There is no ‘one size fits all’ here!
Intercultural Competence (IC) is measured in a number of different ways, using a number of different tools. The important thing when measuring IC is to recognize that there are different tools and competencies used in different industries and areas. When measuring IC in yourself, or colleagues or students, it’s important to understand how these topics are engaged with in your area.
An example of an accredited IC tool is The Intercultural Readiness Check (IRC). The IRC is a tool used to assess a person’s suitability for working in a multicultural setting. The IRC is based on 4 dimensions:
1. Intercultural Sensitivity: How actively are you interested in other people and their cultural backgrounds?
2. Intercultural Communication: How effectively do you adjust your communication style to meet the needs of people in a culturally diverse work setting?
3. Building Commitment: How much do you invest into building culturally diverse networks?
4. Managing Uncertainty: How effectively do you use cultural diversity as a source of learning and innovation?
The IRC can therefore be helpful for determining training and development needs, identifying strategies/recommendations to bridge cultural differences, and as part of selection process. The IRC is also available in English, German, French, Dutch, Japanese, and Spanish.
Below you will find a comprehensive list of the different IC tools available online, who they have been developed by and the competencies/factors that they each cover. The first thing that you will notice is that they are all different! Take time to read through and explore the tools that are either recommended by your university, stand out to you the most (or both).
To help you find what you are looking for, this list of IC tools and resources has been sorted into four categories: “For Individuals”, “For Teams”, “For Leaders/Management”, and “For Organisations/Other”.
For Individuals
1. Intercultural Readiness Check (IRC)— Tool used to assess a person’s suitability for working in a multicultural setting, based on 4 dimensions: intercultural sensitivity, communication, commitment, and management. This tool can be helpful for determining training and development needs, identifying strategies/recommendations to bridge cultural differences, and as part of selection process. It is available in English, German, French, Dutch, Japanese, and Spanish. (https://www.ibinet.online/competence-assessment2/)
2. GlobeSmart Profile SM (GSP)— This is an effective, statistically validated tool developed by Aperian Global (https://www.aperianglobal.com/) that is available in 13 languages used to discover individual work-styles taking into account cultural differences and emphasizing leverage similarities.
3. Global Readiness Development Assessment SM (GRDA)— Tool developed by Aperian Global (https://www.aperianglobal.com/) to assesses how ready an employee is to engage in an 4 international assignment by using a behavioural interview and validated instruments.
4. Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS)—20 item self-assessment tool that examines 4 factors and their interrelationships (strategies, knowledge, motivation, behaviour) used to examine capabilities believed to be important for successful intercultural interaction, including national, ethnic and organizational cultures. (www.culturalq.com)
5. Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory (BEVI)— Web-based tool that helps individuals gain a better understanding about themselves, others, and the world, and also how their own beliefs and values influence learning, relationships, and life goals. It is used to try to understand how beliefs, values, and ‘worldviews’ are acquired and maintained and under what circumstances their modification occurs (Shealy, 2004, p. 1075) by considering issues of openness, emotional attunement, genderbased practices and policies, religiosity, etc. (https://thebevi.com/)
6. Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI)— Self-assessment tool used to measure people’s ability to adapt to any culture by assessing how people respond to practical concerns expressed by culturally diverse populations and the professionals who work with them. (www.ccaiassess.com)
7. Diversity Awareness Profile (DAP)— Self-assessment tool used to increase awareness of people’s behaviour and how it affects others in order to help individuals improve working relationships with diverse co-workers and costumers. (www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd0787995541.html)
8. Cultural Mapping Assessment—72 item online inventory that examines intercultural dynamics in the work environment, allowing for intercultural intelligence to be developed and applied on individual, team, and organizational levels. (www.knowledgeworkx.com)
9. Global Mindset Inventory (GMI)—76 item survey used to measure an individual’s ability to work effectively with individuals, groups, and organizations from other parts of the world by measuring an individual’s and a group’s global mindset in terms of Intellectual Capital, Psychological Capital, and Social Capital. The inventory is available in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian (http://globalmindset.thunderbird.edu/home/global-mindset-inventory)
10. Intercultural Adjustment Potential Scale (ICAPS)— Tool developed by iChangeWorld (www.ichangeworld.com/index.html) that measures cross-cultural adaptability and predicts the degree to which a person will successfully adjust to living, working, and playing effectively in a new and different cultural environment. It measures psychological skills such as Emotion Regulation, Openness, Flexibility, and Critical Thinking.
11. Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory (ICS)— Self-administered tool used to measure how people respond to conflict in terms of 2 core aspects of conflict style: directness vs. indirectness and emotional expressiveness vs. emotional restraint. (https://icsinventory.com/)
12. Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)—50 item psychometric instrument used to measure personal development and self-awareness, audience analysis, organizational assessment and development, and data-based intercultural training. (www.idiinventory.com)
13.The Intercultural Language Learning Profiler (ILL-P) — Helps English learners reflect on their feelings about their foreign language self and intercultural identity. Learners take a short questionnaire which produces a profile of their "Intercultural Language Learning Self.”.
14. Global Competencies Inventory (GCI)— Used by the Kozai Group (https://www.kozaigroup.com/) to assess competencies critical to interacting and working effectively with culturally diverse people. This tool measures 17 competencies in 3 categories of intercultural adaptability: perception management, relationship management, and self-management. This instrument can be used as part of an assessment process for succession planning, selection, career planning, team building, coaching, or professional development.
15. Learning Styles Inventory (LSI)— Instrument typically used in intercultural training to measure 4 types of learning that constitute a person’s preferred learning styles. It is useful in demonstrating 5 forms of human diversity that are not exclusively linked to race, ethnicity, gender, or nationality. (http://learningfromexperience.com/tools/kolb-learning-style-inventory-lsi/)
16. Peterson Cultural Style Indicator (PCSI)— (https://acrosscultures.com/peterson-cultural-styleindicator/) 25 item questionnaire that can be used by both teams and internationally focused professionals to compare their cultural style to the typical style of people in more than 70 countries.
17. Cultural Orientations Indicator ® (COI)— Statistically valid cultural assessment developed by TMC (www.tmcorp.com) to measure a person’s work style preferences against 10 dimensions of culture, generating an analysis of cultural gaps by comparing the user’s COI cultural profile with national and regional cultural profiles.
18. The International Profiler (TIP)— (https://worldwork.global/international-profiler/) Tool used to help individuals reflect on where their strengths and limits are for working internationally by having a trained and licensed Charis consultant that interprets the information from TIP and provides feedback.
19. International Mobility Assessment (IMA)— Self-assessment tool developed by Tucker International, LLC (www.tuckerintl.com) for international assignment candidates and their families designed to be used early in the process so candidates can decide if they are ready to take on the challenges of living and working in another country.
20. Overseas Assignment Inventory (OAI) & International Candidate Evaluation (ICE)— Linked selfresponse instruments developed by Tucker International, LLC (www.tuckerintl.com) that assess motivations for seeking international assignments, expectations about such assignments, and attitudes/attributes that contribute to intercultural adjustment.
21. Worldprism profiler— (http://www.birdwell.fr/en/world-prismtm-profiler) Tool that allows people and organizations to identify their own cultural orientations, compare themselves to others, and identifies appropriate strategies for working effectively in spite of differences.
For Teams
1. GlobeSmart Teaming AssessmentSM (GTA)— Tool developed by Aperian Global (https://www.aperianglobal.com/) and designed to be used to identify strengths, weaknesses, and priorities along 7 elements of global team performance.
2. Cultural Mapping Assessment—72 item online inventory that examines intercultural dynamics in the work environment, allowing for intercultural intelligence to be developed and applied on individual, team, and organizational levels. (www.knowledgeworkx.com)
3. Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)—50 item psychometric instrument used to measure personal development and self-awareness, audience analysis, organizational assessment and development, and data-based intercultural training. (www.idiinventory.com)
4. The Culture in the Workplace Questionnaire™— 60 item questionnaire that is used to provide a profile using Hofstede’s dimensions of individualism, power distance, certainty, achievement, and time orientation that is later matched against country averages and can be compared with up to 15 selected countries to assist with global assignments, global work teams, and overall work-place interactions that are impacted by employees from different countries. (https://www.cwqculture.com/)
5. The Global Team Process Questionnaire— (http://www.itapintl.com.cn/indexphp/tools/toolsdescriptions/tpq/gtpq.htm) Tool that measures human processes on global teams, providing a benchmark for the global team’s current effectiveness. Allows companies to measure change over time, identify areas for improvement, compare team results to industry averages, and measure team process to determine return on investment.
7.International Team Trust Indicator (ITTI)— Assessment tool that measures trust levels and trust deficits within existing teams using 10 culturally sensitive trust criteria.
