Cultural Competence
Cultural Competence
Cultural Competence
This document is an authorized copy for the course "Organizational Behavior: Managing People " taught by prof. Anneloes Raes.
insight
MULTICULTURAL MANAGERS
Cultural Competence:
Why It Matters and
How You Can Acquire It
By YIH-TEEN LEE and YUAN LIAO
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https://dx.doi.org/10.15581/002.ART-2746
executives had put entirely different constructions on the same events, and none seems to have
understood their Chinese partner, Mr. Che.
This became clear during union negotiations: While the Americans prioritized speed
and protection of shareholder value, the Indians
focused on building strong relationships The
misunderstandings with Mr. Che appear to have
been even graver, with the Indian executive
testifying he could not understand the English
of his Chinese counterpart, leading to puzzled
exchanges between the parties.
This story is not unusual. Another more
recent FT report on the Indian mobile phone
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This document is an authorized copy for the course "Organizational Behavior: Managing People " taught by prof. Anneloes Raes.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Emerging research suggests
that multicultural individuals
have innate abilities that make
them exceptional candidates
for global leadership yet they
often pass under the radar
of HR. Although companies
are hiring more multicultural
employees, it is frequently
a token gesture to reflect
societys growing ethnic
diversity, or because they
need their language abilities.
Whats really needed, say
the authors, is a greater
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This document is an authorized copy for the course "Organizational Behavior: Managing People " taught by prof. Anneloes Raes.
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to shift from mapping national cultural differences (aka Hofstede) to getting to grips with the
special nature of multicultural individuals.
Here we summarize some of the main findings emerging primarily from psychological
research on bicultural and multicultural individuals. These competences would be highly
beneficial for any manager to have today.
COGNITIVE COMPLEXITY. This refers to the ability
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This document is an authorized copy for the course "Organizational Behavior: Managing People " taught by prof. Anneloes Raes.
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Well-Positioned for
Global Leadership
If all this is true about bicultural and multicultural individuals, the question is: to what extent are they in positions of leadership in your
organization?
Carlos Ghosn, the CEO and Chairman of
Renault-Nissan, is a high-profile case in point.
Born in Brazil, raised in Lebanon, educated in
Paris and fluent in French, Portuguese, English,
Arabic and Japanese, Ghosn splits his time between Paris, Tokyo and other far-flung RenaultNissan facilities around the world. Widely
credited with saving Nissan from the brink of
bankruptcy, Ghosn attributes much of his success to his multicultural background: My background was probably a big asset for me. Being
able to navigate in new cultural contexts not
being rigid or uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings was absolutely fundamental.
Multicultural individuals, like Ghosn, can be
invaluable assets to multinational companies.
For example, when they experience cultural
conflicts, they often feel an urge to engage in
deep self-analysis, which in turn results in higher levels of cognitive complexity. This process
increases their ability to differentiate between
and navigate seemingly conflicting realities and
systems. And this can be a huge asset for todays
generation of global managers facing increasingly complex realities.
Another advantage of multicultural leaders is that they do not lug around heavy baggage from any one particular culture. Their lack
of strong identification with any one cultural
group makes them particularly adept at handling diversity. They are also often perceived as
culturally neutral, giving them an edge in their
relations with team members.
Here are a number of other advantages multicultural leaders bring to the table:
When people
interact or operate in cultural settings different
CROSS-CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT.
IESEinsight
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This document is an authorized copy for the course "Organizational Behavior: Managing People " taught by prof. Anneloes Raes.
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This document is an authorized copy for the course "Organizational Behavior: Managing People " taught by prof. Anneloes Raes.
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Research
suggests that individuals who do not identify
themselves with any particular culture can excel as global leaders not only because of their
ability to handle complexity, diversity and
uncertainty, but also because of their ability
to keep a safe distance from any one culture.
This in-betweenness offers them an unusual
capacity for cognitive and emotional detachment, which allows them to bridge differences
more easily.
Some multicultural leaders can even shift
between cultural personas, like a cultural chameleon. For example, Yoshiaki Ito, the CEO
and President of Haier Asia, the Japanese division of the Chinese home appliances manufacturer, is a Japanese national born and raised
in Thailand and educated in the United States.
To establish personal trust and respect with
his Japanese colleagues and subordinates, Ito
uses a formal Japanese style. However, whenever negotiations stall and a more persuasive
approach is needed, he effortlessly reverts to
a more assertive American style. (See the sidebar on Haier in Japan.)
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This document is an authorized copy for the course "Organizational Behavior: Managing People " taught by prof. Anneloes Raes.
1|
2|
DEVELOP CROSS-CULTURAL
SKILLS THROUGH PRACTICE.
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4|
CULTIVATE COGNITIVE
COMPLEXITY. Cognitive com-
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This document is an authorized copy for the course "Organizational Behavior: Managing People " taught by prof. Anneloes Raes.
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TO KNOW MORE
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