A Model of Cultural Intelligence Evaluation (CI) for Leaders of Global Companies in Mission in Brazil

A Model of Cultural Intelligence Evaluation (CI) for Leaders of Global Companies in Mission in Brazil

Joemar Braga Alves

Master in Integrated Management Systems, Fluminense Federal University UFF Coordinator of the Graduation Course in Administration of Faculdade Gama e Souza FGS

Coordinator of the Technical Course of Administration of the Foundation of Support to the Technical School – FAETEC

Abstract – The global world, of this 21st century, allows us to speak instantly with people who are miles away. Factors that affect us can also affect people on other continents in the blink of an eye. Leadership learning can be learned by executives sitting in their offices across the planet. International companies need to operate in Brazil and have managers and directors who are assigned to hold leadership positions. The "IC", according to Livermore (2009): "is the ability to operate effectively between different national, ethnic and organizational cultures." And this is the point of this research that aims to build a model of cultural intelligence (CI) evaluation capable of measuring the levels of CI of foreign managers occupying positions of leadership in international companies in Brazil.

Keywords: Leadership, Cultural Intelligence, Organizational Culture and Performance

1. INTRODUCTION:

   In the business world, many managers who occupy high- level leadership positions operate in varied cultural backgrounds with a lot of expertise, now, looking across the face of the coin, there are leaders who can not adapt to new cultural settings . The global world reigns in most industries and thus impacts the entire managerial chain of organizations (Jeannet, 2000). Therefore, we can not rule out the importance of knowledge of culture in this new global scenario. Some leaders have a tremendous ability to do business with Americans, Europeans, Asians, and other peoples, while others are hardly able to deal with their own internal cultural variety. When the leader is able to adapt to a new culture and is able to develop effective work, all is well, but the biggest problem is when executives who are committed to operating in international branches can not read the new cultural environment they are inserted into and, as a result In addition, by occupying their position in the new organization they can lead to failure. It is at this point that this article arises that seeks to propose in future research the construction of a model of cultural intelligence (CI) evaluation for foreign directors occupying positions of leadership in international companies in Brazil. This study also seeks to understand if Cultural Intelligence can be used as a strategic tool in supporting these directors and if the developed model of IC evaluation for these directors, specifically for acting in Brazil can serve as a support for the improvement of the Performance of the multinational

   organization in the country in question. The "CI", according to Livermore (2009): "is the ability to operate effectively between different national, ethnic and organizational cultures." In this sense, due to globalization and the extreme speed at which negotiations take place on a global scale, senior executives are often charged with taking up positions in other countries that have never heard of it and ignorance of this new culture can affect development Of their work. Instead of allowing considerable time for executives to have a broad knowledge of the territory in which they will operate, the use of a conceptual model aimed at evaluating the cultural intelligence of these individuals may optimize this process of assimilation and adaptation to the new Culture of the country in which they were assigned to work; Facilitating, in this sense, a better adaptation of the leadership behavior of these executives in a more efficient and effective way. Cultural intelligence, while presenting itself as an executive skill, can also be seen as a general model for developing leadership among various cultures (Livermore, 2009).Therefore, we can say that leadership is a global challenge and in order to overcome this challenge, we need to develop cultural intelligence. We live in a competitive organizational world, where large transnational corporations compete in the most varied territories. These organizations need to operate in the most diverse cultures and their leaders need to have a multicultural mindset, a cultural intelligence capable of dealing with an extremely diverse workforce, and need to be aware of the transformations and new trends of that place. Cultural intelligence is not an end in itself, it is a north for executives to apply more effective leadership in a global, multicultural world. The global world of this twenty-first century allows us to speak instantly to people who are miles away from distance. Factors that affect us can also affect people on other continents in the blink of an eye. Leadership learning can be learned by executives sitting in their offices across the planet. International companies need to operate in Brazil and have managers and directors who are assigned to hold leadership positions. In this sense, many of these directors who are part of this national team must be prepared to face this new managerial challenge and, in this case, many Companies sometimes sin in their choices, as new directors may not understand the culture,

