CUC107: Critical Reflection on Developing Cultural Intelligence

This essay critically reflects on the importance of cultural self-awareness in developing cultural intelligence. It begins by defining cultural self-awareness and cultural intelligence, exploring their relationship based on assigned readings. The reflection delves into the author's own cultural background, examining the influence of family, religion, and society on their values, beliefs, and behaviors. The author discusses how understanding one's own cultural biases and assumptions is crucial for effective cross-cultural communication and interaction. The essay concludes that cultural self-awareness is a vital component of cultural intelligence, enabling individuals to adapt to diverse environments and build meaningful relationships in an increasingly multicultural world. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and past papers for enhanced learning.

Running Head: CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AND CAPABILITY 0
Cultural Intelligence and Capability

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CRITICAL REFLECTION
Cultural awareness is a very broad term and before understanding this, there is a need
to analyse our own culture. There are numbers of different cultures in our society which is
also divided between caste, religion and society. Cultural awareness is necessary when we
have to communicate with the people of different cultures. It reminds oneself of its cultural
values, beliefs and perceptions which gives an individual – ‘a recognition in the society’. In
this essay, I am trying to describe my own culture with the help of a bond and connection
between my religion, family and society.
The most important aspect of our life is our family and it also plays an important role
in our life. The basic understanding and knowledge is a gift to me given by my family. They
also show me the significance of the hard work and how it will pay off. Under the umbrella
of human knowledge, the action is created by the combination of information and human
context (Estin, 2017). My family gave me the direction and knowledge which help me to
come this far and also support in the future. My father is the businessman and he always takes
an honest path. I always saw him adopting all possible ethical practices in his business and he
always gives priority to loyalty and honesty over everything. In his social life, he earns a lot
of respect and always lives with dignity. His personality is also very influential and that’s
why I learned a lot from him and try to acknowledge the knowledge he passed to me. This
knowledge is a combination of experiences.
Culture is the next very influential aspect of my life. A culture is a collective
phenomenon which included an individual or social behaviour, beliefs, values and symbols
and it is accepted by all the members of society through a continuous communication and
thus pass from generation to generation (Geertz, 2008). I came from a small city which is
located in southeast Asia. My country is on the emerging path and here people dream are
quite small but the culture strength is very high. The festivals in our culture are the main area
which helps our people in developing a deep understanding bond with one another (Richards
& Vallbona , 2007). The people believe in our culture are that their thinking which shows
that’s human bond and communication is very necessary and thus the festival of our country
depends upon the involvement of people. We believe that the unity in our society and beliefs
in our religion is the most significant part of our culture.
The third aspect which assists me to understand my culture is my religion. A religion
is a unified system which includes various patterns of beliefs and practices that guide human
behaviour and gives a recognition along with a community of believers (Foucault, 2013). It
serves as a means of social control and gives an individual a strength and hope in the dark
shadows of fear. A religion can help an individual in maintaining solidarity and keep the
tradition alive in the face of globalizing western culture (Vorster, 2015). My religion is
Hinduism where all the human beings are considered to be as a part of god. It is the oldest
major world religion which is 5000 years old. Every religion focus on some basic beliefs like
Good and Evil. My religion helps me in living my life with full dignity and respect.
The final component which is a frame around me and guides the relevant behaviour to
be followed is my Society. Society consists of a group of people having a social interaction
and sharing a social territory and geographical location and framed by a common culture

CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AND CAPABILITY 2
(Inglehart, 2018). It creates the feeling of “WE” and also promotes cooperation and
interdependence in a human behaviour. One of the important benefits of the society is that it
supports the group of individuals in various ways. Society helps me to learn various aspects
of the life and they also shaped my behaviour. My culture and behaviour are highly
influenced by the society. It also helps me to gain knowledge to live with other people and
make a common dependence. In my opinion, society is not a group of individual, but it is the
structure of the relationship that exists between the groups of individuals. So, every member
of the society has an equal importance.
Cultural awareness is a very sensitive term which required the understanding of
people who have different behaviours, beliefs, traditions, attitudes and allow them to build a
logistic relationship so that a person can be successful in this dynamic and diverse
environment (Winkler, 2017). The society in which we live is a multicultural society which
people from different cultures live together and also work effectively together in many ways.
Diversity can be seen as a challenge or opportunity in a workplace. It is the perspective of an
individual who influences one another to achieve better results. We need to be aware of these
environmental aspects and try to make a best possible result out of this. For increasing more
cultural awareness, we need to organize celebrate several events. To be a part of these events
around us will also help an individual to generate more cultural awareness. Culture awareness
is important as it gives a chance to an individual to adapt and adjust the changes in the society
(Sirva, 2017).
In conclusion, with the help of this essay, I tried to reflect my own cultural awareness
which shows a consistency connection between the culture, family, religion and society.
These four aspects support me and bring better knowledge of cultural awareness. As I got
aware and understand my own culture helps me in showing appropriate awareness to other
different cultures. Cultural awareness also help an individual to diminish the cultural
differences and help all to be receptive and responsive. In my opinion, cultural awareness
greatly influenced my behaviour by making me self-adaptive and self-aware and guide me to
create good relations with the other members of this ever-increasing multicultural society.

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References
Estin, A. L. (2017). The Multi-Cultural Family. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Foucault, M. (2013). Religion and Culture. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Geertz, C. (2008). Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. In The
Cultural Geography Reader, 41-51.
Inglehart, R. (2018). Culture Shift in Advanced Industrial Society. New Jersey: Princeton
University Press.
Richards , G., & Vallbona , M. C. (2007). THE MEANING OF CULTURAL FESTIVALS.
International Journal of Cultural Policy, 13(1), 103-122.
Sirva. (2017). Importance of Cross Cultural Awareness. Retrieved from https://www.forum-
expat-management.com/users/50831-sirva/posts/18869-importance-of-cross-cultural-
awareness
Vorster, H. H. (2015). Religion and Culture. In Nutrition for the Primary Care Provider, 111,
82-86.
Winkler, K. (2017). Globalization and the Need for Cultural Understanding. Retrieved from
https://bigthink.com/disrupt-education/globalization-and-the-need-for-cultural-
understanding