Can cultural awareness be seen as one of the core competencies in the IT multi-nationals?
Authors
Chirania, Jhalak
Issue Date
2014
Degree
MBA in Human Resource Management
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
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Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find if cultural awareness can be seen as one of the core competencies in the IT multinationals. The study intends to answer this question and further offer a solution by recommending a culture training module as a part of the soft skills training in the IT firms. Research Design/Methodology: The research adopts a qualitative and cross sectional approach based on a questionnaire. Since the nature of the research question is subjective, the interviews conducted were semi structured and encouraged narration of incidents and experiences. Findings: This research found that having 'culture awareness' as part of the soft skills is essential for an IT professional to succeed in the corporate world and lack of cultural awareness would have an impact on their performance in the long run. In spite of the length of academic literature and data available, there exist exceptions. It is difficult to have a unanimous approval on a subjective topic. The number of years of work experience turned out to be one of the most important factors that influenced the responses. Research limitations: Study’s limitations are related to sampling and breadth of scope. Although the research represents samples from different nationalities, gender, age, designation and years of experience, the convenience sampling may impel reduced level of details. Practical implications: Organizations undertaking development initiatives are encouraged to look further into the soft skills training programs and include culture awareness module. Success depends not only on domain expertise in the technical world, but also on such important elements as soft skills, contextual awareness and cultural sensitivity. Originality/Value: This paper begins with establishing the importance of soft skills in the multinationals, and further researches if cultural awareness; which is a subset of soft skills, can be one of the core competencies in these firms. The contribution made by this research is the culture training module as a possible solution. Author keywords: Soft skills, awareness, culture, leadership