Our Vision for Diversity Central
Diversity Central is the exciting, new, online venture for tackling one of the most important business challenges of the 21st century: Cultural Intelligence™.
The concept of diversity implies culture. To function effectively with diverse individuals and organizations, whether in a global business environment, or in a multicultural domestic one, the ability to understand and maneuver culture is paramount. This is Cultural Intelligence™. It represents a necessary competence for a new age, one which some call the "multicultural millennium."
Cultural Intelligence™ means possessing:
- the knowledge that different cultural groups of people, at home and abroad, conduct business and organize themselves in ways that are uniquely theirs,
- an appreciation of why this is so, and
- the power and ability to effectively influence people and organizations anywhere in the world toward goals that are mutually satisfying and beneficial.
We envision Diversity Central as the place to acquire and expand individual and organizational Cultural Intelligence™. We plan to offer an informative and inspiring meeting place for executives, managers, employees, educators, students, consumers and individuals. You will find an array of information and resources to help you gain this valuable competency for both yourself and your organization.
A culturally intelligent business person is one who is acquiring or already posseses an appreciation for at least a second language and certain key relevant dimensions of the culture(s) associated with that language. One extremely important dimension is the recognition and appreciation that power and status are cultural variables that play fundamental roles in business and other official relationships. For example, a leader of a Canadian business team must be knowledgeable and skillful in the use of deference and appropriate communication accorded a leader of a Japanese team if the Canadian team is to achieve a successful outcome.
Second, a culturally intelligent business person is aware and skillful in operating within a broad range of relationship styles and associations that are used to conduct business and to get things done. For example, in China or Mexico, a business deal may require subcontracting to a trusted family member's business, or including an important contact who has the power and status to pull the levers that produce licenses or permits from the government. On a more interpersonal level, in Australia or the United States for example, the Anglo group may focus their attention on the tasks to be completed in contrast to other cultural groups who want to get to know each other and build relationships prior to focusing on goals and tasks.
To apply Cultural Intelligence fully, people must work in an organization that understands and supports the competency. The company must possess Cultural Intelligence as well. This means that the culture and the environment of the organization must allow all kinds of people to thrive so that they can introduce innovative solutions rapidly. Leaders and change agents must have the knowledge and skills to grapple with the tenacity of organizational culture, and be diligent in their efforts to alter it in the necessary places.
When both people and their organizations possess Cultural Intelligence, they are positioned and capable to plumb the intricacies of diverse markets, and to establish durable and profitable relationships with equally diverse counterparts.
These are the essential, but not all, the components of Cultural Intelligence. In the coming weeks, we will be writing more about this competency and its ramifications. We believe the existence of Cultural Intelligence invites the failure or the success for conducting business and its attendant relations in the 21st century.
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