Importance of Cultural Self-Awareness in Developing Cultural Intelligence

This critical reflection review discusses the importance of cultural self-awareness in developing cultural intelligence in the context of business. The essay reflects on how self-cultural awareness provides people with strong foundations through which communication that entails understanding one’s beliefs, perceptions, and values is enhanced. It also highlights how cultural intelligence in itself is a significant term for management, training, learning, and running of business operations. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of cultural intelligence in bridging communication gaps that exist within an organization's operations.

Running head: CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE 1
Critical Reflection Review
Student Name
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CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE 2
Write an essay to critically reflect on how and why cultural self-awareness is important to
develop cultural intelligence?
Introduction
Critical reflection essay of cultural self-awareness and its importance in developing
cultural intelligence has become diverse and increasingly global. In a world where multicultural
diversity of manpower is the boiling point in a space, it is crucial to comprehend cultural self-
awareness in order to develop a cultural intelligence for excellent communication and better
organizational standards (Clark, 2011). The awareness of diversity in the international context is
significant today than it was in the past because of many factors some of which include
diversification, globalization, growth, organizational culture and other processes. The subject
about why self-awareness has become to developing cultural intelligence has been necessitated
by increasing changes in today’s work situations. The essay will critically reflect on how and
why cultural self-awareness is important to developing cultural intelligence in the context of
business.
In this diverse world, all people that we meet possess their own culture different from our
own. Self-cultural awareness provides people with strong foundations through which
communication that entail understanding one’s beliefs, perceptions and values is enhanced
(Hampton, 2010). For example, during my internship period at Woolworths, an Australian based
Retail Company; I had a chance to interact with colleagues of different cultural backgrounds. We
all have different first languages something which made me learn many new languages.
However, the management established a uniform communication language in which we all
conformed to. I observed that my colleagues shown a great sense of direction by adjusting to the
set organizational culture that different from their own cultures. In this context, cultural
awareness helped in making people understand each other’s cultures and behavior something
which showed a great deal of cultural intelligence.
Self-cultural awareness has increasingly become important in building cultural
intelligence in a work setting. Cultural intelligence in itself is a significant term for management,
training, learning, and running of business operations (Lay & McGuire, 2010). For instance, my
tenure at Woolworths made me observe how the management has shown a great deal in the

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training and development of interns and other employees. My colleagues showed critical
capabilities of working in a cross-cultural environment in an effective manner and a huge
capacity to relate to people from other cultures (Macdonald, 2011). The advanced self-cultural
awareness by colleagues promoted cultural intelligence in the company. The management
measured interns’ intercultural performance to assist them in enhancing cultural intelligence for
the future generations within the company using performance appraisals. As a result, there was
increased understanding, productivity, work integration, and operational efficiencies hence
improved workforce productivity (Writing the sociology paper, 2005).
When a person is aware of cultural diversity and how it works, cultural intelligence is
promoted. An individual’s ability to adopt in a culture diverse environment depends with his or
her cultural awareness like knowledge of religious beliefs, social norms, and behavior, legal
systems, social linguistic and economic factors so as to advance his or her interaction with other
people in diverse environments (Ryan, 2011). In my stay at Woolworths, I observed how the
manager encouraged us to interact with each other so as to understand our differences in cultural
backgrounds. The manager advocated for both verbal and non-verbal communication ways
through cross-culture intelligence was used in the execution of effective communication
strategies in its diverse work environment. Cultural self-awareness helped in building the
company’s strategies of cultural intelligence and confronting any culture-related issues. I learned
that by making judgments about an individual's thought process so that of others, through self-
cultural awareness they can develop the cultural intelligence and strategize the accent, words,
tones, and greetings within the workplace (Taylor, 2001). In action, cultural intelligence entails
one's ability to adjust his behavior in a cross-cultural environment given their awareness thus
able to choose the right communication strategy likewise.
All people need to have self-cultural awareness in order to develop cultural intelligence
capabilities effectively. Cultural self-awareness involves one’s act of getting aware of his or her
cultural identity. Cultural self-awareness helps people understand their strengths, weaknesses,
biases, fears, motivations, and goals (Taipale, 2012). My experience at Woolworths made me
understand the importance of being aware of my culture and its significance for a cross-cultural
interaction. I understood that interaction with people helps in building the values and beliefs that
I form on other cultures, and this helps in developing my cultural intelligence. For example, if

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people see how Hip Hop music is important; mostly it is associated with all young people. This
has helped them in building their cultural intelligence as they strive to interact with their
colleagues. Therefore, once people understand the value of different cultures; this then enhances
their cultural intelligence hence able to interact with diverse culture people.
When people possess the sense of cultural intelligence, their intercultural self-awareness
grows. In my experience with the diverse workforce at Woolworths, I learned that people react
differently to different groups of cultures for they have different tastes, views, and perceptions on
the subject (Spencer-Oatey, 2012). Understanding behavioral differences of people help an
organization realize its core objectives. Different people have different aspirations with respect
to their perspective of satisfaction. In this perspective, the arrangement of organizational goals
and objectives on cross-cultural reference enables companies to enhance management quiet
suitably. The actual understanding of self-cultural awareness and diversities broadly help
companies in obtaining cultural intelligence required in bridging communication gaps that exist
within its operations in a more suitable way. I noticed that the adoption of proper cultural
intelligence enables people to handle new opportunities in the world with ease.
In conclusion, the world has been made a village as people from different backgrounds
continue to interact. In Australia itself, multiculturalism has taken the seat in all sectors. In such
vibrant environments, communication has turned out to be multi-cultural due to the advanced
multi-cultural awareness generations that run the world today. Self-cultural awareness has
elevated cultural intelligence into place. The awareness of cultural values and the obtainment of
proper cultural intelligence is the key to developing the world today. The self or others cultural
awareness is the subject for studies and research since many people wish to develop cultural
intelligence and competence for future business trends.

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References
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http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/development/reflection.html
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Lay, S., & McGuire, L. (2010). Building a lens for critical reflection and reflexivity in social
work education. Social Work Education 29(5), 539-550.
Macdonald, L. (2011). Critical reflective writing in social work Dalhousie University. Retrieved
from http://www.slideshare.net/dalwritingcentre/critical-reflective-writing
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Spencer-Oatey, H. (2012) What is culture? A compilation of quotations. GlobalPAD Core
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Taipale, S. (2012). Mobility of Cultures and Knowledge Management in Contemporary Europe.
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Taylor, E. (2001). Transformative learning theory: A neurobiological perspective of the role of

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