Introduction
Cultural sensitivity refers to being aware that cultural similarities and variations between individuals exist without them being assigned a value such as wrong or right, worse or better, and negative or positive. In this case, cultural sensitivity equates to respecting other people’s knowledge, culture, and strength. For example, New York City is a place that is well known to be a mosaic of ethnicities and cultures, which means that it is culturally sensitive. Although there are many cultures in the world, there is a need to exhibit cultural sensitivity when interacting with international clients.
The Importance of Cultural Sensitivity to International Clients
In contemporary society, there is a relevance in being sensitive, flexible, and open to the cultures and customs of other people. Even in global business, being culturally sensitive is very pivotal because it ensures “better communications and fewer misunderstandings.” (Zhao & Stone-Sabali, 2021). When people communicate properly, they lead to more success in all areas of their jurisdiction, whether it is in a school setup or international business. In international business, there is a need for organizations to adopt local languages. Therefore, when interacting with international clients, it is critical to adopt or value their languages, food, religion, tradition, histories, unique experiences, and sexual orientation among others. Diversity and inclusivity will play a key role in ensuring that international clients feel at home in any geographical location.
When dealing with international clients, it is crucial to be aware that cultural similarities and variations between people exist and have an impact on their values, behavior, and learning. Therefore, it requires people or educational institutions to possess a set of skills and competencies that facilitate a person to comprehend and learn about individuals whose cultural affiliations are not the same as their own (Zhao & Stone-Sabali, 2021). Being culturally sensitive means stopping living in denial that there are other different cultures other than their own. In this case, there is a need for people to own up and appreciate that there are other cultures that exist in their midst. Therefore, people should recognize such cultural experiences and differences among international clients. Such people should not “believe that their culture is the only real one” and they should stop interacting in only homogeneous groups and cease stereotypical behavior regarding other people (Zhao & Stone-Sabali, 2021).
There is a need to incorporate cultural sensitivity when interacting with international clients, and it is not right for people to think that their customs and cultural affiliations are superior to those of such learners (Zhao & Stone-Sabali, 2021). Being culturally sensitive requires being accommodative of what other people perceive life to be. For example, some international clients would be more interested in having traditional foods or exotic delicacies as part of their menu. In this case, a culturally sensitive person would appreciate the choice of such people instead of profiling such individuals because of what they think is right for them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, international clients are a significant component of the global business system. Such clients are known to offer a lot of diversity and inclusivity to the places they choose to do business. For example, the United States has many international students who study in the country for various professional choices. In this case, such learners provide immense diversity to the country. Most developed countries value diversity to the extent that they have various slots reserved for international students. A diverse community is what the contemporary society needs and students happen to be the primary component. International clients provide an inclusive society and there is every need to ensure that people who interact with them are culturally sensitive to their customs, beliefs, and traditions.
Reference
Zhao, C. J., & Stone-Sabali, S. (2021). Cultural discussions, supervisor self-disclosure, and multicultural orientation: Implications for supervising international trainees. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 15(4), 315-322.