Sexual abuse and hazing have a destructive effect on the military service, which foregrounds the need to promote ethical leadership. This analytical essay focuses on the story by SPC Wright about sexual harassment and hazing in the American army (Wright, 2021). He states that hazing and sexual assault harm the army profession. First, it destroys the public image of the U.S. military and leads to the situation when people associate military service with abuse, humiliation, and the inability to serve their country with dignity. Second, systematic cases of harassment and hazing decrease the level of trust and respect between soldiers and their command, which destroys the army from the inside. It is possible to state that the principles of ethical leadership that aim at building trust and respect among soldiers and command can change the existing situation with abuse and humiliation.
Discussion and Analysis
Case Description
SPC Wright became the victim of systematic humiliation and sexual abuse from other soldiers when he changed the platoon. When he served in another troop, this behavior was unacceptable, and there was an atmosphere of mutual respect among soldiers. He always knew that he had the opportunity to ask the commanders for assistance, and they would react to the potential problems. The commanders in the last troop gained the trust of all soldiers, which made the communication adequate. In their turn, the commanders in the new platoon showed that they did not want to establish contact with the soldiers, and their problems were not their priorities.
As a result, the military leaders knew that the cases of sexual harassment and hazing happened when they did not watch the soldiers in their platoon, but they preferred to disregard these facts. SPC Wright received help only when he addressed the higher rank commandment and described the existing problems (Wright, 2021). This case shows that the soldier could no longer stay in the army when he was regularly humiliated and abused, and the commandment did nothing to change this situation.
Case Interpretation
Ethical leadership is connected with profound transformations in the military service. It is critical to pay precise attention to the cases that emphasize the existing problems in the army. In most situations, it is easier to ignore the problem than to reform the entire system that is rigid by its structure. Moreover, the pro-active position in the military profession is connected with potential problems because the army is a highly hierarchical institution where the individuals status and authority have the most critical role in the decision-making process (Barnes, Doty, 2010). For example, SPC Wright could not solve the problem of sexual abuse and hazing until he addressed the commanders who had more authority than the platoons supervisors. As the soldier, SPC Wright did not have other opportunities to change the situation when his human dignity was regularly humiliated. This situation emphasizes that an average soldier in the army is powerless because of his comparatively low status in the military hierarchy.
A military leader who pursues ethical goals should be credible and trustworthy. It is vital for the moral leader to show the appropriate conduct in all critical and biased situations during the military service, communicate with the subordinates, and respect them as professionals and as humans. Paying attention to ethical principles can be complicated because military leaders require courage and stable morality to act according to ethics (Barnes, Doty, 2010). The case that SPC Wright describes is a vivid illustration of the problems with ethical leadership that exist in the American army. The commandment usually knows that hazing and sexual harassment exist, but they do not try to watch their soldiers and eliminate all signs of humiliation in the troop. As a result, they prefer to persuade themselves that such things do not exist because they do not see them when communicating with the soldiers. There is no need to say that this policy is far from ethical and practical.
There is an emphasis on professional competencies in the military, not on the persons character, which leads to problems with ethical behavior. People who lack moral principles but are professionals in the military succeed, leading to cases of humiliation and abuse in the troops. As SPC Wright says in the interview, there is a vital need for people with high moral standards who do not hesitate to promote their ethical values and speak up (Wright, 2021). In other words, leadership based on the principles of morality is rare in the American army, leading to the absence of trusting relationships between soldiers and their commandments. Many soldiers cannot cope with this humiliation, stress, and feeling of powerlessness, which leads to their suicide or the assassination of the abusers. Therefore, it is critical to pay attention to communication within the troop and build trusting relationships between the commanders, the supervisors, and the soldiers.
Creating a culture of trust and respect in the American military is the priority for the commandment, and it is possible to achieve it by dividing the army into smaller units. It is possible to improve trust in the interactions with the soldiers when every commander knows the problems of the people with whom he works daily (Hoeft, 2021). This method of implementing ethical leadership in the military might give positive results in the future because it challenges the existing rigid hierarchical structure where low-ranked soldiers cannot express their concerns.
The ethical military leader does not only create a positive environment but also shows others a good example. It is part of social learning when the soldiers see how their supervisors behave and act similarly. It is impossible to underestimate the impact of the tradition in the military service, and ethical leadership can become part of this army tradition (Barnes, Doty, 2010). It is possible to state that the decision of SPC Wright to speak up about the problems of sexual harassment and hazing and his ability to solve this problem during his military service is a positive example for military professionals. The soldier shows that he is a competent professional in the interview and he values discipline and subordination in the army. At the same time, he has a proactive position concerning the unacceptability of humiliation and abuse and is not afraid to discuss these problems in public. Many soldiers do not talk about these episodes because they feel ashamed of being victims of abuse and fear potential adverse outcomes. For instance, they hesitate to accuse their fellow soldiers of sexual harassment and hazing because the humiliation might aggravate after being punished for their actions. It shows that there is much work to do in the American army to promote a trusting and respectful atmosphere among people who have to protect the country professionally.
Conclusion
To conclude, ethical leadership is essential to creating a good atmosphere in the army. The primary goal is to build respectful and trusting communication between soldiers, supervisors, and commanders. Lack of mutual trust and interpersonal communication between the commanders and the soldiers leads to such problems as sexual harassment and hazing. Humiliation and abuse lead to the degradation of the relationships among soldiers and do not allow them to serve the country effectively due to the toxic atmosphere among troops. Moreover, these situations harm the image of the American army, which makes the military service not prestigious and connected with the constant humiliation of human dignity instead of professionalism and patriotism. Therefore, it is vital to address the problem of sexual harassment and hazing in the U.S. military, and ethical leadership might help solve these issues.
SPC Wright emphasized implementing ethical leadership principles in the mission command. The soldier described the existing problems in the American army connected with sexual harassment and hazing that the supervisors and the commandment disregarded because these problems required active actions. His competence foregrounds his position, and he shows that he is ready to accept the risks that are connected with the initiative. Summing up, SPC Wrights behavior and story are examples of ethical conduct and leadership that serve as the role model for other military professionals. Initiative, competence, and ethical principles that people are not afraid to implement are the critical components of promoting ethical leadership and making the military service more oriented toward the needs of soldiers.
References
Barnes, C. M., Doty, J. (2010). What does contemporary science say about ethical leadership? The Army Ethics, 90-93.
Hoeft, J. (2021). Army leaders talk ethical leadership. Army.mil. Web.
Wright, J. (2021). The effects of hazing and sexual assault on the army profession. Video transcript. Army.mil.
The feeling of remorse that is bestowed upon a soldier during the playing of the Taps is derived from nothing other than respect for each other. Although in the army most occasions end with sad events, most feel a sense of respect for the fallen soldier who pays the ultimate sacrifice for the country.
Most of the military customs and traditions are not held to this regard. However, we need to uphold our traditions and customs so that we do not lose the sense of pride and duty. This paper seeks to discuss the importance of respect in the military.
Importance of respect
Being a soldier in the army means understanding the Seven Core Army Values and living up to them. Some of these include respect, loyalty and honor. Having respect means treating someone as he or she should be treated.
