Cultural Awareness and Cultural Intelligence: Importance and Benefits

Cultural awareness and cultural intelligence are crucial for communication and leadership. Cultural self-awareness helps individuals recognize their values and beliefs, build novelty and regularity, and gain cultural quotient. It is important to understand other cultures for mutual and peaceful coexistence.

12/24/2018
Running Head: CULTURE 0
CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AND CAPABILITY

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Cultural awareness is a very comprehensive term and before considering this, it is
very important to analyse your own culture. In every society, there are numerous cultures
separated by religion, cast and gender (Aschieri, 2016). For every individual, cultural
awareness is important for the purpose of communication with people belonging to different
cultures. It also gives an individual recognition in the society by reminding of their cultural
values, beliefs and perceptions.
As people developed their cultural self-awareness, this also helps them to
acknowledge their preferences, identity and rules in relation to the accommodation towards
others cultures. It is very crucial for the normal growth of an individual. In addition, there are
some benefits for an individual understanding their culture beliefs. Firstly, these are the
values that the individual firmly upholds. Afterward, in leadership, when people acknowledge
their cultural philosophies, there is the outlook of them exploiting the principles or
philosophies in their respective style relating to leadership. Hence, if leaders is aware about a
negatively aspect during the course of leading, they will attempt to alleviate the impact of that
on their practice. Lastly, in organizations, culture awareness is significance in the nous that
one may be practicing in business with their culture expects wicked or immoral. The
important of culture awareness is very crucial, especially in the area of communication and it
also contributes to a key for the purpose of global thinking.
In addition, cultural intelligence is the capability of a person to succeed in a diverse
and global environment (Al-Jarrah, 2016). This ability is connected to the progression from
the certainly recognised philosophies of intellect quotient and emotive intellect. In terms of
leadership, it helps the individuals for delivering of effective leadership in an organisation.
Moreover, cultural intelligence plays an important role in various occasions and happenings
in the routine life of a person (Miriam et al., 2013). This also enhances the capability to
communicate openly with the individuals belonging to diverse cultures, persist dissimilar
beliefs, and therefore leading to positive understanding with each and every individual. The
philosophy of cultural intelligence requires an individual be aware of their own culture and
with other cultures too so as to analyse their thinking and behaviour. There is also a three-
step procedure in the progression of cultural intelligence – ruminating about culture, being
motivated to modify behaviour and performing applicably.
Cultural self-awareness develops one's values and beliefs. For example, a religion
name as Muslim is comprised of several numbers of values and beliefs divulged on the

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followers. Religion is an important aspect of culture splits across the globe. The religious
teachings contribute to an acceptance that there is a path that go beyond to life considering
religion and it is significant to undertake further life factors than Islam. For instance, some of
the other religions and cultural consortiums may not include the similar philosophies and
principles as Muslims (Stepin, 2015). The Hindu religion emphasis on associates of the
Hinduism community to hold every individual as their brothers and sisters. My religion is
Hinduism, where the individuals are considered as a part of God. This religion is 5000 years
old and constitutes one of the oldest world religion. In every religion, there are some basic
beliefs such as Good or Evil. However, my religion helps me to live my life with full dignity
and respect. Being a Hindu, I recognise that various cultures and religions are present in this
world which I yet need to acknowledge with their functions and their core values and beliefs
so that to gain important understanding in respect with mutual and peaceful coexistence. It is
one of the significant characteristic of cultural self-awareness and helps in the development
of cultural intelligence from vast areas and perspectives. Now I understand what my religion
stances and opinion and so I tend to evade various occurrences that make me bother and
therefore I can easily tackle circumstances due to adequate understanding relating to cultural
difference.
Secondly, cultural self-awareness builds novelty and regularity (Lee, 2015). When an
individual has unique characteristics, others can recognise them easily. This recognition
makes them feel cared, important and valued. These are various other aspects help in
developing cultural intelligence. For an individual, cultural self-aware is not an easy task as
various cultural aspects is unconscious. There are various other aspects also that support an
individual to identify other inimitability with the assumption that they are normal and do not
exist. (Magnusson et al., 2013) Lastly, with gathering of adequate information to one’s
culture endorses self-reliance and the process of gaining cultural quotient means rising insight
into the ways with the development of particular behaviour and language allowing effective
problem solving.
Now, it is important to understand why this supports individuals to be more culturally
intelligent. The cultural principles in a community is greatly upholds by the people. When
individuals consider that their culture is upright, they are inclined to examine other cultures
for the purpose of association. Human beings are naturally social and this helps them to
simply communicate with one another. (Pappamihiel & Pappamihiel, 2013). It is significant
for these individuals to recognise their values and other people’s cultures for the growth and

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continuation of a mutual relationship. There is also need for high moral standards so as to
help in interaction with some shared factors. Morals and ethics are significant in society, as
they constitute the foundation of peaceful communications. Therefore, the social nature of
human beings is the core reason for which cultural self-awareness impact cultural intelligence
with the interactions into their usual life (Ramsey et al., 2016).
In conclusion, Culture Awareness and Cultural Intelligence play a vital role in the
routine life of individuals and these cultures also moulded society with their positive values
and principles. There are various cultural beliefs in this domain and it is very significant to
build the required communication abilities with the help of cultural intelligence.

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References
Al-Jarrah, A. (2016). The Cultural Intelligence Level Among International Students In
Jordanian Universities. Educational Research Quarterly, 39(3), 23-39.
Aschieri, F. (2016). Shame as a cultural artifact: A call for self-awareness and reflexivity in
personality assessment. Journal of personality assessment, 98(6), 567-575.
Lee, J. (2015). Social and cultural self-awareness in spiritual direction: reflections of Korean
male spiritual director. Presence, 21(4), 40-46.
Magnusson, P., Westjohn, S. A., Semenov, A. V., Randrianasolo, A. A., &Zdravkovic, S.
(2013). The Role of Cultural Intelligence in Marketing Adaptation and Export
Performance. Journal Of International Marketing, 21(4), 44-61.
Miriam, E., Alon, L., Raveh, H., Ella, G., Rikki, N., &Efrat, S. (2013). Going Global:
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Stepin, V. S. (2015). Philosophy as Cultural Self-Awareness. Russian Studies In Philosophy,
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