Download - CHALLENGES FOR LEADERSHIP IN A MULTICULTURAL, GLOBAL SOCIETY Dr. Gary R. Weaver American University
CHALLENGES FOR LEADERSHIP IN A MULTICULTURAL, GLOBAL
SOCIETY
Dr. Gary R. Weaver
American University
WHY IS DIVERSITY IMPORTANT?
Changing demographics
Not just in urban areas
“Globalization”
The American CultureToday
• Not a Cultural Cookie Cutter or Melting Pot
• Patchwork Quilt
• Salad Bowl
• Mosaic
Minorities in USA Today12% African American
13% Hispanic
4% Asian and Pacific Islanders
1% American Indian
TO MORE EFFECTIVELY SERVE YOUR CLIENTS
Conveying information
Developing skills
Overcoming barriers caused by differences
Using differences to create synergy
TRAINING DOES IMPROVE
EFFECTIVENESS
Drop-out rates overseas
Decreased culture-shock
Critical incidents
TRAITS THAT CORRELATE WITH FAILURE IN CROSS-
CULTURAL INTERACTIONS
• Low tolerance to ambiguity or high uncertainty avoidance
• Overly task-oriented or high need for individual achievement
• Overly closed-minded and inflexible
What is “Culture?”
• culture - the way of life (values, beliefs and behaviors) of a people passed down from one generation to the next through learning
Generalization vs. Stereotype
• Cultural Generalization– Never applies to everyone
in every situation– Only a first “guess”– Discard it when no longer
accurate or useful
• Cultural Stereotype– Applies to everyone
in every situation – no exceptions
– Retained even when no longer accurate or useful
Culture is like an Iceberg.
6/7th’s of it is UNDER the
water.
BBEHAVIOREHAVIORBBEHAVIOREHAVIOR
BBELIEFSELIEFSBBELIEFSELIEFS
VVALUESALUES AND AND
TTHOUGHTHOUGHT
PPATTERNSATTERNS
VVALUESALUES AND AND
TTHOUGHTHOUGHT
PPATTERNSATTERNS
Erroneous Assumptions• Just get the right “cookbook.”
• By emphasizing differences, you’re just stirring things up.
• As we interact, differences will become LESS important.
• It’s just a matter of communication.
• It’s just a matter of applying basic management principles.
• Conflict is the same in all cultures.
As we interact, differences will become LESS important.
• Leon Festinger
– Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
• Muzafir Sherif
– Development of a “Superordinate Goal”
Nature of Early Immigrants
Religiously Persecuted - Fanatics
Avoided Wars - “Draft Dodgers”
“Criminals”
BASIC BELIEFS
Extreme individualism
Distrust of strong centralized authority
Dominant or Mainstream American Culture
“Middle Class”
Protestant
Psychology of Abundance
CULTURAL CONTINUUMSTo Do To Be
• Earned Status
• Individual Achievement
• Individual Action
• Equality
• Immediate family
• Self Reliance
• Independence
• Individual Competition
• Individualism
• Guilt
• Future
• Class Mobility
• Ascribed Status
• Affiliation
• Stability
• Inequality
• Extended Family
• Reliance on Others
• Interdependence
• Cooperation
• Collectivism
• Shame
• Past or Heritage
• Caste Rigidity
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
What Doesn’t Fit?
Nice weather we’re having!
Sunny, high in the 70s.
Haven’t we met before?
What Doesn’t Fit?• Nice weather we’re having!• Haven’t we met before?• High-Context - Relational - Associative• To Be - Poets
• Sunny, high in the 70s.• Low Context - Abstractive - Analytical• To Do - Memo Writers/Lawyers
Communication Styles
A B
Communication Styles
A B
Communication Styles
A B
Communication Styles
A B
Project Timeline
Stage One0 - 6
Months
Stage Two6 - 12
months
Stage Three12 - 18Months
Stage Four18 - 24months
Project Timeline
Stage One0 - 12
Months
Stage Two12 - 18Months
Stage Three
18 - 22Months
Stage Four
22 -24Months
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
We send messages, not meaning
To Do people tend to be verbally-oriented
To Do people trust vision
Cross-Cultural Conflict
QUESTIONS:
How do you know if it’s a conflict?
Is it escalating or de-escalating?
When do you resolve it?
When it is beyond resolution?
How do you resolve the conflict?
Other Resources• Hall, Edward. Beyond Culture.
• Weaver, Gary R., ed. Culture, Communication and Conflict, 2nd edition. Boston, MA:Pearson Publishing, 2000.
• www.interculturalpress.com
• www.imi.american.edu