Cultural Awareness as an Essential Business Practice

Abstract

Many organizations conducting business in Alaska realize the necessity for robust cultural awareness training methods, tools and resources as means to managing risks and building positive relationships with stakeholders. This paper investigates the concept of cultural intelligence and its role in improving organizational performance and mitigating risks. Data collected through surveys and interviews showed that cultural awareness training focused on Alaska Native cultures was conducted by a significant number of Alaska organizations. The training is used as a risk mitigation and stakeholder management tool. Data analysis includes a description of the most common methods used to deliver cultural awareness training. The paper lists recommendations for stakeholder identification and engagement, offers considerations for choosing an appropriate cultural awareness training method and developing a training evaluation process. The Alaska Cultural Awareness Guide (see Appendix D) was developed to serve as a training aid and a single source of reference about Alaska and Alaska Native cultures for the project sponsor’s organization. Key Words: cultural awareness training, culture, cultural intelligence, cross-cultural communication, community liaison, training evaluation, training effectiveness, training methods, training life cycle, stakeholder engagement, risk management, mindful coexistence