Cultural Intelligence: A Crossroads Attention of Global Players to Leverage Differences

Abstract

Cultural Intelligence (CI) - a new domain of intelligence has immense relevance to the increasingly global and diverse workplace. Cultural Quotient (CQ) is one's capability to grow personally through continuous learning and good understanding of diverse cultural heritage, wisdom and values, and to deal effectively with people from different cultural background. However, the significant and most challenging parts of other cultures are hidden. Business is becoming irreversibly global now a days and to increase the sustainable competitive advantage of the organisation in present scenario. CI can be utilized as leveraging tool. This paper through secondary data survey, explores the impact of culture Intelligence on business by giving an overview on what is CI. The paper then, taking certain practical examples, analyses how culture and eventually CI affect success graphs of organisation in cross-cultural trade practices that form the basis of doing business with foreign clients, negotiating with a potential joint venture partner, dealing with relationships between expatriate and local colleagues, creating effective teams and virtual teams and building truly global organisations out of country level operations that have local relevance. Etc. The second part of the paper discusses how few good organisations perceive CQ as a success mantra for themselves. It also discusses how to identify a culturally intelligent person and like people with different personalities, different CQ level can also be classified into six categories. Unlike EQ( Emotional quotient) and IQ (intelligence Quotient) CQ can be improved and developed at any stage of life. Contrary to the commonly held view that national cultural differences are becoming less important largely as a result of globalisation, this paper argues that understanding cultures is becoming increasingly important. Further, it is contended that many organisations are vastly under estimating the importance of the so-called cultural intelligence among their local workforces, and as a consequences they are in danger of compromising their performance.