Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Sym-Q: 5 Factors That Predict Intercultural Success

By Constance Ridley-Smith Ph.D.

Expatriate workers? International Students? Department Transfers to different departments within the Same Organization? Relocations to different geographic locations within the Parent Company? Global Assignments? Student Transfers to new institutions, domestic or abroad? All are commonplace today.

Move beyond “Bricks and Mortar” concerns and delve into the aspects of organization-building that will:
• Facilitate seamless transfers
• Reduce employee turnover
• Increase student persistence
• Maximize performance

The newcomer experience in organizations and educational institutions can be improved by working the Five Factors that predict success.

The SYM- Q Model and research using the model examines the five factors which present the most significant intercultural issues for cultural intelligence in organizations, educational institutions, and anywhere newcomers enter an existing host culture.

FACTOR 1: The CQ Exchange (social and dialogue interaction patterns between newcomers and members of the host culture)
FACTOR 2: Individual Identity Factors (personal attributes; also called self-identity factors)
FACTOR 3: Generational Identity Factors (technology usage and age cohort)
FACTOR 4: Environmental Identity Factors (norms of the culture)
FACTOR 5: Collaborative Factors (clearly articulated job expectations or clearly outlined programs of study; these are also called Academic Factors in an educational institution).

Intercultural Success is a two-way street. Passage is negotiated by each interaction between newcomers and members of the host culture in the remaining four factors.

The SYM-Q Methodology prescribes these interactions to help you to make the most of your intercultural experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781491859537

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2019 Constance Ridley-Smith, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

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Published by AuthorHouse 06/13/2020

ISBN: 978-1-4918-5949-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-5953-7 (e)

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BEYOND

BRICKS AND MORTAR

SYM-Q™:

5 Factors that Predict

Intercultural Success

Second Edition

Constance Ridley-Smith, Ph.D.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks is given to Millennial Manager, Kenneth McFadden, Jr. for his collaboration on Multi-Generational Expectations in the Workplace. His keen grasp of inter-generational issues within the context of solid management experience emerges in an authentic, useful way.

Like the author, Sheila V. Holder, Ph.D., is also a graduate of the forward-thinking Northern Caribbean University Department of Graduate Education and Leadership. Dr. Holder conducted doctoral research which bears an approach and theoretical framework that are similar to my own. I am grateful to Dr. Holder for assisting with the preparation of the comparative analysis which is found on pages 34-39.

Gen-X Global Worker Mary Manning George and others shared their experiences in such a way that we can understand some of the difficulties that occur in the inter-generational workplace and in selected global organizations. I am profoundly grateful for such candid expressions. Special thanks to Attorney Jerrilyn Manning for her consultation and input.

Mark Van Den Hende, Ph.D. provided a content review. In addition, he was a great sounding board. A fellow Gen-Joneser, who was also born in 1957, Mark contributed richly to my understanding of the experiences that framed our era.

Images used in this document were sourced as follows:

Icons used to set apart the Case Studies and the Learner Engagement pages were purchased for use from www.shutterstock.com. Some additional images were purchased from Shutterstock. Edwin Smith contributed to the graphic design of The Model.

Graphics produced to report the results of 2016 and 2017 studies were created by Jenn Fell of Sunflower Design using Shutterstock Royalty-Free Images purchased by license agreement with Shutterstock. Charts were also produced by Jenn Fell/ CGI Graphics, Maryland.

Formatting of this book was performed by The Write Appeal (www.writeappeal.com); cover design also by The Write Appeal. Image on Front Cover was created as work for hire subscribed by Breakthrough Communications with the following specifications: The Write Appeal for the original concept upon which the author embellished; Cherie Richardson photographer; Dr. Ashley Smith and Dr. Mark, hand models permissions on file; the brick model was constructed by Michael Brangman. Appreciation is also extended to Mr. Cordell Riley for statistical consultation and support on the SYM-Q™ Instruments. This work could not have been possible without the Participants in the Research Studies. My most sincere thanks to all who participated.

