Case Studies

Read success stories from organizations that have used CQ to address their multicultural challenges and opportunities. Visit regularly for additional impact studies

CQ in the Classroom - Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Business School

CHALLENGE

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university in Brisbane, Australia with 50,800 (2019) students across undergraduate, postgraduate and non-award programs. The QUT Business School has long recognized the need to prepare students for work in the increasingly globalised work environment.

Most Australian employers report that university graduates are ill-equipped to work with people from different cultural backgrounds. QUT is determined to change that with their graduates.

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Leadership Development Program Improves Customer Satisfaction Scores by 20%

Challenge

Addressing customer complaints is difficult no matter what the context. But it’s particularly challenging when the customer perceives that he/she is talking with someone from an entirely different location who may not understand them or vise versa.

This IT company believed that keeping their call centers in India and the Philippines was the right way forward but they needed to better equip the middle and senior-level managers to handle customer complaints with cultural intelligence.

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High Potential Program Saves $2 Million

Challenge

This organization is a multi-billion dollar enterprise with offices in over 70 locations around the world. After 60 years of success, the organization had plateaued and many outsiders were describing it as stagnant and on the verge of becoming obsolete.

The senior leadership were predominantly European and North American men and the organization knew they needed to take a strategic, innovative approach to turning things around and equipping a new generation of global leaders from their regions across the globe.

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Expat Learning Curve Drops from 9 Months to 3 Months

Challenge

As one of the largest banks in world, this firm sends thousands of individuals annually on short and long-term global assignments each year. The individuals selected for these roles are among the top performers in the company but many of them take a long time to find their stride when relocating.

The learning curve is particularly steep for those assigned to the Middle East and parts of Asia. The expats felt like the training they received beforehand did little to adequately equip them to work effectively in the new environment. And many reported that their families were struggling to adjust to the move.

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Pharmaceutical Company Reduces Product delays by 25%

Challenge

As one of the large pharmaceutical companies, this business has an extremely large global footprint. A high percentage of the scientists working for the company are Indian and Chinese. However, the group of project managers responsible for supporting the research findings from this group mostly come from Western backgrounds.

The project teams work with multiple offices across many geographies and time zones and they are consistently frustrated by what they described as inefficiencies, interpersonal misunderstandings, and as a result, delays in getting new medications to market.

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Undergrads Better Prepared for Global Careers

Challenge

This university has one of the most highly esteemed business schools in the world. However, during their accreditation review, administrators realized they didn’t have a tangible means to assess and develop intercultural competence and global skills among their students.

They understood the importance of allowing faculty to have autonomy in how they address this competency in their respective courses.

The Cultural Intelligence Center worked with the administration to develop a leadership program that would involve every undergraduate student in the business school.

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Revised Study Abroad Program Leads to 15% Increase in CQ Scores

Challenge

This organization works with individuals and universities to send thousands of students on study abroad programs each year. The programs vary in length from two weeks to a semester long. The organization prided itself on running programs that truly immersed students in the local culture.

They began using the CQ Assessment before and after students traveled and discovered that only one of the four CQ capabilities was consistently increased through their programs—CQ Knowledge.

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University of Michigan Students Prepared for Global Workplace

Challenge

169 students participated in a variety of faculty-led, study abroad programs in different locations around the world. The programs varied in length from 2-8 weeks.

The goal was to determine the impact of the study abroad experiences on students’ cultural intelligence. Each student completed the Pre- and Post CQ Assessment.

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Complimentary Cultural Intelligence for Leaders Packet

Learn to Lead with Cultural Intelligence

Now, more than ever, companies need effective leaders at all levels of the organization. Being able to bring together and get the best out of team members from different generations, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnic roots, countries, religions, and educational backgrounds requires a Culturally Intelligent Leader.

We have a collection of Cultural Intelligence leadership articles written by social scientist, speaker, and author Dr. David Livermore.  The article topics include:

  • 5 Questions Culturally Intelligent Leaders Ask Themselves Every Day
  • Leadership Advice You Should Ignore
  • How Culturally Intelligent Leaders Make Decisions

About the Author

David Livermore, PhD (Michigan State University) is a social scientist devoted to the topics of cultural intelligence (CQ) and global leadership and the author of several award-winning books. Learn more about Dr. David Livermore by visiting his website.

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