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A Successful International Assignment Depends on These Factors

• Boris Groysberg
• Robin Abrahams

Your marriage, your family, and your career will all benefit from advance planning.

The prospect of an international assignment can be equal parts thrilling and alarming: Will it make or break your career? What will it do to your life at home and the people you love? When you’re thinking about relocating, you start viewing questions of work and family — difficult enough under ordinary circumstances — through a kind of high-contrast, maximum-drama filter.

• BG Boris Groysberg is a professor of business administration in the Organizational Behavior unit at Harvard Business School and a faculty affiliate at the school’s Race, Gender & Equity Initiative. He is the coauthor, with Colleen Ammerman, of Glass Half-Broken: Shattering the Barriers That Still Hold Women Back at Work (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021). bgroysberg
• Robin Abrahams is a research associate at Harvard Business School.

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Employee Relations

ISSN : 0142-5455

Article publication date: 6 November 2017

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of personality and mentorship on expatriates’ psychological well-being. The authors argue that certain personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience) have positive effects on expatriates’ psychological well-being and that these personality traits enable them to derive a greater benefit from mentorship. By doing so, this study identifies for which personality traits which type of mentoring (home or host country mentor) is most beneficial.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on socioanalytic theory, the authors develop theory-driven hypotheses and test them against data of 334 expatriates.

The study shows that several personality traits as well as home country mentorship have a significant positive impact on psychological well-being, whereas host country mentorship shows no significant positive effects. Moreover, the study indicates that home and host country mentorship partially moderates the relationship between personality traits and psychological well-being.

Originality/value

Since the authors derive important implications for the selection process of expatriates as well as for the implementation of mentoring in multinational corporations, this study is of value for researchers and practitioners in the areas of human resource management and organizational studies.

• Expatriates
• Personality traits
• International assignments
• Psychological well-being

Schuster, T. , Ambrosius, J. and Bader, B. (2017), "Mentoring in international assignments: a personality traits perspective", Employee Relations , Vol. 39 No. 7, pp. 1100-1130. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-09-2016-0180

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Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

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Cultural intelligence (CQ) in action: The effects of personality and international assignment on the development of CQ

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

We examined (1) the effect of international assignments on the development of cultural intelligence - CQ over time (2) whether crucial personality traits (i.e., extraversion and openness to experience) had a moderating role in the relationship between international assignments and CQ in a longitudinal design. A total sample of 145 military personnel participated in the study at the beginning of the deployment (Time 1) and 121 persons participated at the end of the deployment (Time 2) in a multinational and multicultural military organization. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance showed that the 6-month international assignment did have a statistically significant effect on the development of all four facets of CQ over time. Moreover, moderated multiple regression analyses demonstrated that individuals who are high on extraversion improved their metacognitive CQ and behavioral CQ more than did individuals who are low on extraversion. Similarly, individuals who are high on openness to experience improved their motivational CQ more than did individuals who are low on openness to experience. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

• Cultural intelligence
• International assignment
• Multicultural environment
• Personality

Access to Document

• 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.11.002

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• Cultural Intelligence Business & Economics 100%
• International Assignments Business & Economics 98%
• Intelligence Medicine & Life Sciences 77%
• Psychological Extraversion Medicine & Life Sciences 68%
• Personality Medicine & Life Sciences 65%
• Extraversion Business & Economics 65%
• intelligence Social Sciences 57%
• personality Social Sciences 53%

T1 - Cultural intelligence (CQ) in action

T2 - The effects of personality and international assignment on the development of CQ

AU - Şahin, Faruk

AU - Gurbuz, Sait

AU - Köksal, Onur

N1 - Copyright: Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2014/3

Y1 - 2014/3

N2 - We examined (1) the effect of international assignments on the development of cultural intelligence - CQ over time (2) whether crucial personality traits (i.e., extraversion and openness to experience) had a moderating role in the relationship between international assignments and CQ in a longitudinal design. A total sample of 145 military personnel participated in the study at the beginning of the deployment (Time 1) and 121 persons participated at the end of the deployment (Time 2) in a multinational and multicultural military organization. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance showed that the 6-month international assignment did have a statistically significant effect on the development of all four facets of CQ over time. Moreover, moderated multiple regression analyses demonstrated that individuals who are high on extraversion improved their metacognitive CQ and behavioral CQ more than did individuals who are low on extraversion. Similarly, individuals who are high on openness to experience improved their motivational CQ more than did individuals who are low on openness to experience. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

AB - We examined (1) the effect of international assignments on the development of cultural intelligence - CQ over time (2) whether crucial personality traits (i.e., extraversion and openness to experience) had a moderating role in the relationship between international assignments and CQ in a longitudinal design. A total sample of 145 military personnel participated in the study at the beginning of the deployment (Time 1) and 121 persons participated at the end of the deployment (Time 2) in a multinational and multicultural military organization. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance showed that the 6-month international assignment did have a statistically significant effect on the development of all four facets of CQ over time. Moreover, moderated multiple regression analyses demonstrated that individuals who are high on extraversion improved their metacognitive CQ and behavioral CQ more than did individuals who are low on extraversion. Similarly, individuals who are high on openness to experience improved their motivational CQ more than did individuals who are low on openness to experience. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

KW - Cultural intelligence

KW - International assignment

KW - Multicultural environment

KW - Personality

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84897021977&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.11.002

DO - 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.11.002

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84897021977

SN - 0147-1767

JO - International Journal of Intercultural Relations

JF - International Journal of Intercultural Relations

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Personality types and intercultural competence of foreign language learners in education context

Shiva azadipour.

Department of General Studies, Islamic Azad University, Ardestan Branch, Ardestan, Iran

BACKGROUND:

Personality types of learners have determining role in their achievements. Many researchers concentrate on noncognitive moderators such as personality traits to trace the barriers in learning. This study attempts to find out what kinds of personality types enable learners to be more competent in intercultural context.

