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Diane Au

Globalization, Cultural awareness, and Leadership:
Cultural Literacy Amongst Female Executives in the Marketing Communications Industry

Diane Au The Applied Learning Project is, in oversimplified terms, the biggest project one puts together in the MCM program as a testament of what and how much they’ve learned and how a Master’s in Communications Management affects their personal and professional goals. The project can be as fulfilling as it is daunting. My goal was to prepare a piece of work that reflected what I’ve learned in the program and also to set in motion some future work involving more research in the areas of globalization, cultural literacy, and leadership.

I chose to incorporate these three topics into a traditional research project to study how cultural literacy amongst female executives helps them to advance in the marketing communications industry. My ALP ultimately tries to explore how being culturally literate helps to close the gap between men and women in leadership positions. Through networking and asking for favors, I was able to secure and conduct personal interviews with eleven senior-level female executives in the marketing communications industry discussing four areas: technology and culture, language, understanding self to understand others, and cultural literacy and women’s opportunities. My ALP also addressed how globalization, cultural literacy, and leadership skills enables female leaders to become even more valuable and effective in today’s business world. With the skills and knowledge accrued from this program, I was able to put together a research project that reflected effective and efficient communications, an appreciation for various cultures, and a strong recognition of female leaders.

Choosing a topic was probably the biggest challenge because it needed to be interesting and valuable to others, could apply my knowledge and skills gained from the program, and I needed to be passionate about it. Thinking thoroughly about what you’d like to accomplish in your ALP will help you set goals and can be a guide to completing it satisfactorily.

All in all, the ALP was one of the highlights of the MCM program for me. It tied together important and pertinent skills learned within the program and it helped expand my knowledge about some key issues in the world today.