SYM-Q™ can help you to facilitate the transition of newcomers to any existing environment or culture. The SYM-Q™ Comprehensive Inventory is optimal for coaching and counseling and can be used in the development of an organizational development strategy for Intercultural Competence. SYM-Q™ products are fully protected by U.S. Copyright law and are registered under trademark application. Any proposed use of SYM-Q™ must be obtained from the author, without exception.

Front Cover Hand Models

Mark Van DenHende, Ph.D. and Ashley Smith, PharmD.

♦

Set

Michael Brangman

♦

Cherie Richardson, photographer for cover art

♦

Edwin Smith, graphic design of the SYM-Q™ Model

♦

The Write Appeal, formatting and design of inside copy

Preface

My interest in this work is based on life experience. From as early as I can remember, I have been immersed into intercultural environments. In my toddler years, which are a vivid memory, I lived in an intercultural environment in East Jackson, Tennessee, USA. We were Protestants- Missionary Baptist; my best friend next door was Catholic. I went to Sunday School and she went to Mass. Both of my grandparents were black: my grandfather was very African-American in his appearance; his grandfather was a slave; whereas, his wife, my maternal grandmother, could have nearly passed for Caucasian.

The neighborhood was comprised of extended families. My best friend’s great-grandparents were a mixed-race couple (which was unheard of in the late-1950s in West Tennessee). Her great-grandmother was Caucasian and her great-grandfather was West Indian. Her grandfather, their son-in-law, was a lawyer. My grandfather was never educated. Both men, however, saw to it that their daughters – our mothers— received a college education at Lane College. She and I were best friends and so were our parents.

Due to the circumstances of the South, other neighbors were under-educated and poor, whereas my best friend and I were in rising middle class families. Some neighbors’ homes were spartan, by comparison, but I was just as comfortable spending time and the night in their homes as I was in my own. It may seem strange, but I didn’t regard these individual and cultural differences until recently -- in my late adult years. All of these relationships, diversity in skin color, ethnicity, race, religion, educational status, and family economics seemed ...just seemed normal. No one assigned labels. People just co-existed. In my late teens, I began a journey into an unknown culture. Later, I married into that culture and currently reside in it (Bermuda).

Along the way, my career led me to teach public school music. My students and I lived in a community that was a melting pot comprised by various ethnicities: White American, African-American, families from the Middle East, and those of Polish descent. Student abilities in my classes ranged from average students, academically talented, learning disabled, partially sighted, and hearing impaired. They were parented by stay-at-home moms and working moms. They lived in single- and dual-parent homes. Music was our language; it transcended all of these barriers. Teaching in Detroit Public Schools was a great training ground for what I would later experience as an international student and worker.

One summer, I studied classical piano in Europe. The music -- the sound of the notes and the score --translated seamlessly, but everything else was a translation challenge. The instruction was not in English, nor were the street signs and maps. I was often frantic as I navigated the journey to my classes and performance sites. I was no less frustrated once I arrived and had to understand the day’s lesson in a tongue that was foreign to me. It was such a refreshing experience to receive help from members of the existing environment who were patient as I tried to understand Catalan and make myself understood in conversational Spanish which was more often, Spenglish.

I received much of my Leadership Training in the United Kingdom and completed my doctoral degree on the island of Jamaica as an international student. Much of what was spoken in these two academic settings went right over my head. I couldn’t rely on what I was hearing. That required me to study harder. Even though all spoke English, the various dialects from Great Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Africa, Canada and then Jamaica, Cayman, Barbados, and Dominica, seemed like aural gymnastics. Everything had to be dually decoded. I had to use my reading skills as if they were a lifeline. My doctoral dissertation, which examined the desegregation of public schools in America caused me to stumble upon the theoretical framework known as Cultural Intelligence. A review of the literature revealed that most of the theorists had conducted their studies in business organizations that employed global workers. Continuing my dissertation research, I began to see that Cultural Intelligence was not only a relevant topic for international businesses, it was also for schools. That’s when I noticed a gap in the Cultural Intelligence theories. My niche would be to examine CQ in academic institutions, also. As I studied the desegregation issue (in American public education systems, my own desegregation experiences, and the intercultural challenges on the island of Bermuda), I saw that the critical factor in predicting intercultural success is the quality of the reciprocal actions between the newcomer and the members of the existing environment. Relationships are better when the interactions are reciprocal, or symbiotic. Hence, the use of the term, Symbiotic Intelligence or SYM-Q™.

