02/02/2010 by Nathalie van Meurs.

I developed a report that summarises the knowledge that I acquired over the years and have taught to (MBA) students as a researcher in Cross Cultural Management and Psychology. The report was developed with the aim to inform decision makers in businesses and organisations, who work in an international context. The Financial Times, in fact, stated recently that cross cultural management is a core aspect of leadership and management development. It’s available to you at no cost because a) it is important to build a bridge between the ‘real world’ and academic work as we face a challenging globalised future and b) research needs to have a practical impact. 

In terms of globalisation and our future, you are no doubt aware that the world’s regions and countries are mapped according to wealth (e.g., GNP), systems (i.e., political, economical and legal), and development (e.g., infrastructure, level of education). Indices and statistics of these concepts provide us with information about the differences that exist globally between countries. Governments, global organisations (e.g., Worldbank), and multi-national corporations (MNCs) may use it before deciding on investment, aid, and collaborations.

            At the individual level, we learn about cultural differences between people through travel, the media and day-to-day living, working, and interaction in a multicultural environment. People vary in terms of what they value and how they do things. We may inform ourselves about the how, what and where of people foreign to us out of necessity or out of interest of the anthropological aspects of (modern) human life.

            For some time, knowing the do’s and don’ts often sufficed for any substantial intercultural interaction. In the professional realm, cross cultural training before or during intercultural assignments, projects or mergers usually provided a ‘toolbox’ of these do’s and don’ts, such as how to greet, what (not) to discuss over dinner, and when to expect a definitive offer on a deal. However, due to globalisation, organisations function within diverse contexts across continents and the modern person has mixed identities (ethnic, national, religious), with x-number of years of experience abroad. This means that a simple do’s and don’ts list is not enough.

            Successful interaction requires intercultural insight. This constitutes the know-how as mentioned above but, moreover, it requires the ability to interpret the situation presented to us by being aware of our cultural lenses and keeping the other’s perspective in mind. It is an updated kind of toolbox, which is adapted to 21^st Century working life.

            This briefing will address the three core aspects of effective intercultural engagement: Know-How, Cultural Self-Awareness, and Perspective. Each section will describe some important research in an accessible way, illustrated by practical examples. The briefing concludes with advise that can be implemented immediately. Check out the link on the top menu above or click here: Identity Research for Impact - A review for practitioners

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02/02/2010 by admin.

From the first e-conference back in May 2007, we’ve now arrived at a blog for this website - to review and report on issues, news, and events related to Identity and research.

Enjoy!

Nathalie van Meurs, D.Phil.

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01/05/2007 by admin.

The original Identity Research website was set up by me, Dr. Nathalie van Meurs. It hosted the E-Congress on Negotiating Identities on the 15-16th May, 2007 and remained a source of information about negotiating social identities in a variety of contexts until February 2010, when it was revamped into a blog.

I set up this website for the purpose of bringing together people from the academic community, business, the Arts, media, sport and government to discuss the idea how we can successfully be multitudes, because nobody is just a nationality, religion, gender, job, political affiliation, or interest group.

I am currently a Senior Lecturer in Cross Cultural Management and the research leader for the Business and Management department at Middlesex University Business School in London.

For the past two years, I worked as a Research Fellow at the Open University, U.K. exploring (organisational) culture and Person-Organisation Fit. Before this, I lectured Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Psychology and Empirical Methods at the University of Oxford Brookes.

I gained my Ph.D. from the University of Sussex looking at the relationship between cultural values, conflict management strategies, communication styles and success ratings of negotiations between Dutch and British managers.

I am interested in both research and applied aspects of intercultural interaction and identity. Areas of interest are: cultural intelligence, cultural values and conflict management, cross cultural education, and ‘person-nation fit’ (i.e., is there value congruence between the individual and the nation). I have been working as a consultant and gets involved at grassroots level for Amnesty International, Refugee Week, and local art initiatives.

Do get in touch if you would like to discuss my research or consultancy work: n.van-meurs (at) mdx.ac.uk.

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