In October 2018, Professor Josef Wieland led a research team comprising eight student researchers to the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden. Together they visited the exhibition “Racism – The Invention of Human Races”. The exhibition analyses the workings and scientific methods of racial classification, illustrates its media dissemination, addresses the history of the Deutsches Hygiene Museum in terms of racial propaganda under National Socialism and points towards politics of racial exploitation in the colonial period. The group was joined by a number of sociology students from Dresden’s University of Technology and their professor, Prof. Heike Greschke, as well as museum staff, Dr Susanne Illmer, Dr Carola Rupprecht and the exhibition’s curator Susanne Wernsing. After a guided tour, the group held a workshop to discuss aspects of racism, reflecting on the exhibition and prominent approaches to address inequality issues, and taking a closer look at the potentials of a transcultural approach and its – primarily economic – perspective. All panel members agreed on the importance of empathy skills and the avoidance of prejudices when facing social diversity in any given context or interaction.

“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” This quote from Gloria Steinem states two important things: women’s rights are human rights and gender equality is based on collective efforts from diverse actors around the world. This assumption is the red thread in my research project which analyzes to what extent does transculturality improve the outcome of UN Women’s economic empowerment policies.

The question is whether the rather old concept of diversity management can be enhanced by the innovative approach of transculturality and therefore provide a solution for UN Women. For the time being it probably is a challenge, because UN Women’s organizational structure and HR policies block transcultural methods. Furthermore, transculturality is a challenge for UN Women because each society has its characteristics in constructing gender roles. For instance, in Sweden assumptions about gender identities differ from those in Rwanda because the concept of women’s rights varies among societies. But what all women have in common, is that according to Simone de Beauvoir “one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”

Despite the challenges, this research project aims to show that the transcultural approach could provide a solution for UN Women to find unity in diversity. Transculturality has the potential to enhance the diversity competence of the UN Women staff working on economic empowerment policies. This can possibly raise the awareness of cultural characteristics and increases a better understanding of women’s rights around the world. In practice this means that a diverse team at UN Women’s headquarter successfully conceptualizes an initiative for economic empowerment for female farmers in Northern Africa based on a transcultural understanding of women’s rights.

Research question
To what extent does transculturality improve the outcome of UN Women’s economic empowerment policies?

Data
Interviews with representatives from civil society, feminist economics and UN Women staff, content analysis by attending the sixty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, UNDP Gender Inequality Index and the World Banks’s Gender Data Portal as well as the ILO report on World Employment Social Outlook.

The project focuses upon informal institutions in an Indian business environment, presuming that, while non-Indian players may acquire the skills to deal with formal institutions through hiring professional service firms, dealing with informal institutions remains a challenge. Often such players need a local partner to gain access to resources in India and to build relationships with stakeholders – especially so if the non-Indian player is unsure of the Indian institutional context. However, the relationship with the local partner needs to be managed, too.

The project is to ascertain if Relational-Leadership approaches may contribute to addressing this challenge.

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What competence does it take to be successful in intercultural encounters? In our increasingly globalized world, this question must not only be dealt with by people at the forefront of public life. Every individual has a higher probability of interacting with people from diverse cultural backgrounds than ever before. The debate of Interculturality, as well as Multiculturality is embedded in the “debate on nation states as cultural containers, which […] can be found in most modern concepts of culture” (Fischer & Wieland 2016). The nation state as a basic unit of analysis results in a focus on differences between nations and is therefore a solution-oriented approach to the problems that occur during the intercultural encounter. Barmeyer and Franklin (2016) call for a paradigm shift in form of a “positive cross-cultural scholarship”. They outline that there is much less knowledge about the positive dynamics, cooperation’s and outcomes associated with cultural differences, and that new opportunities on a global scale may overcome the boundaries of differences based on commonalties and mutual advantage.

