Cultural Intelligence and International Students

Introduction

Although globalization has made the world seem smaller and 'flat' in many ways, increasing cultural diversity creates challenges for individuals and organizations, making the world 'not so flat' after all. Earley and Ang (2003, 100-123) argue that as countries and organizations around the world become more multicultural, and interact with one another, increased cultural intelligence will be necessary to strive in diverse cultures. They hypothesize that individuals with high cultural intelligence (CQ) will be able to gather accurate information more effectively across cultures, and thus make more informed decisions based on the nuanced information. There is also an additional need for individuals to be aware of their own CQ so that they can improve upon the findings, opening more opportunities for themselves in a changing environment. The objective of this essay is to understand the concept of cultural intelligence and how it can benefit international students.

Discussion

Cultural intelligence is the ability to adapt to various cultural contexts and function in different cultural settings or with those of a different culture in one's own setting. Cultural intelligence was introduced in 2003 by Earley and Ang, two researchers who believed that an individual's ability to successfully manage situations in which others from different cultures are present had been overlooked in intelligence research. Cultural intelligence shares aspects of emotional and social intelligence, in that it describes a person's ability to function well different situations, but neither emotional nor social intelligence take into account the cultural context.

Culture can be defined in various ways. In this context, culture encompasses the shared attitudes, beliefs, goals, and traditions that characterize a group of people. Culture can affect how individuals act and work with others, and culture can also act as a lens through which individuals or groups view and react to the actions of those in other groups. Cultural intelligence is generally a newly minted term, but not necessarily a new concept. We have all seen how different individuals can navigate situations well or poorly, based on their knowledge of the other person's culture. Seeing a need to take into account the cultural contexts of situations, the differences in how people react within them, and how successful individuals were in the outcomes of these situations, Earley and Ang (2003, 101-129) developed and introduced the theory of cultural intelligence in their book, Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions across Cultures.

The theory is applicable to the disciplines ...