Reflective Writing on Cultural Diversity and Competence

This reflective writing assignment delves into the student's journey of understanding cultural diversity and intercultural competence within the COMR2010 module. The essay reflects upon the learning elements, theories, and concepts covered, including Hofstede's cultural dimensions and Bennett's perspectives on intercultural communication. The student discusses their initial reactions to the learning resources, highlighting the challenges and insights gained from understanding mindfulness in intercultural interactions and positive/negative stereotyping. The assignment explores how new learning enhanced prior knowledge and experiences, particularly regarding nonverbal communication. Furthermore, it outlines the student's plans for further development, such as language learning, and how the module's content has contributed to their personal, social, and professional growth, influencing their future behavior in interpersonal and social interactions. The student concludes by emphasizing the importance of cultural competence in today's interconnected world.

Running head: REFLECTIVE WRITING
Reflective Writing
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Introduction
Reflection is an effective way of learning as it enables one to look back on the studied
material and relate it to real life (Griggs et al., 2018). In our modules we learnt different
aspects of Cultural awareness and understanding of cultural competence. Due to globalization
and technological advancement, the world has become small as people and places are more
connected. This leads to the growing importance of cultural competence and skills related to
intercultural interaction. This essay reflects on the module learning elements, the theories and
concepts that we learn and discern their relationship to real life experiences of personal and
professional life.
Discussion
My learning from the modules
The module contained materials related to intercultural intelligence and the
understanding of differences in culture. Intercultural understanding provided me with
knowledge that enabled me to understand that different cultures. We learnt about Hofstede’s
cultural dimension which differentiates between the cultures. The Hofstede’s cultural model
provides four dimension which helps in identifying cultural values, individualism
collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity-femininity (Dihl et al.,
2017). Through the learning of the module we learnt about how people behave in a cross
cultural scenario (Bennett, 1998). This article gave us critical understanding of the
differences in culture and the process through which individuals can manage intercultural
interaction.

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My initial reactions to the learning resources and activities
When I was first introduced to the learning resources, I felt overwhelmed thinking
that gaining cultural competence would be a near impossible job and I would not be able to
gain the skills necessary for becoming more culturally competent. The resources also
included understanding of mindfulness for intercultural interaction (Spencer-Oatey, 2013). I
realized that through mindfulness, not only cultural competence but also the understanding
and management of the module learning is also possible. My initial reaction also included
apprehension as I was learning new perspectives of intercultural competence which I believe
will help me in my future workplace and interpersonal relationships.
Most interesting or surprising aspect from the modules? Why?
The most interesting aspect of that I found in the module was from the article of
Bennett (1998), which gave me the idea of positive and negative stereotyping. Negative
prejudice is the discriminating or deriding a group for differences that cannot be controlled.
In this case people belonging to a particular culture is disrespected which creates further
boundary for intercultural communication. In positive stereotyping the observer respects the
cultural difference and thus is able to celebrate it. Another interesting fact that I observed
through the course work that interpersonal communication is mainly focused on person-to
person communication and thus is not concerned with mass media.
Fit of new learning with existing knowledge and experiences
The new learning that I gathered through the reading enhanced my previous learning
and experience. Through the reading of the Bennett (1998), I learnt about the assumptions
and processes of intercultural communication. This helped me in developing a better
interaction with people belonging to other cultures. For example, earlier I did not have clear
idea about the nonverbal aspect of communication which according to the writer is quite

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unexplored and under credited. Elements like voice, gesture, eye contact, spacing and touch
relay more message than verbal language.
Change of ideas as a result of learning
As a result of learning, I have started giving more thoughts about the nonverbal aspect
of communication. I have started observing the gestures that people make and how making
eye contact differs across culture (Sharma & Hussain, 2017). I have realized that people
belonging to low context cultures like USA and UK prefer to keep eye contact while talking
and it is often nonverbal cue for the other person to take over the conversation while in low
context culture, that is not the case.
Further learning
For further development of my cultural competence and interaction abilities, I think I
need to develop skills on language (Govender et al., 2017). Learning different languages will
help in better communication. Through learning of language, the cultural context can also be
understood. For example, in Japanese language there are different forms of “you” to denote
their status and position while in English, there is only one. This shows that Japanese culture
is much more power based and gives importance to societal status and age while in USA or
other English speaking countries, this differentiation is low.
Contribution of learning to my personal, social and professional development
Through the learning of the module I have been able to develop my cultural
competence as I understand about the prejudice, stereotypes that happen when we encounter
new culture and how to avoid them. This built my personal ability for cultural interaction and
increased my social skills (DiAngelo & Sensoy, 2014). Due to globalization, societies are
becoming more cross cultural and being able to communicate with them is a necessary
ability. This also improves my professional development as I will be able to use this

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knowledge and ability in my future workplace. Workplaces are also encouraging cross
cultural teams in order to ensure best talent retention and in this regard, this learning becomes
key to my success.
Influence of my learning to my future behavior or practices (100)
The learning influences my future behavior in both my interpersonal communication
and social communication. As I become more culturally competent I develop the empathy
that is needed in intercultural communication. In my workplace practice as well, this learning
will help me in becoming more patient and sympathetic in situations when people belonging
to different cultures are trying to find their place in the new environment (Presbitero & Quita,
2017). I have also become more emotionally equipped to handle cross cultural situations and
conflicts which will help me in future work experience.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that cultural competence and cultural
intelligence is an essential skill in today’s world. Both in personal and professional sphere,
this skill helps in better bonding and relationship building. Through the learning and
reflecting on the module content, I was able to develop better understanding of cultural
competence. My future plans regarding learning of new language will further help me in this
path.

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References
Bennett, M. J. (1998). Intercultural communication: A current perspective. Basic concepts of
intercultural communication: Selected readings, (1), 1-34.
DiAngelo, R. & Sensoy, O. (2014). Leaning in: a student’s guide to engaging constructively
with social justice content. Radical Pedagogy, 11(1).
http://www.radicalpedagogy.org/radicalpedagogy.org/Leaning_In__A_Students_Guid
e_To_Engaging_Constructively_With_Social_Justice_Content.html
Dihl, L., Testa, E. S., Knob, P., da Silva, G. L., Favaretto, R. M., de Alcântara, M. F., &
Musse, S. R. (2017). Generating cultural characters based on hofstede dimensions.
In 2017 IEEE Virtual Humans and Crowds for Immersive Environments (VHCIE) (pp.
1-5). IEEE.
Govender, P., Mpanza, D. M., Carey, T., Jiyane, K., Andrews, B., & Mashele, S. (2017).
Exploring cultural competence amongst OT students. Occupational therapy
international, 2017.
Griggs, V., Holden, R., Lawless, A., & Rae, J. (2018). From reflective learning to reflective
practice: assessing transfer. Studies in Higher Education, 43(7), 1172-1183.
Presbitero, A., & Quita, C. (2017). Expatriate career intentions: Links to career adaptability
and cultural intelligence. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 118-126.
Sharma, N., & Hussain, D. (2017). Current status and future directions for cultural
intelligence. Journal of Intercultural communIcatIon research, 46(1), 96-110.
Spencer-Oatey, H. (2013). Mindfulness for Intercultural Interaction. A compilation of
quotations. GlobalPAD Core Concepts. Available at GlobalPAD Open House.

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https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/globalpad/openhouse/interculturalskills/
mindfulness.pdf