Cross-Cultural Competence of Students from Selected European Union Countries (Poland, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy).

Preliminary Assumptions of the Research Project

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35765/pk.2021.3201.11
Keywords: competences, intercultural competences, cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, cultural diversity, students, education

Abstract

The changes taking place in the contemporary labour market were the fac­tor that prompted our project. The employee’s position on this market does not depend only on his specialist knowledge and professional qualifications. This is particularly important in a multicultural environment, in which even linguistic competences are losing their significance because – without the ability to adapt to new cultural conditions – they do not play a major role. Cultural diversity becomes a source of competitive advantage at the moment when a company adopts appropriate strategies and techniques, which is the task faced by, among others, modern managers. The aim of the project is to explore the role of cross-cultural competence as an important element of uni­versity education from the point of view of both: educational programmes and the labour market. It is now believed that cross-cultural competence, under­stood as an attitude towards cooperation with representatives of other cultures, is a very important element of university education in the process of prepar­ing students to successfully function on the global labour market. The level of interpersonal skills of individual members of a multicultural team (espe­cially the level of their cultural intelligence) which enables them to effectively cooperate with representatives of other cultures is one of the main elements of cross-cultural competence. On the basis of the results of the study, the theo­ries of management science will be elaborated on, taking into account interna­tional realities and emphasising the importance of cross-cultural competence on the labour market. The results of the project will support the development of management science, especially in the field of intercultural management, by indicating how existing management theories are based on and benefit from practice, and how they are interpreted in management practice. Thanks to the study, both theoreticians and practitioners of management will be able to obtain more knowledge about cross-cultural competence.

Author Biographies

Agnieszka Knap-Stefaniuk, Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow

Doctor of Economics at the SGH Social- Economic College, holder of an MBA from Thames Valley University, gra­duate of the School of Trainers at Wszechnica UJ. She was a member of the PKA (Team for Economic Sciences) and Head of the Department of Human Resources Management at the Polish Open University, lecturer of the BA, MSc, and MBA studies, and a member of the Rector’s Com­mittee and the Scientific Council. From 2007 to 2015 she was Dean of the Krakow Faculty of Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania/ Polish Open University; 2015–2017 she was Dean of the Krakow Faculty of Vistula University and a lecturer of the BA and MA studies in AFiBVistula [Assistant Professor at the Institute of Management]. Since 2018, she has been Vice Direc­tor of the Institute of Political and Administrative Sciences for Didactic Affairs for the Faculty of Education at the Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow. She cooperates with businesses and has served as a trainer, consultant, and facilitator for, e.g., Lexmark, Galeco, Biprocemwap, and Capgemini. She is the author of many publications on Human Resources Management. She specializes in issues related to strategic and internatio­nal HRM, leadership, motivation, and contemporary challenges in HRM, such as corporate culture, competency management and talent manage­ment. She conducts lectures and workshops at universities in Spain, Por­tugal, Italy, and Czechia.

Łukasz Burkiewicz, Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow

Cultural studies scholar, historian, economist of culture, and Assistant Professor at the Institute of Cultural Studies at the Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow. His scholarly interests are related to the cultural history of the Mediterranean region in the Middle Ages and the modern age. He also deals with medieval travels. His research includes issues related to cultural management, marketing, and economics.

References

Bean, R. (2006). The effectiveness of cross-cultural training in the Australian con­text. Canberra: Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.

Burkiewicz, Ł. & Knap-Stefaniuk, A. (2018). Intercultural management as a challenge for modern managers – development of potential of multi­cultural teams. Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Śląskiej. Seria Organizacja i Zarządzanie, 130, 61–69.

Burkiewicz, Ł. & Knap-Stefaniuk, A. (2020a). Management by values in work of international managers. Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Śląskiej. Seria Organizacja i Zarządzanie, 149, 47–56.

Burkiewicz, Ł. & Knap-Stefaniuk, A. (2020b). Modern Managers and Cultu­ral Diversity in The Workplace. In K. Soliman (ed.), Education excellence and innovation management: a 2025. Vision to sustain economic development during global challenges. Sevilla–New York: International Business Infor­mation Management Association, 7474–7483.

Chen, G.M. & Starosta, W.J. (1997). A review of the concept of intercultural sensitivity. Human Communication, 1, 1–16.

Chen, G.M. & Starosta, W.J. (1998). A review of the concept of intercultural awareness. Human Communication, 2, 27–54.

Chen, G.M. & Starosta, W.J. (2000). The development and validation of the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale. Human Communication, 3, 1–15.

Cox, T.H. & Blake, S. (1991). Managing Cultural Diversity: Implications for Organizational Competitiveness. The Executive, Vol. 5, No. 3: 47.

Graf, A. (2004). Assessing intercultural training designs. Journal of European Industrial Training, 28(2/3/4), 199–214.

Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture Consequences. Comparing Values, Behaviors, Insti­tutions and Organizations Across Nations. Thousand Oaks–London–New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G.J. & Minkow, M. (2010). Cultures and Organiza­tions. Software of the Mind. Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Ilie, O.A. (2019). The intercultural competence. Developing effective intercul­tural communication skills. International Conference Knowledge-based organization, Vol. XXV, No. 2, 264–268.

Inglehart, R. (1997). Modernization and Postmodernization. Cultural, Econo­mic and Political Change in 43 Societies. New Jersey-Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Knap-Stefaniuk, A. (2020). The Importance of Cultural Intelligence in Inter­national Human Resource Management – A Pilot Study. In K. Soliman (ed.), Education excellence and innovation management: a 2025 Vision to sustain economic development during global challenges. Sevilla–New York: International Business Information Management Association, 7995–7836.

Knap-Stefaniuk, A. & Burkiewicz, Ł. (2018). Contemporary Leadership in the Conditions of Multiculturalism – Challenges for Human Resources Management. Scientia et Societas, 2/18, 113–122.

Knap-Stefaniuk, A. & Burkiewicz, Ł. (2019a). Contemporary Managers in Intercultural Management. Przedsiębiorczość i Zarządzanie, 20(6) (3), 63–75.

Knap-Stefaniuk, A. & Burkiewicz, Ł. (2019b). Multiculturalism as a Source of Conflicts in Contemporary Organizations. Przedsiębiorczość i Zarządza­nie, 20(11), 97–106.

Knap-Stefaniuk, A. & Burkiewicz, Ł. (2020a). Cultural diversity of employees as a challenge at the work of international managers. In B. Domańska­-Szaruga & E. Bombiak (eds.), Współczesne wyzwania w zarządzaniu zasobami ludzkimi. Siedlce: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Przyrodniczo­-Humanistycznego w Siedlcach, 49–61.

Knap-Stefaniuk, A. & Burkiewicz, Ł. (2020b). Modern managers’ values in a multicultural environment – an introduction to an in-depth study. In K. Soliman (ed.), Education excellence and innovation management: a 2025. Vision to sustain economic development during global challenges. Sevilla– New York: International Business Information Management Association, 1022–1034.

Morgan, G. (1989). Endangered Species: New Ideas. Business Month, Vol. 133, No. 4, 75–77.

Muszyńska, J., Danilewicz, W., & Bajkowski, T. (eds.) (2013). Kompetencje międzykulturowe jako kapitał społeczności wielokulturowych. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Akademickie Żak.

Nikitorowicz, J. (2009). Edukacja regionalna i międzykulturowa. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne.

Ochieng, E.G. & Price, A.D. (2009). Framework for managing multicultu­ral project teams. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 16, No. 6, 527–543.

Report prepared by Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland [Raport przygotowany przez Związek Liderów Sektora Usług Biznesowych] (2019). Sektor nowoczesnych usług biznesowych w Polsce 2019. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo ABSL.

Suchocka, A. (2016). Kompetencje międzykulturowe – przywilej czy koniecz­ność? Colloquium Wydziału Nauk Humanistycznych i Społecznych. Kwar­talnik, 4/201, 121–131.

Trompenaars, F. & Hampden-Turnera, Ch. (1997). Riding The Waves of Cul­ture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business. New York: Nicholas Bre­aley Publishing.

PK 32
Published
2021-05-17
How to Cite
[1]
Knap-Stefaniuk, A. and Burkiewicz, Łukasz 2021. Cross-Cultural Competence of Students from Selected European Union Countries (Poland, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy). : Preliminary Assumptions of the Research Project. Perspectives on Culture. 32, 1 (May 2021), 155-170. DOI:https://doi.org/10.35765/pk.2021.3201.11.
Issue
Vol. 32 No. 1 (2021): Christianity as a Source of European Culture
Section
Cross Cultural Management

Copyright (c) 2021 Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Autor, zgłaszając swój artykuł, wyraża zgodę na korzystanie przez Wydawnictwo Uniwersystet Ignatianum z utworu na następujących polach eksploatacji:

  1. utrwalania utworu w formie papierowej, a także na nośniku cyfrowym lub magnetycznym;
  2. zwielokrotnienia utworu dowolną techniką, bez ograniczenia ilości wydań i liczby egzemplarzy;
  3. rozpowszechniania utworu i jego zwielokrotnionych egzemplarzy na jakimkolwiek nośniku, w tym wprowadzenia do obrotu, sprzedaży, użyczenia, najmu;
  4. wprowadzenia utworu do pamięci komputera;
  5. rozpowszechniania utworu w sieciach informatycznych, w tym w sieci Internet;
  6. publicznego wykonania, wystawienia, wyświetlenia, odtworzenia oraz nadawania i reemitowania, a także publicznego udostępniania utworu w taki sposób, aby każdy mógł mieć do niego dostęp w miejscu i czasie przez siebie wybranym. 

Wydawca zobowiązuje się szanować osobiste prawa autorskie do utworu.