To conduct the study 236 students were randomly selected from Ardestan and Khorasgan Universities. Two questionnaires were used to collect the data. The first one was a researcher's made questionnaire to assess learners' intercultural competence; based on Bennett's Intercultural communicative Model of intercultural communicative competence (ICC); and intercultural competence assessment Model of ICC, consisting four behavioral dimensions, tolerance for ambiguity, flexibility, respect for otherness, and interaction. The second questionnaire wasMyers-Briggs Type Indicator to identify learner's personality type. The means, standard deviations, t-scores, and significance levels of behavioral dimensions were calculated to interpret the data.

The analysis of the results revealed that greater general competence in cultural adjustment is associated with greater extroversion personality. Students with thinking and judging personalities were more tolerant for ambiguities of foreign cultures than those with feeling and perceiving personality types. The data of respect for otherness were very similar to tolerance for ambiguity, and students with sensing personality preference were more competent in interacting with foreign cultures than intuitive ones.

CONCLUSION:

The findings indicated the personality types play opportunity or threat roles for FL learners in intercultural understanding. Therefore, to promote efficiency in education, it is vital to explore the learners' cognitive and noncognitive health conditions.

Introduction

Many studies investigated individual differences have shown their potential effect in failure or success of learning process. Some researchers believe to understand the barriers in learning a foreign language, it is logical to concentrate on individual differences. Therefore, the success of second language learning is due to cognitive as well as affective, motivational, personality, and demographic factors of the learners among which personality is of great importance.[ 1 ] Ackerman et al .,[ 2 ] have suggested that “individual difference variables such as personality, intelligence, and vocational interests can be used to explain not only variance in academic performance, but also the processes by which traits influence examination outcomes.”[ 3 ]

Individual differences can be reflected in cultural understating too. Culture, defined generally as people's lifestyle, can be perceived differently by different people. Since knowledge of culture is important for facilitating communication with people, learners of language need to learn about and understand cultures. This means that in the language classroom learners not only focus on developing knowledge about another culture but understand themselves in relation to some other cultures. This is why there is a contemporary emphasis on “intercultural.”[ 4 ] According to Liddicoat[ 4 ]“learning to be intercultural involves much more than just knowing about another culture: it involves learning to understand how one's own culture shapes perceptions of oneself, of the world, and of our relationship with others.” Learners need to become familiar with how they can personally engage with linguistic and cultural diversity. Liddicoat commented on cultural and intercultural perspectives: There is another way to think about culture in language teaching: the distinction between a cultural perspective and an intercultural perspective: This “cultural” pole leads the development of knowledge about culture which is external to the learner and is not intended to transform the learner's existing identity, values, attitudes, and worldview. The “intercultural” pole implies a change in the beliefs of the learner in the process of learning. The goal of learning is to develop an intercultural identity as a result of an engagement with an additional culture. Here, the borders between self and other are explored and redrawn.[ 5 ]

Therefore, cultural understanding can be reflected in individual differences in general, personality types in particular. Since 1990s, there has been an increasing interest on showing how personality affects or, better to say, correlates with the academic performance, the findings confirmed that Personality type affects the way people respond to stimuli and the way that they prefer to learn.[ 6 , 7 , 8 ]

De Raad et al .,[ 9 ] in a review of personality, learning and education, explain the mediating and moderating roles of personality variables in learning process and state that noncognitive personality factors may appear as moderators of the general process of learning, because they interact with- or moderate-successive stages of the information processing sequence. Furthermore, an individual's personality was reported to have an effect on the extent of information he achieves.[ 10 ]

In spite of the diversity of research about the personality of learners or intercultural competence realm, relatively few studies have been conducted to find out the relationship between foreign language learners' personality type and their intercultural competence. Consequently, due to the lack of research, this paper was an attempt to shed light on this matter.

A review of literature

The study of personality has a long history. For example, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and Machiavelli, among numerous other philosophers and writers, explored human personality in their works. Modern theorists echo the theories already presented by them.[ 11 ] Personality is defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by every person that distinctively and uniquely influences his or her behaviors, motivations, and cognitions in various situations.[ 12 ] PPKI theory (intelligence as processes, personality, knowledge, and interests) tries to draw a conceptual framework for understanding the relation between noncognitive and cognitive individual differences. The theory claims that personality traits influence an individual's choice and engagement in intellectually stimulating activities; as a result, they determine the level of knowledge development.[ 13 ] Thus, it can be inferred from the PPKI theory that individual differences in personality may influence academic performance. Other studies have also shown that “nonintellectual” factors such as personality traits and learning styles are significantly correlated with academic performance.[ 3 , 14 ] Pervin and John defined personality as “those characteristics of a person that account for consistent patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving.”[ 15 ] It is generally conceived of a series of traits such as extroversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability, and judging/perceiving,[ 16 ] and it is typically measured using some kind of self-report questionnaires.[ 17 ] Psychologists have used them to measure certain dimensions of personality such as risk-taking and tolerance of ambiguity among L2 learners. Each dimension of personality types represents a continuum; that is, individuals can be screened on the spectrum to be less or more, say, extroverted, but it is also possible to determine their preferred personality type.

