Cultural intelligence: Become a global citizen

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/cultural-intelligence

Introduction

### Course Review: Cultural Intelligence: Become a Global Citizen In today’s increasingly interconnected world, the ability to navigate cultural differences is not just beneficial; it’s essential. Coursera's course, **Cultural Intelligence: Become a Global Citizen**, offers a comprehensive exploration of cultural intelligence (CQ) as a pivotal skill for today’s managers and leaders. This course is designed for anyone who aspires to work effectively in diverse environments, whether in business, community settings, or beyond. #### Course Overview The course delves into the significance of understanding varying cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and attitudes in a globalized workplace. It emphasizes that managers equipped with high levels of cultural intelligence are more likely to achieve organizational goals and foster inclusive work environments. The structured learning activities, which include video lectures, quizzes, discussion prompts, and industry interviews, create an engaging learning experience that encourages active participation. #### Breakdown of the Syllabus 1. **Globalisation of People**: The course kicks off with an overview of global migration, exploring the intricate relationships between capital, business, and people across borders. Through contemporary literature and theoretical frameworks like the institutional approach and structural inequality, you will gain insights into how these migrations shape our businesses and communities. 2. **Affinities and Diversities**: In this module, you will examine both the similarities and differences within diverse groups in your workplace. By understanding the concepts of affinities and cultural capital introduced by Pierre Bourdieu, learners will appreciate how diversity can enrich organizational culture and performance. 3. **Developing Cultural Intelligence (CQ): Improving Self**: This section addresses the importance of self-awareness in navigating cultural differences. You will learn to cultivate your own cultural intelligence, enhancing your ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders. It underscores the values and advantages that diversity brings to organizations. 4. **Applying and Leveraging CQ: Leading Others**: As a leader, your ability to motivate and manage a culturally diverse team is vital. This module focuses on strategies to evaluate cultural environments and apply your cultural intelligence to lead effectively. You will explore programs designed to foster high-performing global teams. 5. **Global Citizenship Challenges**: The course doesn’t shy away from discussing the complexities introduced by globalization. You’ll analyze the challenges traditional institutions face amidst these shifts and understand how these changes affect individual behaviors and societal interactions. 6. **Global Mindset and Competence: Becoming a Global Citizen**: In the final week, you will synthesize your learning and engage in exercises that promote a globally oriented mindset. This segment emphasizes ethical conduct within organizations and prepares you to embody the qualities of a true global citizen. #### Review and Recommendations The **Cultural Intelligence: Become a Global Citizen** course is well-designed, with a rich combination of theoretical insights and practical applications. The engaging multimedia content—video lectures, quizzes, and industry interviews—ensures that learning is not only informative but also enjoyable. The structured approach allows learners to build their knowledge progressively, culminating in actionable outcomes that can be applied in real-world scenarios. I highly recommend this course to professionals and students eager to enhance their cultural intelligence and embrace the challenges and opportunities of a globalized world. Whether you’re a business leader, an aspiring manager, or simply someone interested in understanding cross-cultural dynamics, this course will equip you with the necessary tools to thrive in diverse environments. **In summary**, if you wish to become a more effective leader and foster inclusivity within your organization, **Cultural Intelligence: Become a Global Citizen** is a must-take course. It not only enriches your professional toolkit but also contributes to your personal growth as a global citizen in an increasingly interconnected world.

Syllabus

Globalisation of people

We are living in an increasingly globalised world, with growing flows of capital/business and people across national boundaries. What are the current state of development of global migration of capital and people? What are the important implications to businesses, communities and individuals? This week you will be introduced to the recent development in global migration of capital and people; the contributing factors to the changes over time; and consequences of global migration of capital and people. You will start by review the contemporary literature in these areas. You will also be exposed to the theoretical perspectives such as institutional approach and structural inequality framework in understanding global migration of business and people.

Our communities and workplaces have become more diverse in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, and country of origin. How do you perceive diversity in your communities and workplaces? Does diversity mean different? This week you will be introduced the concepts of affinities in addition to diversities. You will have the opportunities to examine the commonalities that diverse groups of people share in their daily life and in workplaces. You will also apply the theoretical framework “cultural capital” (in Pierre Bourdieu’s “The Forms of Capital”) in understanding how diversity contribute to the societies and businesses.

Employees and business leaders nowadays are constantly interacting with people and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds. The cultural inclusion approach is adopted by many businesses and organizations to promote equity and fairness. What is your understanding of cultural diversity? Is diversity inclusion approach only for promoting the rights and opportunities for those who are disadvantaged? Are you aware of the values and benefits that people from diverse cultural backgrounds could bring to an organization? Do you know how to develop your cultural intelligence (CQ)? This week you will learn the importance of cultural intelligence (CQ) and the steps that you will need to take to develop your cultural strategic thinking and to cultivate your behavioural cultural intelligence.

Being culturally intelligent is a key future-focused capability for today’s business leaders. In addition to developing their own cultural intelligence, business leaders need to learn how to leverage their cultural intelligence to effectively motivate and lead others in workplaces. This week you will learn the approaches and programs through which you apply cultural intelligence to effectively manage and lead culturally diverse teams or effectively interact with culturally diverse stakeholders. You will develop the competencies of evaluating cultural environments and strategizing responses accordingly. Attention will also be on the approach and framework for developing high-performing global teams

Being a citizen of our globalised and interconnected world could also face a series of challenges. Traditional institutions, such as the state, community, workplace, and family have all been affected one way or another by the global forces. The boundaries of nation states become increasing blurry and weakened with increasing dominance of transnational business activities and migration of people. For many, traditional family structures are disrupted and family members scattered around globe. All these changes affect individual behaviour and the interactions with each other. This week you will examine the major challenges brought about by globalised forces and develop the awareness of these challenges in a range of institutional settings.

Cultural intelligence (CQ) is a competitive advantage that current and future business leaders need to acquire and cultivate. By consciously or unconsciously practicing and applying CQ in your workplace and daily life, you will become a true global citizen and business leader in a globalized world. In the final week of this course, you will apply all the knowledge we have learned so far and focus on some practical exercises on how to develop the mindset that is globally oriented and culturally sensitive. You will also further develop some skills in translating your individual global mindset to ethical conducts of businesses and organizations.