The people in the army are expected to treat each other with respect. They do this since they also expect others to do the same. Another ingredient for respect is self-respect. You cannot respect another if you do not respect yourself. This allows someone to put forth his or her best effort since the Army is a team and each member contributes to the greater goal.
Respecting your fellow soldier means protecting him in all situations, covering his backside when required and clearing the path in order for him to complete the mission. This is because when that person completes the task, it equally means that you have completed yours. Therefore, respect in the army ensures that the jobs of both the seniors and the subordinates are done.
Lack of respect in the Army may hinder development of effective leaders. This is usually accompanied with the lack of proper communication. Disrespect is observed when the seniors in the Army (such as the NCOs) fail to do what they were tasked to do and force other (subordinate) officers to micromanage tasks.
This is where seniors loose the trust of the subordinates. The best way to maintain relationships and respect in the Army is to focus on your task and maintain communication in all situations. This way there would be mutual respect and friendships that last for a lifetime would be fostered.
Another reason why respect in the military is important is that it would ensure that the juniors (subordinates) are informed about the missions and its activities. This would empower them with responsibilities and show them that they are equally important to the team.
Respect is also important because it instills confidence that the mission would be successful. This is especially the case when there is the respect of the soldiers of all ranks. The soldiers need to respect their peers, subordinates and seniors.
This would require one to listen and pay soldiers the proper courtesy. This should be the case even when one does not like the other for any particular reason or the mission as a whole. This would ensure that the tasks are done and missions completed successfully.
Conclusion
The seven Code Army Values govern the soldiers in the Army. Respect is one of the values and it is important since it ensures harmony within the Army. Respecting the peers, subordinates and seniors is important to ensure that the work is done and that missions are completed successfully. Without respect in the army, there would not be any success.
Disrespect is an action of being rude or discourteous to the authority or person in charge. It is an act that demeans people and causes them to appear as if they do not know what they are doing. Disrespect does not only work for vertical chain of authority but can also be among people of the same rank.
Every organization has got code of conducts which ought to be followed of which if not taken keenly it is termed as disrespect. For example, going against the rule of law is a sign of disrespect and could get one into trouble either with the police or people in charge.
The military is one place that requires respect but instead of disrespect. We cannot talk about disrespect without mentioning the essence of respect.
The word respect is imperative in todays setting. It is neither a privilege nor a right. Everybody demands respect of some kind. Respect varies in different degrees. The reason for this disparity could be due to the position a person holds in the family, organization, society, and nation or at global level. Respect should be earned.
Disrespect in the Military
The military is one place that has the highest form of code of conduct. The military has got mandatory rules that have to be followed once someone has sworn an oath to become a member. No military person is permitted to answer back a non commissioned officer. Issues like retaliating or questioning of judgment is not allowed.
It is important that every person in the military adhere to the conducts whether in uniform or not. For instance, it could one bad repercussion when he or she shows lack of respect to an NCO when in uniform.
Other forms of punishment would include, withdrawal of hard cash earning from the family, dishonorable or honorable separation from the military and travel limitations. Therefore, to prevent such occurrences a person in the army needs to keep the right code of conduct twenty four hours a day, seven days a week and three hundred and sixty five and a quarter days a year.
For the military to achieve such high respect in the society, it takes them sacrifice and commitment. Disrespect in the military in the recent times has been caused by few leaders who compromised the codes of conduct in the past days. This has since been transferred to the junior employees too.
Efficiency in the administration of the military can only be achieved through discipline. This applies both in military and life. In order have a high sense of professionalism, it is important to input the actions of discipline that guard other values such as respect, integrity, self commitment and loyalty in work.
Respect in the Military involves ranks. In addition, it is likened to the proverbial saying that goes Do unto others whatever you expect to be done for . Respect will not only apply to the seniors but also to the subordinates, juniors and colleagues.
By having taken an oath to be a member of the military, it is mandatory that one respects all the activities ranging from war, humanitarian services and the military system as a whole. Personal respect is also very essential at the military level.
It is by respecting oneself that he or she will be able to show others and earn respect too. As a unit, the military appreciates the effort of each and every member hence this reduces the chances of having disrespectful individuals. Therefore, issues of disrespect tend to be very minimal in the military.
Plato and Aristotle are some of the most important figures in the development of philosophy of education (Morgan 43). Although Plato taught and inspired Aristotle, their views on education show a number of differences. Arguably, Plato and Aristotles views of education differ in that Aristotle considers education as a virtue by itself that every person must obtain in order to have happiness and goodness in life, while Plato advocates for a good education for the elites.
Platos views of education are found in his descriptions of an ideal Republic. In the Republic, Plato argues that an individual is well served when he is a subject of a just society (Morgan 78). He considers education as a virtue whose aim is to provide a sound body with a sound mind. He believes that education must start early in life.
Therefore, he considers children as wards of the state. He argues that children must be removed from parental care early in life and instead be brought up as wards of the state. Then, Plato advocates for differentiating the children according to their future endeavors and roles in the society. Under the care of the state, the children should be distinguished according to how they fit into social castes.
Those fitting the highest caste must obtain the highest level of education to ensure that they assume the roles of guardians of the state (Morgan 92). According to Plato, good education is holistic. It should include both formal and informal training. He advocates for inclusion of physical discipline, facts, handcraft, arts, and music in the education system.
Plato believed in the virtue of selective public education. For instance, according to his views, a childs capacity in achieving education and talents are not hereditary.
He argues that all children, regardless of their social class, have the capacity to get education and talents and join a higher social caste. However, Plato advocates for providing the highest level of education to those children who are more suitable to become future guardians of the state. This means that he advocates for training a small group of children who then proceed to be the elite class.
In Platos virtue of education, elementary education is confined to children below the age of 18. Those between 19 and 20 years must undergo vigorous military training before proceeding to get higher education. According to Platos views of education and society, elementary education has an important role in making the soul of an individual responsive to the environment. In addition, he argues that higher education helps the soul in its search for the truth.
On the contrary, Aristotles views of education are based on purposefulness. He believes that education is a virtue that every person in a society must obtain. He views education as a way of attaining goodness and happiness in life. Increased teaching, training, and experience can help one achieve goodness of intellect.
While Plato believed that the state has the role of educating small children, Aristotle believes that parents had the largest responsibility in early childhood education. The state comes in once the child has grown up from early to middle and late childhood.
Although Aristotle, like Plato, emphasized on gymnastic as a form of education, he believes that one of the role of this form of training is to develop a spirit of sportsmanship and therefore develop good habits in a child.
Finally, Aristotle differed with Plato in that he believed in both inductive and deductive methods of teaching, arguing that both are logical procedures in a subjective and objective training.
Work Cited
Morgan, Michael. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. New York: Hackett publishing company Inc, 2005. Print.
Virgil D. Hawkins, on behalf of himself and others
Similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. The BOARD OF CONTROL OF FLORIDA,
A body corporate,
No. 643.
