TMC_WhitePaper_TheCNAPowerfulToolForUndergradandGradStudents_Oct2015

The Cultural Navigator: A Powerful Tool for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

A White Paper


© 2015 TMC | A Berlitz Company. All rights reserved. 2

Introduction Business today is more global than ever before. As organizations expand across the world, form partnerships with international associates, and hire local talent whose origins lie elsewhere, they will likely face cultural hurdles that can reduce their chances of success. Today’s leaders need to understand the importance of culture in work-related interactions, partnerships and strategies, and imbue their employees with a sense of cultural competence. At the same time, those readying to enter the global workforce – students at the undergraduate and graduate levels – can get a head start on gaining intercultural awareness and give themselves an advantage in the hiring process by learning about cultural competence while at school. An Increasingly Globalized World It is clear that our globalized world is becoming more interconnected every day. In a 2012 study, the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed over 500 executives from around the world about their current dealings with international business or their plans for global engagement. Seventy percent of respondents believed that their company’s operational presence overseas would increase, and 78 percent said that in the next few years there would be more cross-border collaboration of teams. (1) When asked about the challenges they faced while competing in global markets, the executives surveyed specifically mentioned issues in cross-border communication and collaboration. Fifty percent of respondents said that communication misunderstandings have impeded their international business dealings, which have resulted in financial losses for the company, and that addressing the cause – lack of clarity in intercultural communication – is just as critical as financial gain. Another 50 percent of respondents said that the greatest threat to smooth operations is differences in cultural norms. A staggering 90 percent said that better understanding of intercultural communication would improve the firm’s profit, revenue and market share, and that actions should be taken to educate employees regarding cultural differences. Yet only 47 percent said that their companies did something to help with preparedness or had an appropriate system in place for selecting people who were suited for intercultural dealings. So what can these executives do to create cultural awareness and cultural competence in their organizations? Recent research by The Georgetown Consortium Project (2) shows that it is not the amount of knowledge one has about cultures, the time spent engaging with people in country, or even learning a new language that increase a person’s cultural competence. It is the intentional, persistent and focused attention of a person’s self-reflection on their learning – over time – that leads to greater understanding and competence. In essence, while reading about cultures, traveling abroad and learning a new language are important and life-enriching, a deep level of cultural competence comes from not only knowing something about others but also from knowing one’s self. When people pay attention to and reflect on their attitudes, feelings and actual behaviors, and then use that


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Cultural assessment tools present excellent

learning opportunities for learners at any level.

Differing cultural views, such as how we perceive

competition and cooperation – or any other cultural value – will affect how we interact in today’s

side-‐by-‐side global marketplace.

Elizabeth Tuleja (3)

reflection to help alter their actions and reactions to situations, they can supplement knowledge with the internal exploration of who they are. With the reality of increased globalization, key opportunities exist for students in any discipline who will soon enter a globalized workforce that requires cultural competence. There is a cultural imperative that must be met. This white paper discusses the innovative approach to teaching intercultural management at Notre Dame University’s Mendoza College of Business through the use of the online learning platform the Cultural Navigator® and its constituent assessment, the Cultural Orientations Indicator® (COI®). Business Education Today In today’s business education sphere, there are a variety of students pursuing degrees at various stages of life. For example, the Mendoza College of Business has students at these levels:

BBA – Business students pursuing

a traditional four-year undergraduate degree

MBA – Business students who return to school after three to five years of professional experience to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration

EMBA – Adult business students in their mid-30s to 50s with at least 15 years of experience, who hold management positions, and who want to transition into leadership positions.

The Cultural Navigator The Cultural Navigator is a web-based learning platform for building and maintaining cultural competence. It provides timely information and insights on a wide range of global business and cultural topics that help users collaborate across geographical and cultural borders. It is designed to provide a robust and unique learning experience.

