In a world that is becoming ever more interconnected, leaders of all types must, of necessity, learn to interact and adjust to a variety of cultures. The leader who views the world through the tunnel vision of his or her own particular culture, and is unwilling to adapt to and integrate new ideas and paradigms will not be a leader for long. The list of cultural diversities, and therefore adaptations that may be required, is long. Moran, Harris, and Moran¹ have attempted organize those diversities by grouping them into ten specific categories.

The shortcoming in any such categorization is that it fails to assign weight to the varying categories of cultural diversity. For example, in the same list we find “Communication and Language”, “Food and Feeding Habits”, “Values and Norms”, and “Beliefs and Attitudes”.² (Moran, Harris, and Moran, pp.11-13) While it is certainly true that each of these categories plays a role in defining a culture, it is not true that each of these categories is equally adaptable or can be integrated into a company or organization with equal success. Learning to adapt to, and integrate, various communication and food types and styles is straight-forward enough. It may require patience and persistence, but it is certainly doable when the common vision and mission of the organization are kept in view by everyone involved. However, adapting to and integrating widely divergent values and beliefs is not such a straight-forward process and may, in fact, not always be possible. For example, in a past generation, to accept and integrate the language and culture of the German people would have been desirable. To attempt to accept and integrate the values and beliefs of Nazism would have been suicidal. In today’s world, to accept and integrate the language and culture of Middle Eastern nations is desirable and necessary. To accept and implement the values and beliefs of Sharia Law would be suicidal.

Making such distinctions between varying aspects of cultures is not easy. As Moran, Harris, and Moran point out, “Culture is a complex system of interrelated parts that must be understood holistically.”³ (Moran, Harris, and Moran, p.14) We must take care not to stereotype individuals based on a value or belief held by other members of their group. This country was guilty of doing this during the years of World War II when German and Japanese Americans were unfairly and unjustly counted as our enemies. It happens today when people of Middle Eastern descent are assumed to be “terrorists” simply because of their appearance. We should get to know and understand the values and beliefs of individuals and groups, especially those with whom we intend to forge working relationships. The GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) studies found that one of three leadership qualities perceived in all cultures as contributing to leadership ability was Charismatic/Value-Based leadership. “This CLT [Culturally Endorsed Leadership Theory Dimension] captures a leader’s ability to inspire, to motivate, and to expect high performance outcomes on the basis of his/her firmly held core values.”⁴ (Emphasis added.) Leading based on a firmly held set of core values is important in all cultures. Therefore, if individuals or groups are not in “sync” in their deeply held beliefs and values, it becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to adapt to and integrate one another’s cultures and to effectively lead such a group based on your core values.

The clashes of culture that have been seen throughout history, and that continue to be seen today, are most often not the result of diversities like food, clothing, and language, or even work habits or relationship patterns. They are the result of differing values and beliefs about very basic issues. Until we can find common ground at this level, the clashes will continue. It is only in the context of a common culture of shared values and beliefs (dignity of life, freedom of expression, etc.) that we can be free to learn about and enjoy the many cultural diversities (languages, foods, dress, etc.) of the world.

References

1. Moran, Robert T., Harris, Philip R., Moran, Sarah V. Managing Cultural Differences: Leadership Skills and Strategies for Working in a Global World. Burlington, MA: Elsevier, Inc. 2011 – Eighth Edition
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Professional Knowledge Center. The Globe Project: A 1000-Word Précis. Retrieved August 29, 2014, from http://www.grovewell.com/pub-GLOBE-precis.html

I will start my first official non-introductory blog post off by stating that I struggled with an idea for this blog, not because I do not grasp the material or the point of the exercise.  There are endless amounts of topics that can be discussed when talking about cultural differences in the world and how not understanding those cultural norms can drive conflict.  I was, and still am a little, struggling to pick just a single topic to discuss for the exercise.   So, I decided to pick a few instead that do tie together.

The first is a story on Fox News’ website about the Pope and his recent speech in Rome as part of what is known as “an annual week of prayer for unity for Christians.” (Press, Associated, 2015)  At face value, one might question how this particular story ties back to the lesson.   However, the Pope’s message was quite strong, and something that I believe is at the core of many cultural disagreements.  According to Pope Francis, “those who are different from ourselves can make us grow.” (Press, Associated, 2015)   That is a powerful statement coming from the head of an organization that is not entirely known for its ability to adapt to change, nor is it known for embracing the ideas and thoughts from other cultures.