   may not have enough cultural intelligence to lead and lead their team to achieve their goals. Therefore, it is very important to develop a model of evaluation of the cultural intelligence of the mission leader in a foreign country so that, if there is any "gap" in this process of cultural assimilation, such gaps can be filled in time to prepare This executive in a more adequate way for this international work or, then, to point out failures in those who are already operating in the place. Cultural Intelligence (CI) is based on intelligence that relies on the strategic thinking in terms of cognition, behavior, and motivation that are needed in the workplace characterized by diversity in the present century (Earley & Ang, 2003). Leaders Who cross borders to work in other countries sent by global companies need cultural intelligence to manage multicultural groups. Directors of transnational corporations need to develop their "Global Mindset," that is, the set of attributes and characteristics that support the global leader to influence organizations, groups and individuals located anywhere on the globe. Global Mindset is currently considered a powerful tool that the manager can use to support his or her organizational development.Cultural Intelligence should support the manager for international leadership success. In counterpoint, those executives with low cultural intelligence may lead the organization to failure. Researchers have empirically demonstrated that Cultural Intelligence is an important element of performance predilection for leadership behavior in the international context. The cultural intelligence of mission managers overseas needs to be assessed prior to the mission and throughout the mission so that surgical interventions can be performed before problems occur that affect leadership and result in the failure of the international mission. According to Livermore (2012), one of the largest fast-food chains in the world, Mc Donald had to change its employee award system in its fast-food chain in India because the Western capitalist system highlights the best individual, or Who stands out in the group. Culturally, in order to be successful in a capitalist society the individual needs to excelin the group, on the other hand in a more collectivist culture, as in India, awards of the type employee of the month with the photo of the collaborator, at the place of Can negatively impact the group's leadership and the individual's acceptance by that group and possibly affect organizational performance. What is observed is that an unsuspecting manager can compromise the performance of an entire working group if he does not have enough cultural intelligence to understand that some countries have collectivist cultures and others more individualistic, in this case the managers of the Mc Donald's Network, Had to adjust their monthly employee award system in India, failing to reward the employee of the month and awarding the month's snack, that is, the group that met the established goals would be rewarded (Livermore, 2012). Issues such as these can quickly lead an organization to failure if the executive leader does not have sufficient cultural sensitivity to make the right decision. For a long time it was believed that the leader stood out for his innate abilities but today a leader with his own characteristics can be rejected by the group and suffer harsh penalties such as

   low team performance if he does not align with the group's dominant culture. The manager needs to understand that there are several leadership styles and each culture may be the most appropriate and cultural intelligence will guide you in choosing the best path. The global competence of a leader is able to manage environments characterized by cultural diversity, which is a prior establishment for the effectiveness of international leadership (Manning, 2003), that is, to collaborator to produce more can be convinced in several ways by its leader ; Through a more supportive way, through praise, through negotiation or through force, depending on the type of culture of this collaborator and the Cultural Intelligence of this leader, the latter being able to be more effective in managing people. Cultural Intelligence is a basic factor for the organizational world. In this paper, we present an analysis of the interactions between cultural diversity and cultural diversity. In view of the growing importance of this construct vis-à-vis the global world of organizations, the conceptual model that will be proposed in this research will be based on the scale of cultural intelligence developed by Dyne et al. (2008) adapted specifically for the Brazilian culture.

2. DEVELOPMENT

   For the development of the study and within the research area we will cover the following topics: Cultural Intelligence, Models of Diagnosis of Cultural Intelligence and Brazilian Culture in Organizations.

   1. Cultural Intelligence

      Cultural intelligence is the "ability to operate effectively between different national, ethnic, and organizational cultures." Cultural Intelligence (CI) provides leading executives with the support they need for a holistic view of the company's cultural problems (Livermore, 2012). Cultural Intelligence (CI) can also be understood as the ability of an individual to operate and effectively manage cultures with diverse configurations (Earley & Ang, 2003).

      Cultural intelligence can predict fundamental aspects linked to intercultural effectiveness and serves as a foundation for the development of scientific works. The theme of Cultural Intelligence has been attracting researchers from all over the world and from various areas of knowledge. According to Ang & Dyne (2008), other areas of study have already collected field data with reference to cultural intelligence, which gives us the opportunity to affirm that Cultural Intelligence can also support other areas of knowledge, such as , Medicine, law, among others. Cultural Intelligence enables the executive to transition into diverse groups and apply effective leadership that can make the organization achieve its business goals.

      In this global scenario, it is impossible to dominate all cultures and values, but for the company to function effectively, it is important for the executive to have a certain knowledge of the culture of the country to be inserted. In this sense, cultural intelligence can not be renounced, as this fact can be calamitous for the company, since there is no prior assessment of the cultural

      intelligence of the executive in question, this can be sent for a difficult and difficult mission that can Generates negative effects for the company and for its own image as a professional in the market.

