1. The Cultural Navigator: A Powerful Tool for
Undergraduate and Graduate Students
A White Paper

2. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
©
2015
TMC
|
A
Berlitz
Company.
All
rights
reserved.
2
Introduction
Business today is more global than ever before. As organizations expand across the world,
form partnerships with international associates, and hire local talent whose origins lie
elsewhere, they will likely face cultural hurdles that can reduce their chances of success.
Today’s leaders need to understand the importance of culture in work-related interactions,
partnerships and strategies, and imbue their employees with a sense of cultural
competence. At the same time, those readying to enter the global workforce – students at
the undergraduate and graduate levels – can get a head start on gaining intercultural
awareness and give themselves an advantage in the hiring process by learning about
cultural competence while at school.
An IncreasinglyGlobalized World
It is clear that our globalized world is becoming more interconnected every day. In a 2012
study, the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed over 500 executives from around the
world about their current dealings with international business or their plans for global
engagement. Seventy percent of respondents believed that their company’s operational
presence overseas would increase, and 78 percent said that in the next few years there
would be more cross-border collaboration of teams. (1)
When asked about the challenges they faced while competing in global markets, the
executives surveyed specifically mentioned issues in cross-border communication and
collaboration. Fifty percent of respondents said that communication misunderstandings
have impeded their international business dealings, which have resulted in financial
losses for the company, and that addressing the cause – lack of clarity in intercultural
communication – is just as critical as financial gain. Another 50 percent of respondents
said that the greatest threat to smooth operations is differences in cultural norms. A
staggering 90 percent said that better understanding of intercultural communication
would improve the firm’s profit, revenue and market share, and that actions should be
taken to educate employees regarding cultural differences. Yet only 47 percent said that
their companies did something to help with preparedness or had an appropriate system
in place for selecting people who were suited for intercultural dealings.
So what can these executives do to create cultural awareness and cultural competence in
their organizations? Recent research by The Georgetown Consortium Project (2) shows that
it is not the amount of knowledge one has about cultures, the time spent engaging with
people in country, or even learning a new language that increase a person’s cultural
competence. It is the intentional, persistent and focused attention of a person’s self-reflection
ontheir learning – over time – that leads to greater understanding and competence.
In essence, while reading about cultures, traveling abroad and learning a new language
are important and life-enriching, a deep level of cultural competence comes from not only
knowing something about others but also from knowing one’s self. When people pay
attention to and reflect on their attitudes, feelings and actual behaviors, and then use that

3. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
3
Cultural
assessment
tools
present
excellent
learning
opportunities
for
learners
at
any
level.
Differing
cultural
views,
such
as
how
we
perceive
competition
and
cooperation
–
or
any
other
cultural
value
–
will
affect
how
we
interact
in
today’s
side-­‐by-­‐side
global
marketplace.
Elizabeth
Tuleja
(3)
reflection to help alter their actions and reactions to situations, they can supplement
knowledge with the internal exploration of who they are.
With the reality of increased globalization, key opportunities exist for students in any
discipline who will soon enter a globalized workforce that requires cultural competence.
There is a cultural imperative that must be met. This white paper discusses the innovative
approach to teaching intercultural management at Notre Dame University’s Mendoza
College of Business through the use of the online learning platform the Cultural
Navigator® and its constituent assessment, the Cultural Orientations Indicator® (COI®).
BusinessEducation Today
In today’s business education sphere, there are a variety of students pursuing degrees at
various stages of life. For example, the Mendoza College of Business has students at these
levels:
BBA – Business students pursuing
a traditional four-year
undergraduate degree
MBA – Business students who return to
school after three to five years of
professional experience to pursue a
Master’s in Business Administration
EMBA – Adult business students in their mid-
30s to 50s with at least 15 years of experience, who hold management
positions, and who want to transition into leadership positions.
TheCulturalNavigator
The Cultural Navigator is a web-based learning platform for building and maintaining
cultural competence. It provides timely information and insights on a wide range of
global business and cultural topics that help users collaborate across geographical and
cultural borders. It is designed to provide a robust and unique learning experience.
Within the Cultural Navigator, business information is
organized by topic to increase the user’s confidence when
working with others who have a different cultural background,
and when working across borders. The platform includes
country guides that deliver a wealth of information on cultural
norms and management practices in over 100 countries. The
Cultural Navigator platform is designed to cater to a variety of
learning styles and provides collaboration and networking
opportunities to promote peer-based learning.
The cornerstone of the Cultural Navigator is the COI. This
online self-assessment gauges the user’s individual work-style

4. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
©
2015
TMC
|
A
Berlitz
Company.
All
rights
reserved.
4
preferences across three dimensions: Interaction Style (how they communicate and
engage with others in work situations), Thinking Style (how they conceptualize and
process information in work situations) and Sense of Self (how they view themselves and
are motivated in the workplace). Once the psychometrically validated assessment is
completed, users receive a personal report that analyzes their preferences and gives
suggestions for overcoming cultural gaps they may have with those who have different
preferences. Users can also compare their personal preferences to the cultural norms in
the country where they plan to study, work or travel, as well as to other individuals or
teams they work with.
Harnessing thePower of theCulturalNavigator for Various StudentGroups
There are many ways to develop a curriculum for effective intercultural learning based
upon the needs of an organization, its programs, its audience and its budget. The Cultural
Navigator is deployed in a number of courses at Mendoza:
ONLINECOURSE: AdvancedIntercultural Management (Notre Dame Online in partnership
with BISK Education). The Cultural Navigator is used as the foundation for this eight-week
online executive certificate course, which is available globally and is applicable to any
industry and any level of expertise. It focuses on the essentials of what will enable
professionals to be more effective in dealing with cultural differences at home and
abroad, and illuminates the challenges stemming from differing values, attitudes, beliefs
and behaviors that individuals face every day in a diverse workplace. The curriculum is
engaging and creative, utilizing case studies, short videos and numerous real-world
examples. Participants have the opportunity to interact with each other through email,
online postings and in six Live Chats, during two of which they review and discuss their
COI results. Upon completing the course, students earn a Certificate of Achievement from
the University of Notre Dame. (4)
COURSEFOR BBA ANDMBA: Intercultural Communicationfor Business. The Cultural Navigator
is used in conjunction with other learning materials in this seven-week course that
focuses on the interpersonal aspects of doing global business. The COI is used
throughout the course, and all class activities and assignments are based upon it. The
course is an elective and focuses on developing students’ cultural competence through
discussing case studies, researching global business issues and writing about their
findings. Course topics include cultural identity, cultural dimensions, context and
communication, worldview, culture and cognition, and global leadership. Students use the
Cultural Navigator to analyze the country profiles of the international cases discussed in
class, and to do research for a white paper they write for the “Critical Incident” final
assignment. This paper provides a concise report about an intercultural issue and includes
The
Cultural
Navigator
is
adaptable
across
a
wide
range
of
courses
and
level
of
experiences.

5. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
5
“The
nature
of
management
skills
is
such
that
they
are
culturally
specific:
A
management
technique
or
philosophy
that
is
appropriate
in
one
national
culture
is
not
necessarily
appropriate
in
another.”
Geert
Hofstede
(7)
their perspective on how to understand the issue and solve it. Students also take another
cultural assessment tool, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) (5), to determine
their level of cultural development when it comes to dealing with cultural differences, and
to write an Individual Development Plan for their final project. The text Intercultural
Communication for Business (6) supplements their learning.
EMBA COURSE: Intercultural Management. This course guides students through the process
of learning about their individual cultural preferences and comparing them to their
teammates’ in conjunction with country-specific learning. This is done in view of
consulting projects in Argentina, Brazil, China, Singapore and more. In the spring term,
students take their COI and IDI before the start of this 10-hour course, which is divided
into four segments, ahead of their international consulting projects in mid-summer.
During the course, students use the Cultural Navigator to create team aggregate reports,
which allow them to review any gaps in their cultural preferences that can hinder
teamwork. They also review the country profile for their target country within the Cultural
Navigator. Each team selects a company and specific project, for which they provide expert
consulting during a one-week in-country immersion experience. In the three to four
months preceding the immersion, students interact with their international counterparts
and continue to use the Cultural Navigator in developing their cultural competence. The
text Intercultural Communication for Business supplements their learning.
STUDYABROAD: Notre Dame BBA students have the
opportunity to participate in a six-week immersion course
in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. A group of
about 25 students participate in three or four sessions
using the COI and IDI to learn about cultural dimensions
and leadership, before spending six weeks in Asia.
This course focuses on the foundational aspects of
understanding culture in general, and Chinese culture in
particular. Throughout the immersion experience,
students attend lectures on culture, history and society
from faculty in the morning, and participate in company
visits in the afternoon. They also engage in readings, have
discussions with coordinating faculty, complete daily
journals, and then do an intercultural development plan associated with the COI and IDI.
LessonsLearned
There are lessons learned after years of facing the unique challenges that come with each
new curriculum.
1. Start small – Budgets are tight, and administrators often challenge why investing in
an intercultural learning tool like the Cultural Navigator warrants the financial
commitment. Helping administration see the need takes time. Rather than
developing a new program or course, it is wise to incorporate the Cultural

6. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
©
2015
TMC
|
A
Berlitz
Company.
All
rights
reserved.
6
Navigator into an already existing one. Teaming up with colleagues to hear their
ideas on using new tools in courses increases the level of creativity and innovation
in developing curriculums.
2. Find funding – There are always alumni or local businesspeople who understand
first-hand the importance of cultural competence in business. When approaching
alumni, businesspeople or a dean, instructors should write a report that documents
their program’s methods, outcomes and cost, and how the instructor will measure
the students’ learning.
3. Be patient – University administrators understand the crucial need to
internationalize their curriculum. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB) and other accrediting organizations insist upon it. But often
faculty members and administrators suggest quick-fix schemes such as professors
adding an international case to their curriculum. While this is shortsighted and
misses the point of internationalizing curricula, online resources such as the
Cultural Navigator can add a robust learning component to the course. The
Cultural Navigator allows learners to identify their own cultural preferences, and
then use that knowledge to learn about others’ preferences. This facilitates
smoother and more effective cross-cultural exchanges and collaboration.
4. Measure results – Every administrator wants to see results. One way to show them
is for instructors to use a class’ team gap report generated by the Cultural
Navigator to show that the students have taken their COIs and used them to create
a visual layout of their cultural preferences. In order to demonstrate the global
reach that the class has achieved, instructors could also list the countries whose
profiles in the Cultural Navigator the students used for their learning. Instructors
could add anonymous student entries about what they learned, the challenges
they overcame and how they can use the Cultural Navigator in the future. Short,
specific examples of not only what the class did, but howthey did it and whyit
mattered to students go a long way in painting a vivid synopsis of the course’s
success.
5. Learn from others – Instructors may wish to talk to faculty at other colleges and
universities who have successfully deployed the Cultural Navigator. They may be
willing to share how they built the case to invest in this powerful tool. TMC also
offers live, virtual demonstrations of the Cultural Navigator to key decision makers.
Create
unique
ways
to
showcase
the
results
of
student
engagement
and
learning
outcomes.

7. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
7
6. Consider COA certification – The Cultural Orientations Approach (COA)
encompasses the principles, concepts and learning tools on which the COI and the
Cultural Navigator are based. The COA certification process engages participants in
a dynamic experience that blends multiple learning methods to gain individual
cultural awareness and awareness of others. Similarly, it gives them the tools to
gain cultural competence and to help others gain it too. A highly experienced
facilitator leads participants through an engaging learning journey that includes
self-paced work and synchronous formal training. The learning includes written
and video case studies, research projects, peer-to-peer practice sessions, planning
for on-the-job application, and advancement of the participants’ insights into the
importance of cultural competence in achieving business objectives. Educators who
become COA certified are able to learn about, integrate and leverage the Cultural
Orientations Approach with their students. Certified practitioners also have access
to the COA Practitioner community on social media, and are invited to participate in
regular collaboration forums to share lessons learned and best practices. See more
here: https://www.culturalorientations.com.
Exploring theCulturalNavigator Individually
Faculty, deans, administrators, students and other interested parties are free to explore the
power of the Cultural Navigator on their own without any obligation, by visiting the
Cultural Navigator Explore site http://explore.culturalnavigator.com/features/. The site
includes four one-minute videos that illustrate some of the most useful functions of the
Cultural Navigator: the COI, the multi-step Learning Paths, the Country Guides and the
Networks feature.
Summary
If colleges and universities are truly going to help students succeed in the global
workplace, they have to go beyond simply teaching about mergers and acquisitions,
supply-chain management, and international finance and accounting practices. They need
to go deeper and help students understand their own individual cultural identities and
communication preferences, and how they can bridge cultural gaps with those from
different backgrounds in order to create synergies and collaborate effectively.
Educators teaching those who are about to enter the diverse and globalized business
world have a cultural imperative to help the world’s current and future leaders develop
cultural competence. This is no easy task, but fortunately there are excellent resources
available to meet this challenge. Learning platforms such as the Cultural Navigator and its
constituent assessment, the COI, present excellent learning opportunities for students at
any level.
As this white paper has demonstrated, the Cultural Navigator is adaptable across any
course and can be tailored to suit the needs of the class and the individual learner. The
Cultural Orientations Approach is one of the powerful and unique ways instructors can

8. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
©
2015
TMC
|
A
Berlitz
Company.
All
rights
reserved.
8
incorporate cultural competence into their already existing courses and find ways to
demonstrate the outcomes of student learning at any level of education.
Sources
(1) Economist Intelligence Unit (2012).Competing Across Borders: How Cultural And
Communication Barriers Affect Business. Retrieved from
http://www.economistinsights.com/countries-trade-
investment/analysis/competing-across-borders
(2) Vande Berg, M., Connor-Linton, J., Paige, M.R. (2009). The Georgetown Consortium
Project: Interventions for Student Learning Abroad. Frontiers: TheInterdisciplinary
Journal ofStudyAbroad, VolumeXVIII, pp1-75. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ883690
(3) University Alliance. Intercultural Management intheGlobal Economy(Part 2)A Discussion
withNotreDameProfessor ElizabethTuleja. Retrieved from
http://www.notredameonline.com/resources/intercultural-
management/intercultural-management-in-the-global-economy-interview-2/#
(4) Advanced Specialized Certificate in Intercultural Management. Retrieved from
http://www.notredameonline.com/programs/certificates/executive-education-
programs/advanced-specialized-certificate-in-intercultural-management/
(5) IDI Inventory. Retrieved from: https://idiinventory.com/
(6) Tuleja, E. A. (2015). Intercultural Communication for Business. GlobeComm Publishing.
(7) Hofstede, G. (1984). Cultural Dimensions in Management and Planning. AsiaPacific
Journal ofManagement, 1, 2, 81-99.
TheAuthors
Elizabeth A. Tuleja is an expert in Intercultural Communication and Global Leadership. She
holds a Master’s degree in Intercultural Communication and a Doctorate in Education
from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently an Associate Professor at the
Mendoza College of Business at University of Notre Dame, and has also been on the
faculty of the Wharton School and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Besides teaching,
she consults with a variety of clients such as Boeing, the US Marines, the US Army, Merrill
Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, AXA, Marriott International, Verizon, China
Development Bank and HSBC. She is author of Intercultural Communicationfor Business and
has a forthcoming book, Intercultural Communicationfor Global Leadership(Routledge, 2016).
She posts a weekly business blog at http://globalbizleader.com (also found on LinkedIn
Pulse). More information on her online executive certificate course that uses the Cultural
Navigator and Cultural Orientations Indicator can be found here:
http://www.notredameonline.com/programs/certificates/executive-education-programs/advanced-
specialized-certificate-in-intercultural-management/.
Daniel Basil Kerr is a Client Strategy Consultant at TMC/Berlitz. He partners with clients to
develop cultural competence and inclusive workplaces. Dan develops customized
solutions that include cultural assessments, cultural consulting, and learning and
development programs delivered face-to-face and virtually. Before joining TMC in May of
2011, Dan was Deloitte’s Director of Global Development and was responsible for the

9. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
9
design, content and delivery of Deloitte’s global partner development programs. The
Working Across Cultures session Dan developed at Deloitte’s Global New Partner Seminar
was recognized as a Global Best Practice by the United Nations in their recent Doing
BusinessinaMulticultural World publication. Dan is a CPA (New York) and holds a Master’s
Degree in Accounting from the CW Post School of accountancy and a Ph.D. in Business
Education from New York University. Dan is also an adjunct faculty member at the College
of Business at Stony Brook University.

10. The
Cultural
Navigator:
A
Powerful
Tool
for
Undergraduate
and
Graduate
Students
©
2015
TMC
|
A
Berlitz
Company.
All
rights
reserved.
10
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Tel: +1.609.759.5482
Web: http://www.tmcorp.com
http://explore.culturalnavigator.com/
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