User:Vsusy89/sandbox

Summary Plan

The lead section will be improved in organization and structure. I will remove bullets and explain in paragraph format. Also, I will provide further support and eliminate uncited information.

I would like to rewrite the section “Basics.” First, it doesn’t have reference to the source of the information. During my research, I could not find a source that supported some parts of the information presented in this section, suggesting that the statements could be biased or based on personal opinion. Secondly, some information does relate to the topic; however, it is not presented accurately or comprehensively. Using two sources, “Becoming intercultural: exposure to foreign cultures and intercultural competence” and The Sage handbook of intercultural competence, I would clarify, expand, and support this information. Conclusively, I consider this section very important to understand and conceptualize intercultural competence, and it should have special attention.  

The section “Definitions” will be deleted from the article. This part does not count with a source, and the information relates intercultural competence to just business and organizations instead of presenting a comprehensive overview of the concept. Furthermore, some statements are not relevant to the topic and strongly represent the opinion of the writer. I could not find a statement in this section that would be significant or worthwhile to the article. Consequently, I believe that the section “Definitions” detriments the quality of the information and violates the principles of Wikipedia.  

In addition, I will improve the section “Elements.” It is important to notice that this section does not have a source as well; however, the main elements do relate to aspects of intercultural competence. On the other hand, these elements will be explained in the previous section “Basics” since they are part of the cognitive, behavioral, and affective processes that define intercultural competence. Based on that, this section will be combined with “Basics.” Secondly, several statements within the section could be considered as inappropriate or cause distress. I would like to remove those statements together with information that is not supported by reliable sources. Finally, I will add instead the section “Creating intercultural competence,” where specific skills of intercultural competent individuals will be explained, and support the section with The Sage handbook of intercultural competence.        

For the section “Cultural differences,” I will change the section’s title to “Cultural dimensions.” The word “differences” in the current title incites to compare and criticize cultures. I would also move the position of the section in the article for a better general structure. The whole section is based on a source extracted from a non-credible website. I would like to eliminate this source and replace it by The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence. Although parts of the information are accurate, the language is sometimes bias and unclear, and the format is not the best for the article. Some sentences are clearly plagiarized from other Wikipedia articles even though they are cited with a different source. Subsections such as Masculine/Feminine and their links to Wikipedia articles do not represent the real concept related to intercultural competence. I will eliminate the parts that I consider inappropriate based on my own research, replace the source, and write the section in paragraphs. In conclusion, I strongly recommend remodeling this entire section.  

For the section “Cross-cultural competence,” I will expand the information presented, verify the existing information, and evaluate the sources. First, using the article “Cross Cultural Communication,” it would be useful to explain when people engage in cross-cultural situations and how intercultural competence plays a main role in such interactions. This part will also explore the importance of intercultural competency while facing globalization and technological advances. In addition, I will mention the impact of the media industry and worldwide organizations in promoting cross-cultural interactions and understanding cultural differences.

As part of the same section, I will expand the information referring to the terms of ethnocentrism and ethnorelativism and their major differences. I will explain the steps in the evolution from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism and give the reasons of why some people can develop intercultural competence while others never improve. Depending on the length of this part, I may consider making it an individual section. Finally, the information will be extracted from the source “Becoming interculturally competent.”

In general, my major improvements for the article will focus on providing reliable sources and increasing background information. Other main issues with this article will be eliminating plagiarism, bias, and errors originated from uncited information. As a side note, the book Intercultural competence: Interpersonal communication across cultures is not mention in this summary plan due to conflicts with interlibrary delivery.

Addressing Jose's Peer Review

These are the changes made to the article draft that were suggested by Jose:

• Lead section: "The first sentence introduces effective intercultural competence and appropriate intercultural competence in this order, but the rest of the lead has them in reverse order. Perhaps it would make more sense to organize them in the same order for clarity and to avoid confusion from the readers."
• Basics section: "In the beginning of the second sentence from the third paragraph there is a typo using this instead of these. The only other concern I would raise here is in regards to the use of our and ours in the second and fourth paragraph."
• Creating intercultural competence section: "In the second sentence of this section, there appears to be a mistake by using this instead of these. Again, the use of our and ours may need to be reconsidered, this language is a change from the rest of the article and may reflect an essay format."
• Cultural differences section: "some of the bulleted points start with capital letters while other do not. This may be something to change to reflect a more consistent structure for this section, not addressing this may lead the reader to see this section as messy and so lead to the belief that this information may not be reliable."

Article Draft (modifications and additions in bold)

Intercultural competence is a range of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills that lead to communicate effectively and appropriately with people of other cultures.

Effective intercultural communication relates to behaviors that culminate with the accomplishment of the desired goals of the interaction.

Appropriate intercultural communication includes behaviors that suit the expectations of a specific culture, the characteristics of the situation, and the level of the relationship between the communicators.

Basics[edit]

Individuals that are effective and appropriate in intercultural situations display high levels of cultural self-awareness and understand the influence of culture on behavior, values, and beliefs. Intercultural competence is achieved through a set of skills that includes cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes.

First, cognitive processes imply the understanding of situational and environmental aspects of intercultural interactions and the application of intercultural awareness, which is affected by the understanding of the self and own culture. Self-awareness in intercultural situations refers to the ability of self-monitoring in such interactions. On the other hand, cultural awareness leads the individual to an understanding of how his/her own culture determines actions, thoughts, and personality.

