Kamba Culture

ST. PAUL’S UNIVERSITY NAIROBI CAMPUS

DAY PROGRAM

                                                                    

FACULTY OF BUSINESS, COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

COM 210: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

ASSIGNMENT: INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

ADM: BACS/NRB/3697/17

Intercultural competence

Introduction

Intercultural is something that occurs between people of different cultures including different religious groups or people of different national origins. Competence is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds effectively. (Ashara Morris, 2014)
Intercultural competence it is a symbolic, interpretive, transaction, contextual process in which people from different cultures create shared meanings that have the ability to develop targeted knowledge, skills and attitudes that lead to visible behavior and communication that are both effective and appropriate in communicating effectively and appropriately with people of other cultural: norms, rules, values and believes. The valued goals that are accomplished in
Intercultural competence are also called "cross-cultural competence". (Koester, J and Lostic, M. 2010)

Intercultural competence covers all fields of action in intercultural counseling or intercultural education in school, for example and more private contexts. In particular it resembles with the established definitions of intercultural competence in western research which in general refer to intercultural competence as consisting of a combination of effective, behavioral and cognitive factors.

Intercultural competence is based on definition of culture

Culture consists of both a visible and experience able part and invisible, but nevertheless also essential parts. Like an onion culture may include an outer layer of what people primarily associate with culture: the visible reality of behavior, clothes, food, language, housing, etc. as well as hidden layers containing the norms and values a society holds and deeper layers of basic assumptions and world views. By focusing on what was assumed to be an integrated, almost static whole of locality, group and culture, initially the expanded idea remained examined: culture was considered to be the way of life of a certain group of people in a specific setting, people who – because of their culture – consider themselves members of the same group and who – because of their culture – are different from other groups in other localities. This notion is often depicted as a global map with different discrete cultural groups, or as a mosaic, whose pieces are distinct individual cultures.

The Components of Intercultural Competence 

Characteristics of Traits

Some commonly cited traits of intercultural competence include: flexibility, humor, patience, openness, interest, curiosity, empathy, tolerance for ambiguity, and suspending judgment, among others.

Three Areas

Intercultural competence involves ability in three areas or domains: The ability to establish and maintain relationships, the ability to communicate with minimal loss or distortion and the ability to collaborate in order to accomplish something of mutual interest or need.

Four Dimensions

Intercultural competence has four dimensions; these include:  knowledge; (positive) attitudes; skills; and awareness.

Proficiency in another Language

Ability to communicate in a second or foreign language is important to the development of intercultural competence. Grappling with another language challenges how one perceives, conceptualizes, and expresses oneself; and in the process, it opens the possibility of developing alternative communication strategies on someone else's terms. This humbling process often results in transcending and transforming how one understands the world. Lack of a second language – even at a minimal level – constrains one to continue to think about the world and act within it, only in one's native system, and deprives the individual of one of the most valuable aspects of the intercultural experience.

Basic tools for improving intercultural competence

These tools helps one to improve their interpersonal interactions and will facilitate the development of intercultural relationships for on to become intercultural competent. (Koester, J and Lostic, M. 2010)

Display of respect: the ability to sow respect and positive regard for another person

Orientation to knowledge: the term people use to explain themselves and the world around tem

Empathy: The capacities to behave as though you understand the world as others do.

Interaction Management Task Role Behavior: skill in regulating conversations.

Relational role behavior: behaviors associated with interpersonal harmony and mediation

Tolerance for ambiguity: the ability to react to new and ambiguous situations with little discomfort.

Interaction posture: the ability to respond to others in descriptive non-evaluative and nonjudgmental ways.

Conclusion

The basic requirements for intercultural competence are empathy, an understanding of other people's behaviors and ways of thinking, and the ability to express one's own way of thinking. Intercultural communication offers the ability to deal across cultures, which is increasingly important, as the world gets smaller. ... Being able to deal with this cultural difference peacefully, never mind creatively and inventively, is becoming a survival issue to thrive in a global world as a global leader.

Reference

Leuven. U., Faculty of Arts, Blijde‐Inkomststraat 21, B–3000, Belgium. Pages 73-89 Published:

Morris. A,(2014) The Importance of Intercultural Competence. https://prezi.com/fodgvx28d0db/the-importance-of-intercultural-competence/: Published March 27, 2014.

Koester, J and Lostic, M. (2010). Intercultural Communication Competence. United States of America.