The rapid rate of globalisation is changing the face of the business environment. Not only do managers have to deal with challenges such as multiple time zones and geographically divergent locations, but they must also increasingly operate in culturally diverse environments and work with employees from various cultural backgrounds. The importance of culture in the workplace is often neglected, and this may have a negative impact on the overall success of organisations. Cultural Intelligence is a facet of intelligence that describes the success with which individuals such as managers are able to deal with people from different cultural backgrounds. By exploring the degree of Cultural Intelligence of a management corps, it is possible to address the training needs in a given organisation in order to optimise the performance and productivity of a team. It was apparent that, because Cultural Intelligence as a concept is a relatively new and unexplored notion, there was an urgent need for further exploration in this field. The purpose of this study was therefore to compare two groups of managers, one from South Africa and one from the Netherlands, in terms of their levels of Cultural Intelligence and to explore the generalisability of a Cultural Intelligence measurement instrument across cultures. The Cultural Intelligence Questionnaire was administered to the two groups under review and the results were subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA), chi-square testing and independent t-tests. Various iterations of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that the primary components of Cultural Intelligence, namely Motivation, Behaviour and Cognition, were present in both groups. Independent t-tests showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of their levels of Cultural Intelligence. Both groups had high scores on Factor 1: Cultural Identity (related to the behavioural component of Cultural Intelligence) and Factor 3: Willingness to Learn about Different Cultures (related to the meta-cognitive component of Cultural Intelligence), and both groups had moderately high scores on Factor 2: Adaptability to a Multi-Cultural Setting (related to the motivational component of Cultural Intelligence). A high level of reliability for the instrument was established for both groups with a Cronbach alpha of 0.85 for the sample from the Netherlands and a Cronbach alpha of 0.75 for the South African sample. Exploratory factor analysis yielded similar factor loadings for 22 of the 24 items that were included in the final factor analysis. The exploratory research conducted in this study has contributed to the refinement and expansion of Cultural Intelligence theory. The instrument that was used for assessment can be a useful tool in selecting and developing managers to work with multi-cultural groups. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Human Resource Management / MCom / Unrestricted

This thesis aims to define international team and conflicts and identify the essential competencies for a manager and employee of international teams. It is argued that everyone in an international team should possess more skills and competencies than those who belong to homogeneous teams. As a result, representatives of international team must be able to understand culturally diverse backgrounds manage conflicts constructively, and comprehend different strategies to handle sensitive cases. The research begins by reviewing literature on culture, cultural dimensions in the team and conflict. A survey was performed on 167 individuals from various cultural backgrounds to analyze their attitudes towards multicultural teams and their managers. Some findings are in accordance with theories and some show different interesting opinions experienced pragmatically by the respondents. Eventually, the author based on the results obtained from the empirical research and the theoretical literatures has created a recommendation.

As globalization continues to increase, the demand for culturally intelligent employees is central for navigating everyday intercultural business interactions. For college students preparing to enter the workforce, cultural intelligence is trained at universities through cultural training courses and study abroad experiences. Although cultural training courses and study abroad experiences are recognized as important factors in developing cultural intelligence, their effects are often assumed. Additionally, research indicates that international travel alone does not enhance a person’s overall cultural intelligence. This research examined a university program designed using Bandura’s Social Learning Theory to increase undergraduate students’ cultural intelligence through an on-campus cultural training course followed by a study abroad experience. Study 1 compared the effectiveness of a university program consisting of a cultural training course with a study abroad experience against a comparison control group. Multi-level modeling analyses suggest that students who participated in the cultural training course followed by a study abroad experience significantly increase in motivation, cognitive, metacognitive, and behavior CQ. Furthermore, interaction analyses examined the relationship between the two study groups, students’ self-assigned cultural development goals, the quality of their reflective journal entries, and an examination of any potential cultural mentor effects. None of these variables was associated with CQ growth. Study 2 compared two study abroad groups who either spent 3- or 6-weeks abroad after completing a shared cultural training course. Both groups experienced a statistically significant increase in all four CQ domains relative to a comparison group. When comparing the 3- and 6-week study abroad groups, there were no differences in motivation, cognitive, or behavior CQ; however, in metacognitive CQ, the 3-week group experienced a statistically significant increase compared to the 6-week group. No student-level predictors (age, gender identity, ethnicity, year in school, previous overseas experience, and grade point average) or program-level predictors (cultural mentor, number of countries visited) had a significant relationship with CQ development. These results demonstrate that a university intercultural development program that combines a cultural development training course with an instructor-led study abroad experience can help students improve their cultural intelligence, regardless of a student’s background, and that students can experience significant CQ growth in as little as 3-week abroad.