Opening a newspaper to the world section, or turning on the television to any news channel, brings about daily news of a cultural difference that is so stark that it has created a dangerous situation for citizens across the world.   Islamic Jihadist and terrorist are committed to eradicating any who are different and do not fit what their culture defines as the way of life.  Sadly, it gives a poor perception of the Islamic religion that is for the most part peaceful.   With this week’s topic on understanding cultural differences, I found it hard to not bring up this topic for discussion.

In Belgium, the country’s leaders are attempting to better understand the cultural differences and ideologies of these terrorist, as it is believed a significant population of radicals are citizens of the small European country and are leaving to go train for Jihad.  With the sensitivity that has been felt across the globe with the recent Paris attacks, the leaders felt that they needed to begin looking at the situation locally and understanding how they can have an impact not just by arresting those who may be part of this group, but by understanding what drives them and how they differ from others within their own countries boarders.  There is a well written piece in the New York Times, Belgium Confronts the Jihadist Danger Within, that speaks to how Belgium is attempting to take a holistic approach to the situation. (Higgins, 2015)

Think back on the video for the lesson and how the Peace Corps was able to define sensitivities that seem almost absurd based on what we experience on a daily basis.   Using a left hand to help give a person something, or to say hello is offensive? (Corps, 2015)  To me, it seems like productivity is lost by not being able to use such an important appendage however, it is a cultural difference that could cause a high amount of tension in a business interaction if I did not give the difference the respect it deserves in an encounter.

Cultural differences and our lack to understand or appreciate, or better yet acknowledge and communicate, have created hostile and violent situations throughout the world’s history and have an impact on our daily lives today.  It seems almost negligent that a large organization or high level political official would struggle to understand that cultural differences could have an effect on the outcome of a transaction.  In fact, it seems almost criminal.  I understand that there are some differences that cannot be overcome, but I can’t help but think that by taking a different, more rounded approach like we are discussing in this class could help change things for the better.  I guess we need to get more leaders to take this class and join our blog.

 

Works Cited

Corps, P. (2015, January 21). Cultural Gaffes Beyond Your Boarders. Retrieved from Peace Corps : http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/videos/beyond-borders/

Higgins, A. (2015, January 24). Belgium Confronts the Jihadist Danger Within. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/world/europe/belgium-confronts-the-jihadist-danger-within.html?src=me&_r=0

Press, Associated. (2015, January 25). Pope’s formula for Christian unity: avoid competing for souls; make most of differences. Retrieved from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01/25/pope-formula-for-christian-unity-avoid-competing-for-souls-make-most/

Small town farm girl; only flown once in my life; high school graduation class 154. Work experience in local community, State College PA. And a question that I was asked about a year ago that has stuck with me “How did you become so open to people who are different than you?” I am going to try and answer that question as we discuss and learn about culture in this class.

As I started out by saying I grew up in a small town, just 45 minutes from Penn State University. Not a lot of diversity in the population but some. I was raised to be accepting of all people, trusting everybody who I came in contact with. A friend on my cheerleading squad orphaned at the age of 3-4, Vietnamese; looked African American but grew up with a Caucasian family here in the states. Another family adopted two African-American boys, raised in a Caucasian family. An Asian family right in the middle of my small hometown, distinct family traditions being taught right down to the native language (the dad still holds strong to the language). And finally I was exposed to a young man, with whom I babysat that enjoyed doing feminine things. All of these people allowed me to be me and taught me about who they were. My cheerleader friend didn’t know much about her culture but she was always researching and learning, and then she would share with us. My African-American friends were open to us using gaffe’s, like our video talked about. The one that I recall vividly in my mind to this day, while at McDonald’s after a basketball game I recall saying to my younger brother, “What color do you think I am” and then instantly feeling bad about making that comment. Only to hear my friend say, “don’t worry we say that at home all the time.” I did say I was sorry, several times only to get a hug from him and realizing that it was okay. I have been exposed to sexual differences in my work life and enjoy learning about what people go through when they come out and travel in other parts of the world. Recently, the same person who asked me how I was open to people being different explained to me why he would not have gone into a small town diner without somebody he knew. I had not thought about how he would feel going there the first time from looking at the building from the outside, and a small town.

