Importance of Intercultural Competence in International Business

IS INTERCULTURAL
COMPETENCE IMPORTANT
IN INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS. YOU SHOULD
SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER
WITH RELEVANT
ARGUMENTS BASED ON THE
ACADEMIC LITERATURE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Importance of intercultural competence in the international businesses.....................................1
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

Importance of intercultural competence in the international businesses
Intercultural or cross-cultural competence in international business refers to the attributes
in an individual which helps them survive and build efficient communication in the multi cultural
environment around the globe. Intercultural competencies facilitates the understanding of various
cultures, traditions, languages, value sstems, norms and beliefs of diversified cultural
environment. The internal management and employees of the company must possess these skills
and abilities to develop cooperation and coordination while conducting the business with the
global companies (Pikhart, 2018). It is very important as shall be crucial for expanding the
business across various countries internationally to boost the profitability and growth prospects
of the company.
The revolution of globalization leading to the development of multinational companies is
one of the major drivers of need to build the intercultural competencies among the workforce of
the company. These capabilities have become the need of the hour and various training
programmes are conducted to train the staff regarding the same. These initiatives shall prove to
be effective in forming various growth opportunities that can be capitalized by the company to
fulfil their objectives (Ibrahimª, Abdullahb and Ismailc, 2016).
Intercultural competence is very essential in respect of international business because:- Building efficient lines of communication- The communication within the team of
culturally and linguistically different people can only be effectively facilitated if the staff
is well versed with the various languages and cultures. Apart from that if there is less
communication gap and misunderstandings then it shall be helpful in teamwork and
leadership. Develops growth opportunities- The intercultural competencies helps in planning various
expansion plans of capturing the target market across the world. This helps in smooth and
efficient functioning of the multinational companies and improves their sustainability and
operational efficiency in the business. Creates competitive advantage in the industry- The various attributes of the cross-
cultural competence like working with coordination, cooperation, harmony and mutual
respect shall be beneficial in generating competitive edge over others in the industry
(Szkudlarek and et.al., 2020).
1