Abstract:

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the issue of cultural intelligence has been gaining in importance. It is particularly topical and relevant from the perspective of management in a multicultural work environment. At present cultural intelligence is described and analysed in numerous sources, often in the context of managers’ attitudes and behaviours and their tasks or responsibilities in the area of managing multicultural teams. Cultural intelligence (or Cultural Quotient-CQ) is defined as the skills and qualities that allow effective functioning in a multicultural environment and considerably influence the understanding and acceptance of cultural differences. It is particularly helpful in the process of adapting to diverse cultural conditions, which are frequently characterised by totally different values and rules as well as the ways of acting, thinking, and solving problems. Cultural intelligence, especially managers’ cultural intelligence, supports the effectiveness of multicultural teams. It leads to employees’ greater openness and tolerance to cultural diversity, acceptance of different views, attitudes, and behaviours of co-workers. Above all, it is conductive to developing sensitivity and flexibility in building positive, intercultural relations. The study described in the article (individual in-depth interviews conducted with the use of IT tools) investigated the role and importance of cultural intelligence in a multicultural work environment and was conducted among Polish and Spanish managers. The main aim of the article is to identify the role and importance of cultural intelligence in multicultural environments from the point of view of managers who participated in the study.