The Cultural Intelligence Pre-Test
The primary purpose of cultural intelligence test is to measure one’s readiness to be culturally discreet and take note of situations where extra cautiousness may be necessary. Although the intelligence quotient is mainly inflexible, training can improve CQ. People can learn to accept points of view different from their own. The more ethnocentric individuals are, the less able to provide respect to other cultures and beliefs. Employers can also use the CQ tests to measure their potential subordinate’s ability to behave in certain situations.
One of the direct ways to increase cultural intelligence is to improve the knowledge of an individual’s own culture and the culture of people around them (Yari et al., 2020). When contact with a particular ethnic or cultural group is not personal or long enough, it does not take long to become familiar with basic behavior or taboos in that culture. In-depth conversations with representatives of a particular group about their culture or additional research are also helpful. In the case of a residence change or a business trip, people are encouraged to increase their CQ and cultural tolerance for the local culture to better adapt to it.
Test Results Evaluation
On the cultural intelligence pre-test, I scored a total of 103 points. Some of my strengths include my awareness and attitude toward other cultures. I always show respect and try to adjust in case of intercultural interactions. Furthermore, I find this experience very interesting and rewarding for all involved. In addition, I am sure that the very process of socialization in another culture would not be a problem for me.
As a disadvantage, I discovered that many subtleties and aspects of the cultural diversity of those around me are unknown to me. Among such details are marriage systems, basic laws, and economic systems adopted in some cultures. We should also try to work on improving the specific methods used in communication. It includes the pace and speed of conversation, facial expressions, and sometimes even verbal behavior entirely (Yari et al., 2020). The result of working on these shortcomings, among other things, will be a reduction in the possible stress level in adapting to different cultural environments.
The Practical Application of the Cultural Value Method
I am from a Japanese family, but in addition to traditional Japanese values, we have more of a pluralistic or multicultural system. When applying Hofstede’s model, we can see that the Japanese organizational model is not as hierarchical as the models of some other Asian cultures (Yari et al., 2020). Although the head of the family makes the final decisions, everyone participates in the decision-making process and can influence the result. Individualism and collectivism are not clearly delineated by our cultural organization and are in balance: family exists as a whole but does not deny the individuality and importance of each member as an individual unit.
Despite the modern and more loyal approach to power in the family, uncertainty avoidance remains an essential feature of our culture, though not as clearly highlighted as in some other families. A specific set of ceremonies and traditions are followed, and increasing the predictability of the outcome is crucial — for example, precise planning of all actions and weighing the conditions to achieve the desired result.
Etiquette, specific communication rules, and respect for each other can also be attributed to the need to avoid uncertainty. From this also follows the commitment of the cultural organization to prioritize long-term planning. At the family level, it is expressed, for example, in the careful choice of occupations for children and the appropriate education for them. Our cultural organization is also middle on the indulgence scale, showing no substantial deviations toward indulgence or restraint.
Cultural Intelligence as a Personal Growth Measure
A separate strand of cultural intelligence is the study of it as a mediating variable in the context of personal growth. A high CQ level strengthens the influence of such personality traits as cultural empathy, open-mindedness, and flexibility on the success of a person’s overall adaptation to a multicultural society. Furthermore, a good CQ level enhances the influence of a personality trait such as openness to experience on self-evaluation of work performance and the adaptation effectiveness when changing place of residence or work (Livermore, 2010). Due to the increasing demand for special abilities, knowledge, and skills to work in cross-cultural companies, cultural intelligence has proven to be needed in the context of research in management and organizational psychology.
Practical Tasks and Exercises
Pie Chart Exercise
While creating Pie Chart (Fig. 1), I roughly evaluated and grouped all the values I defined as important in the self-concept. According to the assignment, both primary and secondary dimensions and their derivatives are included (Canas & Sondak, 2011). Self-development, ongoing learning, and, of course, family and friends come first for me. Personal growth involves many different techniques, including cultural intelligence diversification. Plans for the future are Equally significant, and their share of the overall importance should not diminish. Hobbies, part-time jobs, and other items in the current period of time recede into the background but are also noteworthy.
Syrian Journey: Escape Route Choosing
The situation in Syria remains tense until the current moment. Many people, as before, are trying to save themselves and their families from the war-torn country (“Syrian Journey”, 2015). The so-called Balkan route is one of today’s most common and logical routes. Refugees take only the bare minimum of necessary things with them since many parts of the path must be overcome on foot. Sometimes, some cross water obstacles by swimming, which is practically unrealistic if they have small children with them. Having crossed the border with Turkey, many decide to stay there. However, the attitude of the authorities and locals is not always decent, and there may be problems with housing and work.