Facts of the Case
The case began in April 1948
The plaintiff was a black student who had applied to be admitted to the University of Floridas College of Law
The Universitys governing body (the Board of Control) rejected his application on constitutional grounds that non-white students were not allowed into the University
A 9-year legal battle then ensued
He ultimately lost the case
History of the Case
In 1950, in the State ex rel Hawkins v. Board of Control of Florida, the Court agreed with Hawkins
His rights to attend a Florida, public law school were upheld
But it maintained that the state of Florida has observed this
It created a public law school (Florida A &M) exclusively for blacks.
The Court ruled that since he had an option of attending this institution, the University of Floridas law school was under no obligation to admit him.
Facts and Legal Questions
Were the plaintiffs rights to education violated?
Did the plaintiff have an option other than UF law school?
What was the implication of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling?
What reasons did the Florida Supreme Court give for failing to admit Hawkins?
Did Hawkins finally become an attorney?
The Ruling
The Court agreed with the Board
It ruled that Florida A&M met all the state requirements to offer law education
Its legal education would help the plaintiff.
The Court argued that the establishment of the Florida A&M ensured that Hawkins right to pursue legal education was adequately provided for
Florida A&M admitted non-white students
The U.S. Supreme Court
Borrowed from the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling of 1954
It declared the education doctrine of separate but equal unconstitutional
It breached the constitutional clause of equal protection by segregating educational amenities (Hawkins v. Board, n.d).
Public schools were hence ordered to admit racially diverse students without any discrimination.
The Florida Supreme Court
Acknowledged the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling
Florida Supreme Court instructed that Hawkins should be admitted to the UF law.
But there were delays
Issues of parents concerns arose
Contempt
No Admission
Hawkins was not admitted
The danger of serious public mischief.
Justice B.K Roberts argued that admitting Hawkins to the UF law school would cause parents to withdraw their children from the institution.
His black skin still played against him
U.S. Supreme Court ruling disobeyed
Laws and Legal Actions Taken
Another ruling in 1958,
The Court should grant Hawkins a hearing
UF should be prohibited from implementing their white persons only policy,
It also found that Hawkins lacked the required qualifications to enter into the UF law school (Paulson & Hawkes, 1984).
Bar Examinations
Later in 1976, in Re Florida Board of Bar Examiners case,
Special permission was granted by the Supreme Court
Hawkins allowed admission to the Florida Bar
On the grounds of his state diploma (State Ex Rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control, n.d).
Concurring Opinions from the Judges
Five judges concurred
Chief Justice Terrell was one of them
Concurred that segregation was a normal phenomenon
Under the laws of natural theory
It practiced since time immemorial, even during the ancient times of Egyptian segregation of the Jews.
Dissenting Opinions from the Judges
Two justices dissented and sided with the U.S Supreme Courts ruling
They disagreed with their 5 colleagues,
Justice Roberts argued that the U.S. Supreme Court violated the judges oath
of supporting, protecting, and defending the federal constitution.
Justice Hobson noted that it was paramount to obey the federal law and the U.S Supreme Courts decision.
Running a restaurant business effectively is not an easy task, and a manager needs to learn how to effectively govern the manner in which employees interact and behave. The manager can do this by earning the respect of both his staff and superiors. Respect does not just come easily; rather, it is earned over a period of time.
To earn employees respect, the manager needs to know his staff and their skills well. Here he needs to know their strengths and weaknesses. This way he will be able to delegate them to the tasks they are best suited for while ensuring they are well adapted to and trained to perform other tasks. The restaurant manager needs to accept responsibility and accountability instead of delegating them to his staff. This means that if his staff is experiencing difficulty in their tasks, he should help them out instead of scolding them. This makes their job easier and also encourages them to perform their duties well.
A manager should have reasonable expectations of his staff. If he wants them to do something outside their job description such as extra hours, he should ask them instead of commanding and be prepared to take a no for an answer. This common courtesy among colleagues earns respect and co-operation. Moreover, a manager can earn respect from his staff if he listens and takes interest in the things happening to staff outside of work. This show of compassion and understanding displays his human side and a respected manager helps employees go through rough times. He can make the workplace enjoyable. Restaurants as workplaces can be very difficult for staff that is always at the beck and call of both guests and managers. This can elicit feelings of resentment. A manager can counter that by introducing incentives to make the working environment enjoyable such as rewards, staff parties and generally making them feel they are a family.
A manager earns respect from superiors by accepting responsibility and accountability. This is by owning up to mistakes by his staff and helping his staff to do their duties well instead of blaming them This, a manager will do by communicating effectively. This means he gives information clearly, takes time to listen and clarify issues, and talks straight when necessary. If as a manager the superiors tell you of their plan, whether you agree or not say so and provide reasons for your answers. This shows he has opinions and is able to focus on potential results and obey orders, that is, he can take issues head-on when necessary with good judgment and is sensitively anchored in the culture of the business. Moreover, a manager should be flexible and with good judgment. Juggling tasks from financial decision-making to aesthetic and staffing in the restaurant business is not easy, and a manager who is able to do this earns respect from his superiors.
It is correct to follow the attribute that employees respect in a restaurant manager does not differ much from the superiors respect in managers, only the expectations differ. This is because both sides seem to respect a manager who is responsible, accountable, honest, strong, and intelligent, and an excellent communicator. A manager can make both sides happy by working harder than everybody else, sharing more information than needed with all, building confidence in both the workers and the superiors, maintains a sense of purpose, and adopts his approach to the requirements and style of each person be it superiors or staff.
The usage and application of the term organisational learning are still associated with considerable confusion due to the reason that organisational learning possess the problem of trying to unify different theoretical approaches, while at the same time valuing the diversity that has evolved since its inception. (Buchel, 2001, p. 81) Thats why HP research labs initiated with theoretical literature, the concepts of organisational learning in the context of knowledge management and culture.
Before switching over to the change process, HP was unable to identify its flaws as a barrier to making itself among one of the leading technology centres. By the change process HP is able to point out its flaws in the light of literature, various barriers like communication barrier, cultural barrier and the barrier of sharing knowledge among its various centres. In the light of literature, communication and cultural barrier was the most significant hurdle in making progress due to which knowledge management/ sharing was slower and somewhat isolated in its centres.
As HP has its research labs at UK, USA and Japan so HP confronted to problems with respect to the above mentioned barriers. The change process which HP labs initiated were a great effort towards an effective dialogue based process including a vast range of communication authorities like surveys and groupware. Even HP labs did not lag behind in conducting informal discussions to create an effective support system and so the proposed solution was that there should be a group of technical experts with solid managerial skills with good background of cross cultural communication techniques, required to keep track of the activities going on in all of the three centres, so that for a particular recurring problem in all centres, the solution worked out by one centre could be easily implemented for others, hence avoiding other centres to invent the wheel.
Fortunately, HP was confronted to smooth survey process followed with a two way dialogue, which otherwise is not as easy as Dr. Albert Michael has mentioned. Often the surveys concern the possibility of hiding and uncovering problems, which are quite sensitive or potentially damaging to a company. (Smith, 2003, p. 36) This cuts both ways, for the problem exists whether or not it is uncovered by a survey. HP was fortunate to reveal its problems by survey, therefore corrective action was initiated.
