Case Study and Culture

¶ … Friend Become a Team Leader in a Foreign Country

Recommend whether or not your friend should insert herself as a coach from the beginning. Provide a rationale for your response.

It is essential for the self-proclaimed coach to; firstly, understand the local environment before attempting to assist a friend to fit in such work context. It is essential, if people are to evolve as leaders, to understand that leadership differs from sheer management of work tasks and assignments. The self-perceptions of yester-years and the outdated models of leadership must be shed for modern day leaders to fit in the fast evolving work environment today. An ideal modern manager is one that has succeeded to shift attention from their position of authority to team dynamics and accomplishments. Such collective achievement should be their inspiration and satisfaction. The true nature of a modern day manager is anchored on the power derived from their ability to build trust among peers, guide reports and lead supervisors. Progressive managers obtain outcomes from their teams by facilitating positive motivation and encouraging and shaping a positive team spirit (Robert Mckinney, et al., 2013).

2. Determine two (2) conflicts that could possibly arise as a result of asking people to work on days of religious significance. Propose concrete solutions for these two (2) possible conflicts.

If a dedicated observant Jew is requested to attend to work assignments on a day such as Rosh Hashana, or even asking a staunch catholic to fit in a pantsuit uniform is going against their civil rights. It is a common occurrence nonetheless. They often happen because of ignorance, says Peterson. Various companies provide flexible hours or holidays for employees as time off to observe holidays that may not be recognized officially. There was a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management that revealed that 38% percent of employees reported that their employers provided such floating holidays. The Tanebbaum survey found that the employees that are offered flexible hours are more inclined to reporting to work if so required. The holidays that come at the end of the year have a higher propensity to stir emotions and reactions because the sensitivities are at their peak. These suggestions may help. Hypothetically, if you plan to hold a party at a resort in the neighborhood on a Friday evening, a Jew of Orthodox foundation with intention to go for sabbat would not be able to attend. Similarly, a Muslim who does not drink will feel out of place. On the other hand, the rest of the staff might perceive such people as being aloof or simply disloyal for failure to attend. Perceptions like these may affect one's career advancement prospects (Dori Meinert, 2013).

3. Determine whether or not cultural quirks could restrain the foreign manager from expressing his or her ideas readily. Provide a rationale for your response.

People in an organization should seek to understand the literal and underlying meaning of words and actions of their colleagues and seniors. If one fully understands the lingua and actions of their working environment, cultural issues should not be a serious impediment in one's actions. Parochialism is a term used to refer to narrow minded attitude. This is a situation in which one assumes that they must have their way. Managers may not see themselves as parochial. Instead, they are likely to believe that as people with wide perspective, they can acknowledge and appreciate the view of foreigners. The way westerners react to how Muslims express themselves is a typical example of parochial tendencies. The common expression by Muslim faithful to the effect that they will accomplish tasks or honor commitments subject to the will of God is perceived by many western managers as an excuse to provide for a possibility not to get the work done. This misconception is clearly a parochial viewpoint. The expression is only meant to demonstrate that humans are subject to God's power. In other words, the Muslims reckon that one cannot guarantee anything in absoluteness. Ultimately, the expression simply means that one will make effort to increase reliability and limit the chance of failure (Prof. Stefano Beggiora, 2014).

4. Determine two (2) actions that you can take in order to prepare yourself and your friend to become multicultural leaders. Provide two (2) examples to support your response.

Manager should try to develop programs that expose talented and promising staffs to new areas so as to empower them with a wider perspective of culture. Since developing such programs may involve a lot of resources that companies may not be immediately prepared to meet, there should be effort to embrace technology that will facilitate wider interaction across geographies (Jevan Soo, 2012).

Managers should:

i. Diversify their selection of staffs during recruitment. Some of the strategies that might help in this regard include diversification of recruiting talent, reshaping the brand messages and reviewing the selection criteria. A company may also find it helpful to employ the services of anthropologists to specifically examine the consideration of specific cultures.

ii. Place Multicultural experiences a central aspect of current career conversations to encourage emerging managers to prioritize multicultural skill development. In other words, multicultural experiences should be a currency that keeps beckoning on the manager's conscience all the time.

iii. Inculcate elements of multicultural merit into the training programs. They may simply adjust what exists or develop new programs. Consequently, the concept of multicultural competencies will embed in the operations and general fabric of an organization. It will be easier to promote multicultural inclination from such foundations.

iv. Encourage mobility programs that will lead emerging managers to inevitably explore different cultures as a result of their encounters in a variety of locations. Such programs should make it custom, by default, to move from one geographical location to another one in a different cultural setting. They may be deployed in both short-term and long-term projects on rotational basis.

v. Make use of insights of multicultural nature in critical decisions that affect operations of the company. The interventions mentioned earlier will be meaningless if managers do not harness the insights that multicultural members bring to the organization. Indeed, all good ideas are only so good if they are put to practice. The policy making bodies and senior management should seek to include these ideas in the daily operations and strategies of the business unit.

5. Predict two (2) major conflicts that may arise out of nonverbal communication misunderstandings (e.g., words misinterpreted, hand gestures, looks, shoulder shrugs, names of objects, etc.). Suggest two (2) actions that your friend could take in order to diffuse these types of misunderstandings and thus make the workplace more harmonious. Justify your response.

Case study

Cara (a Malaysian in a foreign country):

I have had a chance to work with several Malaysian nationals and have even had a chance to touch their hair and compliment them about how beautiful their hair is. In my mind, this was meant to be a bonding and friendly gesture. However, I later discovered that in the culture of Fijians, one is restrained from touching another in their head. It is a privilege only reserved for the chief.