This chapter analyzes socio-intercultural organizational development as a novel perspective in organizational sciences. The analysis departs from the assumption that an effective socio-intercultural management and organizational long-term development based on the collaboration among all the stakeholders must be based on the cultural basic assumptions, values, and beliefs of participants involved in intercultural communication and dialogue, committed, and acting on equal basis despite the cultural differences and the challenges derived. The method employed is the transdisciplinary reflective-analytical approach. The analysis concludes that the transdisciplinary and socio-intercultural perspective of organizational development and effective management competence is based on intercultural communication and dialogue.
TopIntroduction
This chapter aims to analyze the socio-intercultural organizational development as a novel perspective. To achieve this aim, the main objectives are to explain the concept of socio-intercultural organizations as the starting point to follow with the second objective, to conceptualize the socio-intercultural organizational development.
There is a lot of theoretical and empirical research that has been conducted on the issue of organizational development but there is a gap on research related to the socio-intercultural organizational development that this chapter intends to address. The analysis departs from the assumption that an effective socio-intercultural organizational long-term development must be supported by the collaboration among all the stakeholders and must be based on the cultural basic assumptions, values and beliefs of participants involved in intercultural communication and dialogue, committed, and acting on equal basis despite the cultural differences and the challenges derived.
Socio-interculturalism is a category that requires a critical analysis and subjective reflexibility on the interactive different forms of world view and thinking the sociopolitical, historical, and cultural structures. The concept of socio-interculturalism is the result of understanding the effects of population growth and creating dialogue with multiethnic and multicultural communities (Костовић & Ђерманов, 2006; Göler, 2016). The development and implementation of the socio-interculturalism concept in organizational settings is a leading priority. The concept of socio-interculturalism should not only be accepted on a declarative way but must be implemented in the sociocultural circumstances of specific organizational arrangements. The organizational potential to implement and apply socio-interculturalism requires to know and practice the concept in a multicultural and pluralistic society.
The concept of socio-interculturalism in organizational settings requires of conditions for the implementation of socio-intercultural values and for the encouragement of coexistence through the interactions, interrelationships able to develop understanding and create dialogue. An adequate and proper implementation of the socio-interculturalism concept in organizations requires the transformational changes of all the aspects and individual life conditions at the workplace.
The holistic approach of the concept of socio-interculturalism supports the changing of an organizational paradigm towards a more open and integrated dialogue and communication based on knowledge and learning strategies. Creating and disseminating transdisciplinary socio-intercultural knowledge, values and functional organizational practices are some of the activities.
A transdisciplinary approach to socio-interculturalism encourages the use of metacognitive skills, reflexive discussion, development of attitudes, behaviors, values, and practices for proper actions to transform individuals, groups, communities and organizational situations, contexts, and environments through collaborative projects. In organizational contexts it is required that the members learn to be aware of the prejudices, stereotypes, biases, and discrimination emerging at the workplace and the use of transformative dialogue as a mean to overcome these problems (Oljača, 2006).
Individuals, organizations, groups, and communities need to engage and adopt the new socio-intercultural approach in such a way that all the issues, concerns and topics must be transdisciplinary examined to develop, acquire, and implement competences in real practice. Individuals and groups in organizations and communities apply transdisciplinary knowledge, skills, competences, and learning experiences to make decisions, collaborate on tasks and projects and solve specific problems in different environments. Socio-intercultural knowledge, skills and competencies acquired and applied in solving real-life organizational problems represent a step towards a better organization (Анђелковић, СтанисављевићПетровић, 2013).
The interconnections between diverse cultural values, the emerging understandings and dialogue between the members have severe consequences for the development of organizations in society. Organizational members interact in ways unthinkable in terms of demanding the right for equal opportunities, more autonomy in the self-evaluation at the workplace, equal share and rights in allocation, management and use resources, involving and blending marginalized and immigrant culturally diverse groups (Childeres & Urquhart, 1994).