To cope with increasing demands and competition in the ever-growing global market, organizations have been increasing the use and formation of multicultural teams (MCTs). Though advantageous in numerous aspects, MCT literature lays significant focus on the struggles in managing communication and cohesion in these teams. Journalists and organizational psychologists propose an emergent generation of individuals who are eager and accustomed to working with people worldwide. This Generation Global is composed of individuals who possess a global mindset and cultural intelligence, allowing them to navigate multicultural environments successfully. This paper conducts a qualitative case study on an MCT in the global cybersecurity company, MobileIron, to observe whether the main challenges found in previous literature prevail in MCTs composed of Generation Global individuals. The results demonstrate that cross-cultural communication is a less significant issue and strains in team cohesion are nonexistent in these teams due to the collective cultural intelligence and global identity within the team. / For att hantera den alltmer vaxande globala marknaden har det blivit alltmer vanligt för organisationer att bilda mångkulturella teams, MCTs. Även om kulturell mångfald är till storsta del fördelaktig så påvisar MCT litteraturen att de mest förekommande utmaningarna är kommunikation och sammanhållning. Journalister och organisationspsykologer menar dock att det finns en ny framväxande generation av individer som är erfarna att samarbeta med människor ifrån hela världen. Den benämns den globala generationen, GG, och består av individer som har en global identitet och kulturell intelligens, vilket möjliggör dem att hantera mångkulturella miljöer. Denna uppsats utför en kvalitativ studie på ett MCT i det globala cybersäkerhetsföretaget, MobileIron. Syften är att undersöka om de utmaningar som hittats tidigare även uppkommer i MCTs som består av GG individer. Resultaten visar att tvärkulturell kommunikation är en mindre betydelsefull fråga och att spänningar i sammanhållning inte finns i dessa team. Detta på grund av den kollektiva kulturella intelligensen och globala identiteten i teamet.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / This study was motivated by the great need to probe on the impact cross-cultural psychological capital has on cultural intelligence (CQ), affective commitment (AC) and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among diverse employees at a retail organisation. Globalisation has led to the increase in movement of the labour force due to economic, political and market force expansion, thus, this mobility has led to diversity in the workplace. However, this workforce diversity highlights the importance of cross-cultural skills in the workplace. The major purpose of this study is to study the influence of cross-cultural psychological capital on cultural intelligence, affective commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour.

This research aimed to explore how heads of departments at LNU manage cultural differences in their teams. The study addressed the main research question and two sub-questions to uncover effective strategies for navigating cultural disparities in team settings. An exploratory design was employed, utilizing qualitative methods such as interviews and content analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a limited number of participants from diverse departments at LNU. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes and findings. Several significant themes emerged from the analysis. The first theme highlighted the importance of recognizing and addressing cultural differences within teams through open dialogue, communication, building trust, and fostering inclusivity. The second theme emphasized the significance of cultivating cultural intelligence and competency as cross-cultural leaders, including the development of cultural competency and adapting communication styles to accommodate diverse team members. The third theme focused on effective communication, emphasizing the need to overcome language barriers and establish open channels for promoting understanding and inclusivity. The fourth theme highlighted the value of embracing cultural diversity, viewing it as an asset, and leveraging unique perspectives and strengths within teams. The fifth and final theme emphasized the continuous learning and development of cultural competency and cultural intelligence to effectively manage cultural disparities. This study contributes to our understanding of how heads of departments at LNU manage cultural differences in their teams. The findings underscore the importance of recognizing cultural differences, cultivating cultural intelligence, promoting effective communication, embracing cultural diversity, and fostering continuous learning and development. These strategies enhance the capacity of organizations to navigate cultural disparities and foster inclusivity in multicultural environments. The study was conducted within an academic setting, limiting generalizability to other organizations. The research relied on a limited number of interviews due to time constraints and non-responsiveness of some participants, therefore the complexity of the issue may not have been fully captured. This study fills a gap in the literature by exploring the strategies employed by heads of departments to manage cultural differences. It provides practical implications for organizations operating in multicultural environments and enhances our understanding of effective cross-cultural leadership.

