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The present paper aims to discuss the concept of competence from a multicultural perspective, for organisational success. It argues that models that view competence as a sum of competencies for management development within organisations could benefit from a multicultural perspective that put those competencies within the context of cultural sensitivity and understanding, so as to promote a trustworthy organisational environment crucial for any institutional change for competitive edge. It analyses theoretical approaches to the concept of competence in organisations, focusing particularly on those that take into account multicultural concerns and the need for building trust within organisational environments. It then addresses the meanings of competence as understood by executives acting in some organizations in Brazil, depicting emphases and silences in those discourses, as well as implications for logistics and management decision in a multicultural perspective.

The paper's aim is to introduce the interactive acculturation model (IAM) of Bourhis et al. to predict how disconcordance in acculturation orientations between host community and immigrant workers relates to the quality of intergroup work‐relations.

The sample consisted of 141 host community (Dutch) and 41 non‐western immigrant workers of a postal service company who filled out a questionnaire. Methods of analyses include analysis of variance and multiple regression.

In line with the IAM, results showed that a higher disconcordance in preferred acculturation orientations between host community and immigrant workers related to a poorer quality of intergroup work‐relations. However, intergroup contact moderated this relationship differently for host community and immigrant workers.

Data are cross‐sectional and collected in one organization. Future studies should replicate the findings to other organizational contexts, cultural groups, and collect longitudinal data to determine causal effects.

Organizations should monitor disconcordance in acculturation orientations amongst host community and immigrant workers. A multicultural culture in organizations may reduce disconcordance in acculturation orientations between host community and immigrant workers.

The paper helps to explain the mixed findings in cultural diversity research so far, by demonstrating that disconcordance in acculturation orientations relates negatively to intergroup work‐relations in a multicultural workplace.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of consumer ethnocentrism and country of origin across different immigrant communities.

A survey was used to collect data from immigrants in the USA and Mexico.

For immigrants with high levels of ethnocentrism, the bias for home and host country products interacts with the country of origin effect and creates multiple scenarios where the two effects move in the same or opposite directions. For immigrants with low levels of ethnocentrism, on the other hand, the country of origin effect alone is salient.

The authors used a modified version of CETSCALE. Future research should revisit the content and dimensionality of consumer ethnocentrism in immigrant and other multicultural settings.

Both scholars and practitioners should exercise caution when working with ethnocentrism and country of origin as today’s societies are increasingly multicultural, which requires major modifications to the theories and tools.

Similar to ways in which the US Census Bureau enabled multicultural consumers to assert their mixed identities, scholarly and business circles should embrace multiculturalism and empower immigrants.

Previous studies of consumer ethnocentrism and country of origin in multicultural contexts have restricted themselves to only one pattern of migration: consumers who move from developing to developed countries. The paper addresses this limitation by investigating various patterns of migration (including lateral, upward and downward) in multiple first-generation immigrant communities in two countries.

In schools across the nation, several strategies have proven to yield positive outcomes for multicultural students, especially those with special needs. For example, the responsiveness to intervention program (RTI) was implemented to aid English language learners in California (Boswell, 2005). The RTI program was fueled by the notion that even after implementing the best practices in schools a lot still deserved to be done. Students needed more intervention. Hence, in addition to existing interventions, fourth- and fifth-grade students still struggling spent an extra 45min of instruction with a speech and language pathologist or resource specialist over a nine-week period. As a result of this intervention, these students gained more than a year's growth in reading (Boswell, 2005). Furthermore, after the first year of the program, only 4 of the 63 participating students were referred for special education services. According to Boswell, in 2005, this program received the Golden Bell Award by the California School Board Association. In addition to programs like RTI, another intervention is administering effective mentoring and tutoring programs. Mentor programs have proven to be very successful in decreasing absenteeism and increasing academic achievement in students. Gensemer (2000) noted that peer mentor programs in elementary schools can increase the use of critical thinking skills, improve interpersonal skills, and increase the use of conflict resolution skills. Students learning from each other have proved to be very successful. Barone and Taylor (1996) contended that cross-cultural tutoring enhances students’ self-esteem, academic learning time, and sense of responsibility.

