Cultural Intelligence: Adapting to Global Environments

• The following are study notes related to the firm and its environment

Cultural Intelligence

• Cultural intelligence is the ability to favorably receive and adjust to unfamiliar ways of doing things.
• Cultural intelligence enables individuals to develop their ability to accept and adapt to different cultures, both local and international.
• This adaptation may affect the organization to which they belong.
• Anthropologist Edward T. Hall noted variations in how people approach and deal with time across cultures.

Monochronic Cultures

• Monochronic cultures are cultures wherein people tend to do one thing at a time.
• Monochronic cultures emphasize punctuality and sticking to set rules.

Polychronic Cultures

• Polychronic cultures are more flexible regarding time.
• Accomplishing many different things at once is common in polychronic cultures.

Cultural Dimensions

• Cultural dimensions include power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, and time orientation according to Hofstede.

Power Distance

• Power distance is the degree to which a society accepts or rejects the unequal distribution of power among people in organizations and the institutions of society.

Uncertainty Avoidance

• Uncertainty avoidance is the degree to which a society is uncomfortable with risk, change, and situational uncertainty.

Individualism-Collectivism

• Individualism-collectivism is the degree to which a society emphasizes individual accomplishments versus collective accomplishments.

Masculinity-Femininity

• Masculinity-femininity is the degree to which a society values assertiveness and feelings of material success versus concern for relationships.

Time Orientation

• Time orientation is the degree to which a society emphasizes short-term thinking versus greater concern for the future or long-term thinking.

Cultural Dimensions - Philippines

• The Philippines has the following cultural dimensions:
  • Power Distance: 94
  • Individualism: 32
  • Masculinity: 64
  • Uncertainty Avoidance: 44
  • Long Term Orientation: 27