What Makes You “Multicultural”

Knowledge of more than one culture can often help you create innovative solutions.

by

and

C. Lakshman

by

and

C. Lakshman

December 02, 2019

Microzoa/Getty Images

Summary.

Individual people can be multicultural in three different (albeit inter-related) ways: they can have deep knowledge of, they can identify with, and they can have internalized more than one culture. This article delves into those three aspects of being multicultural and describes what benefits can accrue from each of them.

You’ve heard about multicultural societies and groups, but have you thought about multicultural individuals and what they bring to organizations? Multicultural individuals — such as Chinese-Canadians, Turkish-Germans, or Arab-Americans — commonly think, perceive, behave, and respond to global workplace issues in more complex ways than monocultural individuals.

SF

Stacey Fitzsimmons, a monocultural Canadian, is an Associate Professor of International Business at the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria, Canada.
DV

Davina Vora, an American of German-Indian heritage who has lived and worked in four continents, is an Associate Professor of International Business at the State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz), USA.
LM

Lee Martin is a Senior Lecturer in Management at Deakin University, Australia. She has Chinese-Australian heritage and has lived, studied and worked in three continents.
SR

Salma Raheem is a Lecturer in HR/Organizational Behaviour at the University of Liverpool Management School. Born to South Indian parents in Dubai and brought up in international communities in the Middle East, Salma now lives in the UK, her adopted “home”.
AP

Andre A Pekerti is a Senior Lecturer in International Management at The University of Queensland Business School, Australia. He is a Christian of Indonesian-Chinese heritage who grew up in Jakarta, Southern California and New Zealand; as an Indonesian, naturalized New Zealander and Australian, Andre currently works in Brisbane.
CL

C. Lakshman, an Indian-American who has lived and worked in three continents, is currently an Associate Professor of International Business at Florida Atlantic University.

What Makes You “Multicultural”

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