Chapter 15: International Human Resources Management
Culture Quiz
Inventory of Cross-Cultural Sensitivity
Scoring the Culture Quiz
Scoring Guide
Culture Quiz
The possibility of an international assignment as part of your career
plan may interest you. But are you ready to adapt to a foreign culture?
The following quiz provides an assessment of your sensitivity to other
cultures.
Inventory of Cross-Cultural Sensitivity
The following questionnaire asks you to rate your agreement or disagreement
with a series of statements.
Please circle the number that best corresponds to your level of agreement
with each statement below.
l = Strongly Disagree
7 = Strongly Agree
| 1 |
I speak only one language. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 2 |
The way other people express themselves is very interesting
to me. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 3 |
I enjoy being with people from other cultures. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 4 |
Foreign influence in our country threatens our national
identity. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 5 |
Others' feelings rarely influence decisions I make. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 6 |
I cannot eat with chopsticks. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 7 |
I avoid people who are different from me. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 8 |
It is better that people from other cultures avoid
one another. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 9 |
Culturally mixed marriages are wrong. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 10 |
I think people are basically alike. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 11 |
I have never lived outside my own culture for any great
length of time. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 12 |
I have foreigners to my home on a regular basis. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 13 |
It makes me nervous to talk to people who are different
from me. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 14 |
I enjoy studying about people from other cultures. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 15 |
People from other cultures do things differently because
they do not know any other way. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 16 |
There is usually more than one good way to get things
done. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 17 |
I listen to music from another culture on a regular
basis. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 18 |
I decorate my home or room with artifacts from other
countries. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 19 |
I feel uncomfortable when in a crowd of people. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 20 |
The very existence of humanity depends upon our knowledge
about other people. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 21 |
Residential neighborhoods should be culturally separated. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 22 |
I have many friends. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 23 |
I dislike eating foods from other cultures. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 24 |
I think about living within another culture in the
future. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 25 |
Moving into another culture would be easy. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 26 |
I like to discuss issues with people from other cultures. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 27 |
There should be tighter controls on the number of immigrants
allowed into my country. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 28 |
The more I know about people, the more I dislike them. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 29 |
I read more national news than international news in
the daily newspaper.s |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 30 |
Crowds of foreigners frighten me |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 31 |
When something newsworthy happens I seek out someone
from that part of the world to discuss the issue with. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 32 |
I eat ethnic foods at least twice a week. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
Scoring the Culture Quiz
The QUIZ can be scored by subscales. Simply insert the number circled
on the test form in the spaces provided under each subscale heading.
IMPORTANT: Reverse the values for the items below, marked with an asterisk
(*). For instance, reverse scoring results in:
7 = 1, 6 = 2, 5 = 3, 4 = 4, 3 = 5, 2 = 6, 1 = 7
Then, add the values in each column for the subscale score. A total
ICCs score is obtained by adding the various subscale scores together.
At the present time, individuals can be ranked relative to others in a
particular group. Further studies to expand the 32 items and to assess
the predictive ability of the instrument are currently underway.
Scoring Guide
| C Scale |
|
B Scale |
|
I Scale |
|
A Scale |
|
C Scale |
| item score |
|
item score |
|
item score |
|
item score |
|
item score |
| 1*_____
6*_____
11*_____
12_____
17_____
18_____
23*_____
24_____
29*_____
32_____
|
|
2 _____
7*_____
13*_____
19*_____
25*_____
30_____
|
|
3_____
8*_____
14_____
20_____
26_____
31_____
|
|
4*_____
9*_____
15*_____
21*_____
27*_____
|
|
5*_____
10_____
16_____
22_____
28*_____
|
Totals
C Scale = ______
B Scale = ______
I Scale = ______
A Scale = ______
E Scale = ______
Total Score = ______
*Reverse score all items marked with * as these are negatively worded
scores. After taking the cultural sensitivity test, you will be anxious
to interpret your scores. Although no published psychometric data are
available for score comparisons, the following ranges provide a rough
interpretation of scores. The first scale is the "C" or Cultural
Integration Scale. This scale measures one's willingness to integrate
with other cultures. Scores from 10–30 would be low, 31–50
would be average, and 51–70 would be high. The "B" or
Behavioural Response Scale measures the perception of one's behaviour
toward others. Scores from 6–15 would be low, 16–30 would
be average, and 31–42 would be high. The "I" or Intellectual
Interaction. Scale measures one's intellectual orientation toward interactions
with other cultures. Scores from 6–15 would be low, 16–30
would be average, and 31–42 would be high. The "A" or
Attitudes toward Others Scale measures one's attitudes toward people from
other cultural groups. Scores from 5–14 would be low, 15–24
would be average, and 25–35 would be high. The "E" or
Empathy Scale measures one's ability to empathize with people from other
cultures. Scores from 5–14 would be low, 15–24 would be average,
and 25–35 would be high. The Total Score ICCS Score measures one's
overall sensitivity toward people from different cultures. Scores from
32–95 would be low, 96–160 would be average, and 161–224
would be high.
Sources: Reprinted by permission from Kenneth Cushner,
School of Education, Kent State University, September 1995.
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