Cultural Intelligence and Multicultural Management Essay

Cultural intelligence (CQ) is the ability to understand and work effectively across cultures. CQ includes the ability to perceive cultural differences accurately and understand how culture shapes communication, thus better interaction among diverse cultures. Similarly, they can adjust behavior to navigate successfully through culturally diverse interactions and create cross-cultural ties that lead to productive outcomes. People with high levels of cultural intelligence are able to see beyond their own cultural biases and experiences and understand how other people see the world. In diverse social interactions, people experience different challenges, such as cultural misunderstandings. On the other hand, there are different opportunities, such as multicultural management, that can solve cultural misunderstandings. Multicultural management can help to resolve cultural misunderstandings in a workplace by promoting open communication and understanding between employees of different cultures.

Multicultural management is also a good opportunity since it enables one to learn other languages, thus making them efficient in working in diverse cultural backgrounds without fear of being gossiped. Cultural intelligence (CQ) knowledge refers to one’s ability to understand and work effectively in culturally diverse situations. It involves being aware of how our own cultural lenses influence our perceptions, as well as possessing knowledge of the customs, values, and norms of other cultures. When it is combined with socio-linguistic skills, it can help businesses to venture into diverse cultures that will enable them to perform better¹. Culturally intelligent individuals navigate through different cultures with ease and understand different perspectives and build relationships with people from other cultures with relative ease.

My CQ

I scored 98 out of 100 on my cultural intelligence self-rating. This means that I have high levels of cultural intelligence and am able to effectively understand and interact with people from other cultures. I am very good at reading nonverbal cues and can quickly adapt to new cultural situations. I also have a deep understanding of my own culture, which allows me to better appreciate the differences between cultures.

Present Challenges

I am currently facing a challenge with a coworker who has a very different cultural understanding. We keep having misunderstandings because of the way we interpret words and actions. It has been difficult to find a way to bridge the gap and communicate effectively. I have been trying to learn more about her culture and how she grew up so that I can understand her better². I think it is important to be respectful of other cultures and try to see things from their perspective. Hopefully, by doing this, we can avoid future conflicts and have a more productive working relationship.

Future Opportunities

The multicultural opportunity I would want to pursue is multicultural management. Multicultural management opportunities exist in every industry and can provide benefits to both the organization and the employees. By pursuing a multicultural opportunity, an individual can develop skills related to communication, conflict resolution, and managing diverse teams. Multicultural opportunities can be found in a variety of industries, including but not limited to: government, education, nonprofit, health care, technology, and banking³. No matter what industry you pursue a multicultural opportunity in, there are certain skills that will be valuable for your career. Some of these skills include communication: the ability to communicate effectively with individuals from various cultures. Another one is conflict resolution which is the ability to resolve conflicts in a diplomatic manner. The main advantage of pursuing multicultural management is that it will give me the ability to learn how to effectively manage people from diverse backgrounds.

My Strongest CQ Capacity

CQ Knowledge

I have put my CQ knowledge to use in a number of ways. In particular, I have used it to manage people and relationships across cultures. For example, I was recently tasked with leading a team of remote workers from around the globe. By understanding the cultural differences among my team members, I was better able to communicate effectively with them and help them work together as a cohesive unit⁴. Additionally, I have been able to build stronger relationships with clients and customers from other countries by understanding their cultural nuances.

My Current Role and Highest Sub-Dimension Application

Socio-linguistics is the study of language in its social context, and as a marketing director, it helps me beware of how to apply this knowledge when interacting with people across cultures. By understanding socio-linguistic concepts such as code-switching, dialects, and vocabularies, I learn how to effectively communicate with customers and clients from various backgrounds without offending them.

My Weakest CQ Capacity

CQ Drive

For example, in the last six months, I noticed that my tolerance for poor performers had caused some serious problems in my workplace. First and foremost, it led to a lot of tension and conflict between myself and those employees⁵. Not only that, but it has also caused morale to suffer among the rest of my team. This was due to the fact that most of the low performers were from the same ethnic group. When I made the decision of firing them, the entire department reacted to it negatively, and they felt tribally threatened, and some mistaken that for tribalism. As a result, even some of the best-performing employees from those respective tribes started resigning.

My Intrinsic Interest Challenge

I find it challenging to work with people who speak other languages because I feel that they gossip about me. I think it is because I cannot understand them, so they must be talking about me behind my back. I am always afraid that they are saying bad things about me and that I may be in trouble someday⁶. It is really frustrating and makes it difficult to focus on my work, and this has reduced my effectiveness in working in culturally diverse contexts.

Action Plan Steps

There are a number of specific multicultural skills that I would like to improve over the next year. I would like to deepen my understanding of multicultural management. This is an important skill for businesses operating in today’s global economy. As the world becomes more interconnected, it is essential for businesses to be able to effectively manage employees from diverse cultural backgrounds. Moreover, cultural management extends even to cross-cultural communication and listening skills. In order to communicate effectively with people from other cultures, it is essential to be aware of cultural differences and be able to adjust one’s own communication style accordingly.

Strength (CQ Knowledge)

Areas for Improvement

Accountability

In learning sign language, this person will be helpful by providing the learning sources such as online courses, books, and apps and help me practice skills to ensure I get the right. Concerning communication skills will help me in identifying vulgar or wrong word choices and conducts to ensure respectful and smooth communication. Regarding public speaking, the person will be helpful in securing for me public speaking sessions and platforms so that I would practice. Conversely, he or she will be listening to my speech while noting down areas in need of corrections.

Bibliography

Ang, Soon, and Linn Van Dyne. Handbook of cultural intelligence: Theory, measurement, and applications. Routledge, 2015.

Sharma, Namrata, and Dilwar Hussain. “Current status and future directions for cultural intelligence.”Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 46, no. 1 (2017): 96-110.

Footnotes

1. Ang, Soon, and Linn Van Dyne. Handbook of cultural intelligence: Theory, measurement, and applications. Routledge, 2015.
2. Sharma, Namrata, and Dilwar Hussain. “Current status and future directions for cultural intelligence.” Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 46, no. 1 (2017): 96-110.
3. Ang, Soon, and Linn Van Dyne. Handbook of cultural intelligence: Theory, measurement, and applications. Routledge, 2015.
4. Sharma, Namrata, and Dilwar Hussain. “Current status and future directions for cultural intelligence.” Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 46, no. 1 (2017): 96-110.
5. Ang, Soon, and Linn Van Dyne. Handbook of cultural intelligence: Theory, measurement, and applications. Routledge, 2015.
6. Sharma, Namrata, and Dilwar Hussain. “Current status and future directions for cultural intelligence.” Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 46, no. 1 (2017): 96-110.