Introduction
“Cultural Intelligence” is an article written in 2004 by Christopher and Elaine Mosakowski. Christopher is a respected professor and the chairman of the Department of Organizational Behavior at London school, while Elaine Mosakowski is a professor of Management at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The authors believe that, “knowing what makes groups tick is as important as understanding individuals. Successful managers learn to cope with different national, corporate, and vocational cultures” (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004). The authors are successful in identifying the major source of cultural intelligence, cultural intelligence profiles, and ways in which a person can cultivate cultural intelligence. This paper will summarize the work, analyze the various aspects of cultural intelligence, as illustrated in the article, and finally offer a conclusion to why I agree with the authors.
Summary
The authors begin by defining cultural intelligence and continue to show how cultural intelligence affects people when they are in different cultural settings. They state that “Cultural intelligence is an outsider’s seemingly natural ability to interpret someone’s unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures the way that person’s compatriots would” (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004). With this identification on how cultural intelligence affects or influences perceptions of people, and definition of the term, the authors continue exploring the major sources of cultural intelligence, the various cultural intelligence profiles, and ways a person can cultivate cultural intelligence.
Under sources of cultural intelligence, the authors identify three sources namely head, heart, and body. These various sources are explained on the basis of how they are going to influence the cultural intelligence of a person and why they are important. Evidence is given in the form of examples of real life situations where the three sources can be identified.
Cultural intelligence profiles are identified in the article as being either provincial, analyst, natural, ambassador, mimic or chameleon. With regards to this identification, managers are said to fall under the aforementioned profiles with some of them portraying more than one profile. As in the case with sources of intelligence, evidence is given by giving examples of real life managers who portray the characteristics. There is an attempt by the authors to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each profile identified.
In the section that deals with ways a person can cultivate cultural intelligence, the authors begin by stating that cultural intelligence can be learned or developed. They say, “Unlike other aspects of personality, cultural intelligence can be developed in psychologically healthy and professionally competent people” (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004). The authors outline six steps that a person can take to enhance and develop his/her cultural intelligence. The given evidence illustrates the experiences of real people in different situations.
Review and Evaluation of the Article
The authors of the article are highly specialized people in their fields. As it has been provided earlier, Christopher is a respected professor and the chairman of the Department of Organizational Behavior at London school, while Elaine Mosakowski is a professor of Management at the University of Colorado at Boulder (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004). This makes their points of view on the issue of cultural intelligence very valid and offering a great insight into the issue.
As experts in their field, the authors carried out intensive research on the issue of cultural intelligence and this can be seen from the numerous examples and professional insights from other experts they offer in the article. They have also included a form that a person can use to diagnose their cultural intelligence in their article. This is important for any reader of the article who might want to gauge and diagnose their cultural intelligence.
While explaining and defining cultural intelligence, the authors look into the various applications of cultural intelligence, its application in different situations including socializing in the business world. They analyze how cultural intelligence is related to emotional intelligence, as well as how they both differ from each other. They provide the example of an American expatriate manager who had his cultural intelligence tested while working with German engineers. They analyze the tests carried on the manager and from this they conclude that cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence have one thing in common, which is also supported by Daniel Goleman, a psychologist, “a propensity to suspend judgment – to think before acting” (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004). At the end of this section, they successfully identify the need for a person to develop and enhance their cultural intelligence, by portraying how inherent disadvantageous low cultural intelligence can be in a world where there are high numbers of cross-functional assignments, distant transfers and distant posting (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004).
While assessing the three sources of cultural intelligence, the authors begin by with the question of whether managers might be socially intelligent in their own settings, but fail to be effective in cultural settings. The authors focus on experiences of Peter, a sales manager at a California medical devices group acquired by Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals, who was highly successful while working in California, but found it had to cope with change after he had been transferred to Indianapolis. With this example, the authors portray the sources of cultural intelligence as head, heart, and body. Head, they refer to it as the “Rote learning about the beliefs, customs, and taboos of foreign cultures” (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004).
They say that although it is the approach many corporate training programs are going to favor, it does not prepare people for various situations that are going to arise. The authors define body as the ability of a person to adapt to the cultures and mannerism of others. They however, warn that, “You will not disarm your foreign hosts, guests, or colleagues simply by showing you understand their culture; your actions and demeanor must prove that you have already to some extent entered their world” (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004). They portray the importance of body by quoting research on cultural barriers in business by professor Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks from University of Michigan, who found that job candidates who adopted some of the mannerisms of recruiters with cultural backgrounds different from their own were more likely to make an offer. The heart, they say, is important when it comes to Adapting to new cultures and overcoming setbacks and obstacles. At the end of this section, the authors look into how the three sources of cultural intelligence are going to work together by giving an example of a real life company experience (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004).
The authors identify six cultural intelligence profiles that are going to be seen in managers. In this section, the authors point that a manger can portray more than one profile. Examples in this sections offer insight into the strengths and weaknesses of each profile. Alongside this section, a template of a test is given to a reader so that he/she can use it identify his or her profile. This test is designed to help in identifying the physical and motivational cultural intelligence of the people who successfully answer the simple questions (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004).
The last section of the article deals with the steps a person can take to cultivate cultural intelligence. Six steps are outlined in respect to this. With each step, an example is given to show the importance of each step and how it can be accomplished. The first step involves identification of one’s cultural intelligence strengths and weaknesses. The second step involves selecting the training that is going to focus on the weaknesses. The third step will involve applying the training chosen in step two. The fourth step will involve organizing personal resources in a way that is going to help in achieving the goals set. The fifth step will include entering the cultural setting a person wants to master. The last and final step involves reevaluating the newly acquired skills and looking at how effective they have been in the new setting (Christopher & Mosakowski, 2004).
Conclusion
From the arguments presented by the authors, I strongly agree that there is a need to develop and enhance our cultural intelligence. The examples and reasoning the authors present, which are backed up by evidence from other experts, offer an insight into the problems a person might encounter if they have low cultural intelligence. The article also helps a person to identify their profile, as well as present steps which a person can take to enhance their cultural intelligence.
References
Christopher, P. & Mosakowski, E. (2004). Cultural Intelligence. Web.