Within the Cultural Navigator, business information is organized by topic to increase the user’s confidence when working with others who have a different cultural background, and when working across borders. The platform includes country guides that deliver a wealth of information on cultural norms and management practices in over 100 countries. The Cultural Navigator platform is designed to cater to a variety of learning styles and provides collaboration and networking opportunities to promote peer-based learning. The cornerstone of the Cultural Navigator is the COI. This online self-assessment gauges the user’s individual work-style



preferences across three dimensions: Interaction Style (how they communicate and engage with others in work situations), Thinking Style (how they conceptualize and process information in work situations) and Sense of Self (how they view themselves and are motivated in the workplace). Once the psychometrically validated assessment is completed, users receive a personal report that analyzes their preferences and gives suggestions for overcoming cultural gaps they may have with those who have different preferences. Users can also compare their personal preferences to the cultural norms in the country where they plan to study, work or travel, as well as to other individuals or teams they work with.

Harnessing the Power of the Cultural Navigator for Various Student Groups There are many ways to develop a curriculum for effective intercultural learning based upon the needs of an organization, its programs, its audience and its budget. The Cultural Navigator is deployed in a number of courses at Mendoza: ONLINE COURSE: Advanced Intercultural Management (Notre Dame Online in partnership with BISK Education). The Cultural Navigator is used as the foundation for this eight-week online executive certificate course, which is available globally and is applicable to any industry and any level of expertise. It focuses on the essentials of what will enable professionals to be more effective in dealing with cultural differences at home and abroad, and illuminates the challenges stemming from differing values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that individuals face every day in a diverse workplace. The curriculum is engaging and creative, utilizing case studies, short videos and numerous real-world examples. Participants have the opportunity to interact with each other through email, online postings and in six Live Chats, during two of which they review and discuss their COI results. Upon completing the course, students earn a Certificate of Achievement from the University of Notre Dame. (4)

COURSE FOR BBA AND MBA: Intercultural Communication for Business. The Cultural Navigator is used in conjunction with other learning materials in this seven-week course that focuses on the interpersonal aspects of doing global business. The COI is used throughout the course, and all class activities and assignments are based upon it. The course is an elective and focuses on developing students’ cultural competence through discussing case studies, researching global business issues and writing about their findings. Course topics include cultural identity, cultural dimensions, context and communication, worldview, culture and cognition, and global leadership. Students use the Cultural Navigator to analyze the country profiles of the international cases discussed in class, and to do research for a white paper they write for the “Critical Incident” final assignment. This paper provides a concise report about an intercultural issue and includes

The Cultural Navigator is adaptable across a wide range of courses and level of experiences.


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“The nature of management skills is such that they are culturally specific: A management technique or philosophy that is appropriate in one national culture is not

necessarily appropriate in another.”

Geert Hofstede (7)

their perspective on how to understand the issue and solve it. Students also take another cultural assessment tool, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) (5), to determine their level of cultural development when it comes to dealing with cultural differences, and to write an Individual Development Plan for their final project. The text Intercultural Communication for Business (6) supplements their learning.

EMBA COURSE: Intercultural Management. This course guides students through the process of learning about their individual cultural preferences and comparing them to their teammates’ in conjunction with country-specific learning. This is done in view of consulting projects in Argentina, Brazil, China, Singapore and more. In the spring term, students take their COI and IDI before the start of this 10-hour course, which is divided into four segments, ahead of their international consulting projects in mid-summer. During the course, students use the Cultural Navigator to create team aggregate reports, which allow them to review any gaps in their cultural preferences that can hinder teamwork. They also review the country profile for their target country within the Cultural Navigator. Each team selects a company and specific project, for which they provide expert consulting during a one-week in-country immersion experience. In the three to four months preceding the immersion, students interact with their international counterparts and continue to use the Cultural Navigator in developing their cultural competence. The text Intercultural Communication for Business supplements their learning.