Secondly, affective processes define the emotions that span during intercultural interactions. These emotions are strongly related to self-concept, open-mindedness, non-judgementalism, and social relaxation. In general, positive emotions generate respect for other cultures and their differences.

Finally, behavioral processes refer to how effectively and appropriately the individual directs actions to achieve communication goals. Actions during intercultural interactions are influenced by the ability to convey a message, proficiency with the language, flexibility and management of behavior, and social skills.

Creating intercultural competence

Intercultural competence is determined by the presence of cognitive, affective, and behavioral abilities that directly shape communication across cultures. These essential abilities can be separated into five specific skills that are obtained through education and experience:

1. Mindfulness: the ability of being cognitively aware of how the communication and interaction with others is developed. It is important to focus more in the process of the interaction than its outcome while maintaining in perspective the desired communication goals. For example, it would be better to formulate questions such as "What can I say or do to help this process?" rather than "Will they like me?"
2. Cognitive flexibility: the ability of creating new categories of information rather than keeping old categories. This skill includes opening to new information, taking more than one perspective, and understanding personal ways of interpreting messages and situations.
3. Tolerance for ambiguity: the ability to maintain focus in situations that are not clear rather than becoming anxious and to methodically determine the best approach as the situation evolves. Generally, low-tolerance individuals look for information that supports their believes while high-tolerance individuals look for information that gives an understanding of the situation and others.
4. Behavioral flexibility: the ability to adapt and accommodate behaviors to a different culture. Although knowing a second language could be important for this skill, it does not necessarily translate into cultural adaptability. The individual must be willing to assimilate the new culture.
5. Cross-cultural empathy: the ability to visualize with the imagination the situation of another person from an intellectual and emotional point of view. Demonstrating empathy includes the abilities of connecting emotionally with people, showing compassion, thinking in more than one perspective, and listening actively .

Cultural differences[edit]

See also: Geert Hofstede

Cultural characteristics can be measured along several dimensions that were defined by Geert Hofstede in his studies of cultural differences. The ability to perceive them and cope with them is fundamental for intercultural competence. These characteristics include:

Individualism versus Collectivism

• Collectivism
  • Decisions are based on the benefits of the group rather than the individual;
  • Strong loyalty to the group as the main social unit;
  • The group is expected to take care of each individual;
  • Collectivist cultures include Pakistan, India, Japan, and Guatemala.
• Individualism
  • Autonomy of the individual has the highest importance;
  • Promotes the exercise of one's goals and desires and values independence and self-reliance;
  • Decisions prioritize the benefits of the individual rather than the group;
  • Individualistic cultures are Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Masculinity versus Femininity

• Masculine Cultures
  • Value behaviors that indicate assertiveness and wealth;
  • Judge people based on the degree of ambition and achievement;
  • General behaviors are associated with male behavior;
  • Sex roles are clearly defined and sexual inequality is acceptable;
  • Masculine cultures include Austria, Italy, Japan, and Mexico.
• Feminine Cultures
  • Value behaviors that promote the quality of life such as caring for others and nurturing;
  • Gender roles overlap and sexual equality is preferred as the norm;
  • Nurturing behaviors are acceptable for both women and men;
  • Feminine cultures are Chile, Portugal, Sweden, and Thailand.

Uncertainty avoidance

• Reflects the extent to which members of a society attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing uncertainty;
• Uncertainty avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which a person in society feels comfortable with a sense of uncertainty and ambiguity.
  • High uncertainty avoidance cultures
    • Countries exhibiting high Uncertainty Avoidance Index or UAI maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas;
    • Members of society expect consensus about national and societal goals;
    • Society ensures security by setting extensive rules and keeping more structure;
    • High uncertainty avoidance cultures are Greece, Guatemala, Portugal, and Uruguay.
  • Low uncertainty avoidance cultures
    • Low UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles;
    • Low uncertainty avoidance cultures accept and feel comfortable in unstructured situations or changeable environments and try to have as few rules as possible;
    • People in these cultures are more tolerant of change and accept risks;
    • Low uncertainty avoidance cultures are Denmark, Jamaica, Ireland, and Singapore.

Power distance

• Refers to the degree in which cultures accept unequal distribution of power and challenge the decisions of power holders;
• Depending on the culture, some people may be considered superior than others because of a large number of factors such as wealth, age, occupation, gender, personal achievements, family history, etc.
  • High power distance cultures
    • Believe that social and class hierarchy and inequalities are beneficial, that authority should not be challenged, and that people with higher social status have the right to use power;
    • Cultures with high power distance are Arab countries, Guatemala, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
  • Low power distance cultures
    • Believe in reducing inequalities, challenging authority, minimizing hierarchical structures, and using power just when necessary;
    • Low power distance countries are Austria, Denmark, Israel, and New Zealand.

Short-term versus Long-term Time Orientation

• Short-term or Monochronic Orientation
  • Cultures value tradition, personal stability, maintaining "face," and reciprocity during interpersonal interactions;
  • People expect quick results after actions;
  • Historical events and beliefs influence people's actions in the present;
  • Monochronic cultures are Canada, Philippines, Nigeria, Pakistan, and U.S.A.
• Long-term or Polychronic Orientation
  • Cultures value persistence, thriftiness,and humility;
  • People sacrifice immediate gratification for long-term commitments;
  • Cultures believe that past results do not guarantee for the future and are aware of change;
  • Polychronic cultures are China, Japan, Brazil, and India;