According to the Business Review vol. 5 (2006), the change process always initiate an environment of mutual growth with a new positive cultural experience, and it seems that now HP labs has prioritised the cultural factor to be the key to success. (Albert, 2006) If we discuss this cultural aspect in the light of literature we would see that why HP has considered culture as one of the key notions in growth is what Flamholtz (1995) has argued, that an organisational development is nothing but the development of an appropriate organisational culture within which management feels it can guide the organisation. (Flamholtz, 1995)
HP must not ignore that for a technology, culture alone cannot be taken as the key factor to success, rather technology and the manufacturing techniques employed is constantly changing so that, for instance, the manufacturing of televisions, telephones, and computers, which once were clearly separate products, is now clearly an overlapping set of processes sharing components, suppliers and customers. (Tansey, 2002, p. 39) Hence it proves that cultural techniques must be implemented not only to remove communication barriers and knowledge sharing but also to evaluate the changing attitudes and flavours of client. Only by considering these two mechanisms HP would be able to rule the market according to every region.
Therefore, the importance of culture cannot be underestimated but a technology building and providing company cannot afford to limit its boundaries to culture only. HP must look into knowledge management and sharing processes as an individual identity to success. In this context where HP is considering culture above all, it should consider and analyse the role of HP central labs and should consider leadership to be above all factors. The reason behind considering leadership is to see the management with the eyes to accommodate both sets of needs, even magnify them.
According to Fairholm (1994), The key to a solution is in integrating the various individual needs into a cultural unity that can address and meet both group and individual core needs. Unfortunately, past managerial systems either ignored this tension or treated it as an organisational evil . (Fairholm, 1994, p. 50) This is the main reason for why HP underwent through process change, because it identified its barriers which existed in sharing information and knowledge management.
Ruggles (1998) while discussing the main loopholes of cultural communication barriers with respect to literature highlights knowledge management to be the main solution but in condition when it is sharing and continuously circulating within the organisation. HP still lacks in such strategies where its employers are able to communicate knowledge sharing. According to McDermott (1999) the most common difficulty in changing peoples behaviour towards sharing knowledge is to change or modify their culture and habits. However I do not agree with McDermotts perception in the following sense. Peoples attitude and work habits can be changed if they work in groups in an organisation. All the management teams from top till bottom are part of these groups. Now if these groups are identified as a group composition, many workers who belong to various cultures are combined . (Moreland & Levine, 1992) This is what HP labs are supposed to do.
This combination of many cultural differences and similarities would allow many individual characteristics of the workers to not only share their abilities but also their demographic characteristics, opinions, and personality traits. In this manner the workers would be relevant to a groups tasks, as well as they would find themselves in more learning environments. Such groups performance can also be improved by altering its composition for those characteristics. Changes in the context of senior level and junior level group members would be helpful as it would be easier to share information and technicalities within group. So, HP in this manner would be able to improve its groups performance by:
Not only hiring workers with desirable characteristics but also merging them up with new or junior workers,
Provide technical training to its workers in such a manner so that they would themselves be able to circulate their own discoveries, or
Merging one group with another, internal group with externals so that changes could influence workers performance in many positive ways (Moreland, Levine, & Wingert, 1996).
It is true that such linking of groups can improve performance, but such gains are also followed by conflicts among group members. In this aspect the best feature of promoting cross cultural communication is the esteem of cultural values that are respected by other group members and thus managed teams, could be improved by helping members learn more about one another so that they could make better use of the groups human resources (Marquardt, 1996).
The change of HP labs from a traditional to a cultural oriented environment is no doubt the right move, at the right time but I would consider it as single dimensional due to the reason that on one hand the management personnel are putting effort to alleviate cultural barriers but on the other they are just sitting and watching their customers changing interests. A culture can also prevent a company from remaining competitive or adapting to a changing environment. Example is that of People Express, Inc who built its early success on an unusual and highly decentralised form of management in which every employee was an owner-manager. Employees were encouraged and even required to perform different functions, such as a pilot also working as a ticket agent. The result was the employees tended not to get bored and learned other aspects of the business. This type of happy disorganisation worked well when the company was small but it became chaos and created substantial problems for a billion-dollar-a-year company. When People were warned about their management practices being inappropriate, the company responded with the statement: This philosophy is what made us great. Were not going to change. The company president still held on to this culture up to the point that People, suffering heavy losses was forced to sell out to its arch rival (Randall, 2004, p. 108).
Within the broad framework of a discourse of change, a new and recurring theme has been the need to adopt a coherent or programmatic approach, example culture change, in the case of HP. In this context HP must set its priority towards sharing and the use of expert knowledge to implement change. Academics and professional managers provide a feel for how new programmes of change were, respectively, sold and accepted. (Mills, 2003, p. 84) According to Stanley M. Davis, corporate culture can be managed to deal with turbulent change:
During the past five years I have worked extensively with senior managers of several large companies in their efforts to understand and manage their corporate cultures. My goal was to assess whether and how the culture met the companys needs and to assist in changing it where it did not (Mills, 2003, p. 85)
Immense changes in the economic environment and a radical increase in competitive pressures have put a premium on strategy and a companys capacity to implement it&. To tap this advantage, corporations have to be able to act fast. Perhaps the single most promising catalyst&has come to be recognised as corporate culture (Mills, 2003, p. 85).
Immediate action with immediate change followed with a continuous flow that is what is required by HP and it is only possible if the senior management always determines to change according to the global requirements. It is truly said by Stankard (2002) that work in isolation is not part of an organisational system (OS). This saying goes parallel with the idea that no element of OS works alone. For example, a software organisation employs fifty programmers working in their respective territories. If the programmers do not interact with each other directly or indirectly, they are not an OS, because knowledge and solutions are not sharing within them. They are a group of programmers, and the overall result is just the sum of the individual efforts.
Similarly, salespersons however, once high- and low-volume sales producers form into teams to share knowledge, test new sales approaches and support each others selling efforts, they perform as a system with the mission of expanding the sales of the whole sales force. The act of working together makes them part of a system to pursue a mission more sales (Stankard, 2002, p. 10).
Despite making umpteen attempts of alleviating cross cultural barriers, HP still lacks in managing diversity through groups. Barsade, Ward, Turner, and Sonnenfeld (2000), prefers group diversity over individual team work and follows Georges homogeneous conceptualisation of group affect. Therefore, they consider the importance of mean level group affect, thereby considering similarities and differences in group members affect. They not only theorise the differences among group level but also analyses and examines as to how affective differences among group members influence group behaviour.
HP must consider group level effort and does not alone rely upon individual team members. For this the top management of HP has to construct a detailed theory of affective similarity-attraction that runs parallel with the cognitively based similarity-attraction theory. In doing so, HP would realise that among top management teams, the affective diversity of the team could serve as an important predictor of group processes, such as cooperation, conflict, level of CEO participativeness versus authoritarianism with the team. Kelly and Barsade (2001) while analysing the importance of group affect, provided a thorough review of the literature while highlighting a model of group affect, which includes multiple levels of analysis looking at group affect from a bottom up and top down perspective (Greenberg, 2003, p. 21).
