Question 1)
There are many challenges that should be anticipated in creating a shared vision for the organization. Some of them are as follows;
- The leader should respect the culture of every employees in an organization.
- They should be clear about the process what they are going to challenge. It means a homework is required for good leadership.
- There should be the establishment of powerful business case. As it is not easy but it is important to run an organization.
- There is the necessity of some people throughout the organization to make progress. So, the leaders should have advocates inside and beyond their circle (Coats 2000).
Question 2)
In carving out a multicultural leadership, several internal and external environmental factors should be considered.
An important internal factor may be the role of leader in an organization. The leadership style can impact organizational culture. Cultural issues such as the way of commuting with employees, range of family-friendliness, positive or negative behavior and the importance of employees results from several leadership movements. Another important internal factor may be the strength of the employee in the company. Employees who are hard-working, self-motivated and intelligent will give better performances that will be so much fruitful for the success of an organization (Kokemullern.d.).
While the important external factor that should be considered is competition. There will be the competition between every companies. Thus, the leader should do competitive analysis to compare the various aspects with the competitors. Other external factors may be legal or ethical and socio-economic factors. The legal or ethical factor refers to the ethical responsibilities of customers whereas socio-economic refers to the behaviours and values of targeted customers of an organization (Kokemullern.d.).
Question 3)
The leader should work differently in order to cultivate the organizational support from the various business units so as to ensure the success of their multicultural leadership effort. At first, the leader should understand about the culture, norms and values of their employees. A good communication skill should be developed by leader so that they can communicate with their employees who are from different cultures and locations. Another important thing is that leader should have ability to work effectively with the people from various places. For this, there is the requirement of self-awareness, awareness of other persons and the technique that is necessary to apply this in a culturally responsive way (Shriberg and Shriberg 2011, p.48).
TASK: Answer the Leadership Moment questions from chapter 3 (300-400). Then select one post and respond to it in 100-150 words stating whether and why you agree or disagree with the post.
Text Book: Shriberg, A &Shriberg, D 2011, Practicing Leadership Principles and Applications, 4th edn, Wiley, USA. ISBN: 978-0-470-08698-8.
Leadership in a Global and Multicultural Society
LEADERSHIP MOMENT
For the past seven years, you have been the CEO of an international short-line railroad company. In the last three years, your company has purchased short-line railroads in four different countries to add to your current portfolio. With these new acquisitions, many competitors now share the same structure and objectives of your global company. It is your responsibility as the leader to create a vision for the organization that is shared by all of your business units.
Although the various short-line companies are all in the business of moving rail cars, they are located in different countries, with different cultures, with employees that have different needs. Along with this challenge, based on the impact of fuel costs on a global scale, the company has been forced to cut costs in various areas to maintain profitability worldwide. Your challenge is to address the current issues, and to continue to build the culture of the company through shared values to ensure the current and future success of your organization. How will you do it?
Questions to Consider:
1. What challenges would you anticipate in creating a shared vision for this changed organization?
2. What internal and external environmental factors should you consider in carving out a multicultural leadership path that will support the success of your organization?
3. How might you need to work differently to cultivate the organizational support within the different business units that is necessary to ensure the success of your multicultural leadership effort?