Therefore, SYM-Q™ is for any situation where newcomers are entering an existing cultural environment: businesses, schools, and personal relationships. The intercultural exchange was always made easier for me when the members of the existing environment took a special interest in my dilemma and met me halfway by providing support, guidance, and assistance. I knew that my work on this topic would continue past my dissertation. This had to be a topic that I would write about to share with others who planned to leave their indigenous borders to work, to play, or to study. SYM-Q™ is also useful to those who are entrusted to facilitate the immersion of newcomers into new environments. Wherever I travel, people readily share their intercultural experiences; their triumphs and their challenges. They nod appreciatively when I begin to share the SYM-Q™ philosophy. SYM-Q™ resonates with the way people want to interact with new people and experience new environments. SYM-Q™ just makes sense. Are you ready to increase your SYM-Q™?

Constance Ridley-Smith, Ph.D.

Dr. Connye

Contents

INTRODUCTION

DEFINITION OF TERMS

THE SYM-Q™ MODEL

THE COLLABORATIVE FACTORS

THE FIVE SYM-Q™ FACTORS

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS

INTELLIGENCE THEORY

CQ DECISION TREE

FILLING THE GAP OF EXISTING CQ THEORY

SYM-Q™ FILLS THE CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE (CQ) GAP

RESEARCH FINDINGS

COMPARISON OF FINDINGS IN 5 CQ/ SYM-Q™ RESEARCH STUDIES

2015 DISSERTATION RESEARCH - SCHOOL DESEGRAGATION ERA

2014-2016 RESEARCH SUMMARY: EXPATRIATE STUDY

2016 RESEARCH SUMMARY: UNIVERSITY GRAD STUDENTS

2017 RESEARCH SUMMARY: SYM-Q™ IMPACT ON PERSISTENCE AND RETENTION

THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY FACTORS

THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF GENERATIONAL FACTORS

THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF CULTURAL IDENTITY FACTORS

THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF COLLABORATIVE FACTORS

ACTION PLANNING

APPENDICES-AUTHOR’S WORKING PAPERS

APPENDIX A

SUMMARY OF EXISTING CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE (CQ) MODELS

APPENDIX B

ABRIDGED SUMMARY OF RIDLEY-SMITH (2014) CQ RESEARCH EXPATRIATE WORKERS

APPENDIX C

DIAGRAM TO ILLUSTRATE THE PROCESS

APPENDIX D

INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR QUALITATIVE ASPECT OF THE RESEARCH UNDERTAKEN

APPENDIX E

QUANTITATIVE INSTRUMENT USED IN 2014-2015 RESEARCH

APPENDIX F

MATRIX OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM QUALITATIVE FINDINGS

APPENDIX G

CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE SCALE SUMMARY OF RESEARCH

APPENDIX H

MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE EMERGING FIELD OF CQ TO BE CALLED SYM-Q™

APPENDIX I

FROM CQ TO SYM-Q: HOW TO INCREASE INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE AT YOUR INSTITUTION

REFERENCES

List of Figures

Figure 1. The SYM-Q™ Model

Figure 1B. The SYM-Q™ Model -distinguishing the Collaborative Factors in Business Organizations and Educational Institutions

Figure 2. Four aspects of intelligence theory

Figure 1C. The Symbiotic Intelligence Model (SYM-Q™) Reciprocal Actions

Figure 3A. Reciprocal Actions for Members of the Existing Environment.

Figure 3B. Reciprocal Actions for Newcomers.

Figure 4. Model depicting unsuccessful and successful completion of the CQ exchange.