The establishment and implementation of a relatively strict immigration regime in Norway has taken place within a vocabulary of equality, humanity, social justice and decency. One aspect is an insistence on a “restricted and controlled” immigration in order to protect a state of equality in Norway and avoid the emergence of a new “underclass.” Another is the stress on Norway’s humanitarian traditions and the rich country’s responsibility towards people in need, also globally. A whole rhetoric has evolved where immigration politics appears as a matter of decency, somehow apart from the more pragmatic tug-of-wars affecting other fields of politics. On the one hand, a “restricted and controlled” immigration is necessary in order to protect certain moral qualities of Norwegian society. But on the other, immigration politics has also appeared as an indicator of the moral qualities of the Norwegian nation-state thus requiring “decent policies” in order not to threaten the image of a nation embodying such moral qualities.

What drives this diffusion process? One neo-institutional answer to this question is that new models of nationhood, organization, and social identity exist in the larger world environment (Meyer, 2009, p. 36ff). Because they are external, these “identities” and models can be adopted without huge costs and without necessarily entailing the reorganization of society or actors’ personalities. Thus the models of modern society can spread quickly because they are relatively easy to assume and because they have high legitimacy in the international environment. Conformity produces instrumental rewards as well. And it also signals to significant “other” nations and international bodies that a nation has accepted modernity and its responsibilities (see Boli & Thomas's discussion, 1999). Thus, foreign aid, loans, and credit may flow quickly to those developing countries that enact modern institutional structures like mass education and democratic elections.

The African-American philosopher W. E. B. Du Bois suggested in the mid-1940s that the problem of the 20th century was the problem of the color line. It seems that, at beginning of the 21st century, the problem of the color line has become even more exacerbated. A United Nations Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa in August and September of 2001 witnessed the most acrimonious of debates among delegates and the Israeli and American delegations abandoned the conference entirely. Further, the final declaration of the conference remains controversial in its demand to provide financial compensation for the human costs of slavery and colonialism. The UN conference, as well as the more dramatic spiral of violent events that have occurred since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York, seem to confirm that, in the 21st century, human foibles remain embedded in the unresolved religious and cultural conflicts of the global system.

The essentiality of family involvement in the schooling process is evident from the vast directives embedded within federal mandates, professional standards for teachers and administrators, parent organizations, and advocacy groups. Yet, as explicit as legislative mandates and professional standards are regarding parental rights and involvement, they do not require definitive roles of the family. Several factors influence the lack of a decisive definition regarding the role of the family in the schooling process. Those include the different perspectives on what constitutes a family structurally and functionally, the socio-cultural and political diversity within and among populations, the move to an inclusive education framework, the various terms used to describe parental involvement, the realization that no one family model fits the demographic diversity existing in today’s school districts, and the rights of family members to select their level of involvement. Given the importance of family engagement and student outcomes, three fundamental questions addressed in this chapter are, “How can inclusive schools enhance productive collaborative family engagement networks?” “How can the family be empowered to voluntarily participate within those networks?” and “How can inclusive schools connect with teacher preparation programs to promote the competency of educators for those collaborative family/school engagement networks?” In this chapter we delineate an interactive triad conceptual model with the school as the “connecting agent” to build relationships with families and teacher preparation, setting the stage for productive family engagement as partners in inclusive settings.

Foreseeable worldwide development can be characterized by social destabilization, urbanization, and increasing migration. These trends are global, even if regional and cultural characteristics differ markedly and often progress at varying paces. The social processes indicated are interdependent. That is, they greatly influence each other in numerous ways, yet can rarely be explained only as clear and simple cause‐and‐effect relationships. The link between an economic situation and population growth is uncontested, as is the link between world trade prices of farm produce and the poverty within the countries of origin. But such general statements are not very suitable for analysis of specific regional and topical problems. More essential than aspects of worldwide social change, which can be quantified with relative ease, are their repercussions on social structures, the imbedding of local societies in a global network, the invisibility of change, and the further expansion of latent social conflicts.

After discussing the fundamental importance of education, touching upon its role in cognitive and social development, the chapter highlights the urgency of ensuring equitable access to quality education for all children, regardless of their social backgrounds, and tackling the barriers that hinder educational access for marginalized groups. Subsequently, the chapter examines the historical challenges that indigenous communities have faced, particularly in relation to oppressive educational policies imposed by colonial powers and dominant governments. Drawing from the context of SDG 4 and the broader 2030 Agenda, the chapter concludes by emphasazing the critical role of education in safeguarding cultural diversity and promoting social inclusion, while showcasing the innovative efforts in helping indigenous communities reclaim and revitalize their linguistic and cultural heritage on a global scale.