STUDY ABROAD: Notre Dame BBA students have the opportunity to participate in a six-week immersion course in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. A group of about 25 students participate in three or four sessions using the COI and IDI to learn about cultural dimensions and leadership, before spending six weeks in Asia.

This course focuses on the foundational aspects of understanding culture in general, and Chinese culture in particular. Throughout the immersion experience, students attend lectures on culture, history and society from faculty in the morning, and participate in company visits in the afternoon. They also engage in readings, have discussions with coordinating faculty, complete daily journals, and then do an intercultural development plan associated with the COI and IDI. Lessons Learned There are lessons learned after years of facing the unique challenges that come with each new curriculum.

1. Start small – Budgets are tight, and administrators often challenge why investing in an intercultural learning tool like the Cultural Navigator warrants the financial commitment. Helping administration see the need takes time. Rather than developing a new program or course, it is wise to incorporate the Cultural



Navigator into an already existing one. Teaming up with colleagues to hear their ideas on using new tools in courses increases the level of creativity and innovation in developing curriculums.

2. Find funding – There are always alumni or local businesspeople who understand first-hand the importance of cultural competence in business. When approaching alumni, businesspeople or a dean, instructors should write a report that documents their program’s methods, outcomes and cost, and how the instructor will measure the students’ learning.

3. Be patient – University administrators understand the crucial need to internationalize their curriculum. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and other accrediting organizations insist upon it. But often faculty members and administrators suggest quick-fix schemes such as professors adding an international case to their curriculum. While this is shortsighted and misses the point of internationalizing curricula, online resources such as the Cultural Navigator can add a robust learning component to the course. The Cultural Navigator allows learners to identify their own cultural preferences, and then use that knowledge to learn about others’ preferences. This facilitates smoother and more effective cross-cultural exchanges and collaboration.

4. Measure results – Every administrator wants to see results. One way to show them is for instructors to use a class’ team gap report generated by the Cultural Navigator to show that the students have taken their COIs and used them to create a visual layout of their cultural preferences. In order to demonstrate the global reach that the class has achieved, instructors could also list the countries whose profiles in the Cultural Navigator the students used for their learning. Instructors could add anonymous student entries about what they learned, the challenges they overcame and how they can use the Cultural Navigator in the future. Short, specific examples of not only what the class did, but how they did it and why it mattered to students go a long way in painting a vivid synopsis of the course’s success.

5. Learn from others – Instructors may wish to talk to faculty at other colleges and

universities who have successfully deployed the Cultural Navigator. They may be willing to share how they built the case to invest in this powerful tool. TMC also offers live, virtual demonstrations of the Cultural Navigator to key decision makers.

Create unique ways to showcase the results of student engagement and learning outcomes.


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6. Consider COA certification – The Cultural Orientations Approach (COA) encompasses the principles, concepts and learning tools on which the COI and the Cultural Navigator are based. The COA certification process engages participants in a dynamic experience that blends multiple learning methods to gain individual cultural awareness and awareness of others. Similarly, it gives them the tools to gain cultural competence and to help others gain it too. A highly experienced facilitator leads participants through an engaging learning journey that includes self-paced work and synchronous formal training. The learning includes written and video case studies, research projects, peer-to-peer practice sessions, planning for on-the-job application, and advancement of the participants’ insights into the importance of cultural competence in achieving business objectives. Educators who become COA certified are able to learn about, integrate and leverage the Cultural Orientations Approach with their students. Certified practitioners also have access to the COA Practitioner community on social media, and are invited to participate in regular collaboration forums to share lessons learned and best practices. See more here: https://www.culturalorientations.com.

