Something that I feel is important to share is the importance of our political leaders to be culturally competent, educated, and understanding. I feel that most people can understand the importance of our governmental leaders to be able to have such basic understandings but lately the political climate is becoming everything but tolerant. The purpose of this post is not to make it a political one, but just to demonstrate that importance of electing and choosing our leaders that possess these qualities. I recently came upon an article titled, “Trump Appointee Resigns and Apologizes for Racists Comments”. The article touches upon some of the comments that Carl Higbie, formally employed by the “federal agency that funds AmeriCorps and SeniorCorps” made in regards to “black people, Muslims, gays and lesbians” (Caron, 2018). Discussions with these groups must be done so in a way that is not offensive or oppressive. Like we have learned in this chapter, some of us might suffer from denial and I have come to encounter many people that believe the “American way” is the only right way to do things…but what exactly does that even mean? As found on page 10 of our text, “a global person does not believe that his/her nation is the best at everything and that everyone else wants to be just like him/her-rather he/she is aware that other cultures of the world have lives and viewpoints different from his/her own”. As an American leader, Mr. Higbie lacked cultural understanding and was not acting as a “global person” when he made comments that a “high percentage of people on welfare [are] in the black race” and picking at gays or others with post-traumatic stress disorders or even Muslims. This behavior and commentary is completely uncalled for and concerning. Mr. Higbie himself acknowledges his wrong doings and blamed it on his own “ignorance” (Caron, 2018).
Too many times I have heard my peers say that we are moving towards a nation that rewards “political correctness” above all, and they say it in a negative form. Like our country can’t get what it needs to get done because we are being too careful in examining what we are saying and how we are saying…to them I say, “What is wrong with that?” We should be able to use language that does not offend others and people of different ethnic, religious and sexual preference groups. We need to be leaders that are full of “worldmindedness” and are aware of “other cultures and people” (Pg. 10). Like the text mentions, this is what will lead us away from hate and fear and promote equality, fairness and good working relationships with groups of different backgrounds. I mean with globalization and diversity on the rise, isn’t it important to be able to work effectively with others by not offending them? Wouldn’t that boost teamwork and good working relationships amongst our peers and other nations? This lesson was a great starting point at teaching us the importance of being open-minded, and to not put others down based on our own personal experiences or prejudices with other groups. Ignorance is not an acceptable excuse. We must do better in picking our leaders, informing others and paving the way for cultural tolerance and acceptance.
Caron, C. (2018, January 21). Trump Appintee Resigns and Apologizes for Racists Comments. New York Times.com. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth ed.). New York: Routledge.
Ericka Diaz says
Hi May,
I appreciate you choosing to discuss a sensitive topic with tact and valuable insight. Like you, I have also noticed the rise in “pro-American” pride that disguises ethnocentrism and in many cases, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and classism. I am always shocked by individuals who find political correctness offensive. No one should feel entitled to speak or act repugnantly because it is hurtful to the subject of the behavior-NOT because it would tarnish their public image. I agree that we must choose leaders that are world minded and have inclusive-rather than exclusive- mindsets.
Carl Higbie’s actions and subsequent resignation indicate that President Trump had not provided appropriate leadership. Zhu, et al. (2011) conducted research confirming the strong influence authentic transformational leaders (“ATL”) have on follower moral identity, moral emotions, and group ethical climate, and their roles in promoting follower authentic moral action and group moral action.” ATL’s are able to influence followers to model their moral behavior in an authentic manner. They are deeply self-aware, caring, possess strong moral character, and have a strong moral identity. ATLs are moral exemplars who model moral agency in their decision making & fairness, clear moral standards, and provide constructive moral feedback (Zhu, et al., 2011). Those characteristics are imperative, and must be present in the leaders we elect, work for, or follow in any capacity.
With that said, America maintains a relatively low power distance index score (Hofstede, 1984 as cited in Abramson, et al., 2018) that allows us to enjoy unparalleled freedom in a competitive and individualist society. However, our government has a distinctly masculine and ultra competitive dimension of culture (Hofstede, 1984 as cited in PSU WC, L2, 2018) that when coupled with a lack of moral leadership could create a breeding ground for comments like the one made by Higbie.
Thanks for your thought provoking post!
Best,
Ericka
Abramson, et al. (2018). Managing Cultural Differences: Global Leadership for the 21st Century. Tenth Edition. Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2018). OLEAD 410 Lesson 2: Introduction to Culture. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1916378/modules/items/23640507
Zhu, W., Avolio, B.J., Riggio, R., & Sosik, J. (2011). The effect of authentic transformational leadership on follower and group ethics (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 801–817.