Glossary

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Glossary Entries

Word(s)	Definition	Image	Caption	Link	Source
leaders	Individuals who guide or direct a group or an organization through activities that focus on innovation, vision, motivation, trust, and change.
Cultural intelligence	A tool that businesses can use to help leaders work though intercultural dilemmas and create understanding across and between cultures.
culture	The shared beliefs, values, and assumptions of a group of people who learn from one another and teach others that their attitudes, behaviors, and perspectives are the correct ways to think, act, and feel.
cross-cultural leadership	Leadership that focuses on understanding cultures within a global market.
team leadership	A leadership approach in which a team member is tasked with authority over other team members, providing guidance and direction either on a permanent or an intermittent basis.
organizational culture	The shared beliefs, assumptions, behaviors, and values that comprise an organization’s social and psychological environment.
interdependence	The connections and relationships between, among, and within systems, including cultural, political, legal, social, economic, and familial.
leaders	Individuals who guide or direct a group or an organization through activities that focus on innovation, vision, motivation, trust, and change.
Cultural intelligence	A tool that businesses can use to help leaders work though intercultural dilemmas and create understanding across and between cultures.
culture	The shared beliefs, values, and assumptions of a group of people who learn from one another and teach others that their attitudes, behaviors, and perspectives are the correct ways to think, act, and feel.
cross-cultural leadership	Leadership that focuses on understanding cultures within a global market.
team leadership	A leadership approach in which a team member is tasked with authority over other team members, providing guidance and direction either on a permanent or an intermittent basis.
organizational culture	The shared beliefs, assumptions, behaviors, and values that comprise an organization’s social and psychological environment.
interdependence	The connections and relationships between, among, and within systems, including cultural, political, legal, social, economic, and familial.
cultural system	The grouping of a culture’s rituals, traditions, ceremonies, myths, and symbols.
microcultures	A smaller unit of culture; often referred to as a subculture.
perspectives	Ideas or point of view based on one’s experiences and background.
mental programs	An individual’s patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting that have been learned throughout his or her lifetime. Sometimes referred to as softwares of the mind and mental models.
group think	A group dynamic in which the pattern of thinking conforms to the group’s values.
Symbols	Verbal and nonverbal representations that link human beings to each other. Because the meaning attached to symbols is arbitrary, different interpretations of a symbol can occur in different cultural contexts.
stereotypes	Statements and interpretations, usually negative, made about a group of people which limit that group to specific perspectives.
generalizations	Broad statements, either valid or faulty, that are based on facts, experiences, examples, or logic.
national culture	The values, largely unconscious and developed throughout childhood, that are held by a majority of the population within a nation.
regional subcultures	A subgroup of a national culture in which the characteristics of that subgroup are distinguished from those of another subgroup.
Organizational culture	A culture that is specific and unique to an organization, making that organization distinctive from competitors and non-competitors.
team level	The values, beliefs, and norms of culture exhibited on a team level.
individual culture	Individual differences that relate to an individual’s preferences for things based on culture and personal experiences, including the influence of family, peers, school, media, coworkers, and geographic region.
Values	Principles that guide individuals in their behaviors and actions.
assumptions	Beliefs and ideas that individuals believe and hold to be true.
culture shock	A state of distress or confusion experienced when an individual is unprepared for a cultural situation or environment.
Cultural value dimensions	Five elements—identity, power, gender, uncertainy, and time—that provide a perspective of culture.
identity	A cultural value dimension that refers to the attention of groups or individuals toward group needs versus individual needs as well as toward individual achievement and interpersonal relationships.
collectivist cultures	A type of culture that places importance on decision making, conflict resolution, and negotiation based on group needs rather than individual preferences; doing things for the group rather than for one’s self; a lack of personal disclosure; group public image in social contexts; and maintaining relationships.
power	A cultural value dimension that refers to the strict rules that establish the types of relationships individuals have with one another.
gender	A cultural value dimension that represents two paradigms of thinking and practice about the world in relation to the traditional values associated with gender roles.
uncertainty	A cultural value dimension emphasizing that cultures are either oriented toward uncertainty or toward creating certainty and stability.
time	A cultural value dimension that speaks to how communities are oriented to space and time, including their tendencies toward traditions and the past, and their orientation toward the future and the present.
Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE)	An international group of researchers and social scientists who study multicultural value dimensions, especially how those dimensions are expressed in different cultures.
cultural system	The grouping of a culture’s rituals, traditions, ceremonies, myths, and symbols.
microcultures	A smaller unit of culture; often referred to as a subculture.
perspectives	Ideas or point of view based on one’s experiences and background.
mental programs	An individual’s patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting that have been learned throughout his or her lifetime. Sometimes referred to as softwares of the mind and mental models.
group think	A group dynamic in which the pattern of thinking conforms to the group’s values.
