Human Resource Management 15th Edition by Robert Mathis,John Jackson,Sean Valentine ,Patricia Meglich

Exercise 2

Assessing Cultural Competence
To help managers understand their present levels of cultural competence, many organizations use assessment questionnaires. After a manager completes the questionnaire, feedback is provided along with helpful resources and tips for improving areas that are weak. There are a variety of instruments, each with its own framework for elements of cultural competence. HR and training professionals can select the instrument that most appropriately measures what is important to the organization. Here are brief descriptions of four instruments.
One useful tool is the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire, which measures individuals on intercultural sensitivity, intercultural communication, intercultural relationship building, conflict management, leadership, and tolerance of ambiguity. Employees can complete the survey and learn how well-suited they are for international assignments. They can then create an action plan to strengthen areas of weakness so that they are better able to handle work in a global setting.
There are alternative assessments that measure cultural awareness and adjustment. The International Profiler measures 10 competencies, including openness, flexibility, perceptiveness, and cultural knowledge. The Profiler is specifically designed as a development tool. With 10 competencies, it can become overwhelming to understand. Therefore, good coaching and interpretation are important for maximum benefit.
The Cultural Intelligence Scale looks at four factors: drive, knowledge, strategy, and action that relate to an individual's ability to manage within diverse cultures. The questions measure "cultural intelligence," or what the developers consider an individual's ability to function effectively in various cultural situations. The Scale helps employees understand how well they would adjust to new situations and function in unfamiliar settings.
Last, the Cross-Cultural Kaleidoscope is an awareness-building tool that helps employees evaluate the internal and external factors that form their cultural understanding. The instrument measures the individual's thoughts, feelings, and emotions related to cultural identity. This is followed with an assessment of the legal, political, economic, geographic, climate, and history factors related to the country where one lives. Reconciling one's personal sense of culture and seeing how it is influenced by outside forces can help employees put culture into perspective.
Clearly, there are many techniques organizations can use to identify the cultural profile of managers and other employees. The costs of assigning an individual who is not culturally ready to deal with diverse employee groups are significant. Training and coaching are important add-ons after an employee has completed an assessment. Assessments are a starting point, not the end of cultural awareness. Consider the following questions about assessing cultural competence:
What steps would you take to get the maximum benefit from cultural assessments? Do you believe that there is more to it than administering the instrument and providing results to each respondent?