Culture [WLO: 1] [CLO: 5]
Guided Response: Respond to at least two other peers’ posts regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. Remember to include active scholarship in these two replies to substantiate your points and to properly cite your sources. Please refer to APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) by the Writing Center for information on citing sources. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon in your classroom for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
KELLIE’S POST:
Culture has many attributes, involving methods, symbols, norms, traditions, rituals, principles, and beliefs. Organizational culture is the patterns of thinking and acting that are recognized largely and embraced (Laker, 2021). Ethnocentrism is thought to be a weak form of racial discrimination and is a bias people have for others they recognize as being of the same ethnicity as themselves. The effects of this label are that such biases might be that it is organic and that it does not automatically lead to active prejudice compared to others, but these are controversial allegations. The term suggests that evident racism could be the tip of the iceberg and that an inherent bias could be more widespread (Edmonds et al., 2020). Prejudice is a negative feeling concerning a group centered on a flawed generalization. Three dimensions around prejudice are a reasoning element that is faulty and unreasonable, a destructive emotional element, and one built on the other. Prejudice is illogical as the data it is established on is incorrect or inadequate to act as an empirical source for any reasonable conclusion (Bergen Jr., 2001). All three terms are related to one another because they are all based on a person’s foundational beliefs. Beliefs are what drive actions for each of them.
In the “Reexamining a Proposal” Case Study, David was not provided a fair and just quote. This could have stemmed from prejudice, lack of knowledge, or cultural bias. Once management reviewed the newly signed contract at the high price, they lowered the price, but it was still quite high. I think the managers made an effort to show respect and community, however, I don’t believe they did enough. Because the quote was still above average, I do not believe it was just or honest. David did not know what he did not know, which allowed for him to be taken advantage of. In this case, I think the quote should be reduced to a fair amount, regardless of the implications to the salesperson. They acted unethically from the beginning. I understand the PEO had concerns about the salesperson’s commission and morale, however, there need to be repercussions for dishonest behavior such as this. I would coach the leadership around introducing enhanced performance management measures put in place to help mitigate unethical behaviors in the company going forward. If the employees are not managed on performance, the behavior will continue.
References
Bergen Jr., T. J. (2001). The development of prejudice in children. Education, 122(1), 154.
Edmonds, B., Hales, D., & Lessard-Phillips, L. (2020). Simulation models of ethnocentrism and diversity: An introduction to the special issue. Social Science Computer Review, 38(4), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439318824316
Laker, B. (2021, December 10). Culture is a company’s single most powerful advantage. here’s why. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminlaker/2021/04/23/culture-is-a-companys-single-most-powerful-advantage-heres-why/?sh=6106c94a679e
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.
TARA’S POST:
Culture is an assumed set of beliefs and behaviors displayed by a particular group of people. Northouse (2022) defined culture as a way of life, traditions and rules that govern a set population and make it different from others. “Culture, as a set of values and beliefs, has become a constitutive component of effective social work practice in a multicultural reality” (Yan, 2008). With globalization taking over and the advancement of technology, it is vital that organizations place priority on fully understanding the cultures of foreign demographics of intended marketing. Moreover, with increasing diversity in the workforce, it is important that people be more accepting of each other regardless of cultural differences as they must work together. Ethnocentrism is regarded as a bias in the acceptance of other cultures. This prejudice usually results in negative stereotypes towards other cultures, and negative, even hostile behavior at times, towards people of different cultures (Dong et al., 2008).
Ethnocentrism involves loyalty to one’s culture but can also mean an unwillingness to engage in intercultural communication, which is necessary to overcome ethnocentrism and lessen intergroup conflicts (2008). These cultures believe their beliefs and values supersede all others. Often mentioned in a racial context, prejudice is based on the predispositions of individuals that have issues with others based on stereotypes.
A well-known organization invited my brother for a job interview. Leading up to that, my brother had been speaking with the director of HR, who was extremely impressed with his resume and the conversations they had been engaged in. When my brother arrived at the company, the security in the lobby called upstairs to let the director know he was there. Upon seeing him, the HR director’s face did not hide her obvious shock. He was African American. She did not shake his hand, nor invite him upstairs. They had a quick conversation right in the lobby and she told him she would get back with him – far from the conversations they had previously had via telephone. With a name like Ike Wilson, I guess she figured he was Caucasian. This incident occurred in the 90s but had such a profound negative effect, we still talk about this often.
There are several cultural dimensions that have been researched over the last 30 years. Some include power distance (belief that power in a culture should be equal), in-group collectivism (the extent to which a group displays pride in their culture), humane orientation (the extent to which cultures are kind to others). These dimensions involve the various cultural characteristics of each type of culture. Researchers believe that becoming familiar with these dimensions is important so that individuals from different cultures better understand each other and will be able to cope or work together more effectively (Northouse, 2022).
Dong, Q., Day, K. D., Collaco, C. M. (2008). Overcoming ethnocentrism through developing intercultural communication sensitivity and multiculturalism. Human Communication, 11(1), 27-38. Retrieved from http://www.uab.edu/Communicationstudies/humancommunication/11.1.3.pdf
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.
