Running Head: INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION ON CULTURAL SENSITIVITY 1

Individual Reflection on Cultural Sensitivity

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Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

Reflective Report.............................................................................................................................3

Future Plans.....................................................................................................................................5

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6

References........................................................................................................................................7
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Introduction

The world in which we live in today is interconnected with people from different parts of

the globe being able to travel, live and work in any part of the world. Today, it is commonplace

to find students, say from China flying to the UK or the US to take up their studies. Further, it is

equally common to find expatriates from Africa moving to Asia to work in a multinational

corporation. All of these movements of human capital have been made possible by globalization,

which has turned the world one big global village. As people move from their home countries

and settle in host countries, there is a likelihood that these people might be faced with challenges,

especially in culture.

Hofstede (2011) observes that different countries have their own national cultures. The

author defines the national culture as the behaviors, customs, norms, values, and beliefs shared

by people living in a sovereign nation like China or the UK. Understanding the host country's

national culture is an important undertaking that all global managers must take into account. The

first step towards achieving this feat is to develop cultural sensitivity. As a global management

student, I am persuaded that developing cultural sensitivity is very important. For this reason, I

will present a detailed reflective account of my developmental experience during the period in

which I have taken this course.

Reflective Report

As a starting point, it is important to state that as at the time I was enrolling for this course,

I only had a rough idea of the impact culture and cultural sensitivity can have on businesses. I

knew that different factors determined the success or failure of intercultural interactions at the

back of my mind, but I did not give it much of an attention. So, based on this confession, I

believe that my cultural sensitivity scores were pretty low. Understanding where I stood in terms
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of my appreciation for cultural sensitivity at the onset of this course was important because at

least I could see the gaps I had and could now develop a plan on how to fill these gaps. I have

decided to use what is taught to fill these gaps and transform me into a more culturally sensitive

individual.

One of the key reasons I opted to take this course is to help me learn how to become the

manager of the 21st Century. As has been stated in the introductory part of this report, I have

acknowledged that globalisation has faded the national and regional borders that previously

hindered people's movement from country to country and from one continent to another. The

mingling of persons from different cultures in the education, working and living space

necessitates learning how best to co-exist with these persons whose cultures are markedly

different from my own. To achieve this, I embarked on a journey of unlearning, relearning and

learning so that I too could be equipped with the necessary skills to integrate into this new world

of many different cultures. As an aspiring future manager, I have come to acknowledge the need

to learn how best to manage multicultural teams and do business across different cultures.

This course has provided me with the much-needed opportunity to unlearn some of the

previously held stereotypes. For instance, I once thought that people from the United States did

not show a good sense of teamwork to realise that this trait is not necessarily negative. The

American national culture tilted more towards individualism than collectivism. See, had I not

learned this through the lesson on Hofstede's cultural dimensions, I would not have known that

the Americans score higher on this dimension. So, I had to unlearn the stereotype and embrace

this new knowledge, guiding me the next time I interact with an American.

Perhaps I can say the various models on culture taught to us helped fill the gaps I had in

my understanding of culture, cultural diversity, and cultural sensitivity. For instance, I learned
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that cultural sensitivity is about having a sense of awareness and showing genuine care about the

culture of the people I interact with. I also learned that without being culturally sensitive, I would

not be able to communicate and interact with people from other cultures effectively. I was

excited to take up this course because of the promise it fronted that the students will develop

their cultural intelligence. I can confirm that I am more culture-aware today than I was when I

was starting this course.

Another important aspect learned in this course that will further improve my cultural

sensitivity scores was delivered through Berry’s acculturation model. From this model, a few

things stood out for me. First, I learned that it was possible to learn a new or foreign culture. I

learned that the desired state according to pursue integration when operating in a multicultural

environment. According to Berry (2005), integration results from an individual’s decision to

retain their home culture while at the same time accepting the host culture. I believe that it is

important to hold dear my own culture regardless of where I find myself, but at the same time, I

also believe that it is important to accept the foreign cultures in the places I find myself.

Future Plans

Presently, I am focused on learning as much as I can from this course and then based on

what I glean from the lessons taught; I will be able to develop a focused plan on how best to

elevate myself and become a culturally sensitive person. In the meantime, I am committed to

learning as much as I can from my peers and my seniors on how best to achieve the goal of being

a culturally sensitive person. I plan on taking up assignments that will see my work with people

from different parts of the world and people with cultures different from mine. As a social being,

I intend to befriend people from different countries, hoping that these friendships will enrich my

life with an appreciation of diverse cultures. I also plan on taking vacations to different parts of
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the world to experience these diverse cultures in the real world. As a developing professional, I

will take up more short-term courses as part of my CPDs to build on what I have learned from

this course.

Conclusion

In sum, the fact that the distance between people from diverse cultures has since been

bridged is reason enough to embrace and develop cultural sensitivity. This course has helped me

to fill the gaps I had before joining the course. The models and strategies taught will go a long

way towards shaping me into a more culturally sensitive person. I hope that when I graduate and

get to work in a multicultural organisation, I will put to action the lessons taught here. In the

meantime, I am committed to continuing honing the skills needed to become a culturally

sensitive manager of the 21st Century.

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References

Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International journal of

intercultural relations, 29(6), 697-712.

Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalising cultures: The Hofstede model in context. Online readings

in psychology and culture, 2(1), 2307-0919.