My experiences came from my parents wanting us to learn more about the world and embrace the opportunities that we had from our interest. I embraced those experiences in my love of showing cattle across the state of Pennsylvania and becoming the Pennsylvania Polled Hereford Queen, as well as latter the Pennsylvania Chiania Queen. The Polled Hereford Queen gave me the most diverse experiences because I traveled to Texas for a week and got to experience life there. For the first time in my life I actually got to witness homeless people, sleeping on the streets in daylight, begging for money, and asking me for a coat. My heart broke that trip to learn that we really do have people homeless in the real world and it isn’t just a movie that I am watching it from.

From our class readings and the video this week I have to wonder am I aware of other cultures as much as I think I am. Am I open to people being different or do I just think that I am. Upon starting work at Penn State I always felt like I was being forced to become more diverse by attending activities through the university when in fact I felt like I was open to differences among people. Over the years I have come to realize that these sessions were for me to learn from, grow on what I new, as well as to help those with whom I worked to make sure that we are all culturally diverse on the campus. I have a hard time understanding why we don’t live in an accepting world. Am I as diverse as I believe I am or do I really have more to learn? After listening and learning from the Peace Corp video, I would say I have more to learn. Being accepting is one piece but taking time to review other cultures on the internet, having one-on-one conversations with those people is another step in being open to a global world. I continue to encourage my children to learn as much as they can, to embrace opportunities by leaving the realms of our small town and explore the world we live in. Reading an article called “Tips for Raising Culturally-Aware Kids, Everyday Parenting Ideas”, this picture sums up ways that we can teach the next generation:

We need to teach our kids to stay curious and to show interest, see people as people, philosophy, and model acceptance and openness (Search Institute, 2013). Do this learning and exploring before you settle down, give them the gift of immersion as well as checking out other inter-faith groups in your community (Search Institute, 2013). There is just too much to see and learn in this ever changing world to keep our children blinded to the outside world.

 

 

 

 

References:

Search Institute, 2013. ParentFurther is brought to you by Search Institute®, 615 First Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413. 1-800-888-7828. www.search-institute.org. www.parentfurther.com/resources/enewsletter/raising-culturally-aware-kids

 

In this lesson we had an introduction to global leadership and the impacts of the leader in today’s business world. It is highly important for a leader to understand the cultures and diversity in a workforce in order to be successful in their leadership role (Moran, Harris & Moran 2011). When talking about global leadership many may question what that actually means. Global leadership is one’s ability to effectively lead others despite cultural differences on a global level. In today’s business world, companies leverage the skills of employees across the world in order to compete effectively (Moran, Harris & Moran 2011).

Not too long ago, most small companies would do business within their own backyard. Sales, marketing, engineering and production was all done within their own walls. The need to grasp a competitive advantage along with technological advances created an opportunity for all businesses big and small. Now in today’s world, the need to leverage the ability and cost savings of workers around the world is a major part of doing business (Moran, Harris & Moran 2011). Companies can now outsource more than just production to other parts of the world. And this is becoming more and more common. But by using talent from around the world, there is now a new hurdle to climb. Being able to effectively lead teams across different cultures.

Global leadership can be practiced in our own backyard. Today’s workforces around the world are very diversified. The need to communicate with people from around the globe also happens in our own office. When communicating it is important to speak on an international level and respect the cultural diversity of people from around the globe (Kolin, Philip 2010). When communicating with people it is important to understand the differences in what we say and what it means. This is also the case when speaking in English in other countries. One must respect that our english is specific to our region. When communicating with people from around the world we must communicate in a more international English (Kolin, Philip 2010). Using some of the slang that is appropriate in our country may be confusing to others.

Anyone with aspirations of being a successful leader in today’s business world must practice global leadership. The ability to deal with different types of cultures and lead them through change will make a leader more useful (Moran, Harris & Moran 2011). Leaders are required to communicate to a broad audience while conveying a message that motivates all their followers. In order to accomplish this, a leader must understand that their message may be accepted in different ways depending on the cultural backgrounds of each listener.  Understanding a broad range of cultural differences can help leaders communicate in a way that will motivate the entire team without offending anyone (Kolin, Philip 2010).

References

Kolin, Philip. Successful Writing at Work (Selections). Boston. Wadsworth Congage Learning. 2010. Ch. 1. pp. 3-37.

Moran, R. T., Harris, P. R., & Moran, S. V. (2011). Chapter 1: Global leaders and culture. Managing cultural differences: Global leadership strategies for cross-cultural business success (8th ed.) (p. 2-36). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Inc.