A brief summary of the four dimensions of personality types based on the Myers–Briggs' Type Indicator (MBTI) is given below:

Extraversion (E) - Introversion (I): “An extrovert receives energy from the outside world, whereas an introvert is more likely to engage in solitary activities, i.e. the trait considers whether a person prefers working alone or feels energized working in a team.”[ 18 ]

Sensing (S) - Intuitive (N): “A sensing person relies on gathering information through the five senses, relying on concrete facts. Sensors are less likely to see the “bigger picture” and more likely to follow a step-by-step approach. An intuitive thinker is more likely to be drawn by abstract, concepts, and relationships and will be drawn by the innovative and theoretical aspects.”[ 19 ]

Thinking (T) - Feeling (F): “A thinking person is more likely to prefer decisions made in an impersonal, logical, objective manner. A feeling person will make decisions based more on personal values, relationships, and the feelings of others. Women are more likely to be feelers.”[ 20 ]

Judging (J) - Perceiving (P): “This personality preference describes how a person deals with the outside world. The judger is more likely to look for a controlled life, preferring planning, and regulation. The perceiver deals with the outside world through sensing or intuition, but he prefers spontaneity, flexibility, and autonomy.”[ 21 ]

Since the goal of language teaching is to facilitate communication among individuals who are linguistically and culturally different, introducing cultures in the classroom should aim at enhancing students' intercultural understanding. Intercultural contact is a key issue in the second language acquisition for at least two reasons: on one hand, L2 proficiency develops the medium of communication between members of different communities. On the other hand, interethnic contact improves the learner's disposition; thus, it is concluded that intercultural contact is both a means and an end in L2 studies.[ 22 ] In its broadest sense, intercultural competence defined by Fantini as “a complex of abilities needed to perform effectively and appropriately when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different from oneself.”[ 23 ] He listed a wide range of related terms theoreticians used to describe intercultural competence, including intercultural communicative competence (ICC), transcultural communication, cross-cultural adaptation, and intercultural sensitivity. What all intercultural competence terms convey is the ability to decenter learner's culture and communicate with other individuals from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. Sinicrope et al . believed that college foreign language and study abroad programs can be helpful for students to develop their intercultural competencies. They commented that the acquisition of such competencies may be important not only for individual enrichment and communicative proficiency but also for providing future educators with the facts necessary for promoting successful collaboration across cultures. As the focus and purpose of intercultural competence research have expanded, approaches to its description and assessment have developed from short attitude and personality surveys to behavioral self-assessments, performance assessments, portfolio assessments, and others.[ 24 ]

One of the earliest comprehensive frameworks to the conceptualization and measurement of ICC was Ruben's behavioral approach.[ 25 ] In contrast to the personality and attitudinal foci of previous approaches, he advocated a behavioral approach. He considered seven dimensions to identify what individuals know to be interculturally competent and how they actually behave in intercultural setting.[ 24 ]

Risager proposed an extended model of ICC. She outlined 10 elements that mostly comprised linguistic elements and proficiencies.[ 26 ] Byram and other European researchers (Kühlmann, Müller-Jacquier, and Budin) extended these ideas and develop their own assessment tool. They adopted a multidimensional framework named INCA (intercultural competence assessment) (one of the researcher's made questionnaires utilized in this study was prepared based on this framework). This model consists of two sets of dimensions, a model for the assessor and a model for the examinee, with three skill levels for each dimension: basic, intermediate, and full. From the assessor's point of view, intercultural competence consists of six different dimensions:

• Tolerance for ambiguity
• Behavioral flexibility
• Communicative awareness
• Knowledge discovery
• Respect for otherness
• Empathy.[ 24 ]

The second part of the study's questionnaire used to assess participants' intercultural competence was made considering Bennett's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) which consists of three stages of denial, defense, and minimization (ethnocentric stages); leading to acceptance, adaptation, and integration (ethnorelative stages). The stages illustrate a continuum from least culturally competent to most culturally competent, that is a model of development from denying other cultures to integrating with other world views.[ 24 ] In recent years, many studies have conducted to examine the impact of cognitive and noncognitive factors on intercultural understanding. Caldwell-Harris and Ayçiçegi believed that psychological adjustment depends on the degree of match between personality and the values of the target communities.[ 27 ] Moreover, Triandis has proposed the concept of “Person-environment fit.”[ 28 ] In her study, Yashima found that extroversion was the strongest predictor of success in the interactional function. Given the same English competence, the more extroverted person is, the better the adjustment with foreign culture will be.[ 29 ] Therefore, it is logical to expect a relationship between personality types and intercultural competence of foreign language learners.

Wilson et al . in their article “What can personality tell us about cultural competence?” analyzed a total of 17 personal and situational factors with regard to intercultural adjustment. They found that agreeableness, consciousness, openness/flexibility, and extraversion were positively correlated with adaption. In addition, concerning culture relevant factors, they reported cultural empathy and cross-cultural self-efficiency associated with personality effects.[ 30 ] Generally speaking, personality type of the learners can be a predictor of ICC, but there is still a paucity of studies in this regard; therefore, this study attempts to investigate the relationship between four behavioral dimensions of intercultural competence (based on INCA): tolerance for ambiguity, flexibility, respect for otherness, interaction, and learners' personality type assessed on MBTI.

Purpose of the study

Many studies have conducted to examine the barriers in intercultural understanding, and the personality traits hinder EFL learning; however, to the best knowledge of the present author, few, if any, empirical research has focused on the personality traits that should be guided or modified by pedagogical materials and EFL teachers to make the learners more interculturally competent. As a result, the following research questions were formulated:

• Is there a statistically significant relationship between four behavioral dimensions reflecting intercultural competence and eight personality types?
• Which personality types are more influential in intercultural understanding?

The participants of the study were 236 students from Ardestan and Khorasgan Universities. They were in the age range of 18–32 (mean = 25) of both sexes, male and female. Since the participants' proficiency level is not considered as an influential factor in this research, the students were randomly selected. The students majored in dentistry and MA level of architecture, management, and civil engineering. Their English knowledge was estimated to be about at intermediate and upper-intermediate level.

