Cultural Awareness in Increasing Organizational Effectiveness

Leaders and Leadership
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Leaders and Leadership
Which quizzes did you take?
I did the cross-cultural work scenario test and the UK culture quiz. The results are attached in the appendix section of this paper.
Were you surprised at your score?
The score surprised me. The score indicated that I have adequate knowledge about cross-cultural work issues after scoring 100% in one trial. I am afraid this may not be the case because I have not exhausted all the cultural scenarios considering that there are several cultures globally (Noronha Cunha et al., 2020). For example, I do not have enough knowledge of the culture of indigenous people living in Africa. Therefore, the first quiz's score may not reflect my knowledge of intercultural work relationships.
However, the results on UK culture did not surprise me. I have interacted with different content on the UK culture because of its position in the global economic, political and social spheres. I scored 80%, failing two questions only.
What strengths do you think you have in intercultural awareness?
I identified two significant strengths that I have in intercultural awareness. The first one is communication. I prioritize communication in intercultural communication because it is the only way I can understand other cultures (O'Reilly, 2013). This helps me interact with them.
The second strength I identified is tolerance (Noronha Cunha et al., 2020). Cultures have different practices, some of which may be against our values. However, tolerance helps us cope with other cultures and learn their dos and don'ts, which is crucial for intercultural integration.
What weaknesses are you able to identify?
One weakness I identified is not being sensitive to other cultures. The difference in cultures needs one to be sensitive when interacting to avoid annoying or offending the party from another culture (O'Reilly, 2013). However, I lack this sense of sensitivity. I often address people from other cultures without filtering my words and questions, which prevents me from establishing a good and lasting relationships.
If there were gaps between your assessment results and your own thoughts about your level of cultural awareness, why do these gaps exist?
The gaps exist because of the nature of the questions asked in the assessment. In most cases, the questions come from the major cultures in the world that people have researched or interacted with in real life (O'Reilly, 2013). However, a challenge exists in other cultures that may be a minority but significant. For example, African cultures are different and numerous. The region is promising for investment because it is developing and has numerous opportunities (Noronha Cunha et al., 2020). This makes it crucial to learn about their culture. Therefore, questions focusing on African cultures may produce different results, thus the gaps in the assessment results and the level of cultural awareness.
Create a plan of specific, concrete actions you can take to build on your strengths and improve areas of weakness so that you improve your cultural awareness.
I would take two steps that I believe are crucial in building my strengths and improving my weakn...