For the first 23 years of my life, I grew up in a small village (yes, village) in northeast Pennsylvania. There was only 500 people in my town; there was little diversity among them. It was a small town both figuratively and literally – complete with some disdain for big cities and especially for places like California. To some, California was nothing but hippies and surfers. In March of 2001, I moved to Ventura, California. I thought it was great! The beach was within walking distance and I had never seen a palm tree before. I was living the dream. Eventually, the little bit of money I had saved to move began to dwindle and I needed a job. I had a few short-lived ventures before I started working for Weatherford Oil Country in August of that year. It was to be a life-changing experience for me…

 Before Weatherford, I had really been exposed to diversity at a workplace, particularly racial and ethnic diversity – surface-level diversity, basically (OLEAD 410 online notes, 2018). Here, I was one of the few white guys; everyone else was Mexican, many who came straight from Mexico. It was strange to hear Spanish spoken nearly exclusively, with only a few of the Mexican workers speaking decent English. It was a difficult transition, but I managed. A few years passed and it was time for the 2004 Presidential election. I learned that many of my co-workers differed from me as far as ideals and values were concerned. This is referred to as deep-level diversity (OLEAD 410 online notes, 2018). I realized that our differences went deeper than the surface, but at the same time, I considered many of them my friends and I didn’t let these differences change that.

 Working with such a diverse group of individuals was challenging at first: I was afraid to venture outside my comfort zone and meet new people who were much different from myself and my usual circle. That experience changed my opinion of the concept of diversity and how it can have a positive impact in the workplace. I learned my craft from someone who was different from me in nearly every way and I appreciate having had the chance to learn from him. The lesson he taught went beyond the job and affected my outlook on workplace diversity.

References

OLEAD 410 online notes. (2018). Penn State World Campus, Pennsylvania State University.

First, let me clarify, this is not about a motorcycle club (MC), one that people fear when they see them on the highway.  This is a non-profit motorcycle group that supports the local community in which it is based.  Because of the small town, this riders group consists of local residents, typically within a thirty-mile radius.  Anyone outside that area tends to join the organization closer to their home.   The rider’s group is all volunteer.  The most common answer given when asked why they wanted to join, “to have other people to ride with.”   For that reason, diversity plays a helpful role in satisfying the needs of the members.  Diversity can refer to physical differences, such as sex or skin color, but also things that can’t be seen, such as differences in personality traits or differences in beliefs (such as religion or politics) (World Campus, 2018 Lesson 1).  The individual differences such as ride style, desired travel distances, and personal goals all provide opportunities for finding like-minded individuals to share common interests.  Friendships encourage enrollment.  The reality though, not everyone who owns a motorcycle wants to ride hundreds of miles at a time.  Some choose to stay local, some choose to only venture out on weekends, and some are never seen not on their bike.  The differences within a group are exactly that: the things that distinguish individuals from others who fall in the same category; it is the range of all the possibilities inside a group (World Campus, 2018 Lesson 1).

With differences comes disagreements.  One way to address those is the specific function of the written by-laws of conduct and operations.  On the surface, when riding down the road to an event and all members are in formation, it may appear to the public that we are all just the same “bikers.”  In truth, Deep-level diversity exists.  Deep-level diversity is those differences in beliefs, values, attitudes, etc., that do affect much more deeply how a person behaves (World Campus, 2018 Lesson 3).  If, as stated, the group is headed to an event, alcohol will likely be present.  The value put on behavior and restraint differs greatly.  As President, the watchful eye on individual behaviors is imperative.  A collaborative effort by the riders is helpful in maintaining a positive public image.

In accordance with the by-laws, the organizational structure is similar to a company.  President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Sgt-at-Arms, etc..  Each officer position is given specific responsibilities.  In addition to what is written, the officers and members are all empowered with the voice to be heard in the event someone or something is jeopardizing the group.  Whether watching someones “behavior” at a party or riding habits that may compromise the safety of all that are riding together, everyone has a voice.  Leaders who share power help build profound trust and shared responsibility (Moran et al., 2014 pg.192).  The President cannot see everything all the time.  Typically that position rides in the front with all other bikes in tow.  Group success and safety rests on each individual’s shoulders.

Schedules of events are discussed in monthly meetings.  Preparation is key to a harmonious plan of action.  Charity events, runs, and a show of support at other organizations.  Because this is volunteer, not everyone can make each endeavor.  A key factor in execution and commitment is the inclusion of the members.  Listening is critical rather than mandating which only deters participation.  Exclusion, only including one or a few perspectives (World Campus, 2018 Lesson 3) limits participation.   As President, the different approaches I have had to take can be difficult at times.  The fact is though, in my absence, this group has earned my trust and faith that they will pull together to accomplish any goal we have set.

 

References:

Moran, Robert, Abramson, Neil, & Moran, Sarah. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. Oxford: Routledge.

Pennsylvania State University (2018). Leadership in Global Context-Olead 410. Lesson 1: Introduction to Leadership in a Global Context, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University.