Two questionnaires were used to collect data. The first one was a researchers-made questionnaire, composed of two sections. (1) 11 statements about cultural issues to be rated with a Likert scale of agreement, constructed considering the ideas and samples presented in Bennett's DMIS, which consists of six stages grouped into three ethnocentric stages and three ethnorelative stages; The items assessed ethnocentric stages detected the learners in denial, defense, and minimization levels; and acceptance, adaptation, and integration statements reveal the learners improve to ethnorelative stages. Participants rate the statements with 1 for the most disagreement to 5 for the most agreement (see sample questionnaires for Bennett's Model in Sinicrope et al .[ 24 ](2) 10 rating questions with three frequency options, developed by making a few minor alterations in INCA Model of Intercultural Competence, which consists of six behavioral dimensions, among them tolerance for ambiguity, flexibility, respect for otherness and interaction were selected for this study (For more descriptions and samples see Sinicrope et al .[ 24 ] To test the reliability and validity of the questionnaires a pilot study was carried out in a language institute and some items were reviewed and revised-based on the feedback of students. The second questionnaire was MBTI, one of the most popular and well-researched personality test used.[ 31 ] It was developed from Carl Jung's Theory of psychological type and was considered to reveal differences within and across cultures. The test consists of 32 pairs of questions assessing four binary personality dimensions including extraversion versus introversion, intuitive versus sensing, thinking versus feeling, and judging versus perceiving. Kirby and Barger[ 32 ] have reported on a wide range of studies which they consider providing significant evidence for the reliability and validity of MBTI in a variety of groups with different cultural characteristics.”[ 16 ]

About two-thirds of the subjects of the study participated in the researcher's classes during their academic semester, but all participants were aware of the object of the study and the researcher attended in all data collection procedure to minimize misunderstanding. A comprehensive explanation was given to the participants and they were asked to answer honestly and precisely. The first questionnaire assessing ICC, which was composed of two parts administered in two sessions with 3 weeks interval. The researcher monitored the answers during and after responding. As a class discussion unexpected answers were reviewed in two classes after data collection. The MBTI questionnaire was administered 3 weeks after the second part of ICC questionnaire. Again as feedback, the answers were investigated with a group of participants, and they confirmed the consistency of their character with the traits derived by MBTI.

The collected data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. SPSS software version 18 was (Inc, chicago, IL, U.S.A) used in the study. The means and standard deviations of ICC and its four behavioral dimensions were calculated, and the same approach was applied to the raw data collected from MBTI. To examine the relationship between FL learners' personality traits and their success in ICC relations, t-scores were calculated to compare the relevant mean scores.

Table 1 presents the means, standard deviations, t-scores, and significance levels regarding four personality dimensions calculated through the first section of questionnaire 1. The aim of this part (based on Bennett's DMIS) was to assess the participants' general competence in intercultural communication. Table 1 shows intercultural competence scores are significantly different among students with introvert and extrovert personality, ( P < 0.05, P = 0.019). It can be interpreted that extrovert students are more competent in communicating with foreign people or cultures than students with introvert personality. However, in the case of the other three binary dimensions, judging-perceiving, sensing-intuitive, and thinking-feeling, no significant difference was found among the groups ( P < 0.05). It seems that when passing through the process of denial, defense and minimization to acceptance, adaptation, and integration (according to the questionnaire's based model-Bennette's DMIS) being an introvert or extrovert learner makes a more significant difference than the other three binary personality traits.

Intercultural competence scores for participants with eight personality types

SD=Standard deviation

The second part of the first questionnaire derived from INCA Model of intercultural competence consists of four different behavioral dimensions; tolerance for ambiguity, flexibility, respect for otherness, and interaction. Tables ​ Tables2 2 – 5 compare the means, standard deviations, t-scores, and significance levels of these behavioral dimensions regarding different personality dimensions. Table 2 shows the information of the first behavioral dimension, tolerance for ambiguity, for the participants with different personality types. Tolerance for ambiguity scores is significantly different in students with thinking-feeling and judging-perceiving personality ( P < 0.05). It may mean that students with thinking and judging personalities are more tolerant for ambiguities of foreign cultures than those with feeling and perceiving personality types. There were no significant differences between scores of tolerance for ambiguity among students with introvert-extrovert and sensing-intuitive personality types ( P < 0.05).

Tolerance for ambiguity mean scores among eight personality types

Interaction mean scores among eight personality types

The information about the second behavioral dimension – flexibility – studied as an ICC element, is shown in Table 3 . The results of this section were unexpected. There were no significant differences in mean scores of students with introvert-extrovert, thinking-feeling, sensing-intuitive, and judging-perceiving personality types regarding flexibility ( P < 0.05). Since flexibility can play a determining role in intercultural competence, this inconsistency can be justified by the globalization process, that lets people assume their individual cultures are among the many valid world views. The data of “respect for otherness,” as the third element studied in intercultural competence is demonstrated in Table 4 . Surprisingly, the results were very similar to “tolerance for ambiguity.” There is a significant difference in “respect for otherness” scores in students with thinking-feeling and judging-perceiving personalities ( P < 0.05, P = 0.001, P = 0.131). A possible explanation is that feeling students who make decisions based more on personal values, relationships, and the feelings of others[ 20 ] are more respectful to intercultural relations than thinking students. Although good at adopting, unconventional perceivers were expected to obtain a higher mean score in “respect for otherness,” judgers who seek a planned, controlled and regulated life[ 21 ] and have more potentials in forming and expressing judgments seem to be more competent in establishing logical relations and respecting unfamiliar values. Again just like Table 2 , no significant differences were shown in “respect for otherness” scores for introvert-extrovert and sensing-intuitive personality types ( P < 0.05). The “interaction” data are represented in Table 5 . Here, the results are different from the other three dimensions. Interaction scores were significantly different among students with sensing-intuitive personality types ( P < 0.05, P = 0.001). It means that students with sensing personality preference who attend to concrete practical facts are more competent in interacting with foreign cultures than intuitive ones. There were no significant differences between interaction scores of introvert-extrovert, thinking-feeling, and jugging-perceiving personality types ( P < 0.05).