Recently, the Balkan route has become more complicated due to immigration policies and stricter control by many European countries. This route involves crossing the sea barrier between Turkey and Greece and continuing to central and western Europe through the Balkan countries. After that, they should cross Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, and Slovenia. Afterward, refugees will be able to find decent living conditions and self-fulfillment either in Austria or in neighboring Germany, where special assistance programs for people forced to flee from the war are developed. By complying with all the laws and regulations of the countries that refugees cross, they have the opportunity to reach their desired country and build their future there successfully.
Privileges and Biases
As an example of so-called privilege, which was the bias at the same time, I will cite a good acquaintance of mine. In middle school, he was very good at mathematics and related sciences. His math teacher greatly valued his knowledge, and his attitude toward the student became privileged over time. Sometimes my friend was even spared the need to write tests with the rest of the class because the teacher thought it was unnecessary. This attitude was also biased since my acquaintance often did not even do his homework. He was not even questioned because the teacher, in his bias, did not allow even the thought that his best student might not have something ready.
Aside from some classmates’ negative and prejudiced attitudes toward my acquaintance for apparent reasons, this “privilege” turned from earned to unearned and had negative consequences. As the teacher paid less attention to his best student, my acquaintance became less proficient in the subject. And despite getting the best grade in the subject at the end of the period, he needed tutor services to continue his study afterward.
Short Conversation on Race Review
As per the assignment, New York Times video clip on a short conversation about race with Asian-Americans was reviewed. According to several people’s interviews, almost all of them had experienced a culture clash and a rejection of their own culture by others. The United States is multiethnic and multicultural, and successful communication involves cultural diversification, among other things. Many visitors to the country or residents of Asian descent encounter misunderstanding of their culture specifics by different cultural groups. Many from the older generation confirm that there used to be much more aversion to alien cultures and hostility toward those who were different. Like any intercultural society today, American society strives for cultural balance, equality, and a lack of racism. It is vital to continue eradicating cultural and racial oppression at all levels.
From my personal experience, in childhood, I was confronted with a question from another child about my different appearance. Children are more direct and more open-minded at a young age, and I approve of implementing multicultural teaching at kindergartens. Furthermore, sometimes stereotypical thinking is not offensive, although it is wrong in its very essence (“A conversation on race”). I once heard a classmate of mine believe that all Asians necessarily have incredible mathematical abilities and are very successful in business for that reason. Such stereotypical misconceptions also have nothing to do with the truth and must be eradicated, even though they may confer a particular privilege under certain conditions.
Review on playing Spent
An online game called Spent was created to introduce people to the struggles of an impoverished citizens. The players start with one thousand dollars and an offer of a low-level job to manage funds for one month. Purchases, insurance payments, and unplanned expenses almost always exceed earnings. Either way, a person has to give up many, sometimes even significant, conveniences. Unfortunately, not everyone understands what poverty is and what its consequences can be. Spent introduces the player to such problems through the interactivity and variability of events. One of the issues could be choosing, for example, between an extra packet of pasta and taking your child to a museum. It is impossible to win, and even after successfully completing a month, it is evident from the final money amount and future bills that if you continue the next month on current terms, the money will run out quickly. Initiatives like Spent, in my opinion, draw the public’s attention to one of the fundamental issues of our time.
Class Changing Experience
In the class paradigm, my family belongs to the middle class in all characteristics. Most of my friends and acquaintances can also be categorized as middle class, as this part of society is the biggest (Bennett et al., 2020). Only one of my acquaintances “changed” class to a lower one because he lost his job. The gap between employment hit him hard financially, and he was forced to give up his mortgage and change his place of residence to a very low-quality rental property.
Reference
A conversation on race. (n.d.). The New York Times.
Bennett, J., Fry, R., & Kochhar, R. (2020,). Are you in the American middle class? Find out with our income calculator.Pew Research Center.
Canas, K. A., & Sondak, H. (2011). Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity: Theory, cases, and exercises (2nd edition). Pearson.
Livermore, D. A. (2010). Leading with cultural intelligence: The new secret to success. American Management Association.
Syrian Journey: Choose your own escape route. (2015). BBC News.
Yari, N., Lankut, E., Alon, I., & Richter, N. F. (2020). Cultural intelligence, global mindset, and cross-cultural competencies: a systematic review using bibliometric methods. European Journal of International Management, 14(2), 210-250.