WHAT ARE CULTURAL VALUES?

Cultural Intelligence (CQ®) is becoming a ‘must have’ for working and leading in the 21st
century world. Understanding cultural value preferences makes the difference in whether you
thrive or struggle in today’s multicultural contexts. The first step toward developing your CQ is
to understand your cultural values.
Simply put, Cultural Values (CVs) are preferences people have for how they navigate life.
These values indicate how people prefer to interact, communicate, plan, and complete tasks. By
understanding and comparing your preferences with the preferences of others, you will develop
insights that can help you improve your own interpersonal effectiveness. Cultural Values (CV)
preferences are neither good nor bad, rather they describe how you prefer to do things.
THE CULTURAL VALUES DIMENSIONS
The cultural values feedback report provides you with feedback on your individual cultural value
orientations. Cultural value dimensions include:

Individualism/Collectivism
Individualism versus Collectivism is the extent to which you think of yourself primarily as an
individual versus primarily as a member of a specific group (e.g., your family or work group).

Power Distance
Power Distance is the extent to which you prefer a flat, egalitarian approach to leadership versus
a more top-down, hierarchical leadership style.

Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty Avoidance is the extent to which you prefer to be flexible and adapt to changing
circumstances versus reducing and avoiding uncertainty

Cooperative Competitive
Cooperative versus Competitive is the extent to which you prefer to achieve results
collaboratively versus competitively

Time Orientation
Time orientation is the extent to which you prefer to focus on immediate results versus results
that may come several years later

Context(Direct/Indirect)
Context is the extent to which you prefer communication that is explicit, direct, and clear versus
communication that is more indirect, emphasizes harmony, and saving face

Being/Doing
Being versus Doing is the extent to which you prefer quality of life versus proactively working
toward goals

Universalism/Particularism
Universalism versus Particularism is the extent to which you prefer to apply the same standards
to everyone versus making exceptions for friends and family

Expressiveness (Neutral/Affective)
Expressiveness is the extent to which you prefer to hide your emotions versus show them.

Focus (Monochronic/Polychronic)
Focus is the extent to which you prefer to do one thing at a time versus multitasking.

What Is Cultural Bias?

Cultural bias is the interpretation of situations, actions, or data based on the standards of one's
own culture. Cultural biases are grounded in the assumptions one might have due to the culture
in which they are raised. Some examples of cultural influences that may lead to bias include:

 Linguistic interpretation
 Ethical concepts of right and wrong
 Understanding of facts or evidence-based proof
 Intentional or unintentional ethnic or racial bias
 Religious beliefs or understanding
 Sexual attraction and mating
Social scientists, like psychologists, economists, anthropologists, and sociologists, seek to
identify cultural differences in their research in order to better inform their interpretation of data.
For example, an economist might seek to explain disparities in life expectancy between different
cultural groups or communities through the lens of the cultural biases in the healthcare system.

3 Examples of Cultural Bias

Cultural bias is pervasive in our everyday lives. Here are a few examples of cultural bias:

1. At the workplace. Cultural biases in the hiring process may lead to less racial or
cultural diversity in the workplace. Hiring managers seek to eliminate cultural biases in a
number of ways, including hiding names or pictures from resumes (making them
anonymous) and using diverse interview panels.

2. In public. Some cultures perceive certain hand gestures or prolonged eye contact as a
sign of disrespect, whereas other cultures may assume that those who do not shake hands
or look into someone’s eyes are being rude or evasive. The assumption that one set of
norms is correct may lead to cultural bias when interacting with people from a different
culture.

3. At school. cultural bias in schooling might lead educators to assume that all students
have had the same education, and thus can be judged by the same educational standards
(like with standardized testing). This type of bias does not take into account other factors
like poverty, accessibility, or language ability.

https://culturalq.com/products-services/assessments/cultural-values-profile/
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/understanding-cultural-bias