Nicklaus Neff

OGL 350

Motivating to Learn and Learning to Motivate

Week 6 - Reading Summary

Current Topic: What would motivate someone to learn about other cultures?

Source: “How to Find Motivation to Learn about Other Cultures?” Project Abroad, 12 Oct.

2019, www.projectabroad.eu/how-to-find-motivation-to-learn-about-other-cultures/.

Credibility: Project abroad is a small blog run by Marta Zielinska who works in HR and

professional development. She is a Polish native who moved to London and works to spread a

message of acceptance and works to help people grow their cultural competence. She has a

background in corporate business and is a foreign worker and she is CQ certified.

Summary:

Why learn about another culture: There are many reasons why someone might want to learn

about a new culture. One reason could be that they simply want to experience diversity, or it

could be because of the job they are in.

For those who want to learn: It may be hard to find a reason to learn, but some people want to

because it interests them. In that case they should work to understand and become aware of

where behaviors come from and how they relate to other cultures. They would push themselves

to learn based on their intrinsic want to learn and they should motivate their team members and

those around them to learn as well.

For those who need to for work: Think of the learning less in terms of want and more in terms

of the benefits it may bring you and or your organization. Learning about other cultures opens

doors to new opportunities that you may have not seen before, which could ultimately benefit

you. Find external reasons to stay motivated, i.e. a bigger paycheck or a trip to another country

for an international meeting.

Cultural intelligence: By choosing to take the extra step and learn about other cultures, you may

inspire others to do the same. This in turn helps to raise the overall level of motivation because

you create a positive feedback loop. By learning, you can help motivate others to learn, and

seeing them learn can help motivate you to learn, all of which raises the total cultural intelligence

of your organization.

NNQ1: How do organizations benefit from a raised level of cultural intelligence?

NNQ2: What factors contribute to negative views on workplace diversity, what roadblocks can

arise when trying to implement diversity and integration?