This bottom-up approach to change allows both more consultation and the opportunity to identify recurrent concerns held by individuals. Therefore the emergent approach, accepts the benefits of clear standards for consistency while allowing for the solution of problems at a local level. Such openness allows issues of belief and concern about the present situation to emerge during the survey.
The difference here lies in the active encouragement, which facilitates frankness about suspicions, attitudes and expectancies not all of them positive. Beliefs that directors dont care are not exceptional in an organisation. Opinions about stress and workloads having increased and the belief that terms and conditions are applied inconsistently are the beginnings of an agenda change that managers will need to address. We may notice, in fairness, however, that it may not be possible to address perceived inequality to the total satisfaction of the objectors. However, at least the opinions of those involved have been sought and can be included in subsequent encounters (Randall, 2004, p. 110).
HP top management team must command and control to induce a high degree of mutual influence among its managers. It must:
Set Containers
By setting a container we mean influencing the environment that shapes the behaviour of a system. The container is an attribute of the system that separates it from its environment. Traditional containers include such things as clear goals and expectations, project schedules, budgets, work teams, physical space, or other system boundaries. If a leader maintains the existing culture and power arrangements as manifested in the traditional containers, significant changes will not occur. New containers related to new clients, new sources of funding, or new diversity in the organisation must be recognised and set. Leaders set containers in these ways:
Set few specifications
Leaders must see planning as a process of discovery, filled with ambiguity and possibilities. Rather than instructing the agents on what to do, the leader must allow the team to see what requires attention by identifying a few essential specifications. Leaders must set general requirements for the outcome, but decisions about how to proceed are left to the team managers. In this way cultural barriers would not matter, the thing that would matter would be professionalism.
Sense of urgenc
Some organisations develop structures that speed up innovation. Peters and Waterman (1982) called them skunkworks because they are generally isolated from the main business to reduce the burdens of maintaining regular business practices. Skunkworks builds small containers of time, space, membership, and project focus. Small containers mean fast self-organisation. HP can speed up innovations but to the extent that it would isolate general practices the least.
Stretch boundaries
Leaders enlarge boundaries to increase creative options by performing small experiments that encourage learning. Adding new staff and assigning new roles and responsibilities also tend to stretch system boundaries and mixing them up with old employees help creating an environment of knowledge sharing.
Shrink boundaries
The leader constrains communication when an organisation is undergoing change at a rate that cannot be accommodated. Structures, like teams, reduce individual variation, build coherence, and provide frameworks for evaluation. For example, teams channel communications and reduce the number of individual contacts with the environment. By making contracts and agreements on a departmental level, time and costs associated with individual agent activity may be reduced (Olson & Eoyang, 2001, p. 34).
Authors like Armstrong & Foley (2003) believe in a recent research literature Organisational Learning Mechanisms which states that without any of these mechanisms, learning and developing organisations like HP are unlikely to emerge. No doubt these authors are right in saying that every organisations success is hidden in understanding its cultural factors. Lorsch & Allen (1973) suggests ways to understand cultural behaviour and writes, Cross cultural communications could be improved and cooperation might be achieved to some degree if rewards and incentives are associated with the aspects that determine success or failure of divisions of the managers. Similarly such divisions rather aiming to compete each other work together productively if and only if the aims and interests of the organisation are common (Lorsch and Allen, 1973).
Albert Michael mentions in his HP lab Research paper that the recent change has been an example of Management Innovation. Now, the question arises that innovation requires change, whether intentional or otherwise, in the independent causes of innovation had the effect of altering production functions. How can HP labs ignore the consequent output and cost changes with respect to market equilibrium and market forces which immediately came into play to produce a new equilibrium state? How the technological and organisational innovations came about in the first place are simply taken as causes embodied in capital assets or in the knowledge required to manage capital and labour resources? This way of thinking led to a search for the specific variables and circumstances that would cause innovation to occur and enable managers to control it (Fonseca, 2002, p. 13).
HP still requires the need for a programmed and organised change where complex responsive processes are dependant upon human communicative interaction devoid of any cultural boundaries. Establishing research foundations for creating knowledge repositories is simply not enough to create new knowledge as knowledge is only created through experience, expertise and circulating information among work groups. Central to this perspective, then, is the notion that experience is interaction and it is patterned in narrative and propositional themes to do with being together. These conversational themes are continually reproduced as habits and variations on those habits. The dynamics are such that variations are always potentially transformed into new habits. While such interaction cannot be thought of as a system, in their communicative interaction people do design systems, which they use as tools in that communicative interaction (Fonseca, 2002, p. 73).
From a complex responsive process perspective, what we perceive as organisations are temporary stabilisations of themes, that is, habits, organising the experience of being together that emerge in the process of human interaction in local situations in the living present. In order to bring closer the innovators, HP labs needs communicative interaction within organisation but not limited to organisation, that is, repetitive patterns of human experience of being together in the living present, in which themes are continually reproduced, always with the potential for transformation. This potential would ultimately provide the possibility that small differences, variations in the reproduction of habits, will be amplified into new action with new meaning. This continual interaction between humans who are all forming intentions, choosing and acting in relation to each other as they go about their daily work together, both stabilises around coherent, repetitive patterns of communicative interaction, and at the same time these patterns are potentially transformed by those same interactions.
In a sense, systems thinking involve extracting the habitual patterns out of the process of their formation and continuous transformation and naming them as a system. This way of thinking tends to overlook the process in which the habitual patterns come to be what they are and how they are potentially undergoing emergent change in the local interactions between people in the living present. The assumption is made that it is possible for someone to step outside of their interaction and objectify the patterns of interaction. After all habits can be changed and so the whole system can be designed and controlled.
Providing opportunity for a better communicative environment does not only require dialogues, but requires transforming the quality of tacit thinking that underlies all interactions. (Isaacs, 2001) Now is the time that HP should consider and welcome transformation at every level.
References
Albert Michael, (Summer 2006), Managing Change at HP Lab: Perspectives for Innovation, Knowledge Management and Becoming learning Organisation In: Business Review, Cambridge: p. 17
Barsade, S. G., Ward, A. J., Turner, J. D. F., & Sonnenfeld, J. A. (2000). To your hearts content: A model of affective diversity in top management teams In: Administrative Science Quarterly, 45(4), 802-836
Buchel S.T Bettina, (2001) Using Communication Technology: Creating Knowledge Organisations: Palgrave: New York.
Fairholm W. Gilbert, (1994) Leadership and the Culture of Trust: Praeger Publishers: Westport, CT.
Flamholtz, E. (1995). Managing organisational transitions: Implications for corporate and human resource management In: European Management Journal, 13, 39-51.
Fonseca Jose, (2002) Complexity and Innovation in Organisations: Routledge: London.
Greenberg Jerald, (2003) Organisational Behavior: The State of the Science: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.
Isaacs N. William, (2001) Toward an Action Theory of Dialogue In: International Journal of Public Administration. p: 709
Kelly, J. R., & Barsade, S. G. (2001). Mood and emotions in small groups and work teams In: Organisational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86, 99-130.
Lorsch, J. & S. Allen. (1973). Managing diversity and interdependence. Boston: Harvard Business School.
