Bus 5511 Discussion Assignment Unit 7 - 07

Introduction:
Cultural intelligence is your ability to successfully adapt to unfamiliar cultural

settings (Moua, 2012). It is about "being skilled and flexible about understanding a
culture, learning more about it from your ongoing interactions with it, and gradually
reshaping your thinking to be more sympathetic to the culture and your behaviors to be
more skilled and appropriate when interacting with others from the culture" (Thomas &
Inkson, 2003). According to the Society of Human Resources Management (2015),
cultural intelligence is malleable, and everyone can improve their CQ using three
complementary strategies: 1) experience and reflection, 2) training and coaching, and 3)
personal CQ development plans.
Why HR is well-position to impact organizational CQ.

Though cultural intelligence is a personal concept, HRM has a significant role in
enhancing the general organizational CQ. It can assist workers in gaining more CQ as
they go through various phases of the employee life cycle: attraction and talent
outreach; recruitment and hiring; onboarding and training; performance management,
compensation, and benefits; talent and leadership development; retention and
employee engagement; succession planning and promotion; and separation and
retirement.
What can HR do to improve organization CQ and enhance an inclusive

environment?
i) Create an atmosphere of awareness about different cultures by creating a cross-
cultural workforce (HRDictionary, 2013). In addition, HR can recognize the festivals and
important occasions from the many cultural celebrations calendar. For example, my
organization frequently hosts meetings, prayer groups, or parties such as the Mexican
Cinco de Mayo, the Jewish New year, or the Kwanzaa.
ii) Create policies that respect and highlight different cultural practices of the
workforce (HRDictionary, 2013). This will encourage t workers to learn more about each
other's dressing, eating, and religious sentiments. For example, understanding the
importance of Kosher or Halal restrictions is essential for a hospital's cafeteria. Likewise,
it is critical for HR to make reasonable accommodations for their employee's religious
beliefs and practices, such as sabbath or other religious work restrictions. When this was
not respected, it brought a lot of friction among workers in my organization.
iii) Provide formal cultural intelligence training during employee onboarding and
at specific intervals throughout the employee's work life (HRDictionary, 2013). This can
be in role-playing or seminars on cross-cultural social, economic, and political patterns.
iv) Analyze CQ while making hiring, transfer, or promotion decisions, especially for
positions that require cross-cultural interaction (HRDictionary, 2013). It is essential to
avoid making a tone-deaf decision by placing someone with low CQ in a situation that
requires skilled interactions with other cultures. For example, having expatriates working
in a cultural context with little understanding is a recipe for failure. As a child, I
remember missionaries that visited many rural areas as part of an immunization
program. They ran into significant resistance from the population because their basic
premise was that everyone living in those areas was uneducated. So they stuck to their
preconceived notions and attempted to convert everyone instead of listening and
understanding the cultural basis of their behaviors.
v) Cross-cultural communication training for all employees to help them
effectively communicate with their peers, clients, and other employees (HRDictionary,
2013). This includes learning and respecting non-verbal cultural cues as well.
Though the HR department plays a critical role in enhancing organizational CQ, all
stakeholders should bear the responsibility. General corporate policies, culture,
communications, and branding play greatly influence what happens in any organization.
Therefore, leadership should be invested in setting the right organizational culture tone
and encouraging everyone to follow in their footsteps.
References:
HRDictionary. (2013, March 6). Cultural intelligence and HR. HRDictionary. Retrieved

from https://hrdictionaryblog.com/2013/03/06/cultural-intelligence-and-hr/
Moua, M. (2012) Leading with cultural intelligence. Retrieved
from https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/136. Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA
SHRM (2015). Cultural intelligence: the essential intelligence for the 21st century. SHRM.
Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/special-reports-
and-expert-views/Documents/Cultural-Intelligence.pdf
Thomas, D. C., & Inkson, K. (2003). Cultural intelligence: People skills for global
business. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Bus 5511 Discussion Assignment Unit 7 - 07

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bus 5511 Discussion Assignment Unit 7 - 07

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bus 5511 Discussion Assignment Unit 7 - 07

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction:

Cultural intelligence is your ability to successfully adapt to unfamiliar cultural

Why HR is well-position to impact organizational CQ.

What can HR do to improve organization CQ and enhance an inclusive

HRDictionary. (2013, March 6). Cultural intelligence and HR. HRDictionary. Retrieved

You might also like