Unit 3 Discussion Assignment
BUS 5211: Managing in the Global Economy, University of the People
In the discussion forum, you are expected to participate often and engage in deep levels of discourse. Please post your initial response as early as possible and continue to participate throughout the unit. You are required to post an initial response to the question/issue presented in the Forum and then respond to at least 3 of your classmates’ initial posts. You should also respond to anyone who has responded to you.
Discuss each specific element of the ABC’s (Acquire, Build, Contemplate, and Do) of Cultural Intelligence. What makes culture intelligence unique and how does it differ from emotional and social intelligence? What makes cultural intelligence particularly valuable in terms of a leadership competency in today’s global market?
Grade: 9.67/10 (559 words)
Cultural intelligence is the "ability to successfully adapt to unfamiliar cultural settings" The framework for cultural intelligence consists of ABCs: Acquire, Build, Contemplate, and Do. (Cultural intelligence for leaders, 2012). I will introduce the basic concept of the framework for cultural intelligence. Next, I will describe the difference between CQ, EQ, and SQ.
ABC of Cultural Intelligence
Acquire: Acquire Knowledge
Knowledge is a central tenet in intercultural training and unfamiliar cultures. Knowing how cultures are created, interpreted, and shared and how cultural interpretations, meaning, and symbols can impact behaviors and attitudes.
Build: Build Strategic Thinking
After gaining knowledge, building awareness of surroundings through preparation and planning is required. It is referred to as "metacognition." Understanding how you learn and process the information helps make sense of unfamiliar situations.
Contemplate: Contemplate Motivation and Ability to Work with Others
Pay attention to your surroundings as well as your responses to unfamiliar situations.
Do: Adapt and Perform
Adaptability and ability to perform new behaviors based on new cultural surroundings.
(Cultural intelligence for leaders, 2012)
What makes culture intelligence (CQ) unique, and how does it differ from emotional (EQ) and social intelligence (SQ)?
Emotional intelligence is "the ability and capacity to identify, assess, and manage one's emotions as well as others' emotions" (Cultural intelligence for leaders, 2012). Social intelligence is "the ability and capacity to sense one's inner state, feelings, and thoughts about one's social environment, and to react appropriately in that environment for social success" (Cultural intelligence for leaders, 2012). The distinction between cultural intelligence and emotional-social intelligence can be found in a cross-cultural context. (Kumar et al., 2008)
CQ heavily emphasizes the meta-cognitions, including an individual's cultural consciousness and awareness during interactions with those with different cultural backgrounds. (Kumar et al., 2008) For example, Martha is a person with high emotional and social intelligence. However, she couldn't respond appropriately to her colleague, who has a different background from her. (Cultural intelligence for leaders, 2012)
The example showed EQ involves skills such as self-awareness, impulse control, self-efficacy, empathy, and social agility, which may not carry over to other cultures. According to Kumar et al. (2008), emotional cues are constructed and historically transmitted within culture; the ability to encode and decode emotions in the home culture does not automatically transfer to unfamiliar cultures. Thus, a person with high EQ in one cultural context may not be emotionally intelligent in another culture.
What makes cultural intelligence particularly valuable in leadership competency in today's global market?
EQ and SQ are essential intelligence for leaders. However, as stated above, these two types of intelligence may not be effective in dealing with different cultures because they are built on the person's country and culture. In contrast, CQ emphasizes the meta-cognitions. Therefore, leaders can deal with unfamiliar cultural situations with CQ even though they don't know the culture particularly well.
Conclusion
Throughout this discussion, I introduced the difference between EQ, SQ, and CQ. Also, the fine point and uniqueness of CQ in the case of intercultural situations. CQ can contribute to adapting to different cultural conditions based on the framework. The framework consists of ABC: Adapt, Build, Contemplate and Do. Leaders can deal with unfamiliar cultural situations with CQ even though they don't know the culture particularly well because CQ emphasizes meta-cognition, and it is limitless.
References
Cultural intelligence for leaders (v. 1.0). (2012, December 29). Lardbucket. Retrieved from https://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/cultural-intelligence-for-leaders.pdf
Kumar, N,, Rose, R. C. & Ramalu, S. S. (2008, November). The bond between intelligences: Cultural, emotional, and social. Performance Improvement. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230297676_The_bond_between_intelligences_Cultural_emotional_and_social
