ICCM Helps US Air Force Academy Cadets Improve Cross Cultural Competence

Dr. Richard Griffith recently returned from a visit to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where he was invited to present on the topic of cross cultural competence.  While visiting the Academy Dr. Griffith continued work on the development of the Ambassador of Inclusion project led by Dr. Adis Vila, the Chief Diversity Officer of the Academy.   The AoI program will send eleven cadets overseas to India, Chile, China and France for a one month internship with a multinational corporation.  While there, cadets will learn not only about the cultures of their host countries, but how those cultures impact the management philosophy of companies operating in that country.  The Institute for Cross Cultural Management assisted in the design of the experiential learning sequence for the USAFA cadets as well as the system which will track how cadets improve their cross cultural competence.  Dr. Griffith also met with the senior executives of the companies (IBM, Wal-mart, Chindex, Ingersoll-Rand and Sodexo) to present research on best practices in training and measuring cross-cultural competence.  “There’s one brand of leadership at the Academy, but that’s not the way it works in the entire world,” Griffith said. “Cadets are going to realize that there isn’t one right way to do things and when you’re in a different culture, you can adapt your behavior to be more effective.”