Cultural Intelligence and Capability: A Detailed Discussion

This discussion post delves into the critical role of cultural intelligence and self-awareness in fostering effective communication and understanding across diverse cultural backgrounds. The author emphasizes that cultural self-awareness forms the foundation for navigating different cultures and appreciating individual uniqueness. The post uses personal anecdotes, such as the author's experience with a Muslim friend, and illustrative examples, like the cricket competition scenario of Rock and Jack, to demonstrate how cultural backgrounds shape individual approaches and perspectives. The author highlights the importance of understanding one's own culture and recognizing how external influences shape behaviors and opinions. The post concludes that cultural intelligence is essential for appreciating individual differences and adjusting behaviors accordingly, ultimately enhancing leadership and communication skills. The references provided support the arguments made within the discussion.

Running head: CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AND CAPABILITY 1
Cultural Intelligence and Capability
(Author’s name)
(Institutional Affiliation)

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Discussion
For one to develop cultural intelligence, it is integral for him/her have cultural self
awareness. The arguments presented in this paper provide insight into understanding other
cultures, other people’s perspective on particular issues, understanding the concept of individual
uniqueness and understanding ones one culture. Whereas cultural self awareness constitutes the
foundation of communication between different individuals, cultural intelligence reflects to the
capacity of an individual to understand and work effectively in different cultures.
Understanding the background of people entails knowing where the people come from,
their customs and cultures they practice in their daily lives. Obtaining this understanding will not
only help in the development of cultural intelligence capabilities but also help in avoiding
misunderstandings with individuals from different cultures. For example, during my childhood I
had a friend called Muhammad Khan who was a Muslim. Before meeting him I had a lot of
misunderstanding with regards to Islam and the practices of Muslims. The misunderstanding was
as a result of the negative portrayal of individual from the Muslim community by some of my
friends. Muslims were portrayed as cruel individuals who did not like individuals from other
cultures. This misconception was shattered when I started talking to Muhammad and realized
that Muslims are not the cruel people they are painted out to be but more or less like other
members of the society. In such situations, having cultural awareness helps one to better
understand peoples background and in doing so attain cultural intelligence.
Developing an understanding of individual uniqueness plays a significant role in the
attainment of cultural self awareness. Each and every person has his/her own way of approaching
and dealing with situations. This is influenced by their background, their home country, the food
they consume, the people they interact with on a daily basis, and the conversation he/she has

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with friends, relatives and partner. Other factors that influence how a person approaches a
situation include the level of education he/she has attained, the co curricular and sorting activities
he/she engages in, the environment he/she grew up in and many other factors.
An individual who has attained cultural self awareness is capable of understanding that
people are unique. Each person has his/her own back story and reasons that influence his idea
and or conclusion formulation. Through the use of his/her cultural intelligence an individual can
reach the realization that he/she should not make judgments or assumptions about other people
who are different from them. For example, a school cricket competition provides Rock and Jock
two novices who have never played cricket an opportunity to do so. The two are from different
backgrounds and each has his own approach towards preparing for their first ever match which
will be in one week. Rocks father is an exceptional cricket player and Rock has observed him
prepare for matches since his early years. Based on what he had observed his father do, Rock
approached the cricket net and started to practice his batting, fielding and bowling for one hour
each on day 1.
Through the practice he realized that he was good at batting and thus for the next six days
of practice he focused more on batting and less on bowling and fielding. Jack on the other hand
does not have a family member or friends with interest in sports. In conducting his practice, he
tried bowling for two days, fielding for two days and batting for two days. Through the practice,
he had a realization that he was good at batting but the realization only come three days to the
match giving him little time to practice further. Rock’s batting in the match was exemplary
because he had realized what he was good at earlier on than Jack and as a result he had sufficient
time to practice and perfect his batting. The practice approach that he utilized came from
observing his father and thus was influenced by his background. Based on the example it is

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evident that every person has a unique approach to attaining a particular goal which is based on
the person’s cultural self awareness.
Individuals should first venture to understand their own culture. A person needs to
understand his or her behaviour and how they express their cultural experience and knowledge.
The person also needs to develop an understanding of the reasons that compel him/her to make
certain conclusions on different topics. One of the major factors that shape a person’s behaviour
is how they are impacted on different instances by radio, news channels, social media, the
internet or various other forms of media. The impact that an individual has on different people
and countries is based in the experiences the person has obtained through the course of his life
and lessons learnt from forms of literature that helped the individual in forming an opinion about
the people. The opinion is usually formed absent of personal interaction with the different from
the different cultures or countries. By understanding oneself and cultural self awareness, one can
have the opportunity to understand how they are unique from others. Once a person understands
how he or she is different from other people, he/she can be able to adjust his/her behaviour as it
is required utilizing cultural intelligence.
Based on the arguments and examples presented above, it is evident that understanding
one’s own culture and realizing our cultural self awareness involves cultural intelligence. This is
essential in the realization that people are unique and have different perspectives based on their
cultural background. This has been clearly demonstrated in the example of Rock and Jack where
their approach towards practice was influenced by their background. It has also been
demonstrated in the example of my friend Muhammad where through the use of cultural
intelligence, I was able to effectively understand his culture and the fact they my earlier
perceptions regarding Muslims was misplaced. This insight was obtained through my

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interactions with him which were quite positive. Therefore it is my string belief that cultural self
awareness is integral in devaluing cultural intelligence.

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References
Spencer-Oatey, H. (2012). What is Culture?A compilation of quotations, GlobalPAD Core
Concepts.pages 1– 2 and 16-17
Russell, K.M. (2011). Growing up a third culture kid: A sociological self-
exploration, Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 9(1),
29-42.
Brislin, R., Worthley, R, & Macnab, B (2006). Cultural intelligence: Understanding
behaviors that serve people's goals. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 40-
55.
Quappe, S. & Cantatore, G. (2005). What is cultural awareness, anyway? How do I build it?
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%20Awareness.pdf
Holley, L.C. & Steiner, S. (2005). Safe space: Student perspectives on classroom
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64. doi:10.5175/JSWE.2005.200300343
Bruhn, J.G. (2005).Culture-brain interactions. Integrative Physiological & Behavioral
Science, 40(4), 243-254. doi:10.1007/BF02915218