I’d like to open up a discussion on real experience and the realities of walking in someone else’s shoes. I was working the other day and a customer came in and ordered some food. Upon realizing that there was a 50 cent charge for the condiment side he wanted, he developed an attitude and declined the condiment with a statement about the price being outrageous. I shrugged it off at the time as an unreasonable customer, but it did get me thinking. He really has no room to complain about something he likely knows nothing about. Sure we all complain about the prices of things these days, but you have to consider a business owner. The main goal of a business is to make a profit. Take the food business as an example; the owner has to purchase all the necessary items for the store. Therefore, that owner needs to price these items higher than what he/she originally paid in order to make a profit. So looking back, I think it was out of line for that customer to come into a place of business and expect certain items to be free because he does not like the price. My opinion is that he would have a different outlook if he were running that business and saw what it takes to make a good profit. I give this example because I think it very closely applies to cultural knowledge and understanding.

I regularly hear and see a lot of opinions of other cultures. I have made and voiced my own opinions at times. But the reality is, these opinions, statements, actions, etc. against or in favor of other cultures need to be made on a foundation of knowledge and true understanding. Our text looks at the Vietnam War dialogue cited in McNamara et al. (1999, p. 91) that considers two very different perspectives on the objectives in the Vietnam war from an American Colonel and a Vietnamese Colonel (as cited in Moran, Harris, & Moran, 2011). This shows that, while we all may have our opinions on the Vietnam War, it is important to consider the realities of both sides. However, gaining an understanding does not mean taking one side or the other, it means being educated before forming thoughts and opinions. Without education on other cultures, there is the risk of ethnocentric behavior.

Without an appreciation and acceptance of the differences between cultures, ethnocentric behavior can set in and lead a person to believe that their culture is paramount to other cultures (Moran et al., 2011). Opening your mind to another culture can be difficult, but it can open many doors in terms of what you can gain from cultural relationships (Moran et al., 2011). Global leaders can profoundly benefit from cultural open-mindedness because it means looking at the positive benefits of diversity (Moran et al., 2011). Our text summarizes this idea well in the following statement, “Cultural understanding may minimize the impact of culture shock and maximize intercultural experiences, as well as increase professional development and organizational effectiveness” (Moran et al., 2011, p. 28). However, it is not always easy to consider information that conflicts with our strong opinions, ideals, values, etc.

I was struck by the Herald Tribune article by Nicholas D. Kristof about how people tend to block conflicting information (as cited in Moran et al., 2011). His article expresses how people tend to agree that differing opinions is healthy, but when the time comes, they block out these differing opinions and safeguard their long held beliefs (as cited in Moran et al., 2011). This reminded me of a talk radio session I was listening to the other day. An individual called in and told the host how much she appreciated his show but she was sorry to report that she did not agree with him on the specific topic at hand. This prompted the host to let all his listeners know that he welcomes a difference of opinion. He said that if we all agreed on everything then life would be boring. I think this is an extremely valid point to remember, especially when considering and learning about other cultures. You may not agree with all the information you take in, but it is important to take it in none-the-less.

One big take-away from this week’s lesson is that it is more beneficial to work with differences than against them. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to accept all differences, but you can use them to make educated decisions and form sound opinions and thoughts. Sometimes when I find myself in the same disgruntled position as that customer, I try to stop and consider the other side of things. This consideration gives me time to look at a different perspective and consider my choices and thoughts on the matter. I think this step is important for global leaders when looking at other cultures. They have to consider each culture from many different angles in order to gain a full and substantial understanding. This understanding is so important in the interconnected and globally expanding environment that we live in.

References

McNamara, R.S., Blight, J. G., & Brigham, R. K. (1999). Argument without end (p. 191). New York: Public Affairs.

Moran, R. T., Harris, P. R., & Moran, S. V. (2011). Chapter 1: Global leaders and culture. Managing cultural differences: Global leadership strategies for cross-cultural business success (8th ed.) (p. 2-36). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Inc.

I was born and raised into the American military sub-culture. When I was young, it was the 80’s, the golden era of the United States military, and I remember that the culture itself was vastly different than the one I served in for over a decade so many years later. Back then, it was a family. You didn’t just go to a job, you went to see friends everyday. The individuals within your command were like close friends, and a real sense of overwhelming camaraderie filled the atmosphere. Now I am sure that each command harbored its own unique internal cultures as well. Some may have been better than others, but for the very small Naval P3[1] and NSW[2] communities I grew up around, tight knit groups in the military are all generally the same, and remain so for the most part today. But these small details are not so important as the fact that the military culture itself thrived, despite the fact that it was so varied.

