BE 6901 / BE2714 Cross Cultural Studies
TOPIC:
Official (Closed), Non-Sensitive
THE FUTURE
Trends and Challenges
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Managing Diversity
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Managing Equality
Employment of Women
Employment of ethnic minorities
Employment of older people
The need for international equal opportunities policies
The management of diversity and equality has been crucial to organisational
effectiveness
 Managing Flexibility
 Flexibility working practices
 Family-Friendly Policies
The use of flexible working practices and the adaptation of family-friendly
policies is important to gain organisational competitive advantage
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Ethics in managing across cultures
It is important to understand ethical and non-ethical behaviours and practices
when managing resources in different countries.
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Managing Information technologies (virtual organisations)
Increasing use of information and communication technologies transferred
the ways people work across cultures and borders.
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Managing Environmental Awareness and Employee well-being
It is important to make organisations environmentally friendly and the
employees to be aware of environmental issues at workplace.
Enough need to be done with regard to health and safety of employees, with
proper policies and procedures in place.
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BE 6901 / BE2714 Cross Cultural Studies
Official (Closed), Non-Sensitive
Risks are higher when operating across cultures. (example, life-threatening
diseases in developing countries, international terrorism)
Future Leaders
Most valued attributes identified for future leaders are:
 Emotional intelligence
 People skills
 Flexibility
 Future Leaders
Today’s global markets are different, and they will continue to evolve and
demand more. Leaders will need to change to be able to address the needs
of these changing markets, consumers and employees.
They will be required to be:
 Collaborative
 More culturally aware
 More sensitive to the needs of local consumers
Anyone leading across cultures must be aware of how cultural values can
shape and influence your own and others’ expectations and leadership styles.
Cultural Competency
st
Cultural Competency is set to be the important skillset for the 21 Century.
“Cultural competence is the ability of a person to effectively interact, work,
and develop meaningful relationships with people of various cultural
backgrounds.”
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Gaining cultural competence is a lifelong process of increasing
self-awareness, developing social skills and behaviours around
diversity, and gaining the ability to advocate for others.
It goes beyond tolerance, which implies that one is simply willing to
overlook differences.
Instead, it includes recognizing and respecting diversity through our
words and actions in all contexts.
Cultural Competency
Why Is Cultural Competence Important?
Diploma in Integrated Events & Project Management
Diploma in Facilities Management
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BE 6901 / BE2714 Cross Cultural Studies





Official (Closed), Non-Sensitive
Demographic shifts and an increasingly diverse population
Societies are increasingly becoming globalized
Persistence of issues around cross-cultural contact, discrimination,
and related challenges
Discrimination and bias in various forms are hurtful all around
Cultural Competency
Building Skills in Cultural Competence
 Increasing cultural and global knowledge
When working with people from different cultural backgrounds, it can be
useful to learn about their culture’s practices, values, and beliefs.
 Self-assessment
Reflecting critically on our own biases and prejudices helps to develop the
skills necessary to effectively interact and engage with individuals whose
cultural background is different than our own.
 Going beyond tolerance: Building skills and putting them in action
Cultural competence goes beyond “putting up with” differences and instead
involves being appreciative, affirming, and inclusive of all cultural
backgrounds.
3 Components of Cultural Competency
Three Important Components:
1.
Active Listening
 Active listening entails thinking about the feeling behind the content or
the emotion involved.
 Once you have listened for true meaning, the other person feels
understood, and you both have limited mental distractions, you will
want to make sure you ask more questions of the other person than
offer solutions.
 The response that is effective, especially if you are in a situation in
which you are responsible for resolving a conflict between two people,
requires seeking more information and multiple perspectives first.
 3 Components of Cultural Competency
2. Empathy
 Empathy involves understanding that person’s perceptions and the
conclusions that person draws about his or her life experiences.
 To be effective, you must engage in appropriate inquiry and dialog. It
also involves building relationships with an individual or particular
cultural group.
Diploma in Integrated Events & Project Management
Diploma in Facilities Management
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BE 6901 / BE2714 Cross Cultural Studies

Official (Closed), Non-Sensitive
3 Components of Cultural Competency
3. Engagement
 Engagement should be mutually beneficial and a reciprocal learning
experience in which you learn from one another.
 Focus on the behaviours and the situation, not the person.
Value-laden statements making the individual the target should be
avoided.
Displaying the cultural competence behaviours of active listening,
demonstrating empathy, and effective engagement is important when moving
beyond tolerance.
These three components will help us to create a welcoming environment and
establish the appreciation of similarities and differences among cultures.
 A Learning Culture
 https://www.spencerstuart.com/research-and-insight/rise-of-the-learnin
g-culture
 https://www.yourtrainingedge.com/your-learning-culture-is-killing-yourcompany/
Diploma in Integrated Events & Project Management
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