For this 3-5 page assessment, you will analyze a case study in terms of leadership and diversity. You will also research strategies for effective leadership in the midst of diversity and ethical challenges, and explore ways to promote and develop cross-cultural competence.
Introduction For this assessment, you will analyze a case study or real-life leadership situation in terms of leadership and culture. You will also research strategies for effective leadership in the midst of multicultural diversity and explore ways to promote and develop
cross-cultural competence.
Leaders today need to be able to work effectively with diverse teams and organizations, often spanning multiple regions or countries.
Keep in mind that diversity includes wide ranges of people’s abilities, ethnicity, generations, personalities, genders, sexual orientations,
and so on.
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work
associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.
For the following questions, refer to the article by Shi and Wang (2011), “Interpreting Hofstede Model and GLOBE Model: Which Way to Go for Cross-Cultural Research?” listed in the “Leading a Multicultural Workforce” resource activity.
– Why is culture-focused research becoming more widespread and important to business concerns?
– How can cultural models and understanding cultural dimensions aid in the functioning of groups, teams, and individuals?
– How do the dimensions of the Hofstede model and the GLOBE model compare?
– What is a work scenario from your own experience in which there was a lack of diversity awareness or cross-cultural competence?
– What was your own role as a leader in that scenario? If you were not in a leadership role, analyze the role of another person leading. The situation could be in a family, sport, workplace, or community context.
Preparation
As part of your preparation for this assessment, research peer-reviewed articles on strategies for effective leadership in the midst of
diversity. Some articles are suggested, but you are encouraged to refer to other articles of interest and insight. In particular, for this
assessment:
– Using the Internet, research the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) Project, a prominent cross-cultural research project often referred to by leaders and scholars. GLOBE is an organization dedicated to the study of culture, leadership, and
organizational effectiveness. Start with the GLOBE Project Web site and from there, conduct your own research on researchers who have contributed to or used GLOBE studies to understand and apply leadership across cultures.
– Conduct additional research on multicultural intelligence, using terms and concepts from the GLOBE project to get you started. Select at least three peer-reviewed articles to support your assignment.
– Explore the items listed in the Resource activities. They contain a wealth of information and links about cultural competence and videos that may bring clarity and assist with the application of ideas.
Requirements
For this assignment, put yourself in this scenario: You are a human resources manager for a U.S. manufacturing company. The company has a manufacturing plant in Shanghai, China. Your mentor urges you to accept a three-year transfer offer to go there, since international experience is required for the company’s promotional track to Vice President.
You have reservations about accepting the assignment. Your job would be to lead a HR Big Data initiative to improve operational
performance and talent acquisition, which is your area of expertise. You would also be charged with helping the team develop
multicultural leadership practices.
However, although the management team in Shanghai acknowledges the need for improvement in these areas, they are skeptical about
the value of the initiative and are resistant to change. The team at the plant consists of:
– Caucasian men from the United States, ages 50–65.
– Two women from Germany, ages 35–45.
– Men from China, India, and Pakistan, ages 22–55.
You also know these things about the plant:
– The team members between the ages 22–35 are using the online platform well.
– Key leaders Joe and John, ages 55 and 57, are long-time friends. They have hired many friends from their college fraternity and they all go to sporting events together.
– Gertrude, one of the women from Germany, has complained to HR that she is often excluded from team meetings, and she feels that her voice is not heard on important issues.
You know that it will benefit the company’s strategic position to make business decisions based on data analytics. Making decisions that are evidence-based will transform HR decisions for employee management and reporting, and solidify the HR department as a vital business function. You will need to develop an action plan for how you will implement these initiatives. You are also aware that this initiative could make or break your career.
Your manager has asked you to prepare a preliminary analysis report that analyzes the multicultural intelligence factors that will need to
be incorporated into your action plan.
Based on your review of the literature and resources, prepare an analysis report that provides the following information:
– Describe a leadership situation that reflected a lack of diversity awareness or cross-cultural competence.
* How effective or ineffective was the leader’s response to diversity issues?
Apply dimensions of the GLOBE project relevant to the case study for gaining insights about the situation’s multicultural dynamics;
support your claims with study examples and your own relevant experiences.
* What dimensions of the GLOBE study were involved, such as uncertainty avoidance, power distance, collectivism, gender egalitarianism, future orientation, human orientation, or other factors?
* How can these dimensions be used to understand the situation in your analysis?
– Analyze leadership theories and strategies that promote multicultural and ethical leadership.
* Is raising ethical awareness a helpful approach for elevating diversity practices?
* Explain the pros and cons of using ethical awareness.
– Describe three missed opportunities to promote multicultural leadership relevant to the case study.
* What opportunities were missed for promoting multicultural leadership in a specific situation? Describe at least three missed
opportunities.
* Recommend strategies that enhance a leader’s capacity to promote ethical and multicultural leadership. Discuss the evidence base for
these strategies.