Cultural intelligence: a concept for bridging and benefiting from cultural differences (Elisabeth Plum)

What have international relations, mergers and cross-discipline innovation got in common? They share a dependence on the ability to create mutual understanding and synergy between people from different cultural backgrounds. In this paper, I want to introduce the concept of cultural intelligence which aims to provide a new insight into the social skills and mental frameworks which enable us to bridge cultural differences. One of the core points in the concept of cultural intelligence is that the cultural dynamics of a situation are the same in relation to professional, organisational, national or racial differences. I believe that cultural difference has a greater impact on business effectiveness than we think. Our cultural backgrounds influence the way we think and act and the way we interpret each other's contributions. Our success or failure in communication depends on this competence and ultimately skill in this area affects the company’s bottom line.