patterns,
understanding the dynamics of change, conflict
resolution, tolerance of ambiguity, mutual respect,
constructive interaction, knowledge of one's own bias,
self-awareness and awareness of others, and
willingness to be open and receptive to others with
diverse opinions, attitudes, and behaviors. This intercultural competence is centered on the
concept of differences. Differences that include the overt – that which is seen and obvious such as behaviors;
and covert – that which is not obvious and not seen
such as attitudes and cognition. The continuum can
be represented with a repertoire of skills along
three dimensions – affective, cognitive and behavioral. |