Marquardt M. J. (1996). Building the learning organisation: A systems approach to quantum improvement and global success. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mills Jean Helms, (2003) Making Sense of Organisational Change: Routledge: New York.
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Markovsky , C. Ridgeway, & H. A. Walker (Eds.), Advances in group processes (Vol. 9, pp. 237-280). Greenwich, CT: JAI
Moreland R. L., Levine J. M., & Wingert M. L. (1996). Creating the ideal group: Group composition effects at work In E. H. Witte & J. H. Davis (Eds.), Understanding group behavior: Small group processes and interpersonal relations (pp. 11-35). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Olson E. Edwin & Eoyang H. Glenda, (2001) Facilitating Organisation Change: Lessons from Complexity Science: Jossey-Bass: San Francisco
Randall Julian, (2004) Managing Change, Changing Managers: Routledge: New York.
Smith J. Frank, (2003) Organisational Surveys: The Diagnosis and Betterment of Organisations through Their Members: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.
Stankard F. Martin, (2002) Management Systems and Organisational Performance: The Quest for Excellence beyond ISO9000: Quorum Books: Westport, CT.
Tansey D. Stephen, (2002) Business, Information Technology and Society: Routledge: New York.
Thompson L. Leigh, Levine M. John & Messick M. David, (1999) Shared Cognition in Organisations: The Management of Knowledge: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.
We live in a world that is filled with conflict, dislike and negative criticism. In this, we believe that we are open-minded toward individuals who see the world uniquely. But that may not be the case always. Expressing yourself can be done in different ways and the way you choose is really important. You can either say things in a negative way and push down people or express your views with respect. It is essential for us to show respect to the people around us. And it is not really difficult, too, if we truly make an attempt. It is really important to respect others. And why? This article revolves around the importance of respect for others and also gives you tips on how to do it. Let us explore this topic now, shall we?
Respect for Others
When you hear the term respect, you might always wonder So how do we show respect for others? What does respect look like? How do we know it when we see it? How do we recognize when it’s absent? This topic is vast. Giving respect means paying attention, being considerate or regardful. Respect is an essential component both of interpersonal relationships and of personal identity. Feeling value may also be considered to be general human advice. It is a significant segment of both the human character and the relational relationship. Feeling valued could be seen as a basic popular freedom. Respect is an idea that alludes to the capacity to esteem and honour someone else. Without respect, any relationship becomes loaded up with struggle and disappointment. That is why it is important to pay respect to others. Let us understand the importance of respect for others.
There are many reasons why we must be respectful of others. One may be just because it makes others happy. But, let us see the various Importance of Respect for Others.
Showering respect for fellow people is one of the features of civil society. The belief that other members of a family, a city, a town, a country, or a region of the world are deserving of respect. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Paris in 1948. Its purpose was to give a status worthy of respect to all human beings everywhere. No human being is excluded from this. Showing respect for human life and human beings is important to civil society and the civil world.
When we are respectful of others, it declares their right and worthiness to be respected. Whereas, when we disrespect others we imply that they are unworthy of it. When on a general basis it is believed that a certain race, ethnic group, nationality, skin colour, gender or age is unworthy of respect, the gates open for abuse. This has been seen many times, especially in the past few years. The natural and first outcome of disrespect is rejection, then discrimination, abuse and at last, genocide. This is why respect should be common among all the people everywhere.
When someone lives in a way that brings them recognition, honour and respect, it encourages them to live that way. Though not always, this is usually the case. Any behaviour that is rewarded tends to be repeated. No matter what we think, we know this is true. It is human nature to do things that are rewarded and shy away from what does not. So, respect people and encourage them to live life the way they want to.
A relationship that does not offer respect is toxic. No one likes to be treated badly. They do not like to be demeaned, devalued, dishonoured or disrespected. A relationship that lacks respect is an unhealthy one. One of the major reasons for any relationship to break is a lack of respect. Meaningful, healthy, and mutually-beneficial relationships show mutual respect. It’s crucial.
Conclusion
Respect is so important to human well-being that people do not survive in its absence. They don’t have to be respected by everybody, but there are certain people who are basically obligated to respect them. The founder of modern psychology, William James, said The deepest principle in human nature is the desire to be appreciated. Those who are not respected do not feel respected. It’s heartbreaking. The history of the fight for human rights around the world is the struggle to gain recognition from others. Respect for human beings entails the granting, preserving, and protection of these rights. Without respect, these rights will be missing. And if these rights are missing, respect will be missing too. They exist together.
Diversity of Educators, Learners, and Their Culture
“There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination, they produce more hues than can ever be seen. There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War). Sour, bitter, salty, and sweet are the cardinal tastes mentioned in the quote and what does it try to imply? Combining these things can make a better taste. It can be bitter-sweet or sweet and salty but it depends on the personal taste of someone because everyone has their own taste we can really never tell it may taste weird for you but for others it tastes great or vice versa. Few things can be big only if those few are appreciated. Sometimes humans seek for more, well in fact small things are huge enough. It cannot be easily seen nor appreciated d why? Because it requires a lot of understanding, open-mindedness, knowledge, and courage to accept the things that are going to be discovered. Humans have different points of view in life, sometimes can understand and there are some cannot. Not every people around you can understand what your real intentions are whether it is reasonable or not, it can be beneficial to many or just for your own sake. Why? because not everyone is raised the same, some have their parents to lean on when life gets harder and to support their every single need which could be emotional or financial but unfortunately, there are some orphans who were abused waiting and praying that someday they will loved and treated well and have a complete family of their own. Not everyone has the same culture and environment where you grew up. Not everyone has the same seasons of weather you enjoy. Lastly, not everyone has the same bloodline that runs through our vessels. We have different facial features, different moods, and many differences that make everyone unique on their own and distinct from others. Diversity can be felt and seen easily in many ways just trying to stand in one place where many people pass by from there you can observe how humans are diverse in many ways such as the language we speak, the food we eat, the clothes we choose to slay, the seasons we enjoy, our favorite movie or songs, our skin color, our body figure and facial features, our birthmarks which is unique.
In the International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol.10 pp. 301-320, 1986 by Geert Hofstede the cultural differences in teaching and learning were discussed. From the introduction, an American teacher at some foreign language institute exclaimed in class, “You lovely girls, I love you”. Her students were very terrified (Hofstede, 1980). What could be the reason? Knowing that Americans are liberated these acts or words are normal for them but for those students that may come from conservative cultures it is really not appropriate that is why they felt terrified by that remark.
The family, the school, the job, and the community are said as the fundamental institutions that are present in some way virtually in all human societies. Does it make you wonder why the job is included? We usually hear or see the family, school, and community together as the fundamental parts of society. So how come the job has been included? According to the journal (Hostede,1980), there are bosses in our society where the training industry takes place after education. They are in charge of introducing this trainee to real work.