Transculturality is a concept that sets cooperation as its basic unit and becomes a cooperation-oriented approach, looking for shared experiences, commonalties and how they are created. As Transculturality is a fairly new concept, there are numerous definitions and constructs. Therefore, an elaboration of its main distinctions will lay at the heart of this research project. While a discourse on the concept of TC and its consequences has emerged, Wieland emphasizes the necessity for further studies on “the requisite qualities for developing transcultural executives and personnel” (2016).

Following this spirit, this research project shall contribute to the understanding of Transcultural Competence by tackling the following research question: How can Transculturality be operationalized and measured on an individual level? Two sub-questions arise: (1) How can Transcultural Competence be conceptualized theoretically? (2) How do related concepts operationalize and measure competence? The analysis includes questions in this fashion: Which fundamental perspectives on culture do related concepts possess, and what are their strengths and weaknesses? Which methods are being used to measure competences, and on which criteria and indicators are they based?

The main quality criteria of analysis shall be validity and reliability, while focusing on construct and face validity. A developed distinction between cognitive, affective and behavioural dimensions of competence will make it possible to analyse and distinguish the different definitions of competence. By conceptualizing and developing Transcultural Competence, and by comparing and systemizing related concepts, the purpose of this research project is to contribute to the further operationalization of Transcultural Competence.

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This text is a short summary of von Gilsa, T. (2017): Operationalizing Transcultural Competence, An analysis of related concepts and methods of measurements (Bachelor Thesis), including citations.

References

Fischer, D. & Wieland, J. (2016). Some Aspects of Transculturality. In: Wieland, J. & Leisinger K., eds. Transculturality – Leadership, Management and Governance. Marburg: Metropolis

Wieland, J. (2016). Transculturality and Economic Governance. In: Wieland, J. & Leisinger, K., eds. Transculturality – Leadership, Management and Governance. Marburg: Metropolis.

Barmeyer, C. & Franklin, P. (2016). Intercultural Management, A Case-Based Approach to Achieving Complementarity and Synergy. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Transculturality is a subject of growing interest in both the global academic and business world. When facing globalization, companies are required to work with resources and cultures across borders in order to strengthen cooperation and reap the benefits of globalization. Intercultural management, which is mainly focused on overcoming differences, is an often-used tool by companies to encourage the ability and willingness to cooperate. However, the current state of research in the field of transculturality suggests that transcultural management is about creating commonalities as a base for cooperative economic value creation in transactions among (culturally) diverse actors.

This development offers great potential for the productive management of (cultural) diversity. For companies the key question is how transculturality can be lived and sustained in daily business.

The aim of this project is to further enhance the understanding of transcultural management practices within globally operating companies. The focus will lie on Compliance, Integrity, Global Human Resources (Leadership Development), Diversity Management and Ethics/CSR. Explorative research will be conducted at the German and international departments of two distinct, globally operating firms from the automotive and mechanical engineering industry. In addition to understanding the status quo of transcultural management, the team aims at identifying opportunities for further development.

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2017 marked the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s sovereignty handover from Great Britain to the People’s Republic of China. It is a good time for us to review the role of Hong Kong under ‘One Country, Two systems’ and the transculturality among locals, migrants, foreigners, businesses and politics since the handover.

‘Transculturalism represents the idea that there are perceptions and ideas of moral values and principles, such as humanitarianism, justice or fairness, that are common to all cultures’ (Wieland, 2015). The goal of this research project therefore is to focus on the commonalities between the diverse cultures in Hong Kong, and on the corresponding learning processes and strategies for using and developing these commonalities through transcultural cooperation.

The theory of hybridity emphasizes neither cultural assimilation nor cultural diversity, it stresses an advent, a happening, an emergence of cultural form(s). Cultural identities and environments are produced by transnational processes and cultural fusions. Cultural hybridization could cause essentializing, alternating, converting, hybridizing, and innovating.

The case of Hong Kong offers an opportunity to analyze transculturality and cultural hybridity. Hong Kong is a migrant city. It is where East meets West, in which the culture of Hong Kong is deemed to be a mixture of both.

