Intercultural competence

Intercultural Competence Vital Perspectives for Diversity and Inclusion... 

Inherently interdisciplinary, the academic exploration of intercultural competence spans sociology, business, linguistics. 

Suffice to say, most interculturalists acknowledge these important concerns and often employ social constructivist perspectives, confirming the notion that patterns exist in context, not as an immutable reality. The constructivist approach considers the role of the individual, the situation, and the society in the dynamic process of culture creation, particularly as it relates to the creation of shared meaning in interaction. With intercultural competence as the scaffolding, we can examine the issues of power and prejudice, of bias and discrimination, and bring to the surface the various privileges that allow certain cultural patterns to exist... 

But rarely do these data include information on the complex participation of those from outside our national boundaries, nor are these groups widely acknowledged in diversity initiatives. The Workforce 2020 report summed up this lacuna succinctly The rest of the world matters (Judy D Amico, 1997, p. 3). Intercultural competence is now more often integrated into diversity development as a bridge between traditional inclusion initiatives and international efforts (Carr-Ruffino, 2009 Gardenswartz Rowe, 1998 Jamieson O Mara, 1991 Kochman Mavrelis, 2009 Loden, 1996). Culture is indeed at the core of our work, both domestically and globally. 

If individuals are unaware they have a culture, it allows for the frame that everyone is the same—and, by the way, anyone who is truly different just hasn t learned yet how do it the right way. Cultural self-awareness, described earlier as the core cognitive intercultural competency, is the primary developmental goal for those with a Minimization mindset that is, achieving recognition of one s own culture that demonstrates cultural humility. 

Bennett, J. M. (2009a). Cultivating intercultural competence A process perspective. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 121-140). Thousand Oaks, CA Sage. 

Deardorff, D. K (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10 >), 241-266. 

Deardorff, D. K (2009). The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence. Thousand Oaks, CA Sage. 

Hammer, M. R, (2009), The Intercultural Development Inventory An approach for assessing and building intercultural competence. In M. Moodian (Ed.), Contemporary leadership and intercultural competence Exploring the cross-cuUural dynamics within organizations (pp. 203-218). Thousand Oaks, CA Sage. 

Bird, A., Mendenhall, M. E., Stevens, M. J., Oddou, G. (2010). Defining the domain of intercultural competence for global leaders. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25(8), 810-828. 

Hartel, C. E. J., Uoyd, S., Singhal, D. (2010). Intercultural competencies across cultures Same or different In J. Syed M. F. Ozbilgin (Eds.), Manning cultural diversity in Asia A research companion (pp. 192-223). Cheltenham New York Edward Elgar. 

Cultural competence is not a separate capability, but a truly integrated intelligence that is part of and woven into every other skill and competency. I consider cultural competence to encompass multiple types of intelligence—social and emotional (Was-serman. Chapter 4, this volume). It requires the ability to use head, heart, and hand (Hayles, Chapter 2), as well as having cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support appropriate and effective interaction in a variety of cultural contexts (see the definition of intercultural competence in Bennett, Chapter 5). 

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