I was raised by a single parent – my father – who served a full career in the United States Navy as a PH[3] in both Combat Camera and the ASW[4] community. He had a flight schedule, a deployment cycle, and often worked longer hours than I could imagine at such a young age… so one can understand that I often spent many a day at work with him. From a young age I was surrounded by extraordinary individuals from all walks of life, yet who all came together – awkwardly so at times – in the accomplishment of a common goal. Additionally, because of my father’s career, I was fortunate enough to have traveled to many places and experienced a large number of different cultures before the age of 10. Of course, the consequences of moving and traveling were constantly changing schools and never developing life-long friendships… and I am also sure I exhibit a certain amount of social ineptitude to this day as well. However, the benefits and rewards of such early-life experiences blossomed later on, and I have slowly grown to be thankful for them.

There came a time thereafter where I too joined the military. And after a time, I would eventually reach a leadership position of my own. I was fortunate enough to work myself into a military career that involved consistently working at a multinational level. At one point, while stationed in Europe, the small detachment I was assigned to worked with NATO[5] forces on a regular and routine basis, and throughout my time there, I discovered that my prior experiences with varied cultures from different places helped me to develop strong, effective relationships with my foreign counterparts. This became the hallmark of a leadership style I would use throughout my career, and even to this day.

Now, at this point in time, I had never heard of theories that dealt with Power distance, Uncertainty avoidance, Individualism, or Masculinity/Femininity aspects of cultural analysis. (Hofstede, 1984, 1991) However, I already had an innate understanding of cultural sensitivity. I appreciated people for who they were, and even maintained a certain level of sensitivity to the processes of norms they shared. As a leader, it was my responsibility, my obligation, to assure the working relationship was not compromised by mere differences, and this required that I focused on continual education and interaction to make the mission a success. (Moran, 2011) After all, as a military leader, my two basic responsibilities have always been the welfare of my men, and the accomplishment of my mission. No better way to make sure that both happen than to maintain a certain level of cultural awareness.

While the military example I have chosen to use may identify a sub-culture within a culture, it yet still finds use as an example in applied global leadership cases due to the differences in culture alone. The military itself is a smorgasbord of cultural clashes aligned through a prevailing set of standards and values, all neatly, collectively, and motivationally driven under a common cause or goal. Now combine that with the leadership responsibilities of working with other allied military personnel to accomplish a task and it makes perfect sense to see how the military example can be so good and so bad all at the same time, very simply due to complexity. Surely we can say this is a case of simple complications.

For me, however, I counted myself lucky enough to know how much I didn’t know. I had the benefit of drawing on previous experiences, whereas many others weren’t so lucky. For those unlucky enough to have never experienced foreign culture before, I can assure you the learning curve was quite steep. Even here was an opportunistic leadership example, for even here I was able to help coach, mentor, and guide others within my own culture towards a better end result. Such too are the responsibilities of global leaders; the stewardship of global leadership itself.

— —

AJ Powell
SSG (USA, Ret.)
www.ruckhq.com
www.militarymedia.net

— —

References:

Moran, R. T., Harris, P. R., & Moran, S. V. (2011). Managing cultural differences: Global leadership strategies for cross-cultural business success (8th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

— —

Footnotes

[1] P3 – Lockheed P-3 Orion. A 4 engine, turboprop, anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy, and used throughout the Cold War Era.

[2] NSW – Naval Special Warfare.

[3] PH – Photographers Mate. Naval designator for an individual Rate (Field/Occupational Specialty). Discontinued. PH was merged with MC (Mass Communication Specialist) by 2005.

[4] ASW – AntiSubmarine Warfare. An encompassing term used to describe a community of many specialists who collectively hunted submarines using advanced technology, such as SOSUS Warning Networks and MAD systems, deployed across various platforms.

[5] NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (http://www.nato.int/)

Never knew how learning about culture is critical until today.

I am a type of guy that loves travelling. Love having different race of friends and colleagues. Does that mean I have a good understanding of adapting different cultures? Maybe, but I can never be 100 % accurate on having the full understanding of culture.