This research project aims at tackling questions of transcultural cooperation and the relating determinants and processes in Hong Kong through field study and observation. The team assembles seven students, the perspectives of six countries, five disciplines, and four study programs offered at Zeppelin University and targets meeting international migrants and local citizens for qualitative interviews. For this purpose, each of the young researchers will focus on a specific area, namely migration, arts, communication, policy, behavioural ethics or business & entrepreneurship, and therefore add a particular contribution to the overall research question.

From 7th to 14th of January 2018 the group went on a field trip to Hong Kong, where they had the opportunity to learn first hand about their fields of interest via field study and observation, meetings with local students and experts as well as taking part in guest lectures and workshops that were organized in cooperation with local partners.

The group is now in the process of analyzing their findings. They will host a symposium at Zeppelin University in fall and publish a book presenting their results in early 2019.

In this project, the current development and implementation of Sustainablity Reporting Measurement Systems (SRMS) will be analyzed in respect to transcultural leadership. Especially during the implementation of SRMS, when the companies negotiate internally about the definition of information for their report, as well as about the selection of corresponding indicators and data sources, transcultural leadership becomes relevant and observable in organizations.

Against this backdrop, this project aims to approach and examin SRMS with an international case study. The hypothesis is that organizations and their CSR experts face the following challenge when creating a corporate sustainability report: There are culture-specific internalized paradigms on the issues to be reported. For example, concerning environmental issues, the experts may trip over different paradigms on “environmental damage”. In different cultural settings, firms of the same sector or subsidiaries of the same company may put their emphasis on different environmental concerns and deduce different interpretations and recommendations. This can be called moral particularism, which can result in complexity and inconsistency in the creation of the report. Facing this situation, however, the compilation process of the report needs to be managed in a transcultural way to connect and unite this variety in a single document.

Just recently, the European directive on non-financial reporting was adopted. Hence, a new dynamic concerning international sustainability reporting and a need for efficient, IT driven management moved to the field. Looking at the described challenges about moral particularism is vibrant. We ask, could expertise in transcultural leadership be the required competence to effectively deal with moral particularism when using SRMS?

A global sustainability report puts data from worldwide activities into a single report to address societal expectations towards the company. Concerning worldwide reporting, the inclusion of the supply chain is crucial, which implies the regional, on-site use of software. Within a decade, an enormous change in technical solutions for corporate reporting has been taking place. At the same time, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and others have developed new guidelines for non-financial reporting. Surprisingly, the two changes are rarely discussed in combination. Nevertheless, market reviews about SRMS exist, and they are used in companies worldwide every day.

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The research project aims at providing a twenty-first century perspective on sustainable Transcultural Organizations and leadership as an organizational capacity. A mixed-methods research approach enables theoretical insights into transcultural organizational design on the one hand. On the other hand, practical perspectives are provided through a case study analysing the acquisition of TRW Automotive by ZF Friedrichshafen and, especially, ZF’s corresponding handling of it. The findings of the theoretical examinations and the case study are intended to lead to several statements on the Transcultural Organizations.

This project represents the complementary piece to a previous research project that was conducted with the Transcultural Caravan and led to the book article The Transcultural Leader. A Study Resulting in Five Core Statements in the Transcultural Carvan’s newest book Transculturality – Leadership, Management and Governance. Thereby, the project is intended as a continuation of the starting point for challenging and enriching future debates on the topic that is set with the book.

Is the Transcultural Organization able to meet the demand a sustainable future imposes on society and, thereby, on all of us?

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Studying at a young and innovative university has led to several questions about this institution, especially in light of how to become more international. Initially this question led my research, however soon it became clear that viewing the university as an international space does not suffice now-a-days. Instead, we moved on to describe it as a transnational space – but – what is transnationality and why is it important in the university context? What is a transnational space and what is not? Is transnationality a good thing? These are some questions that I plan to find answers to in the research project at hand. The aim is to discover more about the university as a transnational space, especially with regard to meeting the needs of students and faculty in the future. What makes a university transnational?