   2. Cultural Intelligence Diagnostic Models

      Today, national companies facing the frantic competition of other multinationals need to evolve, that is, to internationalize, in this way, it needs to send leaders to different parts of the globe. These directors, managers, leaders need to acquire new skills to deal with new cultures. The ability to interact efficiently in multiple cultures is an ability that has become increasingly vital in today's working and negotiating world (Crowne, 2008). In this way, the formation of more competent managers to interact with people from different cultures becomes more and more necessary. Thus, we can say that, today, most organizations have been looking for more and more workers capable of interacting with people from different cultures (Earley & Ang, 2003).

      Intelligence and culture are not uncorrected factors, in fact they are intrinsically linked. One can not think of intelligence, without taking into consideration the cultural scenario that the individual is inserted. Thus, executives with high levels of cultural intelligence have the ability to diagnose, through the analysis of the behavior of a collaborator or a group, discriminant punctual characteristics that may refer to all people or to all groups.

      The construction of a Cultural Intelligence model capable of assessing the level of cultural intelligence of an executive in the global world is necessary because such models may explain why some executives achieve high performance in a foreign territory and others can not achieve a performance satisfactory. An evaluation model of cultural intelligence should seek to encompass a set of capacities and competencies that may allow interpreting behaviors and situations that are unfamiliar, as well as pointing out behaviors that are general to all humanity.

   3. Cultural Intelligence in Brazil

      In order to understand the importance of the study of cultural intelligence in Brazilian companies, it is necessary to understand the following points, namely: Culture and Organizational Culture and Organizational Culture in Brazil.

      1. Culture

         We live in a society of organizations. These, in turn, operate through human and non-human resources, structured in job charts and defined tasks. Notwithstanding this, in a more surgical view we realize that beyond this formal structure there is an informal structure, where an operative and relationship mode different from performing tasks, presents itself. There are interactions that go beyond the hierarchical limit, in which the operations are adapted to the groups or the people who perform them. Thus, the formally constituted organization is remodeling itself and, through these remodelings and adaptations, allows the appearance of a cultural context that gradually propagates

         among individuals and gradually solidifies itself to the organization.

      2. Organizational Culture

         The concept of culture as previously discussed has been discussed for a long time and in the course of these discussions this theme has been inserted in the organizational world. Several researchers then define organizational culture as "the pattern of shared beliefs and values that provides meaning to members of an institution and establishes rules and behaviors within this organization" (Davis, 1996).

      3. Brazilian Organizational Culture

   Based on research in Brazilian organizations, the theme culture was designated by researchers who tried to demonstrate to what degree the Brazilian culture influences the management of people. According to these studies, it can be understood that Brazilians share cultural elements and values that characterize their ways of acting and that help to understand the environment they are inserted, ways that are significantly different from other peoples. Even culture being a complex phenomenon, one can infer the existence of common elements of knowledge, ideas and values among Brazilians, which legitimizes certain behaviors in our country, which in another nation may not be well-seen or understood. In this case, the development of a proper model of cultural intelligence evaluation becomes even more original.

3. METHODOLOGY

   For the starting point of a research it is necessary to make the objectives well visualized and well delineated, and so must also be the questions with reference to the methodological vector that will be pursued, always attentive in using methods that provide A basis to support the exploration of the theme so that the actual body of study is reported with the maximum possible fidelity. For, the final results will characterize, especially, in this type of study, the levels of CI of directors on a certain place outside its place of origin. According to the proposed objective, the initial part of future research will be characterized as descriptive and exploratory.

4. CONCLUSION AND GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

   This article focused on raising questions about the levels of cultural intelligence of directors in foreign territory. In this study, we dealt with themes related to Cultural Intelligence, Models for the diagnosis of CI, Culture, Organizational and Brazilian Culture in companies . This study intends to open space for future research on the assessment of HF in order to improve the performance of managers and companies located in foreign territory.

   The contribution of this study can be presented in parts, where the following items will be clarified:

   • Academic Contribution – enable the academic to become aware at the beginning of the formation phase of the need to invest in factors linked to the cultural Intelligence of his country and abroad.

   • Officers abroad – the perception of their level of cultural intelligence about the territory they are in, so that they can better adapt to the present culture and thus better understand the ways to encourage their employees to search for better Results.

   • The Researchers' Community – presents itself as another source of research concerned with evaluating the culture and employing it as strategic support for improving organizational performance and quality of life at work, and can serve as an opening for further research along the same lines .

   • For Multinationals in General – the possibility of becoming aware of the levels of CI of its directors, before sending them abroad, thus reducing their chances of failure in foreign territory.

5. REFERÊNCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS

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