《CQ 與你》

CQ 與你

CQ的概念與全球化有莫大的關係。筆者念中學的時期跟現在可謂截然不同。在80年代，誰會想到按一個掣，你的電郵便可以在一瞬間傳送至成千上萬的人手上。一部比名片稍大的智能手機能讓你與世界上任何一個角落的人溝通。安在家中便可在從任何地方落單訂貨。世界各地發生的事就像在你隔壁進行。人的距離逐漸收窄，地球變得越來越渺小。現在，即使你足不出戶，全球化亦不請自來。可是世界上有著不同種類的人。每人的行為模式除了跟性格有關外，文化背景亦有著舉足輕重的影響。譬如說美國人較崇尚個人主義，中國人則重視集體利益。美國人要求短時間內有果效，中國人則看重長遠目標。


在全球化環境下，這些不同的人會走在一起，甚至組成目標一致的群體，例如同班同學、體育隊伍、合唱團、公司團隊等。要令團隊發揮最大的效用，跟自己不同類型的人成為好朋友，現在你最需的是提升你的CQ文化智商。Early & Ang 在2003年的企業商管領域中提出了CQ的概念，把CQ定義成「測量一個人在不同國家、不同民俗與不同組織文化中，能否有效運作的能力」。高CQ的人未必是語言專家 ，但他們能理解不同文化，善於解讀不同行為﹙不論是語言或身體語言﹚背後的文化原因。CQ是可以透過教育和經驗培養的。

香港文化智商研究中心www.hkcqcenter.org致力提升香港人的CQ。我們 將舉辦講座、工作坊、研討會和課程等，令香港成為真正多元文化之都！

《香港立法會主席曾鈺成先生有關CQ文章》

香港很需要多一些有CQ的領袖。 

自法國心理學家比奈(Alfred Binet)上世紀初發明了「智力測驗」以來，人們對「智商」(Intelligence Quotient，簡稱IQ)的研究和應用已有百多年歷史。一般人都相信，IQ高表示天資聰穎，求學時成績優異，工作中精明能幹，做甚麼事都會比人優勝。 不過，智力並不是成功的唯一因素。一個人成就的大小，還要看他的工作態度，夠不夠認真、勤奮，有沒有恆心；遇上需要合作才能完成的任務，更要善於與人相處。這些特質跟智力相對獨立，並不是IQ高的人必然具備的。上世紀90年代中，人們開始重視由美國心理學家薩洛維(Peter Salovey)提出的「情緒智商」(或「情商」；Emotional Intelligence Quotient，簡稱EQ)。EQ量度的，是一個人察覺和評估自己和他人情緒的能力。有的研究認為，作為成功領袖的特質，EQ比IQ更為重要。 本世紀初，又出現了一種新的智商：「文化智商」(Cultural Intelligence Quotient，簡稱CQ)。這概念由新加坡南洋理工大學商學院教授洪洵(Soon Ang)和美國密西根州立大學管理學教授范戴茵(Linn Van Dyne)共同開發，並因2003年出版的暢銷書《文化智商：跨文化人際互動》(洪洵和康乃狄克大學商學院院長Christopher Earley合著)而引起廣泛的興趣。 CQ衡量的，是一個人對多種文化的理解和適應能力。CQ高的人，善於適應多元文化的環境，能夠與不同文化背景的人合作。隨著知識型經濟和信息時代的到來，經濟全球化成為不可逆轉的趨勢，跨地域、跨文化合作愈來愈普遍和重要。在跨文化合作中，參與者對文化差異的認知水平和應付能力，是合作成功的重要因素，於是CQ測驗便成為遴選跨文化人才的工具。 關於IQ、EQ和CQ三者的關係，領袖人才培訓機構「共同目的」(Common Purpose)的創始人兼行政總裁米德爾頓(Julia Middleton)有這樣的說明：有IQ的領袖能夠應付大量複雜的資料，善於把資料整理。高IQ的領袖認識到「人」的因素不能忽視，於是把EQ加到自己的工具箱裡。有EQ的領袖有知人之明，但他們所「知」的，往往只是和自己相似的人。高EQ的領袖明白自己不但要了解跟自己相似的人，還要了解和自己完全不同的人，於是就要CQ。 http://www.am730.com.hk/column-273598

《韓國人？日本人？差不多吧！》

香港的業主少不免要跟地產代理打交道。朋友是業主，最近分享了一個有趣故事：她有一個兩房單位放租，找來地產代理幫手。代理給她找來一位客人，但看樓前問我朋友是否懂日文。朋友曾學過日文，雖不算精通，但總能應付一點點。業主能跟租客直接溝通也算是不錯的賣點啊！何況一般業主都會覺得日本人是好租客！於是朋友爽快回應：「識！」

