Honors Program Theses

Award/Availability

Open Access Honors Program Thesis

First Advisor

Christine Schrage, Advisor

Keywords

Cultural intelligence; Business students--Attitudes;

Abstract

As globalization increases from advancing technologies and innovation, more businesses are entering the international market. With this, comes a demand for a culturally competent workforce. To possess cross cultural skills, college students must develop Cultural Intelligence. According to the Cultural Intelligence Center, Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is defined as the ability to relate and work effectively in culturally diverse situations. Research shows that college students who go abroad have a higher probability of standing out to employers due to the knowledge and risks associated with going global, and make further efforts to immerse themselves in cultures (10 Benefits to Studying Abroad).

Previous analysis of Cultural Intelligence Assessments in the College of Business at the University of Northern Iowa demonstrates a 10 percent increase in average scores from study abroad participants after their time abroad. The tests conducted in this research takes into account standard deviation and mean to determine if these changes are significant. To prove studying abroad develops and improves cultural intelligence, statistical tests on Cultural Intelligence Assessments were conducted to prove five research hypotheses. The objective is to measure development, encourage students to pursue experiences abroad, and project an understanding of the positive outcomes. In an economic period of declining public funding and increasing cultural integration, these quantitative findings provide some incentive to invest in more funding to increase study abroad participation. With more study abroad participation comes a higher population of college graduates with the skills to work effectively in a global environment.

Year of Submission

2017

Department

Department of Marketing

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Date Original

2017

Object Description

1 PDF file (25 pages)

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

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