Exploring the Cultural Navigator Individually Faculty, deans, administrators, students and other interested parties are free to explore the power of the Cultural Navigator on their own without any obligation, by visiting the Cultural Navigator Explore site http://explore.culturalnavigator.com/features/. The site includes four one-minute videos that illustrate some of the most useful functions of the Cultural Navigator: the COI, the multi-step Learning Paths, the Country Guides and the Networks feature. Summary If colleges and universities are truly going to help students succeed in the global workplace, they have to go beyond simply teaching about mergers and acquisitions, supply-chain management, and international finance and accounting practices. They need to go deeper and help students understand their own individual cultural identities and communication preferences, and how they can bridge cultural gaps with those from different backgrounds in order to create synergies and collaborate effectively. Educators teaching those who are about to enter the diverse and globalized business world have a cultural imperative to help the world’s current and future leaders develop cultural competence. This is no easy task, but fortunately there are excellent resources available to meet this challenge. Learning platforms such as the Cultural Navigator and its constituent assessment, the COI, present excellent learning opportunities for students at any level. As this white paper has demonstrated, the Cultural Navigator is adaptable across any course and can be tailored to suit the needs of the class and the individual learner. The Cultural Orientations Approach is one of the powerful and unique ways instructors can



incorporate cultural competence into their already existing courses and find ways to demonstrate the outcomes of student learning at any level of education. Sources

(1) Economist Intelligence Unit (2012). Competing Across Borders: How Cultural And Communication Barriers Affect Business. Retrieved from http://www.economistinsights.com/countries-trade-investment/analysis/competing-across-borders

(2) Vande Berg, M., Connor-Linton, J., Paige, M.R. (2009). The Georgetown Consortium Project: Interventions for Student Learning Abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, Volume XVIII, pp1-75. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ883690

(3) University Alliance. Intercultural Management in the Global Economy (Part 2) A Discussion with Notre Dame Professor Elizabeth Tuleja. Retrieved from http://www.notredameonline.com/resources/intercultural-management/intercultural-management-in-the-global-economy-interview-2/#

(4) Advanced Specialized Certificate in Intercultural Management. Retrieved from http://www.notredameonline.com/programs/certificates/executive-education-programs/advanced-specialized-certificate-in-intercultural-management/

(5) IDI Inventory. Retrieved from: https://idiinventory.com/ (6) Tuleja, E. A. (2015). Intercultural Communication for Business. GlobeComm Publishing. (7) Hofstede, G. (1984). Cultural Dimensions in Management and Planning. Asia Pacific

Journal of Management, 1, 2, 81-99.

The Authors Elizabeth A. Tuleja is an expert in Intercultural Communication and Global Leadership. She holds a Master’s degree in Intercultural Communication and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Mendoza College of Business at University of Notre Dame, and has also been on the faculty of the Wharton School and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Besides teaching, she consults with a variety of clients such as Boeing, the US Marines, the US Army, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, AXA, Marriott International, Verizon, China Development Bank and HSBC. She is author of Intercultural Communication for Business and has a forthcoming book, Intercultural Communication for Global Leadership (Routledge, 2016). She posts a weekly business blog at http://globalbizleader.com (also found on LinkedIn Pulse). More information on her online executive certificate course that uses the Cultural Navigator and Cultural Orientations Indicator can be found here: http://www.notredameonline.com/programs/certificates/executive-education-programs/advanced-specialized-certificate-in-intercultural-management/. Daniel Basil Kerr is a Client Strategy Consultant at TMC/Berlitz. He partners with clients to develop cultural competence and inclusive workplaces. Dan develops customized solutions that include cultural assessments, cultural consulting, and learning and development programs delivered face-to-face and virtually. Before joining TMC in May of 2011, Dan was Deloitte’s Director of Global Development and was responsible for the


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design, content and delivery of Deloitte’s global partner development programs. The Working Across Cultures session Dan developed at Deloitte’s Global New Partner Seminar was recognized as a Global Best Practice by the United Nations in their recent Doing Business in a Multicultural World publication. Dan is a CPA (New York) and holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting from the CW Post School of accountancy and a Ph.D. in Business Education from New York University. Dan is also an adjunct faculty member at the College of Business at Stony Brook University.



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