Cross-Cultural Competence

In the time since World War II, the world has witnessed a massive expansion in cross-border trade, travel, and communication. In the more recent decade, tensions surrounding international relations, treatment of refugees, exchange of world financial currencies, tensions over East-West and North-South relations have captivated the energy and innovation of both governments and private institutions. A through-line to all these situations is how to best interact with people very different from ourselves. This chapter highlights a skill set that is critical to this end.