Intercultural Sensitivity
Advancements in communications technology, transport, and the advent of globalization have created an interconnected economy or a global village. People from diverse cultural backgrounds are constantly meeting to do business, in various cultural exchange programs such as sporting activities, and to work in foreign countries. The new developments have made people from diverse languages, cultures, and nations interact. Therefore, it has become prudent that a common ground of relationship is established, creating the need for leaders and corporations to adopt strategies towards promoting intercultural sensitivity.
Moradi & Ghabanchi (2019) define intercultural sensitivity as the development of emotions by individuals toward understanding and appreciating differences from other cultural backgrounds. A people’s culture informs their attitude, communication approaches, preferences, and shared values; acceptance of cultural variations and discrepancies and demonstrating tolerance for other cultures are critical qualities of becoming a global citizen. Global citizenship is a vital skill for leaders and multinational corporations; it allows for understanding the behavior and preference of people from different countries. Intercultural sensitivity has become one of the significant concerns of corporations since it has become a source of competitive advantage in the highly competitive business world, pitching local firms against multinational corporations, with firms leveraging intercultural sensitiveness in the process by focusing on prioritizing hiring from diverse cultural backgrounds, enhancing their relationships with clients, and improving on internal communication and interactions within their various intercultural teams. Becoming culturally competent is a prerequisite for corporations and their leaders to compete in the global market.
Culturally Competent Organizations
Two of the continued impacts of globalization are the process of businesses venturing into new territories and workplaces becoming increasingly diverse culturally. To continue adapting to the latest trends and become more competitive, corporations and their leaders increasingly become ethnorelativism conscious. Advanced by Milton Bunnet in 1986 in his “Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity,” ethnorelativism refers to individuals achieving intercultural competency, accepting other peoples’ way of life as being part of many other ways of living (Bennett, 2017). Leveraging Bunnet’s concept of ethnorelativism, corporations are engaged in different strategies to promote their respective cultural engagement competencies and by extensively creating and reporting cultural awareness in their annual reports as part of their disclosures under environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reports and disclosures.
Organizations are continuously investing in global citizenship training opportunities. According to Moradi & Ghabanchi (2019), global citizenship relates to understanding the variations in different cultures on the basis of how people from diverse groups think, their beliefs, and how they interact with other people. Acquiring intercultural knowledge equips leaders or management with profound insights into a community’s economic and social aspects, which is essential for consideration in business purposes and interpersonal relationships. Capra et al. (2022) posit that attaining global citizenship is an essential quality and skill that enhances communication across different cultural backgrounds and is an important facet of international business marketing. Enhancing interpersonal communications among their employees and between their employees and clients, suppliers, and contractors. To enhance their employees’ to become global citizens and improve their image in the global marketplace, multinationals undertake global citizenship training focused on addressing diverse verbal and non-verbal communication cues, appropriate business etiquette, and marketing skills and on preparing employees for foreign assignments. Under its DEI( diversity, equity, and inclusion) strategy, Coca-Cola company identifies with the uniqueness of the different cultures that they serve and strives to build more inclusive environments by recognizing the value of each community’s culture and heritage; professional intercultural trainers are involved in the process preparing employees for international assignments and postings (Coca-Cola Company, 2021). The training is objectively carried out to improve the communication approaches of the employees with foreign clients by knowing the preferred communication preferences and cues in the target foreign countries. As demonstrated by the Coca-Cola Company, corporations are becoming culturally competent by transforming their knowledge of different cultures into standards and practices of their daily operations.
Respect for cultural differences has become a standard practice among corporations, executed differently in different countries where the organizations have a presence. Multinational corporations are finding it critical to pay attention to various events closely linked to the respective region’s cultures. Cultural sensitivity actions carried out by corporations include recognizing events associated with religion and values; traditional holidays associated with the local employees’ culture are celebrated jointly and recognized by multinational companies (Thelen & Men, 2020). The place and importance of being culturally sensitive are seen in the failure of brands that become culturally insensitive. When Air Canada ventured into the Asian route, most of the airline’s passengers were of Asian descent but were served mainly by Canadian Caucasian female attendants; the route was eventually closed down due to low passenger traffic. Fast forward, Air Canada re-entered the route in 2008 with its attendants drawn from the five major countries in the Asian region; Air Canada has since become a significant competitor in the route (Harder, 2008). Forging cultural competency allows businesses and their leaders to forge longer and more prosperous relationships with employees and customers.
Conclusion
Succeeding in the highly competitive global market requires corporations and their leaders to apply several strategies to gain a competitive advantage. One of the most effective strategies to compete globally is by attaining global citizenship, a phenomenon concerned with becoming culturally sensitive, recognizing and respecting other people’s cultural diversities and their place in communication, and how they define relationships with others. Corporations with full knowledge of the importance of cultural sensitivity are undertaking various actions to make them culturally competent. Gaining cultural sensitivity and competency grants effective relationships with the employees, the customers, and the broader communities corporations serve. Individual companies have aligned themselves to becoming culturally competent by improving and equipping the skillsets of their employees to be vigilant and competent in the various cultural backgrounds they serve; company policies are also aligned with the need to recognize and respect diversities.
References
Bennett, M. J. (2017). Developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. The International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118783665.ieicc0182
Caprar, D. V., Kim, S., Walker, B. W., & Caligiuri, P. (2022). Beyond “doing as the Romans do”: A review of research on countercultural business practices. Journal of International Business Studies, 53(7), 1449–1483. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-021-00479-2
Coca-Cola Company. (2021). 2021 Business & ESG Report. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.coca-colacompany.com/content/dam/journey/us/en/reports/coca-cola-business-environmental-social-governance-report-2020.pdf
Harder, D. (2008, May 5). Diversity Takes Flight at Air Canada. Canadian HR Reporter. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://www.hrreporter.com/news/hr-news/diversity-takes-flight-at-air-canada/311829
Moradi, E., & Ghabanchi, Z. (2019). Intercultural sensitivity: A comparative study among business English undergraduate learners in Iran and China. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 6(3), 134–146. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/278
Thelen, P. D., & Men, L. R. (2020). Commentary: The role of internal communication in Fostering Employee Advocacy: An exploratory study. International Journal of Business Communication, 232948842097583. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488420975832
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