FROM INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE AND CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE TO SUCCESS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION


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  • The authors:
    Svetlana A. Dubinko,
    Irina I. Klimova,
    Lizaveta A. Dubinka-Hushcha
  • Pages: 435-445
  • Section: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, DIGITAL EDUCATION AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
  • URL: http://conferences-ifl.rudn.ru/2686-8199-2020-7-435-445/
  • DOI: 10.22363/2686-8199-2020-7-435-445

The article examines such important components of successful business communication as intercultural awareness, intercultural competence, and cultural intelligence. Values and beliefs among other measurable elements of culture are examined. Models of linguistic and communicative behavior in various business cultures that are based on the study of various approaches to value categories are presented.

Intercultural awareness involves the disclosure and understanding of one’s own culturally determined behavior and mentality, as well as the behavior patterns of representatives of other cultures. This process includes not only the perception of similarities and differences in other cultures, but also the recognition of the intricacies of local culture or, as E. Hall emphasizes, our own “hidden culture” (Hall, 196: 162). R. Hanvey describes four levels of cross-cultural consciousness: awareness of superficial or very noticeable cultural traits (stereotyping), understanding of significant and subtle contrasting traits, which is additionally comprised of two separate levels, and awareness of the point of view of an insider regarding a given culture. Thus, Level 1 comes from initial or cursory observations of the culture such as those that come from reading magazines and travel guides or traveling as a tourist. Information gathered on this level is commonly interpreted with a level of surprise. Hanvey uses words “unbelievable”, “exotic”, and “bizarre” to describe the first impressions of a culture on Level 1. Level 2 is associated with conflict and feelings of frustration. We tend to interpret those cultural traits as “unbelievable”, “frustrating”, and “irrational”.

Following the initial clash with the cultural traits that engender conflict, the interpretation shifts to rationalization of those traits. Hanvey characterizes this interpretation at Level 3 with words “believable”, “reasonable”, “explainable”. On the 4 th Level the “transition to the homeland” happens. An individual fully immerses into the culture and becomes bicultural, interpreting cultural traits as “believable because of subjective familiarity”. Intercultural competence is a generic term for the ability to understand, value, and interact with people from different cultures. But in order to effectively use intercultural competence, it is necessary to develop cultural intelligence, relying on many valuable ideas received in the field of cultural competence (Livermore, 2015).

Keywords: intercultural competence, cultural awareness, cultural intelligence, values, beliefs

Svetlana A. Dubinko¹, Irina I. Klimova², Lizaveta A. Dubinka-Hushcha3

1 Belarusian State University (BSU)

Minsk, Belarus

2 Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation

(Financial University) Moscow, Russia

3 Copenhagen Business School

Copenhagen, Denmark

1 e-mail: dubinko@bsu.by ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7274-635X

2 e-mail: iiklimova@fa.ru ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5142-1890

3 e-mail: ld.egb@cbs.dk ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9834-6397

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