Browsing by Subject "Cultural Intelligence"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    African American and West African males’ perceptions of mentoring: Exploring the role of Cultural Intelligence
    (2015-09) Omari, Abdul
    The current study used qualitative methods to explore the perceptions of mentoring for West African and African American males in Minnesota. A semi-structured interview protocol was used to conduct 16 in-depth interviews, which led to over 18 hours of interview data. Three research questions were addressed: How do West African and African American males define and describe mentoring? How do West African and African American males perceive their relationship with mentors in the Northern Star Mentoring Program? What do African American and West African males identify as characteristics of effective mentoring relationships? A total of 55 codes and 16 themes emerged. These themes were grouped into four domains. Several findings emerged about the mentoring process, mentoring relationships, mentoring effectiveness, and mentoring practices. Findings show that there are various definitions of mentoring, descriptions and experiences with the mentoring process, and various conceptualizations of effective mentoring. Second, there are large intersections between mentoring components. Third, mentors and mentees perceive a need for more than one mentor and recognize the effectiveness of having more than one mentor. Fourth, all mentoring relationships should be approached from an emic yet fluid perspective and assume that they all have unique dynamics and individual nuances. Finally, while there is an overwhelming need for mentors in multiple areas of a person’s life, participants perceive that mentoring during transitions could be the most impactful.
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    Crossing cultures: a qualitative Study of expatriate experiences with mentors during international assignments.
    (2011-05) Cooper, Diana C.
    In response to the changing global business environment and to contribute to scholarly work in the areas of expatriate adjustment, mentoring, and organization and employee development, this study explores ways expatriates experience mentoring and social support while working for multinational enterprises in different cultural contexts. Extant research on cultural dimensions, leadership development, and international assignees indicates that cultural factors affect work behavior and, thus, organization performance. In the wake of conflicting findings from studies on expatriates with mentors, hermeneutic inquiry was used to interpret narratives collected from thirteen international assignees of four nationalities to gain new knowledge about mentors in an international context. The findings indicate that the construct of mentors is defined by the cultural background of the mentor and protégé, calling into question “traditional measures” (Mezias & Scandura, 2005) of mentoring developed in the US scholarly community to assess mentor outcomes. The expatriates in this study showed an eagerness to learn and sensitivity to cultural differences, evolving into mentor roles themselves, guiding host country colleagues and home country leaders to find intercultural solutions to accomplish the organizational development goals. Although the integration of expatriate knowledge gained on overseas operations is at the core of leadership development lessons for those who aspire to roles as future global managers in transnational organizations (Adler, 2008; Bartlett & Ghoshal, 2003; Dalton, 1998; Harvey et al., 1999; Kanter, 1995) the majority of organizations represented in this study failed to go “beyond skill formation and competence creation, to embrace the diffusion and transmission of knowledge across borders and cultures” (Kamoche, 2000, p.769). These findings from the rich description of the expatriate experience reveal new knowledge, challenges and opportunities for study of organizations striving to build talent suitable for transnational leadership positions.
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    Culturally intelligent (CQ) teaching capabilities: CQ capabilities of Neighborhood Bridges teaching artists in urban classrooms
    (2017-05) Dahdah, Emily
    In 2016, Minnesota Public Radio reported that Minnesota has one of the highest public school achievement gaps in the country. Based on the aggregate results of the state-wide standardized testing scores in reading, math, and science, the state’s academic achievement gap between white students and students of color remained high and virtually unchanged from past years. For example, in one the largest urban school districts in the state where the research of this study is located, 75% of white students passed the test compared to less than 25% of black students. The causes of this substantial achievement gap are likely numerous. One cause may be related to a gap in relationships. Effective teaching is grounded in a strong student-teacher relationship, and developing these strong relationships in classrooms with significant cultural differences between teachers and students, families, and their communities can be challenging and requires a special set of capabilities. Using the cultural intelligence (CQ) framework as a way of conceptualizing the capabilities needed for developing relationships across cultural difference, this dissertation examines the teaching capabilities of a small group of teaching artists who, based on their average cultural intelligence scores, can be considered cultural intelligence exemplars. The core capabilities of teaching artists are discussed in relationship to their theoretical intersection of CQ capabilities in order to provide practical illustrations of CQ capabilities in the urban elementary-school classroom. While more research is needed, the cultural intelligence framework may prove to be a compelling way of identifying and cultivating capabilities in teachers that may contribute to a reduction in the achievement gap.