Yan, M. C. (2008). Exploring cultural tensions in cross-cultural social work practice. Social Work, 53(4), 317-328. Retrieved from https:..www.researchgate.net/publication/23318354_Exploring_Cultural_Tensions_in_C ross-Cultural_Social_Work_Practice
Ethical Leadership [WLO: 2] [CLOs: 2, 5]
Guided Response: Respond to at least two other peers’ posts regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. Remember to include active scholarship in these two replies to substantiate your points and to properly cite your sources. Please refer to APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) by the Writing Center for information on citing sources. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon in your classroom for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
ANSAR’S POST:
What is ethical leadership? Ethical leadership is leadership that is directed by respect for ethical beliefs and values and for the dignity and rights of others. Thus, it is related to concepts such as trust, honesty, consideration, charisma, and fairness. Burns’s (1978) perspective on ethical leadership argues that it is important for leaders to engage themselves with followers and help them in their personal struggles regarding conflicting values. The resulting connection raises the level of morality in both the leader and the follower. This, for example, is an ethical perspective because it addresses the morality of both parties.
Within ethical leadership there exists five principles which help guide an organization through its struggles: respect, service, justice, honesty, and community. It is said that ethical leaders respect others, serve others, are just (or fair), are honest, and build community. Of the five principles, it is my belief that respect, and honesty are the two most important. I sat for a minute and thought about all the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ leaders I have ever worked for. I concluded that amongst the subpar leaders, I wished they valued respect and honesty more than they did. Additionally, I recall, with the leaders who served me well, that I admired the amount of respect and honesty they portrayed within the workplace and even outside. There is a lot to be said about a leader who allows others to be themselves, with creative wants and desires. Kitchener (1984) explained that they approach other people with a sense of their unconditional worth and valuable individual differences. It is important to remember that our subordinates are not robots. They do not exist for the sole purpose of serving us. They, too, have wants and needs. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we are able to build a sturdy foundation of ethical leadership within our unit.
On the other hand, there is honesty which is just as important as the respect factor. The important thing to remember here is that when one is dishonest, distrust looms. Once the trust is gone, it is extremely hard to build it back. Often times, you will see that followers lose faith in what leaders say and stand for when they are not honest. Leaders are viewed as undependable and unreliable when they are dishonest (Northouse, 2022). So, we can positively say that to be a good leader, one must be honest. Honesty builds relationships because followers believe in the leader and their vision.
References
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
Kitchener, K. S. (1984). Intuition, critical Assessment, and ethical principles: The foundation for ethical decisions in counseling psychology. Counseling Psychologist, 12(3), 43–55.
Northouse, P. (2022). Leadership theory and practice (9th ed.).
DENISE’S POST:
Ethical leadership is when leaders demonstrate behaviors that are for the common good by following a code of values and morals. Organizations do well when leaders are exhibiting the five ethical principles (Northouse, 2022, pg. 434):
Respect others, valuing employees’ opinions and treating each employee as an equal.
Serve others, lead with showing respect and are trustworthy
Shows Justice, lead with fair and equitable treatment
Manifest Honesty, lead with truth and transparency
Build Community, empowering others, mentoring, and building strong teams
Two Important Principles
I belief the 2 most important principles are honesty and serving others. When leaders are honest, they are authentic, sensitive to other’s needs, and provide a balance of operational truth for followers. Serving others means putting the needs of others first, the combination of empathy, listening, development all with authentic behaviors can building communities of respect. “Leaders serve as role models for their followers and demonstrate the behavioral boundaries set within an organization” (Schaubroeck et al., 2012, pg.33). If leaders are honest and committed to serving others, respect, justice and building communities (relationships) is an outcome. “The leader who does what she says she will do, makes her beliefs and values known, and is willing to take risks as she works with the team to accomplish its goals is honest, authentic, credible, and thus trustworthy” (Healy, 2012, pg.16). These are the traits that come from honest leadership.
Discuss this in the context of a specific example.
In the case study Ship Shape, Captain Bret Crozier demonstrated all the five principles, he was sensitive to the crews’ needs( virus), he respected and was trustworthy by listening and taking action (crew members were exposed and some caught COVID), writing the leader showed his fair and equitable treatment ( all were treated the same regarding the need for health and support), his was truthful and transparent to the crew and he built a strong community/team ( they cheered for him when he was escorted from the ship) by standing for truth, being persistent in saving the crew and not backing down to save himself. His morals and values were more important than his career (he was terminated).
“Ethical leaders not only behave ethically but also set clear ethical rules through communication and discipline, leaders’ conscientiousness impacts followers’ perception of ethical leadership” (Ko et al., 2018. pg.7). Modeling the expected behavior Help the followers with adapting the behaviors.
References
Healy, M.L. (2012. The incredibly trustworthy leader.
https://www.ncura.edu/portals/0/docs/magazine/2012/marapr2012.pdf#page=17 (Links to an external site.)
Ko,C., Ma,J., Bartnik,R. Hany,M.H. & Kang,M.( 2018) ethical leadership: An integrative review and future research agenda.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mingu-Kang-3/publication/317216685_Ethical_Leadership_An_Integrative_Review_and_Future_Research_Agenda/links/5c1b1e07a6fdccfc705ad987/Ethical-Leadership-An-Integrative-Review-and-Future-Research-Agenda.pdf (Links to an external site.)
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.
Schaubroeck, J. M., Hannah S. T., Avolio, B. J., Kozlowski S. W., Lord, R. G., Trevinno, L. K., Dimotaks, N., & Peng, A. C. (2012). Embedding Ethical Leadership within and across Organization Levels. Academy of Management Journal, 55(5), 1053–1078. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0064
https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=00e2a0fd-21a1-4006-ac05-d015b118fac9%40redis (Links to an external site.)
