CWQ Measures Workplace Effects of Culturally-Based Behavioral and Cognitive Preferences and Tendencies

The links below guide you through a set of nine pages devoted to "How People Work Together."

                 

The Culture in the Workplace Questionnaire™ (CWQ) is derived from the work of Professor Geert Hofstede, a Dutch social scientist who developed this questionnaire to illustrate culturally-dependent work preferences. Dr. Hofstede is Director (Emeritus) of the Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation (IRIC) at the University of Limburg at Maastricht, the Netherlands.

CWQ is the basis for acquiring insight into and deriving tangible business value from culturally-based work preferences and tendencies (CBTs). It helps:

• Measure: The instrument measures CBTs of an individual or a group of people.
• Report: The report produces a display of preferences along Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions: Individualism, Power Distance, Certainty, Achievement, and Time Orientation.
• Compare: These results are compared against selectable reference country averages.
• Develop: Automated expert analysis helps respondents understand the effect of their CBT profile compared to the reference cultures, and how to improve business results through greater cross-cultural understanding.

CWQ helps increase individual and group productivity, innovation, creativity, agility, and safety (PICAS) in working with people from specific aspects of diversity or cross-cultural difference. This builds upon and leverages one's platform of core intercultural competence in specific situations.

Some salient characteristics of CWQ are:

• In use globally. Direct forerunners date to the mid 1980s.
• Sixty items or questions. Takes about 15 – 20 minutes to complete.
• Available in English and German. European Spanish and Latin American Spanish are planned and other languages may be provided as needed.
• Available in an online format with a detailed online report that may be saved in PDF format.

CWQ is developmental in nature. There are no "right" or "wrong" places on the five continua. The CWQ results report is structured to encourage developmental thinking. It discusses potential implications of CBT differences on mindset and behavioral norms. Typical feedback conversations may address:

• The definitions and workplace effect of the dimensions of culture.
• The possible effects of differences between the individual's or team's tendencies and the reference national norms. These are factors to consider in adapting one's mindset and behavior to be more effective working with people more characteristic of the reference cultural norms.
• The importance of not stereotyping individuals from another cultural background who may be similar to or quite different than their culture's norms.

MDB Group's partner ITAP International licenses the Culture in the Workplace Questionnaire™ from Dr. Hofstede and has the worldwide exclusive rights to its use. Through our relationship with ITAP we are pleased to leverage this uniquely-valuable instrument for our clients.

MDB Group is pleased to provide certified CWQ administrators to work with you in any capacity needed. We provide complete coaching and developmental interventions based on the CWQ.

Please call us; we will be happy to discuss how you may realize the full business benefits of the Culture in the Workplace Questionnaire™.

 

Related links

The Culture in the Workplace Questionnaire™ helps build individual and team effectiveness and improve cross-cultural communication and teamwork. It is applicable to conflict management, executive coaching, and general workplace assessments.

Next steps

Please call us so that together we can start increasing your workforce’s productivity and innovation.