By Isidro Fierro
In the context of increasing globalization, societies require highly competent and adaptable individuals who can work in multinational organizations and cross-cultural environments (World Trade Organization, 2017). In 2018, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) emphasized that “citizens need not only the skills to be competitive and ready for a new world of work, but more importantly, they also need to develop the ability to analyze and understand cross-cultural issues” (OECD, 2018, p. 22).According to the publication of the Institute for the Future, “Future Work Skills 2020”The ability to operate in different cultural environments will be one of the most relevant skills in the workplace for the future.
Today, organizations face multiple challenges in a constantly changing, highly competitive and globalized world. Globalization accentuated by technology has broadened the scope of organizations' operations, as their stakeholders can belong to any part of the world. Effective communication between people from different cultures has become of paramount importance in the digital age. Globalization and technology have accelerated changes in the way business is done and created new challenges, so today's students need to acquire a set of competencies that will enable them to implement their vision to effectively lead the organizations of the future.
Thus, modern society and especially today's business environment cannot develop without being related to globalization. Globalization, increased migration, development of transportation systems, advancement of information technologies, international employment, student mobility, interdependent economies, foreign travel, political alliances and threats of global peace are bringing people of different cultures and religions together with unprecedented regularity. As the world has become a global community, cultural interactions have become a natural and necessary process. Communicating with people from different cultures is a common activity in the classroom, in the workplace, in health care or in politics.