Symbols	Verbal and nonverbal representations that link human beings to each other. Because the meaning attached to symbols is arbitrary, different interpretations of a symbol can occur in different cultural contexts.
stereotypes	Statements and interpretations, usually negative, made about a group of people which limit that group to specific perspectives.
generalizations	Broad statements, either valid or faulty, that are based on facts, experiences, examples, or logic.
national culture	The values, largely unconscious and developed throughout childhood, that are held by a majority of the population within a nation.
regional subcultures	A subgroup of a national culture in which the characteristics of that subgroup are distinguished from those of another subgroup.
Organizational culture	A culture that is specific and unique to an organization, making that organization distinctive from competitors and non-competitors.
team level	The values, beliefs, and norms of culture exhibited on a team level.
individual culture	Individual differences that relate to an individual’s preferences for things based on culture and personal experiences, including the influence of family, peers, school, media, coworkers, and geographic region.
Values	Principles that guide individuals in their behaviors and actions.
assumptions	Beliefs and ideas that individuals believe and hold to be true.
culture shock	A state of distress or confusion experienced when an individual is unprepared for a cultural situation or environment.
Cultural value dimensions	Five elements—identity, power, gender, uncertainy, and time—that provide a perspective of culture.
identity	A cultural value dimension that refers to the attention of groups or individuals toward group needs versus individual needs as well as toward individual achievement and interpersonal relationships.
collectivist cultures	A type of culture that places importance on decision making, conflict resolution, and negotiation based on group needs rather than individual preferences; doing things for the group rather than for one’s self; a lack of personal disclosure; group public image in social contexts; and maintaining relationships.
power	A cultural value dimension that refers to the strict rules that establish the types of relationships individuals have with one another.
gender	A cultural value dimension that represents two paradigms of thinking and practice about the world in relation to the traditional values associated with gender roles.
uncertainty	A cultural value dimension emphasizing that cultures are either oriented toward uncertainty or toward creating certainty and stability.
time	A cultural value dimension that speaks to how communities are oriented to space and time, including their tendencies toward traditions and the past, and their orientation toward the future and the present.
Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE)	An international group of researchers and social scientists who study multicultural value dimensions, especially how those dimensions are expressed in different cultures.
ABCs of CI	Acquire, Build, Contemplate, and Do.
social intelligence	The ability and capacity to sense one’s inner state, feelings, and thoughts in relation to one’s social environment, and to react appropriately in that environment for social success.
adaptation	The ability to modify one’s self based on the culture and the environment.
Empathy	The ability to be aware of and understand an individual’s or a culture’s feelings, thoughts, perspective, and experiences.
ABCs of CI	Acquire, Build, Contemplate, and Do.
social intelligence	The ability and capacity to sense one’s inner state, feelings, and thoughts in relation to one’s social environment, and to react appropriately in that environment for social success.
adaptation	The ability to modify one’s self based on the culture and the environment.
Empathy	The ability to be aware of and understand an individual’s or a culture’s feelings, thoughts, perspective, and experiences.
Cognition	The ability to process information. Related to culture, the complete knowledge and experience an individual gains about cultural situations and the individual’s actions within those situations.
Metacognition	The knowledge an individual has about his or her own cognitive processes. Generally referred to as “thinking about thinking.”
Metacognitive knowledge	Self-awareness about knowledge that involves three aspects: learning processes and beliefs about learning, the task of learning and how information is processed, and strategies for learning and when they will be used.
metacognitive experience	An individual’s emotional response to learning, both in terms of progress made and the connection of new information to previous knowledge.
Metacognitive strategies	The methods an individual uses to monitor his or her progress related to learning and present activities.
strategic thinking	Reasoning related to creating strategies in line with the business and competitive goals of an individual or an organization in a global environment.
peer-learning	Working with peers to question and explore cultural interactions to resolve cultural problems.
Active listening	The ability of an individual to understand, interpret, reflect on, and respond to what that individual just heard.
Cognition	The ability to process information. Related to culture, the complete knowledge and experience an individual gains about cultural situations and the individual’s actions within those situations.
Metacognition	The knowledge an individual has about his or her own cognitive processes. Generally referred to as “thinking about thinking.”
Metacognitive knowledge	Self-awareness about knowledge that involves three aspects: learning processes and beliefs about learning, the task of learning and how information is processed, and strategies for learning and when they will be used.
metacognitive experience	An individual’s emotional response to learning, both in terms of progress made and the connection of new information to previous knowledge.
