 Cross-Cultural Sensitivity

Cross-Cultural Sensitivity is a natural by-product of awareness and refers to an ability to

read into situations, contexts, and behaviors that are culturally rooted and be able to react to them
appropriately. Suitable response necessities that the actor no longer carries his /her own
culturally determined interpretations of the situation or behavior (i.e. good/bad, right/wrong)
which can only be nurtured through both cross-cultural knowledge and awareness.
Cross-Cultural Sensitivity, also sometimes referred to as cultural sensitivity or simply
cultural awareness is the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures and others'
cultural identities. It is related to cultural competence (the skills needed for effective
communication with people of other cultures, which includes cross-cultural competence). It is
sometimes regarded as the precursor to the achievement of cultural competence, but it is a more
widely used term than cultural competence. On the individual level, cultural sensitivity enables
travelers and workers to successfully navigate a different culture with which they are interacting.
Cultural sensitivity counters ethnocentrism and involves intercultural communication and
other skills. Many countries' populations include minority groups comprising indigenous peoples
and immigrants from other cultures, workplaces, educational institutions, media, and
organizations of all types are mindful of being culturally sensitive to these groups. Increasingly,
training is being incorporated into workplaces and students' curricula at all levels. The training is
usually aimed at the dominant culture, but in multicultural societies may also be taught to
migrants to teach them about other minority groups, and it may also be taught to expatriates
working in other countries.
Having cultural sensitivity doesn’t mean somebody needs to be an expert in all cultural
values. It means that we are willing to learn and practice empathy rather than judging people
around us. We need to do several things in advance to stay away from miscommunication. Since
we have learned about Cross-Cultural Sensitivity, now we need to know the fundamental
patterns of cultural differences. The fundamental patterns of cultural differences are:

1. Different Communication styles

 The way people communicate varies widely, even within a particular culture. The verbal
and nonverbal communication style varies across the globe. For example, even in countries that
share the English language, the meaning of ‘yes’ varies from ‘maybe, I will consider it’ to
‘definitely so’.
Some Americans consider a raise in tone to be a sign that a fight has begun, while some
Italian Americans often feel that it is a sign of an exciting conversation between friends.

2. Different Attitudes towards Conflict

Some cultures view conflict as a positive thing, while others view it as something to be
avoided.

3. Different Approaches to Complete Tasks

There are different ways that people move to complete tasks. Some reasons include
different access to resources and different judgments of the rewards associated with task
completion. Also, it involves different notions of time and task-oriented work

4. Decision-Making Style

The roles individuals play in decision-making vary from culture to culture. When
decisions are made by groups of people, majority rule is a common approach in the US. On the
other hand, in Japan agreement is the preferred mode. But, be aware that individuals’
expectations in decision-making may be influenced by cultural norms.

5. Approach to knowing

Different approaches to knowing different things could affect ways of analyzing a

problem and finding ways to resolve it. Some people prefer library research while some others
prefer to explore and learn.
 6. Attitude towards disclosure

In some cultures, it is not appropriate, to be frank about emotions, about the reason
behind a conflict or personal issues. Keep this in mind when you are working with others.

Why is cultural sensitivity important?

Having cultural sensitivity is important because we need to respect and appreciate the
culture of the people we meet or visit. This helps to improve our understanding of our new
surroundings and to adapt to the changes faster. However, it is also important not to forget our
own culture while we are adopting others.
Some companies have branches or employees across the globe. So, it is important to
focus on cultural sensitivity in the workplace to create a sense of unity. This helps colleagues
work better together.

 Cross-Cultural competence

Cross-Cultural competence is and should be the aim of all those dealing with
multicultural clients, customers, or colleagues. ’Competence’ is the final stage of cross-cultural
understanding and signifies the actor’s ability to work effectively across cultures. Cross-cultural
competency is beyond knowledge, awareness, and sensitivity in that it is the digestion,
integration, and transformation acquired through them, applied to create cultural synergy within
the workplace.

Cross-cultural competence refers to the knowledge, skills, and affect/motivation that

enable individuals to adapt effectively to cross-cultural environments. Cross-cultural competence
is defined here as an individual capability that contributes to intercultural effectiveness
regardless of the particular intersection of cultures. The concept may overlap with that of so-
called cultural agility. Although some aspects of cognition, behavior, or effect may be
particularly relevant in a specific country or region, evidence suggests that a core set of
competencies enables adaptation to any culture (Hammer, 1987).
 Cross-cultural competence is not an end in itself but is a set of variables that contribute to
intercultural effectiveness. Whereas previous models have tended to emphasize subjective
outcomes, by focusing primarily on adjustment, outcomes of interest here include both subjective
and objective outcomes. Objective outcomes, such as job performance, have been addressed in
previous research, but to a lesser degree than subjective outcomes. Research indicates that the
outcomes are linked, with personal and interpersonal adjustment linked to work adjustment,
which has in turn been linked with job performance (Shay & Baack, 2006). However, these
relationships are small, and some research has demonstrated that subjective outcomes can
diverge from objective outcomes (Kealey, 1989), with expatriates sometimes showing relatively
poor adjustment but high effectiveness in their organizational role.

Cultural competence leads to more effective teaching. As participants become more

diverse, they are most likely to benefit from the different teaching strategies. But trainers will not
cue into these differences and address them appropriately unless they use the students’ culture to
build a bridge to success in the training environments. Culturally competent trainers
contextualize, or connect to their participants through everyday experiences, and integrate
learning with out-of-school experiences and knowledge. For learners to be able to make a
connection between their culture, knowledge, and skills, they should focus also on the
knowledge they acquire outside the school. To advance the main competencies which are
identified as important for intercultural communication, especially in an educational
environment, we should bring them down as follows:

 Observing, identifying, and recognizing;

 Comparing, and contrasting;
 Negotiating meaning;
 Dealing with, or tolerating ambiguity;
 Effectively interpreting messages;
 Limiting the possibility of misinterpretation;
 Defending one’s point of view while acknowledging the legitimacy of others;
 Accepting difference.
 Intercultural competent are the participants who possess the above-mentioned capacities
that can be classified under knowledge (cognition), attitudes (emotions), and skills (behavior)
and who are also able to:

 To look at the culture through their point of view (i.e. Have a good understanding and
awareness of their own culture);
 Understand, or see the target culture from its perspective (i.e. Understand and be
aware of what other people think of their own culture);
 Be aware of how they see the target culture.

Source:

 Kashish Chadha. (2020, 5 July). “Cross-Cultural Sensitivity: Importance and

Awareness”, accessed on 13 September 2022, https://www.eatmy.news/2020/07/cross-
cultural-sensitivity-importance.html
 Wikipedia.org. (2021, 17 December). “Cross-cultural competence”, accessed on 13
September 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-cultural_competence
 Wikipedia.org. (2022, 28 May). “Cultural sensitivity”, accessed on 13 September 2022,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_sensitivity
 Martina Durljanova. (2020, 29 March). “Promoting cultural competence”, accessed on 13
September 2022, https://www.trainerslibrary.org/promoting-cultural-competence/