***HR CLASS PAPER HELP***

To complete part 1 of your assignment:

1. Complete the INCA survey.

2. Next, compare your results with the INCA answer key.

3. Write a 1-page reflection about the results of your survey. Explain the survey and how your results relate to each of the 3 cultural competency strands.

INCA is an acronym for Intercultural Competency Assessment. The purpose of the INCA survey is to examine your intercultural awareness.

Intercultural competence – what does it mean?

Intercultural competence enables you to interact both effectively and in a way that is acceptable to others when you are working in a group whose members have different cultural backgrounds. The group may consist of two or more people including yourself. ‘Cultural’ may denote all manner of features, including the values and beliefs you have grown up with, your national, regional and local customs and, in particular, attitudes and practices that affect the way you work.

Three key strands of Intercultural competence:

1. Openness: includes respect for otherness and tolerance of ambiguity.

To be open means to be open to the other and to situations in which something is done differently. You can tolerate your partner as being different and doing things differently.

2. Knowledge: includes knowledge discovery as well as empathy.

You not only want to know the ‘hard facts’ about a situation or about a certain culture, but you also want to know, or you know something about, the feelings of the other person. You also know how your interlocutor feels.

3. Adaptability: includes behavioral flexibility and communicative awareness.

You are able to adapt your behavior AND your style of communication

The INCA survey addresses the following characteristics of Intercultural Competence:

· Communicative Awareness

· Respect for Others

· Empathy

· Behavioral Flexibility

· Knowledge Discovery

· Tolerance for Ambiguity

After completing the survey, use the following to determine YOUR OWN cultural awareness level:

Respect for Others: basic level can be identified by the following behaviors:

· Addresses only one culture.

· Describes the behavior of one person as negative (e.g. Mr. Parker is focused on pursuing his own interests)

· Criticizes one culture (e.g. ‘The Chinese can’t do business’) Sees one attitude towards work as the only correct attitude (e.g. Mr. Parker’s attitude ‘business is business’ is correct)

· Uses negative attributes to describe a person (e.g. ‘Mr. Wang is not a good businessman’)

· Mr. Parker should have addressed the importance of the business deal more clearly He should have made threats to leave the country without the deal

Respect for Others: intermediate level can be identified by the following behaviors

· Mostly addresses one culture, sometimes addresses both

· Describes the behavior of both persons as neutral

· Does not criticize the two cultures involved

· Sees one attitude towards work as better than the other, but also sees the other attitude

· Does not use negative attributes for any person from either culture

Respect for Others: full level can be identified by the following behaviors

· Describes both cultures (e.g. both persons come from different cultural spheres with different but equal rules)

· Identifies rules from both cultures (e.g. typically direct way of speaking in English vs. typically indirect way of speaking in Chinese; pocketing the business card right away is seen by Mr. Wang as impolite)

· Appreciates and respects the values and norms of both business partners (e.g. both should show more respect for the other person’s culture)

Next, analyze your results and determine what levels you have for communicative awareness and empathy.

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