These institutions have a role pair but the family has two role pairs, the parent and child, man and woman. In a family, there are a pair of parents and a child or children that have a different relationship where the children are disciplined, and cultural beliefs are passed down to them. “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and strength” (Maya Angelou). It is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children about diversity, the earlier the better. Only those who are open-minded about diversity will the beauty in a way that one another’s difference could be beautiful and to gain strength in a way that accepting the others will lead to a new knowledge. Strength as a person is brave enough to understand and never judge others. And the second role pair is the man and woman who are the husband and wife where they have a more intimate relationship. The more the partners have this strong bond and understanding and faith in their relationship the more possibility that they could build a happy family. But can a family be called a family if the husband and wife don’t have a child? Yes, they can be as long as there is a husband and wife as was mentioned earlier, the family has two role pairs. Having a child doesn’t mean that it should be from the parents, in some cases the child was just adopted. But it will never change the fact that a child learns the very first time at home.
Next is the school where a teacher and student role pair. A teacher’s role in school is to be the second parent of her students. To teach, love, and take care of the students just like their own child at home. A student should respect their teachers at school like how they respect and care for their parents at home. These relationships sometimes become more meaningful because the teachers inspire these students, they instill so many life lessons that make their students way better persons. But what if the teacher and the student came from different cultures? How do you think they will interact or understand each other if they have different beliefs? This is simple, a little bit of respect and understanding with each other could be a big step. It doesn’t mean that the teacher is superior, regarding the age of the student, his/her feelings should be heard and valued. He/she would do the same to the others which will make our world better of a better place.
The third one is the boss and his/her subordinates in the workplace. The boss manages the subordinates effectively. Sometimes the motivation and the performances at work can be affected by the boss. There more positivity, the more the subordinates are enthusiastic when it comes to work. And the last one is the authority and the member. The authorities are the ones that govern its members they could give them rules and regulations to follow. The member’s responsibility is to be well-educated and a good follower. And now what if the authority is not being fair? The member should be wise and brave enough to speak out and the authority should listen up.
After learning and knowing the four fundamental institutions in a society let us talk about now the perplexities of culturally mixed teacher and student pairs. According to the Interlink International Institute cross, cross-cultural learning increases the student’s understanding of their own and other cultures. It enhances one’s knowledge of the norms, values, and behaviors that exist in cultures. It allows the student to discern and communicate cultural differences with sensitivity and confidence. How does it work? It is like a collaboration of knowledge, beliefs, religions, cultures, races, and experiences where everyone in that place could gain something Usually teachers travel abroad to practice their teaching. There are students too who choose to study abroad for better opportunities and beliefs that they might gain something that they cannot acquire from the education system offered by their country it could be wisdom, beauty, love, wealth strength, and power. Before these student and teacher pair met they were born and raised differently which led them to their differences in social positions in society. There are four mentioned differences in the article. The first one is the social roles of the teacher and the student. How well the teachers are paid off? From what kind of family does the student come from? Is it a wealthy one or a poor one? One of the given cultural barriers in our previous discussion in class is social differences. Differences in roles and status wherein giving higher respect to those who have a higher position in the society. In some countries, like in America first name bases are preferred rather than surname bases which sounds so formal. Women in the Philippines are more valued and respected and often called Dalagang Pilipina or Maria Clara. Nowadays women are frequently compared to the women before civilization who are said to deserve more respect women. Little did they know that women from before civilization were more abused because they were seen and treated as weak. Societies vary in their educational system. The second one is the differences in the relevance of the curriculum. Some societies focus on their country’s history. But there are some focuses on their economic growth. Some are giving more attention to teaching their religion. What if the teachers and students with different curricula met? Yes, it will give both parties a hard time. It will always depend on how open both the students and teachers adjust to each other’s culture. But sometimes there are some who cannot accept the fact that people are different from them they think that their culture is superior to others which can be called ethnocentrism. Third is the differences in cognitive abilities, according to the fundamental studies by Michael Cole and associates in Liberia (Cole et al., 1971; Scribner and Cole 1981) it shown that our cognitive development is determined by the environment in which we grew up. Why do you think? Is it because the environment affects the lives of a person and the environment is also affected by the people in it? Academic learning varies in every place with different cultures for example German students are brought up in the belief that anything that is easy enough for them to understand is dubious and probably unscientific (Strobe, 1976). Both the teachers and students may lack proper cognitive abilities as mentioned earlier the environment has a big impact on humans. Cognitive development is one of them. Awareness and knowledge are a must when you are planning to approach a different culture. There is training that should be taken for months or years depending on the lesson and the things that should be learned. Being ready would make life easier when the actual interaction takes place. Societal changes may happen anytime, as what the saying “The only constant in this world is change”. As time passes by many things will improve. New knowledge will be acquired and shared. Some will change their beliefs and accept the opinions and culture of others. The fourth is the difference in processes of teacher-to-student and student-to-student interaction. Since both the teacher and students come from different cultures, they will have different interpretations of words and actions. However, since the teacher may seem to be superior to his/her student the communication will be different than the interaction between students to students. Respect would never be disregarded but the level of it would be different. Although these students may have been born and raised in different cultures they tend to easily relate with each other because they are somewhat on the same level. Fifth and last are the differences in mutual role expectations between teachers and students. Both parties have different expectations. Teachers should be obeyed all the time their rules should be followed. Students should follow the rules. But what if the teacher’s rule may be off to their own culture? What will happen? Well, it will depend on how the teacher would react. The role of the teacher is to be open for everyone to accept and respect every student. Cultural relativism may sometimes happen. Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. It is a good sign that people are sensitive enough to think that every culture is unique and should be respected. None of the different cultures is superior.
The topic that would be tackled is the 4-D model applied to the teacher/student and student/student interaction. Individualism vs. Collectivism, individualism refers to any person looking primarily after his / her own interest and the interest of his/her own immediate family (Hofstede, 1986). Where individualism shows an individual’s own interest and the interest of someone related to her by blood. In collectivism, any person through the best and possible later events below to one or more tight ‘in groups”, from which he/she cannot detach himself/ herself (Hofstede 1986). In collectivism, loyalty to a group is shown. The decisions, beliefs, and everything are decided by the group and should be followed by the members. Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful in society accept inequality in power and consider it normal (Hofstede, 1986). “All societies are unequal but some are more unequal than others” (Hofstede 1980). Inequality has very rampant in our society very long ago. Uncertainty avoidance extent to which people within a culture are made nervous by situations that they perceive as unstructured, unclear, or unpredictable situations which they therefore try to avoid by maintaining strict codes of behavior and a belief in absolute truths. People tend to ignore and avoid things they are afraid to understand not everyone can handle it. One of the examples is bullying among students wherein they get too depressed because they think too much of the words they heard that could be the reason for suicide that they think will end the pain (Hofstede, 1986). Masculine vs. Feminine, is the existence of two sexes in society. Masculine strive for maximal distinction between what men are expected to do and what women are expected to do (Hofstede, 1986). There are high expectations of men in our society. They are expected to be strong all the time. Sometimes it leads to inequality because men are said to be superior to women. Men value material things, the more material things they possess the more it shows that they are powerful and hardworking Feminine cultures are defined as relatively overlapping social roles where men need not be ambitious or competitive but may go for a different quality of life than material success, men may respect whatever small, weak and slow. On the contrary, women see life as if everything is fine. It is okay to show emotions it is okay to be small and weak sometimes.
