Abstract

The increasing globalization of society requires greater ease in intercultural interactions. Intercultural adjustment can be challenging in public service, education and the workplace given 1) the diversity of families, including intra-familial diversity (multicultural families); 2) the recognition that our “culture” is translated through parents, family and community members; and 3) the frequency of interactions requiring personal adjustment. In particular, the workforce is becoming more diverse requiring that we adapt to ethnic, gender, and other cultural differences including inter-professional diversity. The ability to be successful and competent in intercultural situations has been attributed to personality, intelligence, and previous experiences. This paper addresses intercultural adjustment for cultural competency in shared context. Drawing on a variety of published models, we propose an approach that addresses cultural competency based on contact or “the company we keep.” Our approach accounts for the pervasive and increasing intercultural interaction globally and in everyday life and includes the three areas of intrapersonal competence, interpersonal competence and cultural competence which when combined result in intercultural adjustment.