Critical Reflection Awareness and Intelligence

Question: Discuss about the Critical Reflection Awareness and Intelligence. Answer: Introduction This essay explains definitions of relevant terms used to study culture. It mainly focusses on cultural awareness and intelligence. Several arguments and issues have been raised within the paragraphs which describe real-life cases. For instance, a debate about similarities and differences of cultures. The impacts of cultural beliefs, social interactions and values are discussed. By the end of the essay, one should be able to eliminate cultural barriers to success by adopting appropriate strategies. It is a critical and reflective paper. The term culture refers to artificial objectives, decisions and elements which have assisted individuals of a certain tribe or community to survive comfortably(Cantatore, 2005). This comprises both self-awareness and intelligence which are essential elements for the community. Cultural self-awareness refers to the groundwork of conversation, and it entails the ability to stand again for ourselves and being aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions (Adler, 2005). On the other hand, cultural intelligence refers to features and expertise of men and women who alter quickly, with minimal stress, once they interact substantially in cultures (Macnab, 2006). Therefore, when studying a culture for any community, it is crucial to put the two aspects into consideration. Russel (2011) says cultural self-awareness is an essential element of cultural intelligence in that people should be aware that all persons are not the same. There are very many communities in the world which have distinct beliefs, regulations and perceptions(Spencer-Oatey, 2012). Therefore, a person should be aware of the other communities culture especially when he or she visits them. Due to cultural diversity, certain aspects of life may not be the same. For example, planning and decision making may be affected by the culture. In the workplace, people should accept diversity by suspending judgments to obtain information first. The appreciation of cultural diversity in the workplace will facilitate and accommodative environment where all people can work with each other harmoniously. Moreover, empathy, regular checking of assumptions and doing away with ambiguities are ways in which one can exercise to celebrate diversity (Adler, 2005). Cultures can have similarities as well as differences. Beginning with the similarities, all cultures are said to be the foundations of a community. Communities derive their identities from their culture(Russel, 2011). The rules and beliefs are based on it. Moreover, cultures are assumed to be perpetual; they are passed from one generation to the other (Macnab, 2002). That means people are born, live and die but their descendants adopt the culture. Further, habits make people develop experiences. Once a person learns his or her culture, it is kept in mind, and the person hardly goes against it. However, cultures tend to be different regarding diets, dressing and worship. Misunderstandings may arise when one does not have cultural awareness and intelligence values to understand others (Adler, 2005). Cultures can be said to be mono or polychromic in nature (Taipale, 2012).The first one refers to the kinds of people who only do one thing at a time. For example, whenever there are burial ceremonies in most African communities, almost all people stop their operations to attend the funeral. The latter is utilized by the white people where their culture allows them to perform many tasks at the same time. To reach the same goal, people must have cultural awareness values to perceive perspectives. Assumptions, core values and realizable artefacts have to be identified to improve on cultural intelligence (Spencer-Oatey, 2012). Cultural awareness can be used to improve ones knowledge by taking into consideration other peoples values. For example, a person may have poor communication skills such as inappropriate dialogue and gestures (Flanja, 2009). Secondly, speakers should have adequate knowledge of their audiences when giving speeches. This is significant since some speeches may be in contrary to the cultural beliefs of the listeners. For practical cultural intelligence, languages, social norms and arrangements have to be considered. They sum up to social interactions and cultural practices. For example, the Muslims speak Arabic, worship in mosques and have a unique dressing style (Wilson, 2013). It is, therefore, wise for people to accept other cultures, especially in organizations to concentrate on the objectives of the firm. At schools, students should utilize cultural intelligence to recognize and cope up with the behaviors of others (Macnab, 2006). Social issues such as discrimination, racism and segregation hinder individuals from reaching their goals. Cultural intelligence helps one to discover that he or she has to cope with people. Emotions, Cognitions and peoples behavior have to be regulated by the individual to create social relations with his or her colleagues. An example is demonstrated in Asia where business card exchange is practiced to encourage better social relations (Macnab, 2006). For success to be attained, appreciation of the other peoples activities is a critical element. Setting aside cultural differences, an African young person can assist an adult especially on education matters and get appreciated. People can assume some cultural activities for the purpose of success. (Flanja, 2009) Says the European have embraced on unity by having an official flag, currency, learning institutions and TV stations. Although they comprise of different cultures, they are brought together by unit and work towards driving the ir country forward. To be successful, a person has to distinguish between human nature and personality. (Spencer-Oatey, 2012) Narrates by an aid of a pyramid that culture lies in between. It interlinks the two. Human nature is said to have been inherited while culture is learnt. A combination of the two gives ones personality. To assist in achieving the goals in the daily life, much focus is allocated to the cultural activities since they have a greater impact on peoples personalities. Culture initiates contingency. In this case, latter refers to an occurrence of an event or activity due to an action of another. Its results are derived from an action of another related activity. (Flanja, 2009) Explains that cultural contingency can occur due to cultural shock. If a person locates to a new area, it will take some time to learn the culture. Therefore, he or she may lack basic knowledge and as a result be unwilling to interact with the other people. Some people spent years of learning and working in different geographical places. As a result, they develop cultural awareness and stocks of knowledge to various cultures. Such people are defined as third culture kid (K.R, 2011). Having learnt the art equips one with cultural intelligence which assists in places of work, schools and during socializations. Another example illustrating cultural contingency is the cooperative test administered to students. Such tests have been reported to have increased students knowledge unl ike the usually individualized style exercised in the North America and Western Europe (Macnab, 2006). Conclusion To conclude, culture is a learning element where a group of people passes it to the subsequent generation. Culture is diversified throughout the world; each society has its own. For a person to have social intelligence, he or she must first understand cultural awareness to equip him or her with enough knowledge on various cultures. Such people generate contingency at places of work, school and when interacting with the others. They make it easy to achieve goals, objectives and dreams. Therefore, culture is a fundamental aspect that each person should embrace to be able to live with others peacefully. References Adler. (2005). What is Cultural Awareness, anyway? How do I build it? Where Growing Minds Go Global, 1-3. Cantatore, Q. a. (2005). You and Culture. You and Culture, all. Flanja, D. (2009). Culture shock in intellectual communication. Cluj-Napoca: Babes-bolyai university. K.R. (2011). A Sociological Self-Exploration. Growing Up A Third Culture Kid, 29-42. Macnab, B. (2006). Understanding Behaviors. In R. W. Richard Brislin, Cultural Intelligence (pp. 40-55). Sydney: Sage Publications. Macnab, w. a. (2002). Brislin. 40-43. Russel. (2011). Experience:. 29-35. Spencer-Oatey, H. (2012). Some Key Characteristics of Culture. What is Culture, 1-21. Taipale. (2012). Knowledge. 173-178. Wilson, J. (2013). Bringing the full spectrum and spirit of muslim culture into scholarship. islamic marketing, 4.