到約定那天，代理果然帶了一位亞裔外國人來看房子。可能因為言語不通，代理瑟縮一角。正當朋友鼓起勇氣嘗試用差不多已生鏽的日文作開場白時，那客人已率先以英語開口，告知朋友他是韓國人！朋友瞟了代理一眼，她微微低下頭，苦笑一下，像是說：「不好意思！」

姑勿論代理的專業水平如何﹙她應該要向客人介紹一下房子啊﹚，但她弄錯客人的國籍就確是「抵打」！地產代理的首要條件當然要熟悉本地樓市，但難保他們不會遇上外籍客人：特別是香港這個開放型經濟體，樓宇的買家、業主或租客很多都來自世界各地！即使你沒有離開過出生地，全球化正不請自來！在這前提下，你有甚麼準備？

《早餐只有A、B及C？》

香港雖說是國際大都會，但因文化差異而產生的誤會屢見不鮮。話說我有一位來自吉隆坡的朋友，冒名光顧某大茶餐廳。朋友是華僑，外表跟香港人沒兩樣，兼且能說廣東話及看中文字，只是沒有在香港長時間生活過。當時大約是早上十一點，雖不算清早，但仍是香港人的早餐尾段時間。朋友看到枱面上的餐牌，隨即點了一些招牌菜式。

伙記愛理不理的說：「沒有這些，只有早餐。」朋友有點愕然。為甚麼沒有，餐牌上不是寫了嗎？伙記顯然不知好歹：「沒有就是沒有，A、B或C餐？」

如此擾攘了數分鐘，直至朋友攘著說要離開才有經理級人馬前來解釋這個時段只有早餐選擇。原來香港人已不自覺地接受了早上時間只有指定的選擇，這或許是出於執行上的方便。可是對於外國人來說，客人是有絶對的選擇權利，何況她是專程過來吃聞名招牌菜啊！在今次事件上，這一點點文化差異在帳面上只做成幾十元生意損失，但這餐廳多年建立的聲譽就可能毁於一旦，尤其這次是涉及海外的聲譽啊！很多時候誤會並非由語言不通所致﹙最少在這件事上沒有﹚，更深層次的問題是彼此存在文化差異而不自知﹙就像朋友並不知地道茶餐廳文化，伙記原先亦無意識到她是「外國人」﹚。同樣的文化差異若發生在誇國集團的管理層內，牽涉的金額往往達到數百萬甚至更多！在全球化的大前提下，任何人都需要認識一點點與自己本身不同的文化。多一點體諒與包容便少一點誤解與紛爭！

《 IQ、EQ及CQ》

 自從上世紀德國心理學家L.W. Stern 提出IQ以來，人們便開始對智力作系統性的研究。
初時，IQ高的人被視為社會上的精英，甚麼問題都可以解決。不過人們漸漸發現，擁有成就的人只有少數是高IQ，相反，很多高IQ的人亦不見得事事順利。原因是一個人的成功與否往往取決於多項因素。
在1995年，美國Daniel Goleman首先提出EQ概念。其中最著名的要數「糖果實驗」。研究員把一顆糖放在一群4歲小孩面前，說他現在要出去辦點事，一會回來。期間他們可以拿一顆糖，要是誰能等他回來時才拿糖，便可以多拿一顆。結果有人急不及待便拿了一顆，但亦有忍著待15分鐘研究員回來，最後取得兩顆糖。結果顯示，取得兩顆糖的小孩長大後的成就明顯比先拿糖的小孩高。對小朋友來說，沒有什麼比控制衝動更難了。
那麼，高IQ及EQ是否就代表有足夠能力應付現今社會的需要？可以說，還欠一樣：CQ。


CQ 是什麼？

CQ文化智商。Early & Ang 在2003年的企業商管領域中提出了CQ的概念，把CQ定義成「測量一個人在不同國家、不同民俗與不同組織文化中，能否有效運作的能力」。高CQ的人未必是語言專家 ，但他們能理解不同文化，善於解讀不同行為﹙不論是語言或身體語言﹚背後的文化原因。CQ是可以透過教育和經驗培養的。

香港文化智商研究中心www.hkcqcenter.org致力提升香港人的CQ。我們 將舉辦講座、工作坊、研討會等，令香港成為真正多元文化之都！

What is your cultural intelligence?

 What is your Cultural Intelligence? Youth study measures to be successful in today's globalised world. 

