1. Intercultural Competency and Effectiveness
Lecture 15
Intercultural Competency
and Effectiveness
COM 340

2. Becoming Interculturally Effective
IC competency and effectiveness is one of the main goals of the study of and training in intercultural communication.
Becoming interculturally competent leads to being interculturally effective.
The result of IC effectiveness is the ability to function in a culture.
COM 340

3. Intercultural Competence
E-model of IC Effectiveness
Interpersonal
Relationships
Intercultural Competence
Adaptability
Task
COM 340

4. Dimensions of Intercultural Effectiveness
Factor I: Ability to deal with Psychological Stress
frustration
stress
anxiety
different political systems
pressure to conform
social alienation
financial difficulties
interpersonal conflict
Hammer, Gudykunst, and Wiseman (1978)
COM 340

5. Dimensions of Intercultural Effectiveness (con’t)
Factor II: Ability to Effectively Communicate
ability to enter into meaningful dialogue
ability to initiate interaction with a stranger
ability to deal with communication misunderstandings
ability to effectively deal with different communication styles
Signs, Cues & Symbols
The routine, habitual activities in our daily lives.
Shaking hands, standing, sitting
Using the transportation system.
Using a public telephone.
Shopping and making purchases
Going to the bank or post office.
Accepting invitations.
Being used to a certain level of human interaction.
One begins to feel stress… the body’s psycho-physiological response to the demands placed on it by the environment.
These psycho-physiolgical responses are necessary, otherwise we would die. The stress reaction we feel when someone points a gun at us, or when we take a major test, or when someone laughs at us in another culture is not much different.
COM 340

6. Dimensions of Intercultural Effectiveness (con’t)
Factor III: Ability to Establish Interpersonal Relationships
ability to develop satisfying interpersonal relationships
ability to maintain satisfying interpersonal relationships
ability to accurately understand the feelings of other people
ability to effectively work with other people
Signs, Cues & Symbols
The routine, habitual activities in our daily lives.
Shaking hands, standing, sitting
Using the transportation system.
Using a public telephone.
Shopping and making purchases
Going to the bank or post office.
Accepting invitations.
Being used to a certain level of human interaction.
One begins to feel stress… the body’s psycho-physiological response to the demands placed on it by the environment.
These psycho-physiolgical responses are necessary, otherwise we would die. The stress reaction we feel when someone points a gun at us, or when we take a major test, or when someone laughs at us in another culture is not much different.
COM 340

7. Being Interculturally Effective
Five personality characteristics for being interculturally are tested in the “Multicultural Personality Questionnaire” (van Oudenhoven and van der Zee):
Cultural empathy
Open-mindedness
Emotional stability
Flexibility
Social initiative
COM 340

8. Cultural Empathy Also referred to as “cultural sensitivity”
Def: “The capacity to clearly project an interest in other, as well as obtain and to reflect a reasonably complete and accurate sense of another’s thoughts, feelings, and/or experiences.”
Very important to be able to empathize with the feelings, thoughts and behaviors or members from different cultural groups.
COM 340

9. Open-mindedness
The ability to have an open and unprejudiced attitude towards outgroup members and towards different cultural norms and values.
One needs to have a freedom from prejudice, and a true interest in the local people.
COM 340

10. Emotional Stability
The tendency to remain calm in stressful situations versus a tendency to show strong emotional reactions under stressful circumstances.
One truly needs an ability to deal effectively with psychological stress.
COM 340

11. Flexibility
One must be able to switch easily from one strategy to another because the familiar ways of handling things will not necessarily work in a new cultural environment.
Elements of flexibility
Ability to learn from mistakes
Adjustment of behavior when required
Ability to learn from new experiences
COM 340

12. Social Initiative
A tendency to approach social situations in an active way and to take initiatives.
An ability to establish and maintain contacts.
Interpersonal skill are very important. One must be able to interact with people from the host country and to make friends among the locals.
“The courage to make things happen.” has been cited as important for the international executive.
COM 340