cultural quotient

Examples of cultural quotient in the following topics:

• Cultural Intelligence

  • Studying the components of culture, the theories pertaining to cultural dimensions and competencies, and the current initiatives in promoting these concepts are all powerful resources for managers involved in foreign assignments.
  • The components of cultural intelligence, from a general perspective, can be described in terms of linguistics, culture (religion, holidays, social norms, etc.), and geography (or ethnicity).
  • As a result, individuals interested in developing their cultural quotient (CQ) are tasked with studying each of these facets of cultural intelligence in order to accurately recognize the beliefs, values, and behaviors of the culture in which they are immersed.
  • An interesting perspective on cultural intelligence is well represented in the intercultural-competence diagram, which highlights the way that each segment of cultural knowledge can create synergy when applied to the whole of cultural intelligence, where overlapping generates the highest potential CQ.
  • Hofstede's theory of cultural dimensions is particularly interesting, as it allows for a direct quantification of specific cultural values in order to measure and benchmark cultural norms in a relative and meaningful way.

• Considerations when Managing a Global Corporation

  • Strong global management skills, intercultural competence, and a sensitivity to cultural issues are necessities for global managers.
  • Global management skills are largely based in developing cultural intelligence, or a high cultural quotient (CQ), which delineates an individual's general understanding and adaptability of foreign cultures.
  • Once managers attain the appropriate levels of cultural intelligence, it becomes necessary to apply this to the corporate framework.
  • What localization truly highlights is the need to hold a highly developed sensitivity to cultural issues, norms, and values.
  • With lower standards of livings in certain regions, as well as differences in capitalistic philosophies and legalities, sensitivity to cultural differences is absolutely crucial in sidestepping the pitfalls of merging cultures that contradict one another.

• Core Culture

  • Core culture is the underlying value that defines organizational identity through observable culture.
  • Core and observable culture are two facets of the same organizational culture, with core culture being inward-facing and intrinsic and observable culture being more external and tangible (outward-facing).
  • Core culture, as the name denotes, is the root of what observable culture will communicate to stakeholders.
  • This is where observable culture begins to transform into core culture.
  • Core culture has the same relationship with observable culture: core culture is created first, and ultimately drives the visible cultural aspects of the organization.

• How to Assess Culture

  • Outlining the way culture is assessed, the pros and cons of multiculturalism and how culture is transmitted is central to management.
  • The merging of differing cultures presents a variety of implications, and requires extensive assessment and cross-cultural competencies for both individuals and businesses.
  • Cultural assessment begins with awareness.
  • Perceiving the varying different elements of culture and cultural differentiation, and identifying the way in which these differences impact our interactions allows for a comprehensive approach at integrating different cultures.
  • Cultural transmission, or cultural learning, is the tendency of a society or culture to pass on new information and generate new norms.

• Defining Culture

  • Culture has evolved drastically as a term and a concept since inception.
  • With this evolution and malleability of culture as a modern idea in mind, it is important to explore the various aspects of culture in society today.
  • As culture is such a central component of human identity, the recognition of the role that culture plays in our daily lives is a critical context which we must be consistently aware:
  • As cultures continue to interact and cross paths with one another, understanding one another via culture minimizes cultural friction while maximizing on the potential synergies inherent in diversity.
  • Outline the various perspectives on the definition and aspects of culture.

• Observable Culture

  • Culture includes many factors, such as:
  • Each company has their own unique culture, but in larger organizations diverse and conflicting cultures may exist due to different characteristics of management teams.
  • Observable culture simply refers to the parts of an organization's culture that can be observed, such as a symbolic CEO, a business policy, or even a product .
  • A company's values play a big role in reflecting their observable culture.
  • Recognize the way in which intrinsic organizational culture is transmitted into an observable, public face for organizational culture

• Communicating Organizational Culture

  • Management is tasked with both creating culture and accurately communicating it across the organization.
  • Corporate culture is used to control, coordinate, and integrate company subsidiaries.
  • Culture runs deeper than this definition, however, because culture also represents the embedded values, traditions, beliefs, and behaviors of a given group.
  • Leaders have a number of tools and strategies at their disposal to communicate culture.
  • Human resource professionals are tasked with identifying candidates with culturally consistent perspectives and with underlining the importance of cultural considerations in interviews and on-boarding processes.

• Building Organizational Culture

  • Managers are tasked with both creating and communicating a consistent organizational culture.
  • The process of ingraining culture into an organization is simply one of communicating and integrating a broad cultural framework throughout the organizational process.
  • While there are a variety of cultural perspectives and many organizational elements within a culture, the initial process of instilling culture is relatively consistent from a managerial perspective.
  • Stories and myths: Finally, stories are powerful communicators of culture.
  • Overall, managers must be aware of their role as cultural ambassadors and their responsibility in creating a context for successfully instilling organizational culture.

• Culture-Specific Nuances of Decision-Making

  • Through combining decision-making models with cultural deviations, meaningful correlations can be identified and considered.
  • As a result, the decision-making process is inherently differentiated across cultural groups, and these cross-cultural deviations are critical to understanding negotiations, conflicts, influences and motivations.
  • In this model the assumption is that cultural inclinations are omnipresent, and will emerge in all contexts.
  • The antithesis is essentially 'counter-culture' culture, which dictates the opposite decision-making influence.
  • Tolerance for Ambiguity - A high tolerance for ambiguity or risk taking is 'counter-culture' culture, which dictates a high level of tolerance for going against the grain.

• Understanding Culture Shock

  • In assessing culture shock, the central components are the four phases individuals cycle through as they adapt to a new culture, along with the corresponding symptoms that culture shock sufferers often encounter.
  • Negotiation Phase - As the honeymoon phase winds down and the individual becomes fully immersed in the new culture, dissonance may begin to emerge between the new culture and the individual's native culture.
  • With cultures that are significantly differentiated from their host culture, this can take well over a year to achieve.
  • One interesting development in the study of culture shock is reverse culture shock, usually a result of an individual reaching the mastery phase above and than returning to their host culture.
  • Thomas Wolfe's novel illustrates the danger of reverse culture shock, and underestimated component of the culture shock framework.