My definition of culture is knowing what is right or wrong in order to behave in a sort of way according to the narrow perception within a given society in the world. Set of rules to live by, set of concepts to adapt from a very young age. Which then you interpret are an accepted way to live.

Anyone can speculate cultures. But who really understands the complexity it takes to understand the whole concept? Not many. Having travelled a few times in my life, I came across weird gestures and behavior’s that I never knew existed. Such behaviors are  like how you greet someone. I live in Egypt. Having to say hello here is by shaking hands. Knowing the person quite well, you give 2 kisses on both cheeks. Male or female. You can hug the same sex if you miss them. But in Spain for example this is not acceptable and perceived as weird.

Another example is my brother who was quite an egocentric person before he travelled to the states. He never really opened up his mind a little of how other cultures live life, and have different rules according to his. 2 months now living in the states, my brother became part of them (Americans). And he enjoys it.

His English improved and is still learning how to adapt to the culture. One part that he still has some problem adapting to is having showers in the changing room when all males are naked and getting dressed. In Egypt you always change privately with no one looking at you. But I believe that he will change and adapt to that and more.  One funny thing in the states is that they call football “soccer” where as in Egypt they think that Football is called football because you mostly use your feet. And having Americans calling it soccer is just too weird for him and annoys him.

Some things done don’t change though. Some things are interlinking values and culture together. Values no matter where you are, you are the one who change them, and you are the one in control of them.

To sum up, I believe that In order to adapt to culture, it takes time and practice, no matter how much you study and learn things about the specified topic. And you will ALWAYS learn new things.

People talk about leadership a lot. When people think or talk about leadership, they often think of the powerful CEO’s and rich business men. Leadership is so much more than just earning a lot of money or having people working for you, but it is a gift and an ability that can be grown and fostered. Leaders can demonstrate their abilities in their job, their family, their friendships, and many other areas of life. Being a strong leader takes someone that is willing to make the hard decision and stand up for what they know is right. It requires someone that can see into the future and how things will play out.

So how do we become leaders in a world that exists in a global context? How do we interact with people that have different backgrounds, different cultures, and different experiences? Does leadership look different now that we are living in a global context?

While leadership can take place in many situations, this post is going to focus on the professional class. Being a leader in the world today takes a lot of political savvy. You have to be aware of how everyone, everywhere, is viewing and perceiving what you are doing. There are people from different backgrounds that change how they will view your leadership abilities. It has always been important to be aware of every team member and their perceptions, but now more than ever.

Interacting with people from different cultures means being aware of different cultures. We have to be focused on how different people will view our actions. My parents both work for an organization called International Teams. They have over 1,200 missionaries all throughout the world and have to provide direction and guidance to each and every one of them. Leading an organization such as this requires a broad understanding of different cultures and how they function.

Leadership isn’t ever going to be easy, but it has become more complex the more that societies merge into a more global context.

I apologize for the late post, but I was travelling this week.
My name is Hannah Hernandez, and I am currently a student at Penn State. I will be graduating this year with a degree in Letters, Arts, and Sciences, with a concentration in International Security. Professionally, I have held many internships with the US Government and have gained leadership skills through those, as well as cultural and global awareness as most of them were based overseas. I will be pursuing another this March at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Though I generally do an immense amount of travelling, my home base in located in Dakar, Senegal, which is where I will be until the middle of February.
My long term goals are to work in security or another field that I find equally challenging and meaningful. I would also ideally like to live abroad, particularly in Switzerland or Germany. As far as an interesting quality, I have lived on three different continents, in 5 different countries. I love to travel and I am a very adventurous person. My favourite quote on leadership is actually one from a colleague of mine. “Those who are not happy with the world, are the ones who change it.” It speaks to me because in the past there have many things I have disliked about the world and rather than simply being upset, I have looked for ways to make a difference.
I look forward to getting to know each of you as the course progresses, and good luck.

My name is Moataz Sidahmed, I am a managing surveyor in the “Arab Survey & Salvage office”

I was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt. I still live there. I was promoted to be a “Managing Surveyor” 1 month ago. I was a regular surveyor with routine work for a long while.

I love learning new things and most of all, I believe experience beats anything. I hope after I graduate from Penn State, I register for masters on campus in the US.

In my spare time, I “try” as much as I can to read books. I go to the gym 4 times a week & love Football “soccer”. I support FC Barcelona.

Moreover , most importantly Im looking forward to me all of you and have a successful semester.