 People to People Ambassador Programs Partners with the Cultural Intelligence Center, Pilot Study Confirms Educational Travel Program Structured to Enhance Student's Cultural Intelligence

SPOKANE, Wash. – September 27, 2010 – People to People Ambassador Programs, the leader inglobal educational travel experiences, today announced the results of a pilot study conducted with The Cultural Intelligence Center of East Lansing, Michigan. The pilot study measured the Cultural Intelligence (CQ) of Virginia high school students that traveled internationally with People to People Student Ambassador Programs to discover the impact the program had on the students' individual CQ – a research based, proven way to measure and develop the ability to adapt to a variety of cultural situations.

CQ is similar to IQ and EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) in that it quantifies a set of capabilitiesbelieved to be important to both personal and professional success. It is unique in that it focuses specifically on the skills needed for success in unfamiliar cultures. 

"Cultural understanding and engagement have always been core values in how we structure our educational travel programs, in fact long before CQ became a recognized concept," said Peg Thomas, president of People to People Ambassador Programs. "But this study helped confirm the cultural immersion benefits and opportunities we offer with our programs. Additionally, we are thrilledto confirm via the research findings that our inspirational teachers who lead our travel experiences are big drivers for both enhancing and improving a student's CQ."

Using the CQ Self-Assessment, the only academically tested CQ assessment in the world, studentsmeasured their CQ before and after traveling abroad on a People to People experience. CQ is measured in four areas: Drive – What's my interest in this cross-cultural assignment?

Knowledge – What cultural information is needed to fulfill this task?; Strategy – What's my plan?; and

Action – What behaviors do I need to adopt to do this effectively? 

Key findings from the pilot study concluded that students had significant enhancement in their CQ

after traveling abroad with People to People, saw comprehensive CQ enhancement across all four

areas: Drive, Knowledge, Strategy, Action and that the People to People program had the highest

impact on Action, the most difficult of the four CQ areas to increase.

"It's not a foregone conclusion that students who travel abroad see an increase in CQ," said David

Livermore, PhD, author of Leading with Cultural Intelligence and senior research consultant with the

Cultural Intelligence Center. "The big difference is that People to People intentionally structures its

programs to enhance CQ. In fact, we have found that many of the most well intentioned

service-based mission trips and family travel experiences do not impact or increase CQ."

People to People Ambassador Programs travel to more than 49 countries on all seven continents

and program participants come from over 100 nations. The organization trains more than 5,000

teachers each year who lead students on educational travel experiences, and 84 percent of students

who have traveled on a People to People program report being accepted into their college of choice.

"The next generation of leaders needs to start working now on their CQ," said Cynthia Beath,

professor emerita, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin.

Along with People to People Ambassador Programs, there are a number of companies, government

agencies and non-profits tapping into the benefits associated with CQ, including Bank of America,

IBM, U.S. Department of Justice, Georgetown, Stanford, the Red Cross and World Vision.

About the Cultural Intelligence Center

The Cultural Intelligence Center (CQC) is a private business dedicated to improving the

understanding of Cultural Intelligence (CQ). The center offers the first academically validated

instrument to measure cultural intelligence. The center also sponsors research, conducts training,

and presents workshops and information sessions on CQ to audiences around the world.

About People to People Ambassador Programs

People to People Ambassador Programs is the world's most recognized and respected educational

travel provider. Since 1963 more than 400,000 people from around the world have traveled with

People to People Ambassador Programs to help further global understanding through cross-cultural

exchange. Offering unmatched safety measures and unparalleled access to foreign cultures and

countries, People to People Ambassador Programs promotes personal success in a globalized

world and fosters international friendships for both students and professional adults.

People to People Ambassador Programs is the exclusive educational travel provider of People to

People International (PTPI), a nonprofit organization founded in 1956 by President Dwight D.

Eisenhower to promote peace through understanding worldwide. Together, PTPI and People to

People Ambassador Programs are united in a mission to bridge cultural and political borders through

education and exchange.

About Ambassadors Group

Ambassadors Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EPAX) is a socially conscious, education company

headquartered in Spokane, Wash. Ambassadors Group is the parent company of Ambassador

Programs Inc. (which administrates People to People Ambassador Programs), World Adventures

Unlimited, and BookRags, an educational research website. The company also oversees the

Washington School of World Studies, an accredited travel study and distance learning school.

Additional information about Ambassadors Group and its subsidiaries is available

at  www.ambassadorsgroup.com.

http://citizens.peopletopeople.com/AboutUs/Pages/press-release-cultural-intelligence.aspx