According to the article, the language barrier could be one of the reasons that would make communication more complicated. But did you know that knowing another’s language can help a person make a living especially now that the exchange of goods and services is a trend nowadays? Businessmen need a translator because not everyone has time and enough knowledge to be familiar with and learn to talk that is why they choose to hire a translator. But how does it help in education? In cross-cultural learning, students will learn with each other’s language and it would be easy if their language may sound alike.
Lastly, bridging the cross-cultural gap can be done in two ways: teach the teacher how to teach and teach the learner how to learn. How is this possible? In some cases, the teacher unconsciously gives more favor to the student which is closest to his/her culture. It is true that this is never been easy, but everyone should compromise especially the teachers. The learners should be taught different ways of learning, active listening, and participation by asking questions, and after the discussion learners should be given an evaluation to measure how much they learn during the whole lesson.
As what Maya Angelou said, diversity can be beautiful and we can get strength from it. But it will always require a better understanding. No one is superior to one another because everyone is unique. If only everyone can have the same positive thoughts in mind, there will be no more racism and the likes where people degrade someone who is different from them. This life and environment could be better.
In today’s world, the need for good and effective leaders is in demand. The main purpose of the leader is to get things done effectively and efficiently by his/her subordinates. Their purpose is to make others transform values into action, vision into realities, obstacles into innovation, and last but not least risk into rewards. Leaders, in essence, offer a pathway of confidence and direction as we move through the chaos. This essay will analyze the three problems that young leaders face at the workplace such as lack of trust, earning other’s respect, and lack of communication along with their solutions.
One of the main problems that young leaders face in the workplace is the lack of trust which adversely affects their performance. According to Burke, Sims, Lazzara, and Salas (2007, pp. 606-632) “the impact that trusts in leadership (or lack of trust) can have when teams are performing in high-risk situations, characterized by time pressure and dynamic conditions” Trust is the central link that reflects the success of a firm and when it is broken, it creates trust issues. The same is the problem that the young leader faces at the workplace because when a new leader arrives, the people who are working there may not know what kind of a person. Subordinates may hesitate to believe in him/her as they do not know them. This may result in the leader not being able to motivate his/her subordinates as they do not believe in him/her. As a result, it would affect the organization and instead of achieving the goals effectively and efficiently, it may disrupt the operations.
Another problem that the new leaders confront in the working environment is related to respect. Pretorius, Marius states (2012, p.40-44) “We are accustomed to hearing the phrase ‘leadership failure’ when the business press righteously passes judgment on a troubled turnaround or sneers at the embarrassing details of an ethical stumble. But what is the appropriate assessment when a company’s upper and mid-level managers fail to achieve the respect of the managers they lead? Respect is remarkable for leaders because if their subordinates don’t respect him/her then he/she may not be able to inspire them and also may not be able to influence them to follow the rules and regulations together with the policies of the organization thereby affecting the work environment. Moreover, if the subordinates don’t respect their leader then they may not follow his/her strategies. This would have a really genius impact on the company as when the subordinates are not following or respecting their leader then others may take advantage of it and might turn on everyone towards each other as there are no principles of team unity, the spirit of co-operation between them, thereby putting the company at risk.
Lastly, the problem faced by young leaders is the lack of communication between them and their team members. Lack of communication can severely damage an organization and its work environment. It occurs when one party usually misunderstands the words of another party. In the context of an organization, when the subordinates misinterpret the words and actions of their leaders it may cause conflict among them. Poor communication can also lead to weak formulation, lack of teamwork, low morale, and reduced profits of the organization. Poor leaders usually take much time to respond to followers’ inquiries, ignore staff emails, and avoid any form of social interaction with their subordinates. When subordinates need any sort of help regarding their assignments or projects a poor leader does not pay attention well and escape from challenges.
A possible solution for building trust in the organization, young leaders should keep promises and align behaviors with the values and should not deviate from them. Keeping commitments must be the essence of one’s behavior, in all relationships, day after day and year after year. Rodriguez et al (2014, pp. 1581-1587) When a leader keeps up with the policies and does not infringe on them then it leads to the development of trust between the leader and his/her followers. This is, in fact, true because when leaders ensure that the words and actions both go hand in hand. Not just some of the time but all the time also leader should be honest, supportive, approachable, and friendly among team members. Any wrongdoing regarding misbehavior by the leader can cause conflicts while achieving organizational goals. Thus, a leader should set an example by aligning actions with shared values. So, followers may incorporate these practices from leaders.
Another solution is to earn respect to be consistent in fulfilling duties and responsibilities. Whatever assignments and projects are given to young leaders from senior management, they must be completed within a specific time and not give them the chance to be criticized. If projects are delayed it harms the performance of young leaders and they almost lose the chance to proceed further in order to meet the deadlines. So, in order to be a proactive young leader should make a timeline before starting any assignment and must evaluate my own performance, my goal, and where I am standing right now. A sharp leader should analyze the big picture and work immediately on the potential challenges that he expects to face in the future. Furthermore, such a leader should be accountable for the failures. A leader should have the courage to accept his/her failures rather than impose them on someone’s shoulders, should learn from mistakes, and improve themselves if they miss the deadline due to poor role. That’s all an effective leader works.
The last solution is to combat the problem; of lack of communication between the leaders and the subordinates by scheduling meetings and discussions at regular intervals in order to know each other. A leader should be a patient listener of subordinates’ feedback to evaluate their judgments and performances. Denning mentions that (2005, p. 12) “effective communication leads to the clear pathway which an employee needs to work on” A good leader always provide each and every tool in order to empower them through proper communication so they make the rational decision making. A leader should also stop making quick assumptions regarding their team members and should teach the strengths, and weaknesses and communicate accordingly to establish a hierarchy chain and give work to those who are best to perform it. Thus, all these activities by the leaders will establish a good friendly atmosphere among their leaders and their subordinates and for sure will help the firm to actively achieve goals.
Overall, the new leaders face many problems when interacting with their subordinates such as lack of trust, miscommunication, and Earning respect as these are the most common problems faced by them. However, there could be many things that a leader could do in order to prevent these problems and earn the confidence and trust of his/her subordinates by giving financial incentives and giving credit when it is due, and also by taking the responsibility when any goal is not achieved. These practices by the leaders will help him/her in combating these problems. Since the need for leaders in today’s managerial activities is increasing, the need to prevent the problems faced by them needs to be immediately solved.
References:
Burke, Sims, Lazzara, and Salas, (2007). Trust in leadership: A multi-level review and integration, The Leadership Quarterly, 18 (6), 606-632. doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2007.09.006
Pretorius, Marius, (2012). A reality check for corporate leaders: when managers don’t respect their bosses, Strategy & Leadership; Chicago, 40 (1), 40-44. doi:10.1108/10878571211191693
Gilley, M. Gilley and McMillan, (2009). Organizational Change: Motivation, Communication, and Leadership Effectiveness, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/piq.20039
Rodriguez, M. Ferrer, C. Funez, P. Medina, V. Manas Rodriguez, M. Salvador Ferrer, C. Pecino Medina, V. (2014). Communication in Leadership Impact Commitment of Workers in Public Administration. Universitas Psychologica, 13(4), 1581-1587.Retrieved from