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81930850 Yuki Morino

Professor Sacahiko Yamao

International Human Resource Management

Due October 4, 2019

Improvement of Yuki Morino’s Ambiguity Tolerance and Resilience in Two Months

According to Cultural Agility Self-Assessment offered by online-education service

TASCA GLOBAL, my overall cultural agility is lower upper with my tolerance of ambiguity

and resilience low. First, my overall score of cultural agility was 4 out of 10 with 1 lowest and

10 highest. This total score is induced from the mean of my scores of 6 competency factors: 1

point for my tolerance of ambiguity, 2 points for my resilience, 5 points each for my cultural

humility and relationship building, and 7 points each for my cultural curiosity and perspective

taking. Thus, the agenda on my cross-cultural competency shall be the improvement of my

tolerance of ambiguity and resilience. In order to improve my cultural agility during the term

of International Human Resource Management as instructed by professor Sachiko Yamao, the

2 factors: tolerance of ambiguity, resilience must be dealt with specific plans in accordance

with suggestions from TASCA GLOBAL on my scorecard.

Firstly, to effectively increase the level of my tolerance of ambiguity in the

term of the class, I will make more questions, acquaint myself with more international students,

and obtain more knowledge on foreign cultures. For the first tip for tolerance of ambiguity on
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the score sheet is “Ask two more questions. Whatever your natural limits are for asking

questions – push yourself to ask two more questions. This behavior will create a habit to seek

more information.” Even though I believe my tendency to make a lot of questions, it seems

that I need to make two more questions. In my interpretation of this tip, probably, I need to ask

more questions from different degrees or viewpoints, as I may often make “confirmation”

questions. For the second tip, TASCA GLOBAL suggests “Build your professional network

with 3-5 credible resources for each country of interest. These individuals comprise your “go-

to cultural guides” – knowledgeable friends and colleagues who are able to share insights and

interpret cultural nuances for you. Since I’m surrounded with numerous international students

in this class, I will be able to have some friends who will kindly teach me the culture and

philosophy of their countries vice versa. Especially, the composition of students in this class is

quite suitable for me as the international students are mostly from Europe and Asia where I

have few human connections and knowledge unlike the United States. For the last tip, the

scorecard recommends “Do your homework. Before your next business trip or conference call

with colleagues from a different culture, learn about cultural norms and values.” In the term of

the class, I will not have any business trips or conference, however by fulfilling the 2 tips above

in my own way, I will be well-prepared for organizational ambiguity in the near future. This

last tip is quite helpful, because I wish to be an English-language lecturer at university, who

will attend a lot of international academic conferences and required to communicate with
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foreign lecturers from the superior. For the wrap-up of this paragraph, by having more

questions, more friends, and more knowledge of international culture, I will be able to improve

my cultural agility in this short term of the class, thus I will excel at information collection and

work-environment coordination as a university lecturer in the near future.

Secondly, to improve the level of my resilience during the term of this class, I will

review my strength, suggest problem-centered strategies in all the classes, and cooperating with

international students to reduce my irritation from international cultural differences. The first

tip for resilience on the report says “Identify your tendencies for coping strategies. Be sure you

practice the more positive, problem- focused strategies, before engaging in significant cross-

cultural experiences.” Contrary to this suggestion, I consider myself quite deductive, especially

making comments in classes by following academic theories and social norms. In this class, I

try to offer an idea as a dialect of each international student’s culture and our Japanese culture

for a solution of the problem presented by professor Yamao. The second tip presented is

“Cultivate appropriate self-efficacy for your ability to work effectively in cross-cultural

settings. Review your self-assessment results and observe yourself during times when you

demonstrate your strengths. Remind yourself that you already have important tools in your

professional toolbox. With this tip in mind, I will fully take advantage of my English ability

mainly obtained as an undergraduate student to adapt myself to cross-cultural settings. The

final tip on the scorecard is “Accept a cross-cultural stretch challenge. If work in cross-cultural
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setting produces anxiety, take a small first step, such as working with a colleague from a

different culture rather than accepting a long-term international assignment.” As mentioned on

this report, I will not be able to bear with colleagues with various ethnic backgrounds outside

my home country, Japan since I acknowledge myself hardly having patience with frequent

cultural conflicts. To be a successful university lecturer in the near future from the viewpoint

of human relations, the main focus in this class should be understanding international students’

comments incongruent with Japanese norm and culture. For the summary of this section, to be

more resilient in cross-cultural settings, I need to be problem-centered, patient, and outgoing

with people with different nationalities.

In conclusion, in order to improve my cultural agility during the term of International

Human Resource Management as instructed by professor Sachiko Yamao, the 2 factors:

tolerance of ambiguity, resilience must be dealt with specific plans in accordance with

suggestions from TASCA GLOBAL on my scorecard. Firstly, to effectively increase the level

of my tolerance of ambiguity in the term of the class, I will make more questions, acquaint

myself with more international students, and obtain more knowledge on foreign cultures.

Secondly, to improve the level of my resilience during the term of this class, I will review my

strength, suggest problem-centered strategies in all the classes, and cooperating with

international students to reduce my irritation from international cultural differences.