Abstract
In this chapter, we provide recommendations for developing practical models of cultural competence. The aim is to help researchers construct actionable models that are likely to be adopted by their intended audience. We describe principles from the literature on workplace competency model development, with examples drawn from our ongoing efforts to develop the Adaptive Readiness for Culture (ARC) model. The purpose of ARC is to set standards for training culture-general competence for U.S. military personnel. Culture-general competencies support professionals who need to go anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice and work effectively with members of diverse populations. Defining this specific purpose constrains the model to ensure relevance. ARC emphasizes pragmatic, malleable skills and knowledge that are germane to the job context. The model is grounded in critical incident interviews of accomplished military professionals. By eliciting challenging intercultural interactions from the job, we further ensure relevance to the work demands and language of the audience. And by sampling culture-general SMEs as defined by precise criteria, we are able to examine culture-general competence as distinct from region-specific proficiency. The considerations and approach of our studies provide a template for the development of similar models in other professional domains.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
We should acknowledge that attaining a sample of thousands that meets the stringent criteria for inclusion we described is unlikely to be feasible.
References
Anderson, J. R. (1983). The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., Koh, C., Ng, K. Y., Templer, K. J., Tay, C., & Chandrasekar, N. A. (2007). Cultural intelligence: Its measurement and effects on cultural judgment and decision making, cultural adaptation and task performance. Management and Organization Review, 3(3), 335–371.
Bennett, M. J. (1986). A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10, 179–196.
Bhawuk, D. P. (1998). The role of culture theory in cross-cultural training a multimethod study of culture-specific, culture-general, and culture theory-based assimilators. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 29(5), 630–655.
Bolden, C. A. (2012). The marine FAO program. Marine Corps Gazette, 96(6), 71–74.
Campion, M. A., Fink, A. A., Ruggeberg, B. J., Carr, L., Phillips, G. M., & Odman, R. B. (2011). Doing competencies well: Best practices in competency modeling. Personnel Psychology, 64, 225–262.
Chi, M. T. (1997). Quantifying qualitative analyses of verbal data: A practical guide. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6(3), 271–315.
Cushner, K., & Brislin, R. W. (1996). Intercultural interactions: A practical guide (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241–266.
Deardorff, D. K. (2009). Synthesizing conceptualizations of intercultural competence. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 264–269). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Earley, P. C., & Peterson, R. S. (2004). The elusive cultural chameleon: Cultural intelligence as a new approach to intercultural training for the global manager. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 3(1), 100–115.
Endicott, L., Bock, T., & Narvaez, D. (2003). Moral reasoning, intercultural development, and multicultural experiences: Relations and cognitive underpinnings. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27(4), 403–419.
Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. A. (1993). Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 327–358.
Hammer, M. R., Bennett, M. J., & Wiseman, R. L. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27, 421–443.
Hoffman, R. R., Crandall, B., & Shadbolt, N. (1998). Use of the critical decision method to elicit expert knowledge: A case study in the methodology of cognitive task analysis. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 40(2), 254–276.
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F, I. I. I., & Swanson, R. A. (2014). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Matsumoto, D., LeRoux, J., Ratzlaff, C., Tatani, H., Uchida, H., Kim, C., & Araki, S. (2001). Development and validation of a measure of intercultural adjustment potential in Japanese sojourners: The Intercultural Adjustment Potential Scale (ICAPS). International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25, 483–510.
McClelland, D. C. (1973). Testing for competence rather than for “intelligence”. American Psychologist, 28, 1–14.
Osland, J. S., & Bird, A. (2000). Beyond sophisticated stereotyping: Cultural sensemaking in context. Academy of Management Executive, 14, 65–79.
Perkins, D. N., & Salomon, G. (1989). Are cognitive skills context bound? Educational Researcher, 18, 16–25.
Rasmussen, L. J., & Sieck, W. R. (2015). Culture-general competence: Evidence from a cognitive field study of professionals who work in many cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations.48, 75–90.
Rasmussen, L. J., Sieck, W. R., & Duran, J. L. (2015). A model of culture-general competence for education and training: Validation across services and key specialties. Yellow Springs, OH: Global Cognition.
Rodriguez, D., Patel, R., Bright, A., Gregory, D., & Gowing, M. K. (2002). Developing competency models to promote integrated human resource practices. Human Resource Management, 41(3), 309–324.
Saldaña, J. (2012). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (No. 14). New York: Sage Publications.
Schraagen, J. M., Chipman, S. F., & Shalin, V. L. (2000). Cognitive task analysis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25(1), 1–65.
Schwartz, S. H. (2014). Rethinking the concept and measurement of societal culture in light of empirical findings. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45(1), 5–13.
Sieck, W. R., Smith, J. L., & Rasmussen, L. J. (2013). Metacognitive strategies for making sense of cross-cultural encounters. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(6), 1007–1023.
Spencer, L. M., & Spencer, S. M. (1993). Competence at work: Models for superior performance. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Spitzberg, B. H., & Chagnon, G. (2009). Conceptualizing intercultural communication competence. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 2–52). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Van Oudenhoven, J. P., & Van der Zee, K. I. (2002). Predicting multicultural effectiveness of international students: The multicultural personality questionnaire. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 26, 679–694.
Ward, C., & Fischer, R. (2008). Personality, cultural intelligence and cross-cultural adaptation: A test of the mediation hypothesis. In S. Ang & L. Van Dyne (Eds.), Handbook of cultural intelligence: Theory, measurement, and applications (pp. 159–173). Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
Yates, J. F. (1990). Judgment and decision making. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sieck, W.R., Rasmussen, L.J., Duran, J.L. (2016). Considerations and Best Practices for Developing Cultural Competency Models in Applied Work Domains. In: Wildman, J., Griffith, R., Armon, B. (eds) Critical Issues in Cross Cultural Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42166-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42166-7_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42164-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42166-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)