Exploring the practice of cultural intelligence through the Vice-Chancellor's office at a South African University

Abstract

Cultural intelligence is an individual's ability to function within multicultural settings. This construct was recently coined in 2003 and is still being explored by researchers as to how it plays a role in managing diverse groups of stakeholders. South Africa is known to be a Rainbow Nation as it has a diverse community profile based on inter alia, gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation, language, and age. Similarly, various sectors including the higher education sector in South Africa comprised of persons from various cultures, backgrounds, nationalities and with different preferences. It is in this regard that cultural intelligence could be used as a competency to enhance and harness functional relations with multicultural stakeholders, including strategic alliances. In a diverse work environment where individuals do not know of and understand practice intelligence, this could potentially strain relations with stakeholders. The primary objective of this study was to explore the level at which cultural intelligence is practised at a multicultural university, using the office of the vice-chancellor as a case study. The focus was specifically on what, why and how cultural intelligence practices are perceived by participants based on their experience and ways in which these practices can be enhanced and rolled out. A literature review providing an overview of the practice of cultural intelligence and why it should be practised in organisations was compiled using a variety of scholarly sources, including books, articles, and internet sources. The four CQ dimensions, namely, cognitive, behavioural, metacognitive, and motivational CQ were explored and how they influence an individual's practice of cultural intelligence. A total of 12 participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews with openended questions, where they shared their lived experiences on the construct CQ. Subsequent to the data collection an inductive thematic analysis was conducted using the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Based on the findings of this study, cultural intelligence is practised more at senior management level than at lower levels. This is due to the level of exposure and engagement emanating from continuous robust engagements.