Industry perceptions of intercultural competence in Singapore and Perth

Abstract

Industry perceptions of intercultural competence in Singapore and PerthThis study investigates public relations practitioner perceptions of intercultural competence i.e. the skills required in an increasingly globalized world. The findings, drawn from analysis of interviews with seventeen practitioners in two cities in Australasia, reveal intercultural competence is perceived as integral to public relations practise, regardless of whether the public relations activity occurs across national borders.Although practitioners value personal attributes such as openness and adaptability, the findings suggests that practitioners require intercultural competence, as procedural knowledge i.e. of specific cultures and as conceptual knowledge i.e. a reflexive and dynamic understanding of culture. More research is needed to understand the relationship between culture and public relations, and industry expectations regarding intercultural competence in an era of globalization.

The importance of moral emotions for effective collaboration in culturally diverse healthcare teams

“…Teamwork is an important component of healthcare organisations (Fitch, ; Gelfand, Erez, & Aycan, ), and most healthcare settings will have a multicultural workforce (Davies, Fidler, & Gorbis, ; Holden, Michailova, & Tietze, ). Multicultural teams provide numerous organisational benefits (e.g., Earley & Gibson, ); however, barriers to performance from cultural differences can also reduce effectiveness (e.g., Shapiro, Von Glinow, & Cheng, ) and influence both gendered and diverse perceptions of personal and team success (Yamaguchi, Gelfand, Ohashi, & Zemba, ).…”

Competência intercultural grupal: uma proposição de conceito

“…Interaction stands out as the basis of intercultural daily life (BUENO, 2010) and should be understood as a relational process among interdependent individuals (DALIB, HARUN and YUSOFF, 2014). Rodrigues and Pinheiro (2010) argue that the epistemological current of IC has a strong interpretive and interactionist accent, an argument that is reiterated in the IC definitions, where several authors (BYRAM, 1997;HAMMER, BENNETT and WISEMAN, 2003;DEARDORFF, 2004 RATHJE, 2007;FITCH, 2012;KUPKA, 2008;SPITZBERG and CHANGNON, 2009), explain the interaction as a primary IC factor. Byram (1997) considers that one of the IC elements is the ability to interact; Jokikokko (2005) argues that IC is necessary in the functional interaction of people from different origins; Rathje (2007) argues that IC is the cultural skill required in the interactions among individuals of different cultures; Kupka (2008) adds that IC is fundamental for individuals to interact effectively in diverse cultural contexts; Fitch (2012) defends the need for social interaction among individuals from different cultures; Hammer, Bennett and Wiseman (2003) conclude by arguing that the individual with a high IC degree is capable of successful interactions in culturally diverse environments.…”

“…Knowledge of the different styles of communication, both verbal and non-verbal, is important in order to avoid misunderstandings about foreign culture (GERTSEN, 1990;SPITZBERG and CHANGNON, 2009). Therefore, the promotion of effective communication is important in an MCT (BYRAM, 1997;FANTINI, 2000;MENDENHALL and OSLAND, 2002;DEARDORFF, 2004;LOUGH, 2011;FITCH, 2012) and this promotion can be leveraged through clarity, openness and frankness (MORAN, YOUNGDAHL and MORAN, 2009), key to group cohesion through the trust among its members (HAMMER, GUDYKUNST and WISEMAN, 1979;ADLER and GUNDERSEN, 2008;LLOYD and HÄRTEL, 2010;FREITAS, 2015).…”

“…Group intercultural competence: proposing a concept Janete Schmidmeier Adriana Roseli Wünsch Takahashi Some factors are presented as determinants of effective MCT communication, such as constant feedback (MORAN, YOUNGDAHL and MORAN, 2009), sociolinguistic ability (DEARDORFF, 2004), accuracy in sending and receiving messages (DEARDORFF, 2004) and intercultural communication skills (BYRAM, 1997;MENDENHALL and OSLAND, 2002;BIRD, 2010;LOUGH, 2011;FITCH, 2012;SOBOLEVA and OBDALOVA, 2014).…”

“…The negotiation process between cultures in the MCT is part of intercultural daily life, directly impacting group communication and social interaction (FERRARO, 2001). In addition, negotiation style is conditioned by the culture itself (KIM, 1988;FITCH, 2012;BARMEYER and DAVOINE, 2015). This in turn means that the form of negotiation is marked by cultural presuppositions (FERRARO, 2001;DE JONG and VAN HOUTEN, 2014), in which there are divergences of values, interests, objectives, ethical principles and cultural assumptions (FERRARO, 2001).…”