8. Global Mindset Inventory (GMI)—76 item survey used to measure an individual’s ability to work effectively with individuals, groups, and organizations from other parts of the world by measuring an individual’s and a group’s global mindset in terms of Intellectual Capital, Psychological Capital, and Social Capital. The inventory is available in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian (http://globalmindset.thunderbird.edu/home/global-mindset-inventory)
For Leaders/Management
1. GlobeSmart Leadership AssessmentSM (GLA)— Tool developed by Aperian Global (https://www.aperianglobal.com/) similar to the GTA but identifies strengths and areas of improvement based on 10 behaviours commonly seen in good global leaders.
2.Cultural Perspective Questionnaire (CPQ)—79 item questionnaire that measures 11 variations of 4 cultural orientations: Relationships, Environment, Nature of Humanity, and Activity. It is a tool used to understand management behaviours and characteristics related to culture.
3. DiversiScan™— Tool developed by the International Training and Development, LLC (http://www.diversityinclusioncenter.com) to increase leadership’s ability to scan the environment and identify challenges, needs, and opportunities that are critical to a company’s success in a diverse world. (https://www.diversityinclusioncenter.com/learning-tools/diinstruments/#diversiscan)
4. Diversity Leadership 360— Tool developed by the International Training and Development, LLC (http://www.diversityinclusioncenter.com) that measures the key behaviours that leaders in an organization need to possess and demonstrate for diversity inclusion to be successfully valued and managed.
5. Inclusive Leadership Profile™ (ILP)— Self-assessment tool developed by TMC (www.tmcorp.com) to measure the degree to which a person applies principles/practices to build and sustain an inclusive environment, by assessing levels of awareness, knowledge, behaviour, and impact-readiness based on a self-evaluation of the frequency with which participants engage in specific behaviours and practices.
For Organisations/Other
1. GlobeSmart Innovation AssessmentSM (GIA)— Tool developed by Aperian Global (https://www.aperianglobal.com/) to examine the level of innovation in practices, strategies, and global processes within an organization.
2. Argonaut assessment— Tool accessed through an accredited e-learning site (www.argonautonline.com), can be used as a format for coaching, as part as an action plan, or to evaluate 12 cultural dimensions such as problem-solving, communication, conflict, rules, power, use of time, etc.
3. Cultural Mapping Assessment—72 item online inventory that examines intercultural dynamics in the work environment, allowing for intercultural intelligence to be developed and applied on individual, team, and organizational levels. (www.knowledgeworkx.com)
4. Global Competence Aptitude Assessment (GCAA)— Tool used to evaluate the effectiveness of international educational programs, student learning outcomes, and students’ growth and maturation, as well as their degree of readiness for the global workforce. The assessment measures 7 8 components of global competence identified as part of the Global Competence Model™. Results are presented for each dimension as well as in their appropriate overall readiness category: Internal Readiness, which measures personal traits and attitudes, and External Readiness, which assesses global knowledge and people skills. (www.globalcompetence.org)
5. Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES)— This tool is used by profit and non-profit organizations and is especially useful in international education. It evaluates competencies critical to interacting effectively with people from different cultures and it also evaluates how well people work with those who are different from them on a range of dimensions (i.e. gender, generation, ethnic group, religious affiliation, etc.) (https://www.globesmart.com/products/intercultural-effectiveness-scale/)
6. Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)— 50 item psychometric instrument used to measure personal development and self-awareness, audience analysis, organizational assessment and development, and data-based intercultural training. (www.idiinventory.com)
7. Organizational Alignment Assessment (OAA)— Tool developed by iChangeWorld (www.ichangeworld.com/index.html) with the aim to provide key information to align organizational culture with strategy, process, leadership, and the market, providing an accurate assessment of key growth opportunities. (http://www.ichangeworld.com/oaa.html)
8. Diversity Competencies Assessment— 65 item assessment tool developed by the International Training and Development, LLC (http://www.diversityinclusioncenter.com) that measures many skills and areas of expertise that contribute to diversity competency, such as the ability to value and leverage diversity. It can be used as a skills-based module in an already existing diversity education effort within an organization or as a framework for subsequent skill-building training. (https://www.diversityinclusioncenter.com/learning-tools/di-instruments/#dca)
9. Organization Trust Index (OTI)— validated assessment tool that measures trust levels in 5 dimensions, offers comparisons of data with 8 countries, and identified areas of strength and weakness are that can be used to develop plans to build or reinforce trust in the organization. 10. Worldprism profiler— (http://www.birdwell.fr/en/world-prismtm-profiler) Tool that allows people and organizations to identify their own cultural orientations, compare themselves to others, and identifies appropriate strategies for working effectively in spite of differences.