Globalization has created tremendous opportunities for organizations, but also created challenges due to cultural diversity, highlighting the importance of cross-cultural competencies in becoming successful nowadays. Cultural Intelligence (CQ) has emerged as an important concept describing the individual capabilities needed to effectively interact across cultures. Utilizing the theory of evolutionary personality psychology, several relationships are predicted between certain personality traits and factors of CQ. In addition, social learning theory is applied to explain the expected relationships between international experience and CQ. Thirdly, several hypotheses are developed to investigate if international experience strengthens the relationship between certain personality traits and elements of CQ. Based on a sample size of 197 employees from a financial services company, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses validate the theorized four-factor CQ model. The results, based on stepwise regression analyses, confirm the expected relationship between international experience and all factors of CQ, except BCQ. In addition, the results reveal several significant relationships between personality factors and CQ. Novel for the research on CQ is the confirmation of several significant correlations between “dark-side“ personality traits (which have been characterized as ineffective behaviours) and elements of CQ. This study also shows several moderating relationships, providing new insights and posing important questions for future research, contributing to the accumulating literature on CQ. In addition, the results of this study provide interesting suggestions for practice, emphasizing the importance of adapting Human Resources policies to recruit, enable and retain those employees who are likely to successfully grasp the opportunities that globalization offers. In order to achieve this, organizations should rely on a broad range of assessment and development tools, focussing on CQ, personality traits and previous international experience, when selecting and preparing individuals for cross-cultural careers.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2016 / An entrepreneurial mindset has been found to be a key antecedent in the opportunity recognition process and has even been attributed to the massive turnaround of the economic fortune of some developed countries, such as Sweden. Evidence has suggested that entrepreneurially minded individuals recognise and execute opportunity, even in uncertain situations because their advanced cognitive abilities permitted them to derive meaning in complex situations. Foreign students represent a large contingent of international sojourners, faced with a multitude of uncertainties during their stay in the host country. These students are also at the centre of a knowledge transfer system embedded in focal points capable of producing novel ideas. The researcher argued that no better people are best positioned to exploit cross cultural intelligence and the cultural adjustment experience for the development of an entrepreneurial mindset. The study also explored the influence of intangibles or contextual factors in moderating the relationship cultural adjustment and intelligence respectively with entrepreneurial mindset. For the purposes of this report, a quantitative study was undertaken with the aim of quantifying the influence of these constructs on entrepreneurial mindset. Positive correlations have been established between cultural intelligence (cognitive), cross cultural adjustment (social support) to entrepreneurial mindset. The following intangibles (Need for Focal Points Producing Novel Ideas, Need for Informal Fora for Entrepreneurs, and Need for Executive Leadership) have also been found to moderate the relationship between cultural intelligence and entrepreneurial mindset. No intangibles moderated the relationship between cultural adjustment and entrepreneurial mindset. Implications for practice and direction for future research are provided. / MT 2017

Le travail statistique a finalement été effectué avec 317 personnes. Les outils de collecte de données étaient l'inventaire de personnalité NEO PI-R, la version abrégée du questionnaire de l’OMS sur la qualité de vie et le questionnaire d'intelligence culturelle. Pour l'analyse des données, des statistiques descriptives et inférentielles (analyse de corrélation, régression et équations structurelles) ont été utilisées. Les résultats montrent que les traits de personnalité ont une corrélation significative avec la qualité de vie. Parmi ces traits, il y a une corrélation négative avec le névrosisme et une corrélation positive avec les quatre autres facteurs. Par ailleurs, tous les facteurs de la variable « qualité de vie » présentent une corrélation positive significative avec toutes les composantes de l’intelligence culturelle. En ce qui concerne les indices de qualité de l'ajustement du modèle final, nous pouvons affirmer que le modèle fourni et ses coefficients de régression montrent que ces coefficients expliqueraient avec précision la prédiction de la qualité de vie basée sur les traits de personnalité et l'intelligence culturelle. / The statistical work was completed with 317 people. The data collection tools were NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), short version of the WHO quality of life questionnaire and the Cultural Intelligence Questionnaire. For analyzing the data, descriptive and inferential statistics (correlation analysis, regression, and structural equations) were used. The findings show that personality traits have a significant correlation with the quality of life. Among those traits, there is a negative correlation with neuroticism and a positive one with the other four factors. Meanwhile, all the factors of variable “quality of life” have a significant positive correlation with all the components of cultural intelligence. Regarding the goodness-of-fit indices of the final model, we can claim that the provided model and its regression coefficients show that these coefficients would accurately explain the prediction of the quality of life based on personality traits and cultural intelligence.

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