Cross-cultural and Diversity Leadership
Background
Globalization and international mobility of individuals within the contemporary business environment result in significant changes in internal organizational environments. In the recent years, more attention has been given to such concepts as diversity and cross-cultural business environments and, consequently, the management and leadership of such organizational realities. Many companies find themselves in extremely diverse from cultural and professional perspectives environments, where building on unique organizational culture and developing standardized approach to management and leadership depend on the cross-cultural expertise and competence of the leading individuals. Additionally, globalization makes competitive environment more severe and companies have to start looking for ways to innovate and create sustainable advantage through people and their competencies, which comprise internal rare and unique resources of these organizations. With the above in mind, such concept as transformational leadership comes to play, as this approach to leading the company promotes innovation and creativity (Armstrong and Baron, 2002).
Problem Statement
Management and leadership in cross-cultural and diverse environment demands responsiveness and flexibility from the organizations. Human Resource Management (HRM) in the company is concerned with shifting from cross-cultural awareness to cross-cultural competence, where international mobility, experience of working and leading with diverse teams and transformational management become critical lines of the job description and analysis.
While the recognition of the important role of diversity for our company is gaining spin, there are several issues, which continue surrounding this element. Firstly, the reality shows that as we grow organically and expand our business to new locations, we do not fully recognize the influence of the created cross-cultureless within the organization and fail to benefit and manage diversity in a way, which can build on productive and efficient environment in the companies. Secondly, there is a clear lack of training among middle and senior management on diversity management. Finally, under the transformational leadership, it is critical that the company is able to develop a robust tool and control mechanism for performance, which at the same time, is able to recognize diversity and develop unique talent of each individual. It is evidenced that the current performance appraisal system lacks the focus on diversity management and personalization of evaluation based on individual needs.
Research Summary
Bucher (2010) argues that contemporary business environment in general lacks the diversity consciousness and many organizations only aware but not proactive in building on the cross-cultural environment, in which they operate. To better understand the case, it was important to look at the concepts of performance management and leadership, presented and explored in empirical and theoretical research, conducted by other authors. Nohria Groysberg and Linda-Eling (2008) argue that one the lack of focus on diversity also is a result of the over managed and under led companies. Indeed, the organization demonstrates a lot of management capabilities, which help daily operations, but clearly lacks the leaders with strategic vision, which recognize the necessity to focus on diversity and cross-cultural leadership. Finally, Cardy and Leonard (2011) illustrate in their research the relevance of performance management and its personalization. The authors claim that the role of performance evaluation have changed dramatically over the past decades, from punishing poor performance to developing individuals. The reality shows that the companies, which use performance evaluation system to develop and train individuals demonstrate much higher level of performance and motivation, as employees recognize its bonds and comprehend the organizational objectives and culture. Performance management can help to build on diversity and teach employees on all the levels of organizational hierarchy how to benefit from divers teams and cross-cultural working environment.
The research on leadership illustrates that to succeed in contemporary business environment; the company should build on such competencies in leadership as conflict management, crisis and change management, and emotional intelligence and self-discovery mechanisms. With that in mind, management should undergo regular training on the above elements to be able to bring this knowledge down the organizational hierarchy and manage increasingly complex internal and external organizational relationships.
Recommendation
Based on the research of the topic and the analysis of the current situation in the company, it is possible to draw a conclusion that the organization is still on the transition stage from cross-cultural and diversity awareness to cross-cultural competence. That said, a lot is still to be done to bring diversity management and skills on strategic organizational level. As it was mentioned before, strategies issues include: the lack of focus on diversity in performance appraisal, the lack of training, and the failure to recognize the importance of diversity among lower organizational levels.
It is recommended that the company review its performance management system to build on the Balanced Scorecard, which includes individual assessment sheet, based on the discussion and goal setting with direct supervisor. This system should help identifying and assigning special training needs for employees, addressing at the same time the second strategic issue and improving diversity leadership. Finally, it is recommended that the company invests in team building and awareness sessions with the entire staff to raise the awareness of diversity.
References
Armstrong M. and Baron A. (2002) Strategic HRM . The Key to Improved Business Performance. London: Chartered Inst. of Personnel and Development. Print.
Bucher R.D. Diversity Consciousness. Opening Our Minds to People, Cultures and Opportunities. 3rd Edition, 2010. Pearsons Publishing. Print.
Cardy R. and Leonard B. (2011). Performance Management. Concepts, Skills and Exercises. 2nd Edition. M.E. Sharpe,.Print.
Nohria N, Groysberg B., and Linda-Eling L. (2008). Employee Motivation. The Powerful New Model. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 25 October 2014. http://hbr.org/2008/07/employee-motivation-a-powerful-new-model/ar/1