Metacognitive strategies	The methods an individual uses to monitor his or her progress related to learning and present activities.
strategic thinking	Reasoning related to creating strategies in line with the business and competitive goals of an individual or an organization in a global environment.
peer-learning	Working with peers to question and explore cultural interactions to resolve cultural problems.
Active listening	The ability of an individual to understand, interpret, reflect on, and respond to what that individual just heard.
Self-efficacy	An individual’s perceptions of his or her abilities to meet a personal goal he or she has set.
mindfulness	The capacity of an individual to be fully aware of all that one experiences inside the self (body, mind, heart, and spirit) and to pay full attention to what is happening outside the self (with people, in the natural world and our surroundings, and with events).
Mindlessness	A lack of attention or consciousness.
learned helplessness	A state of futility that follows the experience of multiple failures.
resiliency	The ability to recover from failures.
social role models	An individual who is successful, has accomplished a goal—even in the face of resistance and who serves as a model of the abilities needed to master the tasks to reach a goal.
cultural competency	The ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds.
Self-efficacy	An individual’s perceptions of his or her abilities to meet a personal goal he or she has set.
mindfulness	The capacity of an individual to be fully aware of all that one experiences inside the self (body, mind, heart, and spirit) and to pay full attention to what is happening outside the self (with people, in the natural world and our surroundings, and with events).
Mindlessness	A lack of attention or consciousness.
learned helplessness	A state of futility that follows the experience of multiple failures.
resiliency	The ability to recover from failures.
social role models	An individual who is successful, has accomplished a goal—even in the face of resistance and who serves as a model of the abilities needed to master the tasks to reach a goal.
cultural competency	The ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds.
self-concept	A general understanding of one’s self that is learned, organized, and dynamic. It is learned early in life, it categories one’s experiences and fits them in a way that makes sense to personal development, and it is actively shaped ongoingly by experiences.
inclusion	The act of including. In cultural interactions, it implies an acceptance of individuals from different cultures.
Cognitive dissonance	A state of discomfort experienced when an individual’s beliefs, ideas, or attitudes are incompatible with each other.
Blind spots	Things that an individual or group cannot see because they are hidden or because the individual or group chooses not to see them.
Linguistic relativity	The idea that language influences the perceptions and thoughts of people, which in turn affects their behavior.
silence	A critical communication device that plays different roles, depending on the cultural context.
self-disclosure	The degree to which individuals share personal information with others.
face	A concept related to interpersonal relationships that refers to one’s public image in social contexts.
Time	An important value dimension of culture that impacts the behaviors of people.
Storytelling	A means of communicating an individual’s, a group’s, or an organization’s vision, goal, or objective to listeners through the telling of stories.
self-concept	A general understanding of one’s self that is learned, organized, and dynamic. It is learned early in life, it categories one’s experiences and fits them in a way that makes sense to personal development, and it is actively shaped ongoingly by experiences.
inclusion	The act of including. In cultural interactions, it implies an acceptance of individuals from different cultures.
Cognitive dissonance	A state of discomfort experienced when an individual’s beliefs, ideas, or attitudes are incompatible with each other.
Blind spots	Things that an individual or group cannot see because they are hidden or because the individual or group chooses not to see them.
Linguistic relativity	The idea that language influences the perceptions and thoughts of people, which in turn affects their behavior.
silence	A critical communication device that plays different roles, depending on the cultural context.
self-disclosure	The degree to which individuals share personal information with others.
face	A concept related to interpersonal relationships that refers to one’s public image in social contexts.
Time	An important value dimension of culture that impacts the behaviors of people.
Storytelling	A means of communicating an individual’s, a group’s, or an organization’s vision, goal, or objective to listeners through the telling of stories.
reframing	A communication technique in which an individual shifts or reinterprets old thought patterns to revise an outdated or limiting belief, idea, or perspective.
Adaptive work	An aspect of cultural intelligence that requires a change in values, beliefs, and behaviors to move through conflicting values held by different groups.
consciousness	Awareness of one’s self, including one’s thoughts, feelings, and situation. This awareness can also apply to a larger group, such as a nation.
reframing	A communication technique in which an individual shifts or reinterprets old thought patterns to revise an outdated or limiting belief, idea, or perspective.
Adaptive work	An aspect of cultural intelligence that requires a change in values, beliefs, and behaviors to move through conflicting values held by different groups.
consciousness	Awareness of one’s self, including one’s thoughts, feelings, and situation. This awareness can also apply to a larger group, such as a nation.