3. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
3
Cultural
assessment
tools
present
excellent
learning
opportunities
for
learners
at
any
level.
Differing
cultural
views,
such
as
how
we
perceive
competition
and
cooperation
–
or
any
other
cultural
value
–
will
affect
how
we
interact
in
today’s
side-‐by-‐side
global
marketplace.
Elizabeth
Tuleja
(3)
reflection to help alter their actions and reactions to situations, they can supplement
knowledge with the internal exploration of who they are.
With the reality of increased globalization, key opportunities exist for students in any
discipline who will soon enter a globalized workforce that requires cultural competence.
There is a cultural imperative that must be met. This white paper discusses the innovative
approach to teaching intercultural management at Notre Dame University’s Mendoza
College of Business through the use of the online learning platform the Cultural
Navigator® and its constituent assessment, the Cultural Orientations Indicator® (COI®).
BusinessEducation Today
In today’s business education sphere, there are a variety of students pursuing degrees at
various stages of life. For example, the Mendoza College of Business has students at these
levels:
BBA – Business students pursuing
a traditional four-year
undergraduate degree
MBA – Business students who return to
school after three to five years of
professional experience to pursue a
Master’s in Business Administration
EMBA – Adult business students in their mid-
30s to 50s with at least 15 years of experience, who hold management
positions, and who want to transition into leadership positions.
TheCulturalNavigator
The Cultural Navigator is a web-based learning platform for building and maintaining
cultural competence. It provides timely information and insights on a wide range of
global business and cultural topics that help users collaborate across geographical and
cultural borders. It is designed to provide a robust and unique learning experience.
Within the Cultural Navigator, business information is
organized by topic to increase the user’s confidence when
working with others who have a different cultural background,
and when working across borders. The platform includes
country guides that deliver a wealth of information on cultural
norms and management practices in over 100 countries. The
Cultural Navigator platform is designed to cater to a variety of
learning styles and provides collaboration and networking
opportunities to promote peer-based learning.
The cornerstone of the Cultural Navigator is the COI. This
online self-assessment gauges the user’s individual work-style
5. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
5
“The
nature
of
management
skills
is
such
that
they
are
culturally
specific:
A
management
technique
or
philosophy
that
is
appropriate
in
one
national
culture
is
not
necessarily
appropriate
in
another.”
Geert
Hofstede
(7)
their perspective on how to understand the issue and solve it. Students also take another
cultural assessment tool, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) (5), to determine
their level of cultural development when it comes to dealing with cultural differences, and
to write an Individual Development Plan for their final project. The text Intercultural
Communication for Business (6) supplements their learning.
EMBA COURSE: Intercultural Management. This course guides students through the process
of learning about their individual cultural preferences and comparing them to their
teammates’ in conjunction with country-specific learning. This is done in view of
consulting projects in Argentina, Brazil, China, Singapore and more. In the spring term,
students take their COI and IDI before the start of this 10-hour course, which is divided
into four segments, ahead of their international consulting projects in mid-summer.
During the course, students use the Cultural Navigator to create team aggregate reports,
which allow them to review any gaps in their cultural preferences that can hinder
teamwork. They also review the country profile for their target country within the Cultural
Navigator. Each team selects a company and specific project, for which they provide expert
consulting during a one-week in-country immersion experience. In the three to four
months preceding the immersion, students interact with their international counterparts
and continue to use the Cultural Navigator in developing their cultural competence. The
text Intercultural Communication for Business supplements their learning.
STUDYABROAD: Notre Dame BBA students have the
opportunity to participate in a six-week immersion course
in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. A group of
about 25 students participate in three or four sessions
using the COI and IDI to learn about cultural dimensions
and leadership, before spending six weeks in Asia.
This course focuses on the foundational aspects of
understanding culture in general, and Chinese culture in
particular. Throughout the immersion experience,
students attend lectures on culture, history and society
from faculty in the morning, and participate in company
visits in the afternoon. They also engage in readings, have
discussions with coordinating faculty, complete daily
journals, and then do an intercultural development plan associated with the COI and IDI.
LessonsLearned
There are lessons learned after years of facing the unique challenges that come with each
new curriculum.
1. Start small – Budgets are tight, and administrators often challenge why investing in
an intercultural learning tool like the Cultural Navigator warrants the financial
commitment. Helping administration see the need takes time. Rather than
developing a new program or course, it is wise to incorporate the Cultural
7. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
7
6. Consider COA certification – The Cultural Orientations Approach (COA)
encompasses the principles, concepts and learning tools on which the COI and the
Cultural Navigator are based. The COA certification process engages participants in
a dynamic experience that blends multiple learning methods to gain individual
cultural awareness and awareness of others. Similarly, it gives them the tools to
gain cultural competence and to help others gain it too. A highly experienced
facilitator leads participants through an engaging learning journey that includes
self-paced work and synchronous formal training. The learning includes written
and video case studies, research projects, peer-to-peer practice sessions, planning
for on-the-job application, and advancement of the participants’ insights into the
importance of cultural competence in achieving business objectives. Educators who
become COA certified are able to learn about, integrate and leverage the Cultural
Orientations Approach with their students. Certified practitioners also have access
to the COA Practitioner community on social media, and are invited to participate in
regular collaboration forums to share lessons learned and best practices. See more
here: https://www.culturalorientations.com.
Exploring theCulturalNavigator Individually
Faculty, deans, administrators, students and other interested parties are free to explore the
power of the Cultural Navigator on their own without any obligation, by visiting the
Cultural Navigator Explore site http://explore.culturalnavigator.com/features/. The site
includes four one-minute videos that illustrate some of the most useful functions of the
Cultural Navigator: the COI, the multi-step Learning Paths, the Country Guides and the
Networks feature.
Summary
If colleges and universities are truly going to help students succeed in the global
workplace, they have to go beyond simply teaching about mergers and acquisitions,
supply-chain management, and international finance and accounting practices. They need
to go deeper and help students understand their own individual cultural identities and
communication preferences, and how they can bridge cultural gaps with those from
different backgrounds in order to create synergies and collaborate effectively.
Educators teaching those who are about to enter the diverse and globalized business
world have a cultural imperative to help the world’s current and future leaders develop
cultural competence. This is no easy task, but fortunately there are excellent resources
available to meet this challenge. Learning platforms such as the Cultural Navigator and its
constituent assessment, the COI, present excellent learning opportunities for students at
any level.
As this white paper has demonstrated, the Cultural Navigator is adaptable across any
course and can be tailored to suit the needs of the class and the individual learner. The
Cultural Orientations Approach is one of the powerful and unique ways instructors can
9. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
9
design, content and delivery of Deloitte’s global partner development programs. The
Working Across Cultures session Dan developed at Deloitte’s Global New Partner Seminar
was recognized as a Global Best Practice by the United Nations in their recent Doing
BusinessinaMulticultural World publication. Dan is a CPA (New York) and holds a Master’s
Degree in Accounting from the CW Post School of accountancy and a Ph.D. in Business
Education from New York University. Dan is also an adjunct faculty member at the College
of Business at Stony Brook University.