Flexibility mean scores among eight personality types

Respect for otherness mean scores among eight personality types

The purpose of this paper is to enhance knowledge on personality traits that contribute to intercultural competence. As researchers affirm the success of second language learning is due to cognitive as well as affective, motivational, and personality factors. The results of the research were in some respects consistent with the results of prior studies;[ 16 , 33 , 34 ] Specifically, intercultural competence scores were significantly different among students with introvert-extrovert personality, that was in line with the mentioned studies. Here, greater general competence in cultural adjustment is associated with higher extroversion tendency. One explanation may be that extroverted people are more friendly and optimistic and it is reflected in their relationships. Therefore, a learner with an extroverted tendency who seek novelty and social stimulation may be more culturally adoptable. The findings are in line with Huang et al ., that personality traits like extraversion and agreeableness will assist a person in the adaptation process.[ 35 ] They believe that assertive, active, and gregarious individuals (very similar to extravert tendency) are more willing to get out of their typical comfort zones and hence, can adjust to the social values of the host country. There is a paucity of research with a focus on the other three binaries of personality types, thinking-feeling, judging-perceiving, and sensing-intuitive, especially concerning intercultural competence. We need further research in this regard.

Similar results were obtained for two behavioral elements reflecting cultural competence, respect for otherness, and tolerance for ambiguity. When it comes to tolerance for the ambiguity of foreign cultures and respect for the people of unknown lands and their customary beliefs and lifestyles, thinking and judging learners might be more successful than leaners with feeling and perceiving personality types. Shaffer et al . argued that “individuals high on tolerance for ambiguity have the tendency to get along with others in interpersonal settings and this reduces the stress of adopting to the new cultural environment;” besides, they contended that individuals high on motivation and conscientiousness personality (very similar to thinking and judging individuals) who are known to be open-minded, intelligent, and imaginative are more likely to spend time on tasks and meet job expectations when they encounter personal problems or social crisis. They tend to be more creative and eager to adopt and handle work and nonwork-related aspects in a new sociocultural setting.[ 36 ]

The most striking result of the study was that none of the two binaries of personality type show a significant difference with flexibility as an ICC element. Further research is needed to find a logical explanation. The results obtained from the last behavioral dimension of ICC, interaction, was different. Cultural knowledge as a product of the interaction process provides a framework for understanding and comparing different cultures that will assist the general adjustment to the cultural environment.[ 37 ] Here, sensing learners were reported to be more competent in interacting with foreign cultures than learners with intuitive personality type. The interpretation of the current results might be attributed to their personality traits. Sensing learners who understand real-life situations are willing to face new experiences and make logical decisions seem more interculturally competent than intuitive learners who prefer working with abstract concepts and following routine patterns.

The goal of the study was to explore the impact of EFL learner's personality traits on their success in intercultural communication. The findings reinforced the idea that individual differences should be targeted in pedagogical planning. Among the detected personality traits thinking, judging, feeling, and sensing were significantly related to intercultural communication in behavioral dimensions of ambiguity tolerance, respect for otherness, and interaction. The results reveal the fact that in the continuum of personality traits, the closer EFL learners are to extrovert, thinking, judging, and sensing types, the more they have the potential to progress in intercultural relations. Regarding respect for otherness dimension, feeling participants scored more than thinkers, that is obvious for those who care about personal values and relationships to be more respectful to unknown people.

The strong link reported between personality traits and cross-cultural adjustment shows that language educators and syllabus designers should seriously take them into account.[ 12 , 27 ] By screening learners before and monitoring them through the learning process in terms of their personality type teachers are able to predict the cultural barriers that each student may encounter. This knowledge may lead to utilizing a more relevant strategy or technique and hence improvement in the learning process.

Finally, as class research, the study suffers some limitations. The participants were not differentiated in terms of their proficiency level. Further researches can be conducted to assess the impact of learners' personality type on their success in intercultural communication with a focus on their proficiency level. Moreover, the participants were limited to adult university students. Further studies can be carried out in other contexts like language institute or high school or other age groups.

Financial support and sponsorship

Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

My sincere thanks go to all students who cooperated eagerly and honestly in the project.

International Assignments

Global DISC ™ supports organisations to develop more nuanced candidate selection practices, ensuring that employees yield the greatest return on investment for a given international assignment.

International assignments are fundamental for organisations to compete in the global marketplace. The most successful employees and leaders are sent on international assignments to transfer their technical and managerial knowledge or exploit local opportunities while at the same time gaining valuable international work experience and advancing their careers.

Most companies do a fine job of identifying candidates with the necessary knowledge and experience to fill a position abroad. Preliminary data on their eagerness in taking a potential international assignment, overseas study/travel/work experiences, foreign language skills, an immigration background and the like are considered too. Leadership skills can also be a decisive factor.

Unfortunately, sending the most technically competent or effective candidates abroad, without a proper assessment of whether they are likely to succeed in the culture of the target country, leads to many costly failures. Consequently, organisations achieve few of the benefits of international assignments but pay all of the costs.

But individual candidates also take a loss. While an international assignment can be a significant development experience, broadening horizons and instil a global perspective, considerable stress is involved in relocating to a new country and coping with the personal and professional challenges.

Consequently, unsettled candidates do not perform to their full potential. They might fail when confronted with a foreign cultural environment.

“Diversity is the greatest asset or liability. Ignoring their cultural and personal differences in a multicultural world destroys performance, leveraging them makes organisations profitable and sustainable. Solutions created before globalisation are not designed to address the people challenges of the 21st century, that is what Global DISC™ was created for. It is the ideal solution to create an inclusive environment supported by measurable and repeatable results." Robert Cubbage, Ernst & Young Partner

How To Optimise The Candidate Selection For International Assignments

In a best-case scenario, international assignments are a win-win for organisations and their people. However, international assignments can also gloriously fail if candidates and target countries are a mismatch. Global DISC ™ corporate solution supports organisations and candidates planning for international assignments in many ways:

Ability To Cope With Change And Cultural Adaptation

First of all, the Global DISC ™ assessment measures personality traits needed to cope well with change and cultural adaptation during international assignments. It reliably predicts how individuals will respond to the personal and professional challenges of living and working abroad. The assessment results support the selection of the most suitable candidates.