The first steps include a review of current literature and research and then the development of a working definition of both transnationality and a transnational space. The distinctness of this definition is crucial when trying to prove the following hypothesis:

Higher education is becoming increasingly transnational; hence the university is turning into a transnational space.

The methodology that will be used is a mixture between a theoretical approach and a benchmarking study. The latter will enable the comparison of different universities and higher education institutions. The universities will be chosen based on each one’s understanding of ‘university’ and on the individual problem solving strategies/ techniques regarding internationalisation issues.

From internationalisation to transnationalisation

Following the benchmarking, I plan to return to the theory available on internationalisation of universities and will compare it to the literature available on transnationalisation. The aim here is to explain why the university is transitioning from an international to a transnational space. What do these changes mean to the university setting?

Finally, I plan to analyse the current situation and to take a critical look at the requirements of the university as a transnational space. How can these requirements be met through strategic procedures? How can universities guarantee their attractiveness and competitiveness in a transnational environment and in the future? What will come after transnationality?

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The topic Leadership can be seen from two perspectives: as a research area, merely in an academic context, or as a capacity, a practical skill. The goal of the research project at hand is to enable crucial insights into Transcultural Leadership, focusing on the capacity but without lacking to tackle the academic context – since this will be broken down to make it vivid for today’s and tomorrow’s leaders of societal organizations. The project aims at defining what Transcultural Leaders are and how they can be shaped – which, as might be shown, could enable diverse and unexpected potentials to tackle twenty-first century’s challenges.

At first – regarding the academic perspective – research that deals with the question What is Transcultural Leadership? will be conducted to provide an academic fundament. The target dealing with this question clearly is to provide a literature review and to give an academic answer to the question or – at least – to concentrate what is already existent (LTCP-project etc.) and to enable further thoughts that link Transculturalism and Leadership. Focus in this part lies in the transfer of the academic context to the current state of the world and the corresponding potentials in leaders’ impacts.

Transcultural Leadership is a highly relevant concept when facing twenty-first century’s challenges – but a clear and accepted definition (economic, cultural etc.) about what it is still seems not to be truly tangible. To foster Transcultural Leadership, however, we strongly need to know what we are talking about. E.g. for executive education we need to know what Transcultural Leadership really is. Research here will be conducted systematically: from the past (literature) over the present (what is happening in this field right now) to the future (what do we need to know and where exactly do we need to work on). The goal is to contribute to a clearer view.

In the context of Leadership as a capacity an answer will be drawn to the question What characterizes and who is a Transcultural Leader? And how can one shape them?. Clear statements will be formulated – while conducting expert interviews – to make it tangible for today’s and tomorrow’s leaders, like: Transcultural Leaders recognize the different moral resources of their employees. They understand, manage, and foster them. Transcultural Leaders shape a shared moral bound.

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During the past decade the practice of non-financial (environmental, social and governance – ESG) reporting developed considerably. Methodologically, we see clearer guidelines for non-financial reporting such as those presented by the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) and SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standard Board) and others. Quantitatively, more companies choose to reveal their ESG performances in an orderly manner. In recent years, around 4,000 companies are publishing a yearly Sustainability Report. But still. The uptake is minor in relation to the total number of companies, especially MNCs (Multi National Corporations) that ought to publish such a report.

Recent numbers reveal that there are around 60,000 MNCs operating today, a rough calculation proves that less than 10% of all MNCs commit to nonfinancial reporting. The low uptake together with the mounting evidence for humanity’s environmental and social harms have brought to a transformation of ESG reporting, from a voluntary business oriented measure to a more stringent regulated one. Just recently, the European Directive of non-financial reporting was adopted, after which European member states will be required to transpose it into national laws. Thus, we are most definitely standing today on the edge of a transparency revolution or at the very least, a major evolution in business conduct.

According to the Directive, 6,000 large public interest enterprises will have to report on a number of sustainability matters, including environmental, social and employee issues, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters. Companies will be required to disclose concise, useful information necessary for an understanding of their development, performance, position and impact of their activity, rather than a fully-fledged and detailed report.

