LEADING IN THE CHANGING WORLD

LEADING IN THE CHANGING WORLD



Leading In the Changing World

Blog 1: Theories and Models of Leadership and Management

Response 1:

"The management of cultural diversity in the workplace can be considered a response to the need to recognize, respect, and capitalize on the different backgrounds in our society in terms of race, ethnicity, and gender (House, 1971, 321-328). Different cultural groups have different values, styles, and personalities, each of which may have a substantial effect on the way they do business. Rather than punishing or stifling these different management styles because they do not conform to the traditional white (male) management methods, employers should recognize these differences as benefits. Not only can diverse management styles achieve the same results as traditional methods, but cultural diversity in the workplace can also help improve the company's competitive position in the marketplace. Diversity, or sensitivity, training is now commonplace in the corporate world. However, small businesses need to be aware of these issues as well. A small business leader, your awareness and respect of cultural diversity in the workplace truly matters to your employees and your client base (House, 1971, 321-328). You must create a balance of respect and understanding in the workplace to have happy and optimally productive workers. In addition, it is important that you AND your employees are aware of the importance of respecting diversity when dealing with your clients (Stocker, 2001, 1141-1151).

There are two main goals for HRD to achieve (Stocker, 2001, 1141-1151). The first is having all leaders within an organization become visibly involved in programs affecting organizational culture change and evaluating and articulating policies that govern diversity. To do so, you must display leadership that eradicates oppression of all forms. The result is enhanced productivity, profitability, and market responsiveness by achieving a dynamic organization and work force. This is the first goal of HRD, to train the leadership.

The second is inspiring diversity into the work force. (Rodriguez, & Solomon, 2007, 3-13) Workers want to belong to an organization that believes in them, no matter what kind of background or culture they come from. They, like their leadership, want to be productive, share in the profits, and be a very dynamic work force. If HRD trains the leadership, this goal will be relatively easy. It is much easier to train people when they have role models to base their behaviors on. In addition, you will have backing from the people who can support you in your efforts.

Blog 2: Change and resistance to change

Response 2:

“It is important to note that people in your organizations will proceed through the different phases at different rates of speed. One person may require two months to reach Phase 6 while another may require twelve. To make things even more complex, the cycle of change is not linear. In other words, a person does not necessarily complete Phase 1 through six in order. It is much more common for people to jump ...