Personal Strengths And Risk Factors In 50 Countries

Global DISC ™ also identifies the strengths and risk areas for individual candidates in up to 50 different target countries. The assessment compares an individuals’ profile with the cultural profile of a selected target country. Candidates can be matched to specific countries, but are also provided with specific advice on how to adapt best using individual strengths and improve potential cultural weaknesses. Coaching or training opportunities can be tailored based on the Global DISC ™ assessment results to meet needs prior to and during an international assignment.

Future Leadership Planning

Global DISC ™ can support the future career planning of global leaders. If an individual is strongly culturally intelligent, they will be suited to many different international assignments. Those who are less culturally flexible, may be better suited to fulfil just one or two assignments in countries with a culture that is similar to their home country.

Spouse/Partner Risk Factors

Moreover, Global DISC ™ can help to identify any potential family risks of an international assignment. By offering the spouse or partner of each candidate to take the Global DISC ™ assessment, they can understand better how likely they are to thrive in a specific country. This knowledge may influence their personal choice, your choice of candidate but can also help to provide the best support right from the beginning.

Support For Receiving Offices

Last but not least, Global DISC ™ can be beneficial to the receiving office abroad. By letting future team members take the assessment prior to the assignee’s arrival, the team building process can be profoundly facilitated. With the Global DISC ™ Fast-Teaming Passport, colleagues in the receiving office can adjust to work effectively with the new co-worker from day one and will appreciate incoming skills more.

Global DISC ™ supports organisations to develop more nuanced candidate selection practices, ensuring that employees yield the greatest return on investment for a given international assignment. With over 20 years of experience in crosscultural business and our global network of vetted trainers, coaches and consultants, we can provide you with a full-service implementation of Global DISC  Corporate Solution plus individual coaching and training options on demand. Make your company a winner in the global marketplace!

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Selection for international assignments

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

The selection of individuals to fill international assignments is particularly challenging because the content domain for assessing candidates focuses primary attention on job context rather than attempting to forecast the ability to perform specific tasks on the job or more generally, the elements listed in a technical job description. International assignment selection systems are centered on predicting to the environment in which the incumbents will need to work effectively rather than the technical or functional job they are being asked to do which in many cases is already assessed or assumed to be at an acceptable level of competence. Therefore, unlike predictors of success in the domestic context where knowledge, skills, and abilities may dominate the selection strategy, many psychological and biodata factors including personality characteristics, language fluency, and international experience take on increasing importance in predicting international assignee success. This article focuses on the predictors affecting the outcome of international assignments and the unique selection practices, which can be employed in selection for international assignments. In addition, this article discusses the practical challenges for implementing the suggestions for selecting international assignees.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

• Applied Psychology
• Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

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• 10.1016/j.hrmr.2009.02.001

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• Link to publication in Scopus
• Link to the citations in Scopus

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• International Assignments Business & Economics 100%
• Job Description Medicine & Life Sciences 57%
• Predictors Business & Economics 39%
• Mental Competency Medicine & Life Sciences 35%
• Personality Medicine & Life Sciences 33%
• Biodata Business & Economics 30%
• Language Medicine & Life Sciences 29%
• Psychology Medicine & Life Sciences 25%

T1 - Selection for international assignments

AU - Caligiuri, Paula

AU - Tarique, Ibraiz

AU - Jacobs, Rick

PY - 2009/9

Y1 - 2009/9

N2 - The selection of individuals to fill international assignments is particularly challenging because the content domain for assessing candidates focuses primary attention on job context rather than attempting to forecast the ability to perform specific tasks on the job or more generally, the elements listed in a technical job description. International assignment selection systems are centered on predicting to the environment in which the incumbents will need to work effectively rather than the technical or functional job they are being asked to do which in many cases is already assessed or assumed to be at an acceptable level of competence. Therefore, unlike predictors of success in the domestic context where knowledge, skills, and abilities may dominate the selection strategy, many psychological and biodata factors including personality characteristics, language fluency, and international experience take on increasing importance in predicting international assignee success. This article focuses on the predictors affecting the outcome of international assignments and the unique selection practices, which can be employed in selection for international assignments. In addition, this article discusses the practical challenges for implementing the suggestions for selecting international assignees.

AB - The selection of individuals to fill international assignments is particularly challenging because the content domain for assessing candidates focuses primary attention on job context rather than attempting to forecast the ability to perform specific tasks on the job or more generally, the elements listed in a technical job description. International assignment selection systems are centered on predicting to the environment in which the incumbents will need to work effectively rather than the technical or functional job they are being asked to do which in many cases is already assessed or assumed to be at an acceptable level of competence. Therefore, unlike predictors of success in the domestic context where knowledge, skills, and abilities may dominate the selection strategy, many psychological and biodata factors including personality characteristics, language fluency, and international experience take on increasing importance in predicting international assignee success. This article focuses on the predictors affecting the outcome of international assignments and the unique selection practices, which can be employed in selection for international assignments. In addition, this article discusses the practical challenges for implementing the suggestions for selecting international assignees.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67649531910&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=67649531910&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.hrmr.2009.02.001

DO - 10.1016/j.hrmr.2009.02.001

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:67649531910

SN - 1053-4822

JO - Human Resource Management Review

JF - Human Resource Management Review

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Cultural Intelligence (CQ) in Action: The Effects of Personality and International Assignment on the Development of CQ (International Journal of Intercultural Relations)

