Assignment Paper

Final Assignment Written Response—Intercultural Competencies: Environmental Scan and Analysis Word length: Approximately 2,000-2,500 words (8-10 double-spaced pages) For this final assignment, you will compile, discuss, and analyze information on an intended or a possible future global career placement of your choosing. You will conduct a brief environmental scan (i.e., gathering a minimum of 7 sources) on a particular international or global organization of your choosing, and your response to the questions below should reflect the cultural context within which this global organization operates. As a part of your report, you will research and analyze the (inter)cultural aspects of a specific position or work experience that you are interested in. NOTE: you should not attempt to define all aspects of an international or a global organization. Rather, you should clearly define and communicate (e.g., within question 1) the limitations, parameters, and specific context of the position for which you are gathering information. You are encouraged to be creative in your data gathering strategies; for instance, in addition to printed materials, you may gather data from online sources (e.g., journals, newsletters, websites, videos, social media, etc.). This assignment should be written as one essay which responds to ALL of the seven questions. For each question, make sure you provide an explanation and rationale that supports and demonstrates your analysis. Also, remember to provide a cover page, an introduction paragraph that frames your responses, and a conclusion paragraph that synthesizes and summarizes your analysis. Questions (note: suggested response length is one to one-and-a-half pages per question): 1. What global organizational context and position are you researching? Why? 2. What sources of information are available from your research? Which are the most valuable to you, and why? 3. What do your sources outline (i.e., what did you learn from your research)? What do they miss (i.e., what questions are you left with)? How might you try to discover answers to these outstanding/unanswered questions (e.g. you can suggest strategies for discovering answers for the outstanding questions)? 4. How does the context of the information sources (e.g., viewpoints/perspectives/objectives/biases of the authors, etc.) matter?5. What are the main differences between this global organizational context and your current work/life context? 6. What global relationships or global leadership qualities can be seen within this organization? Which are less obvious or visible? 7. What intercultural differences or conflicts might you anticipate working at the international or global organization? How could you try to address or manage these potential conflicts and foster positive intercultural communication?