Figure 5. The four aspects of intelligence theory merged with Behaviors associated with the SYM-Q™ Survey.

Figure 6. A representation of the four aspects of intelligence theory that are suggested by the work of Sternberg and Detterman (1986).

Figure 7. Relationship between Metacognition and Behavior.

Figure 8. Relationship between Metacognition and Cognition.

Figure 9. Relationship between Motivation and Behavior.

Figure 10. Relationship between Motivation and Behavior.

Figure 11. Relationship between Cognition and Behavior.

Figure 12A. Satisfaction with Interacting, Socializing, Working, Shopping in the New Environment

Figure 12B. Satisfaction with Socializing and Working in the New Environment

Figure 13. Relationship between Motivation and Behavior.

Figure 14. Academic support.

Figure 15.Academic rigor.

Figure 16. Social inclusion.

Figure 17. Climate

Figure 18. Academic stamina.

Figure 19. Comparison of Technology Use between institutions supports the students’ self-disclosed need for additional Technology Skills Tutorials.

Figure 20. Relationship between clearly outlined programs of study and attitude toward persistence 63

Figure 21. Academic Resources. Students self-disclosed the need to learn Academic Computing Skills in 2017 Study.

Figure 22. Age Cohorts present in an organization, 2015.

Figure 23. Comparison of Age Cohorts, 2015 & 2018.

List of Tables

Table 1:Analysis of the Big 5 Personality Traits

Table 2: Summary of Author’s SYM-Q™ Research 2013-2017

Table 3: 2015 Doctoral Dissertation Study – Desegregation of a Public School System in TN

Table 4: Responsibilities in the Learning Exchange (influenced by Cummings, 1994)

Table 5: Two Mindsets: On Land vs. In Cyberspace

Table 6: How Generational Beliefs were Formulated

Table 7: Source of Info…Media Storage by Date of Birth

Table 8: Major Issues b y Generation

Table 9A: Environmental Factors (Host Culture Identity) - Cultural Elements

Table 9B: Corresponding Behaviors

Table 10A: Collaborative Factors (Role Definition)

Table 10B: Collaborative Factors (Program Definition)

Table 11: First Experiences with Teachers of a Different Race

Table 12: Comparison of Cultural Constructs between two nationalities (abridged)

Table 13: Comparison of Cultural Constructs between three national groups (abridged)

Table 14: Comparison of Cultural Constructs between two Nationalities – (complete)

Table 15: Comparison of Cultural Constructs between three National Groups (complete)

Table 16: Theory and Practice Related to Cultural Intelligence

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Quick Tips Index

Tips For Improving the CQ Exchange

Practical Application of the Four Intelligence Abilities

Managing the Individual Identity Factors

Bridging Generational Identity Factors

Understanding Cultural Identity Factors

Making the Most of Collaborative Factors

I

Introduction

Definition of Terms

Adaptation. The third of three intersecting paths of cultural intelligence, following what I think about a new culture (direction), and whether I am motivated and feel confident to act (energization). When in a new culture, adaptation is a person’s ability to create the actions needed for the situation" (Earley, Ang, & Tan, 2006, p. 8).

Assimilation. "Piaget believed that there are two basic ways that we can adapt to new experiences and information. Assimilation is the easiest method because it does not require a great deal of adjustment. Through this process, we add new information to our existing knowledge base, sometimes reinterpreting these new experiences so that they will fit in with previously existing information." (Cherry, 2013, para. 2).

Accommodation. When new experiences cause the person to alter or completely change their existing beliefs, then it is known as accommodation (Cherry, 2013, para. 6).

Collaborative Factors. In an educational institution the collaborative factors are known as Academic Factors. As students move from one institution to another one, they judge these academic factors in terms of the accessibility of tutors, advisors, and instructors as well as support systems such as study groups, and other resources that narrow the student learning gap. In a business environment, collaborative factors dictate the quality of the job experience in terms of clarity of role, meaningfulness of the work performed, autonomy, and the ways these factors are experienced and navigated.

Cultural consensus. This is a model that