International Journal of Intercultural Relations

We examined (1) the effect of international assignments on the development of cultural intelligence - CQ over time (2) whether crucial personality traits (i.e., extraversion and openness to experience) had a moderating role in the relationship between international assignments and CQ in a longitudinal design. A total sample of 145 military personnel participated in the study at the beginning of the deployment (Time 1) and 121 persons participated at the end of the deployment (Time 2) in a multinational and multicultural military organization. 2 x 2 repeated measures ANOVA showed that the six-month international assignment did have a statistically significant effect on the development of all four facets of CQ over time. Moreover, moderated multiple regression analyses demonstrated that individuals who are high on extraversion improved their metacognitive CQ and behavioral CQ more than did individuals who are low on extraversion. Similarly, individuals who are high on openness to experience improved their motivational CQ more than did individuals who are low on openness to experience. Our results show that extraversion and openness to experience are crucial personality characteristics related to a person’s capability to function effectively in diverse cultural settings. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

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As the work environment is changing rapidly, organizations need more adaptable employees that can work creatively, learn new skills, and adapt to diverse social contexts and novel environments. Individual differences such as prior experience and self-efficacy have been extensively examined as predictors of adaptive performance. In contrast, the role of cultural intelligence in promoting adaptive performance has been overlooked. The primary goal of this study was to examine cultural intelligence that may account for adaptive performance beyond prior experience and self-efficacy. Moreover, we examined moderating role of self-efficacy in terms of the relationship between cultural intelligence and adaptive performance. We tested our hypothesis with multisource data, in a sample of 132 military personnel assigned in a multinational military organization using a longitudinal design. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that cultural intelligence, together with self-efficacy and prior experience, was important predictors of adaptive performance. Specifically, cultural intelligence explained additional variance in adaptive performance over and above that of prior experience and self-efficacy. These findings suggested the importance of cultural intelligence as a critical predictor of adaptive performance in multicultural contexts.

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As the work environment is changing rapidly, organizations need more adaptable employees who can work creatively, learn new skills and adapt to diverse social contexts and novel environments. Individual differences such as prior experience and self-efficacy have been extensively examined as predictors of adaptive performance. In contrast, the role of cultural intelligence in promoting adaptive performance has been overlooked. The primary goal of this study was to examine cultural intelligence that may account for adaptive performance beyond prior experience and self-efficacy. Moreover, we examined the moderating role of self-efficacy in terms of the relationship between cultural intelligence and adaptive performance. We tested our hypothesis with multisource data in a sample of 132 military personnel assigned in a multinational military organization. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that cultural intelligence, together with self-efficacy and prior experience, was important predictors of adaptive performance. Specifically, cultural intelligence explained additional variance in adaptive performance over and above that of prior experience and self-efficacy. These findings suggested the importance of cultural intelligence as a critical predictor of adaptive performance in multicultural contexts.

Dr. Pallvi Arora

Business in the global context calls for an understanding of diversity and cross-cultural concerns and issues that need to be carefully addressed to ensure that organizations function effectively. Culturally Intelligent organizations are those that completely realize cultural differences and reflect upon ways in which they may be able to function effectively across international boundaries. The present paper aims to deliberate upon the recent developments in the domain of Cultural Intelligence critically analyzing the challenges faced by such organizations in training their employees in becoming culturally intelligent while incorporating trust engagement, influence, authenticity and positive intent variables towards culturally synergistic solutions.

International Journal of Selection and Assessment

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Danijela S. Petrovic

This study deals with determining reliability, factorial validity, and convergent-discriminant validity of the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) and its subscales on a sample of university students in Serbia (N = 336). The convergent-discriminant validity of the scale and its four subscales are verified by testing the relationship with measures of social and emotional intelligence (Social Skills Inventory), personality (Big Five), and self-assessment of intercultural experience. The study results reveal high reliability of the scale and its subscales (.79 ≤ α ≤ .90), and confirm the four-factor structure of the CQS in accordance with the theoretical model that lies in its basis. In addition, the relationships of cultural intelligence measures and measures of other constructs are in line with the expectations. The correlations with measures of social and emotional intelligence are mostly statistically significant, ranging from low to moderate. Deviations from this pattern of correlat...

Barbara Diemer

The Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence and Work Outcomes of Expatriates in China by Barbara Joanna Diemer M.Ed, Masters in Education, Temple University, 2010 MBA, International Business & Marketing, La Salle University, 2003 BA, Economics & International Studies, La Salle University, 1999 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University December 2015 Abstract International assignment failures cost an organization roughly 3 to 4 times an expatriate’s annual salary with the most expatriate failures cited for work assignments in China. Previous scholarly research identified cultural intelligence (CQ) as being influential to expatriate work outcomes. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationships among a subset of CQ predictor variables and work outcome related dependent variables. Quantitative analysisInternational assignment failures cost an organization roughly 3...

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The Meta-morphosis of Mark Zuckerberg

The robotic nerd depicted in “The Social Network” has turned into the kinder, more accessible face of Silicon Valley. What’s going on?

By Vanessa Friedman

In the run-up to Meta’s first-quarter earnings report this week, a video image of Mark Zuckerberg suddenly started going viral.

Not because of the artificial intelligence assistant he was touting or because of the expected ad revenue growth, but because of the silver chain he was wearing around his neck.

“Mark Zuckerberg made an announcement about something Meta is doing with A.I., but I could not listen to or retain a second of it because when I look at the Reel of him talking, all I see is necklace,” Amy Odell wrote in her Substack, Back Row.

Later, a doctored version of the same picture with Mr. Zuckerberg sporting some scruffy facial hair got people even more excited. The 4,000-plus mostly drooling comments under an Instagram post from the celebrity news account The Shade Room included one from Gwyneth Paltrow, who compared Mr. Zuckerberg to her ex-husband, Chris Martin.

