Session I: July 14-16, 2010

13. Assessing Intercultural Competency Allan Bird and Michael Stevens There is a wise old adage that claims “What you can measure, you can manage!” This has proven to be the case in many fields and is at the heart of this workshop’s approach to intercultural competencies. Through hands-on learning methods, this seminar will familiarize participants with many of the more well-established and valid assessment tools available in the field. Illustrative cases and examples will be used to show how the application of assessment results can be the basis for making more effective and efficient decisions that best develop and deploy the intercultural competencies of practitioners and clients.

Designed for Objectives Learning Activities Allan Bird Michael Stevens Educators, trainers, consultants, and managers who are interested in a valid and empirical basis for the curricula and programs they deliver to educational, nonprofit, or for-profit business enterprises. Participants will have the opportunity to: Bridge from theory to practice by becoming intelligent consumers of professionally developed assessments and measurement inventories Examine the most commonly used inventories and their research basis Identify the proper role of assessment for a variety of uses and applications, such as self-awareness, individual coaching, training and development, and selection decisions Distinguish how the needs, processes, and outcomes of programs can be systematically evaluated Explore the ethical implications of using inventories across various settings and applications Overview of the state-of-the-art intercultural assessment tools and their relative strengths and limitations Discussion and hands-on introduction to the more frequently used and validated assessments in the field Direct first-hand knowledge of a variety of assessments by completing a series of inventories Hands-on practice interpreting and debriefing assessment results Personal activities to help understand one’s own intercultural competencies and predispositions Exercises, activities, and case studies that illustrate the appropriate use of assessment results in different contexts (This workshop has a $75 materials fee to cover the cost of the assessment inventories.)   Dr. Allan Bird is the president of The Kozai Group, Inc. He is also the Darla and Frederick Brodsky Trustee Professor in Global Business at Northeastern University.He has published more than 90 scholarly articles and chapters focusing on international human resource management, with a particular emphasis on global leadership development, intercultural sensemaking, and international negotiations. Allan is the author/editor of seven books, including Global Leadership: Research, Practice, and Development. He published, with Roger Dunbar and Tom Mullen, Bridging Cultures, a CD-ROM and workbook for expatriates and their families.   Dr. Michael Stevens is an associate professor of management at Weber State University. He is a widely cited author and employment test developer, and has conducted pioneering research in the areas of assessing a person’s aptitude for working successfully in teams and in culturally diverse work environments. Michael is the lead author of the commercially distributed Teamwork-KSA employment test and also a key member of the development team for the Global Competencies Inventory. In addition, he is an experienced corporate trainer and executive development coach and has held leadership and board positions in industry, government, and nonprofit enterprises.