Although a very inspirational one, the Directive gives companies significant flexibility to disclose relevant information in the way that they consider most useful, in their financial report or in a separate one. Companies may use international, European or national guidelines which they consider appropriate. The fact is that this freedom of choice been given so widely to corporations may bring about the opposite result and feed current criticism for non-comparable, coherent or reliable reports.

Transcultural Business Norms

The mounting discourse concerning the importance of non-financial transparency is influencing business managers, shareholders, NGOs and legislators around the world. It can even be argued that responsibility, transparency and accountability (RTA) have become globally common values or, if not yet, will become so in the near future. These three normative pillars are the fundamentals of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) without which this whole concept is left empty or no more than a marketing trick.

As a first academic step of the project it is necessary and reasonable to assess and examine the role and different understandings of RTA as possible (transcultural) values in European (or global) business environments.

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Today’s general consensus suggests that one of the few things the countries of the Indian subcontinent – primarily Pakistan, India and Bangladesh – have in common is the mutual perception of one another as substantially different. This transcultural research project aims at contributing to the analysis whether this cognition applies or not.

To investigate this cognition, research on leadership styles will be conducted: What are the underlying values of young business leaders in these countries and to which extent do they differ from one another?

Resulting from the findings a more specific answer will be drawn as an input on the differences and commonalities between these countries. And potentially, if the hypotheses that the values of the leaders are rather similar in these countries is proven correct, this might set a slight starting point of a promising dialogue among the cultures of the Indian subcontinent.

The Approach

To analyse the value sets of the relevant leaders, a questionnaire-based profiling-tool, the LEIZ Transcultural Profiler (LTCP), will be used. The LTCP has been developed at Leadership Excellence Institute Zeppelin | LEIZ in collaboration with the TATA Group.

The LTCP is based on a combination of globally accepted norms of good corporate behaviour and has 8 dimensions to assess the respondents: Respectful, Empowering, Integrity, Protective, Cooperative, Ethical Leadership, Developing people (wider community), Fairness and Sustainability.

In the project collected data from Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi leaders will be analysed (also along with existing datasets; these datasets contain results from LTCP sessions at large German companies’ branches in China and Germany). The major investigation is the comparison of the datasets with one another and deriving upon conclusions about the commonalities between the value sets of young leaders from the Indian subcontinent afterwards.

As a second step, research experiments might be conducted. These experiments will take place in companies of the relevant countries themselves and are designed to either validate or negate the previous findings by the LTCP.

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Traditions of economic thinking in cultures as China and Germany are appreciably different. Differing norms and values have developed on these origins. The project aims to analyze conditions for a common denominator in a transcultural business environment and its educational underpinnings. In a global trade system, international relationships between culturally remote actors have become an everyday phenomenon. Apart from generic degenerative developments that challenge a market economy, like adverse incentive structures or loss of trust, there is in particular a lack of an ethical system of cooperation networks between cultures. There is no direct emotional attachment anymore as it traditionally existed in more manageable (nationally defined) societal structures. Creating a shared understanding toward issues that had been taken for granted has become essential to enable cooperation and reliability between trade partners and other institutions worldwide.

Evaluation of a Transcultural Profiling Tool and Implications for Professional Training

To realize cooperation and to identify, shape, and foster shared values in international companies, employees’ attitudes and their awareness of values is necessary. A tool for global value management in leadership developed at LEIZ is the LEIZ Transcultural Profiler (LTCP). It is a questionnaire-based instrument that addresses how managers deal with cultural values. This is what the project begins with: The planned project is going to collect data using the LTCP and analyze it along with existing datasets. The datasets contain results from LTCP sessions at large German companies’ branches in China and Germany. Additional data will be gathered in China and Germany to have comparable samples. The second step is data analysis along different criteria, such as group comparisons of transcultural competencies and priorities according to national culture, educational (business ethics) background, industry sector, overseas experience, gender, etc. As a third step, implications from the correlations will be derived and used to reflect on current curricula of leadership training and on validity and reliability of the LTCP.

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