All of a sudden, it seems, people care a lot about how Mark Zuckerberg, 39, looks. At a time when the halcyon promise of technology has been cast in a darker, more suspicious light, the guy whose relentless allegiance to a gray T-shirt became synonymous with the nerd pledge to “move fast and break things” has somehow become the kinder, gentler face of technology.

“The history of Silicon Valley has always been about a carefully constructed image and narrative used to reinforce its myths,” said Venky Ganesan, a partner at the venture capital firm Menlo Ventures. But, he went on, “The playbook is changing.”

And Mr. Zuckerberg has emerged as the most visible sign yet that in the phenomenology of Silicon Valley, we are entering a post-Jobsian age.

Once upon a time, back in the days when Steve Jobs was the prophet of a better future through computing, the virtues of his approach to life seemed self-evident, including the adoption of an immutable daily uniform as the ideal form of dress. It freed the mind from the paltry concerns of such everyday choices as what color shirt goes with what socks. (So annoying!) Thus it was, too, with Mr. Zuckerberg, who went so far as to announce in a 2014 Facebook forum that he wore the same T-shirt every day because “I really want to clear my life so that I have to make as few decisions as possible, other than how to best serve this community.”

(Admittedly, it was a luxury version of a gray T-shirt from Brunello Cucinelli, but it was still a T-shirt.)

But after multiple trips by chief executives to Washington, D.C. , to testify about the controversies about anxiety and depression caused by social media pressures; after the convictions of Elizabeth Holmes (she of the Jobs-like black turtleneck) and Sam Bankman-Fried ; after the cesspool of conspiracy theories and anger that has emerged on X; after all that, the story — and its heroes’ journeys and its heroes’ costumes — suddenly doesn’t look so convincing. Behold the new, looser Mr. Zuckerberg.

He has become, said Joseph Rosenfeld, an image consultant and stylist who works with executives in New York and California, “a more democratized figure.”

Arguably the seeds were planted back in 2021, when Facebook turned into Meta, and Mr. Zuckerberg’s first avatar — dressed, as he generally was IRL, in a T-shirt and jeans — turned out to have a closet of alternative outfits, including a skeleton unitard and an astronaut’s suit. The transformation picked up steam as Mr. Zuckerberg discovered the joys of mixed martial arts and started posting photographs of himself shirtless , sweaty and with various bumps and bruises. It then reached a tipping point with the introduction of the platform Threads.

Not long after Mr. Zuckerberg unveiled his “open and friendly public space for conversation,” he also unveiled his own new, friendlier look — one that focused less on an automated uniform and more on experimentation (everything being relative), as recorded via his own Instagram posts. Suddenly, it seemed as though he was having fun with fashion.

He cheerfully shared photographs of himself looking “Yellowstone”-ready in a chunky shearling coat by Overland. (It seems to be the Maverick Rancher coat, which is the sort of subconscious tell “Saturday Night Live” might embrace.) Next came snaps of himself and his wife, Priscilla Chan, at Anant Ambani’s three-day pre-wedding celebration in Gujarat, in various forms of Indian-inspired finery: a gold silk Sunderbans Tigress shirt from Rahul Mishra, a black Alexander McQueen suit embroidered with silver dragonflies and a pastel floral kurta.

And then Mr. Zuckerberg added a pic titled “ jersey swap ” in which he and Jensen Huang of Nvidia traded outerwear, with Mr. Zuckerberg donning one of Mr. Huang’s trademark leather jackets and Mr. Huang his shearling. By the time of his last jaunt to the capital, he had let his tightly controlled Julius Caesar haircut grow into looser curls.

He has even started sharing shopping tips. When Jen Wieczner of New York magazine wrote an article identifying a sweater Mr. Zuckerberg wore as from the stealth wealth brand Loro Piana, he popped into the comments under the magazine’s Instagram post to note that the garment was actually a crew neck from Buck Mason — a Los Angeles brand that focuses on American classics — not one from an Italian luxury house owned by LVMH.

Then, when one of Mr. Zuckerberg’s followers complimented a ribbed knit cardigan he wore in a date night pick on his feed, he jumped in with a tag: “It’s @johnelliottco — I’m loving their stuff recently.”

Other brands he favors now include Todd Snyder and Vuori.

“They are kind of trendy names,” said Derek Guy, who blogs about men’s wear at Die, Workwear! “Everything has a different silhouette, like the sweatshirt with overly long sleeves or the T-shirt with dropped shoulder seams.”

Mr. Guy and Mr. Ganesan, of Menlo Ventures, said they were convinced that Mr. Zuckerberg had enlisted professional help (which is to say, a stylist) to help him develop his look. But a spokeswoman for Meta said that was not the case — at least for his day-to-day life. “Mark mostly buys clothes he finds on Instagram,” she said. “Though he does get input from time to time for formal events and occasions.”

Either way, Mr. Zuckerberg’s pivot from the luxury labels made famous by the morally bankrupt billionaires of “Succession” to more contemporary brands means that “he now has a stable of clothing that makes him an accessible figure for the world and his audience,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.

His new wardrobe also distinguishes him from rivals like Jeff Bezos — who has transformed himself into a real life version of Iron Man, with his bulging muscles, leather jackets and yachts — and Elon Musk, who seems to be channeling a sort of “Top Gun”-meets- “Goldfinger” vibe.

By contrast, Mr. Ganesan said, Mr. Zuckerberg now looks like “the buddy you want to call if you’re doing backyard construction.” Think of him as the tech dude next door. All of which matters because, Mr. Ganesan went on, “mainstream America can relate to that, and he is offering a mainstream product.”

And that, he said, is just “very good for business.”

An earlier version of a picture caption with this article, using information from Blanks by Thirteen Studios, misidentified the manufacturer of a white T-shirt that Mark Zuckerberg wore in Las Vegas. The shirt was made by John Elliott, not Blanks by Thirteen.

How we handle corrections

Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014. More about Vanessa Friedman

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