We now live in a truly global, interconnected world in which every manager requires a high level of cultural intelligence. In a diverse work environment, a successful leader must understand the cultural backgrounds, beliefs and attitudes of the people around them – or run the risk of failing to achieve the organisation’s goals. This course, via structured learning activities (video lectures, quizzes, discussion prompts, industry interviews and written assessments), will teach you that those with high ‘cultural intelligence’ – are good at spotting cultural differences and adapt their behaviour accordingly. You’ll develop cultural intelligence and sensitivity – key future-focused capabilities required of every leader.
Overview
Syllabus
- Globalisation of people
- We are living in an increasingly globalised world, with growing flows of capital/business and people across national boundaries. What are the current state of development of global migration of capital and people? What are the important implications to businesses, communities and individuals? This week you will be introduced to the recent development in global migration of capital and people; the contributing factors to the changes over time; and consequences of global migration of capital and people. You will start by review the contemporary literature in these areas. You will also be exposed to the theoretical perspectives such as institutional approach and structural inequality framework in understanding global migration of business and people.
- Affinities and diversities
- Our communities and workplaces have become more diverse in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, and country of origin. How do you perceive diversity in your communities and workplaces? Does diversity mean different? This week you will be introduced the concepts of affinities in addition to diversities. You will have the opportunities to examine the commonalities that diverse groups of people share in their daily life and in workplaces. You will also apply the theoretical framework “cultural capital” (in Pierre Bourdieu’s “The Forms of Capital”) in understanding how diversity contribute to the societies and businesses.
- Developing Cultural Intelligence (CQ): Improving self
- Employees and business leaders nowadays are constantly interacting with people and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds. The cultural inclusion approach is adopted by many businesses and organizations to promote equity and fairness. What is your understanding of cultural diversity? Is diversity inclusion approach only for promoting the rights and opportunities for those who are disadvantaged? Are you aware of the values and benefits that people from diverse cultural backgrounds could bring to an organization? Do you know how to develop your cultural intelligence (CQ)? This week you will learn the importance of cultural intelligence (CQ) and the steps that you will need to take to develop your cultural strategic thinking and to cultivate your behavioural cultural intelligence.
- Applying and leveraging CQ: Leading others
- Being culturally intelligent is a key future-focused capability for today’s business leaders. In addition to developing their own cultural intelligence, business leaders need to learn how to leverage their cultural intelligence to effectively motivate and lead others in workplaces. This week you will learn the approaches and programs through which you apply cultural intelligence to effectively manage and lead culturally diverse teams or effectively interact with culturally diverse stakeholders. You will develop the competencies of evaluating cultural environments and strategizing responses accordingly. Attention will also be on the approach and framework for developing high-performing global teams
- Global citizenship challenges
- Being a citizen of our globalised and interconnected world could also face a series of challenges. Traditional institutions, such as the state, community, workplace, and family have all been affected one way or another by the global forces. The boundaries of nation states become increasing blurry and weakened with increasing dominance of transnational business activities and migration of people. For many, traditional family structures are disrupted and family members scattered around globe. All these changes affect individual behaviour and the interactions with each other. This week you will examine the major challenges brought about by globalised forces and develop the awareness of these challenges in a range of institutional settings.
- Global mindset and competence: Becoming a Global Citizen
- Cultural intelligence (CQ) is a competitive advantage that current and future business leaders need to acquire and cultivate. By consciously or unconsciously practicing and applying CQ in your workplace and daily life, you will become a true global citizen and business leader in a globalized world. In the final week of this course, you will apply all the knowledge we have learned so far and focus on some practical exercises on how to develop the mindset that is globally oriented and culturally sensitive. You will also further develop some skills in translating your individual global mindset to ethical conducts of businesses and organizations.
Taught by
Professor Fei Guo
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Reviews
4.0 rating, based on 2 Class Central reviews
4.8 rating at Coursera based on 205 ratings
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This is a class to learn in a group setting in a blended learning environment. Just watching lectures will be too boring. I was fortunate to take this class in a group setting with the Class Central cohort. Here, we had a cohort of students, a di…
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Good content but a rather boring set-up. Several academic concepts with too few practical examples and case studies.
They use a lot of stock photos instead of genuine practical examples.
The lecture I liked the most was 6.1 on global citizenship and mindful consumption.
