Intercultural Training & Assessment Expert to Speak at Rutgers Ethical Leadership Speakers Series

July 23, 2012 - PRLog -- Today’s world, workforce, and way of doing business are becoming more globalized and diverse.  According to the Pew Research Center, it is projected that 1 in 5 Americans will be an immigrant by 2050.  Similarly, a 2011 survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers finds that 51% of U.S. private companies plan to do business abroad in the next one to two years, and 48% already have an international presence.  Are organizations and their employees ready to succeed in this environment?  The Institute for Ethical Leadership (IEL) at Rutgers Business School welcomes an intercultural training and development expert to its fall speaker series titled “Ethical Leadership and Intercultural Competence in Global Business.”  During the September 13th event, participants will discuss ethical leadership and working effectively across cultures and have the opportunity to assess their own intercultural competence.

“Business’s role and today’s workplace has transformed, expanded and grown dramatically more diverse and complex over the years,” says Alex J. Plinio, co-founder of the IEL.  “We are excited to welcome a cross-cultural training expert who specializes in the rapidly developing field of intercultural assessment.  This program offers an opportunity for individuals and organizations to gain insight into their own intercultural competencies to target areas for personal development and learn how to work across global and diverse boundaries to enhance their professional skills.”

Program discussion topics will include: How do we define ethical leadership when operating globally and working across different world views and values, even within our own country; How do we assess our own intercultural competence; How can a more advanced intercultural competence help us anticipate and understand and address business and personal challenges; And how can we improve our response to ethical dilemmas.

“Measuring and developing a global mindset with ethics at its foundation is essential in the midst of today’s economic challenges and diversifying workplace,” says Doug Stuart, PhD, director of intercultural training and development at IOR Global Services.  “Since ethical perspectives evolve with personal and professional growth, effective leadership development is crucial in our response to global challenges, along with a reliable means to measure this development.”

The program also offers a unique opportunity prior to the event.  Participants have the option to complete an Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a statistically reliable, cross-culturally valid measure of intercultural competence adapted from the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity.  During the program, Dr. Stuart will explain the inventory and guide participants through the meaning behind confidential individual and group results.  

The event will take place at Rutgers Business School, 1 Washington Park, Newark, New Jersey, 9:30 am until 12:00 pm.  Previous IEL Speaker Series have included: “The Tyco Story: Past Present & Future – How to Recover from Unethical Management Behavior;”“Giving Voice to Values;” and “Bribery & Corruption in the Global Economy—Mitigating Risk through Effective Corporate Leadership & Culture.”  These events featured well-renowned speakers in the field of ethical leadership.  

About Ethical Leadership and Intercultural Competence in Global Business Featured Speaker:
Doug Stuart, PhD, is IOR Global Services’ Director of Intercultural Training and Development. Doug’s primary professional interest is the rapidly developing field of intercultural assessment.  He is licensed to deliver and interpret a variety of intercultural and other assessment instruments that he applies in executive coaching and leadership development. Doug also frequently consults with corporate clients on the choice of appropriate instruments for selection and development of their global workforce and his overview of a dozen such instruments was published in the 2009 SAGE publication, Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence. He is currently preparing an update of that paper to address the recent development of new and more sophisticated instruments. Doug also delivers group programs on the development of intercultural competence and conducts assessment-based intercultural and developmental coaching. Assessment tools link directly to Doug’s deep interest in adult development and its relationship to the leadership challenge in the ever more complex environment of global business.  In addition to his PhD from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Doug pursued post-graduate studies at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, in transpersonal psychology at Naropa University, and earned his certification in client-centered therapy from the Chicago Counseling and Psychotherapy Center. He also has a master certification (2010) in developmental assessment from the Interdevelopmental Institute. His most recent paper, Taking Stage Development Theory Seriously: Implications for Study Abroad, will be published this summer in Stylus’ Student Learning Abroad.  Doug also teaches at the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication.


About the Institute for Ethical Leadership:
The Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School works with business and government, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, and within the University to provide leaders and future leaders with the education, training and critical-thinking tools needed to become more effective leaders and managers and make ethical decisions for real-world challenges.  For more information, visit www.business.rutgers.edu/iel.  

About IOR Global Services:
IOR Global Services is a leading provider of global mobility and talent management solutions designed to advance employee effectiveness across cultures. The company takes a personal approach delivering destination services, language training and translation, intercultural training and assessment tools. IOR provides unrivaled efficiency and quality for its clients through responsiveness, flexibility, and problem-solving capabilities. IOR is a premier thought leader in the field, sharing its global knowledge for over 30 years.