Pennsylvania State University (2018). Leadership in Global Context-Olead 410. Lesson 3: Diversity, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University.

 

        What is Diversity? Diversity according to the commentary is “differences between individuals within groups” (Defining Diversity, n.d.). We all come from somewhere, regardless of what we have been told or thought to believe. We all have something to offer and when we take the time to embrace one another and create a community of inclusion, magic happens. Acceptance, and willingness to embrace one another lead us to succeed individually and on a variety of levels.

        Diversity alongside Inclusion is like peanut butter and jelly. Diversity with the implementation of inclusion causes people to come together for a common purpose and create something great. That is the sole reason why Diversity and Inclusion have such a vital importance in the life we live. Inclusion is defined as “process of including the various diverse perspectives and characteristics” (Inclusion, n.d.). Inclusion creates interaction, healthy interaction that can result in negative effects of surface-level diversity. Moran, Moran, and Abramson state that”as you get to know your teammates, you relate to them more as they are, and less as they might appear to be as stereotypes” (Moran, Moran and Abramson, 2014).

        The office in which I work in is a melting pot of ethnic backgrounds. Some are from Pakistan, Palestine, Mexico, India, U.K., Italy and so on. Many of them have different ways of thinking, styles of doing business and experience levels. The broker/owner of the office does a fantastic job of creating a monthly meeting (inclusive approach) with all of the agents to come together and discuss how we can better serve our clients, make more money and what working in the current market and what isn’t. This has created a positive deep-level diversity because we would grow fond of one another, letting our guards down and building long-lasting relationships. This caused our office to generate record-breaking numbers in the Bay Area.

       I have personally grown from my environment and culture at the office. What has made it easier is that I am very open with others and willing to be very helpful for the sake of collective success. The less we are ethnocentric the better off we will be. It takes a sense of humility to learn and want to work with others for a common goal. I truly believe that there are many organizations that lack this principal and that can be the very reason that they aren’t meeting there fullest potentials. When we embrace healthy Diversity and create inclusion our overall performance collectively increases, we reach goals faster, we grow as individuals and we reach unprecedented success. That is the reason Diversity is so vital in the world we live in.

References:

Moran, Robert, Abramson, Neil, & Moran, Sarah. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. Oxford: Routledge.

Defining Diversity. (n. d.). Leadership in a Global Context–OLEAD 410. Online course lesson, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1916378/modules/items/23640518

Inclusion. (n.d.). Leadership in a Global Context — OLEAD 410. Online course lesson, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1916378/modules/items/23640522

 

In this weeks discussion, I talked about how large my company is. One of the major benefits of working for such a large company is the number of people you can work with and learn from.  One of the benefits of being a project manager is that for each project I work on I typically have a different representative from each of our locations department, so I’m constantly dealing with different individuals with all types of diverse backgrounds, experience, and knowledge.

When a project team first forms there is typically a period of time that the group is unproductive and inefficient. A psychologist by the name of Bruce Tuckman states that team development has 5 stages of life, forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. He believed that when a group of individuals form a team theres a period of time that it takes for the team to function as one.

When you introduce such a wide range of cultural backgrounds and up bringings into a new group of people you are bound to have points of contention or frustration. This stage of the team development is referred to as forming/ storming. The more surface-level diversity traits, like age and sex are more likely to be prevalent during these stages. Overtime, individuals of the team begin to start learning the characteristics of the other teammates, how they operate, and what motivates them. The team begins to gel and function as one, transitioning into the norming stage.  “As the length of time increases when diverse group members work together, the negative effects of surface-level diversity decrease. In other words, as you get to know your teammates, you relate to them more as they are, and less as they might appear to be as stereotypes”. (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 177)

While all stages are important, the norming stage is what really brings us back to capitalizing on human diversity. By now, the team has learned what makes the other team members tick and they are able to capitalize of the skills, experience and background of each other. Have a wide range of cultural backgrounds only allows for a greater probability of innovative and ground-breaking idea or method of doing things. Moran et al. (2014) state “The benefits of diversity in terms of greater collective access to relevant information, more creative solutions, and reduced conflict, can only be achieved when problem-solving and decision-making groups are tightly integrated”. (p.183)

Its through the norming phase that the teams are able to truly begin performing. During the performing stage, team members feel empowered and are motivated. They rely, depend and lean on each other’s assets and strengths.  This in turn give each member a sense of need and power. When we are able to set aside our differences and truly be inclusive theres no telling what we can accomplish as a team. “The value of diversity and how to achieve its maximum benefit for organizational decision-making”. (Moran, et al., 2014 p. 193) is what makes an ordinary team a great team. I’m lucky enough to be a part of a number of great teams at my workplace and I truly believe its because of all the different cultural backgrounds that each member brings to the table.

References:

5 Stages of Team Development. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://toggl.com/stages-of-team-development

Moran, Robert, Abramson, Neil, & Moran, Sarah. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. Oxford: Routledge.

 

 

        Ethnocentrism is defined as an “exaggerated tendency to think the characteristics of one’s own group or race is superior to those of other groups or races” (Drever, 1952, p. 86). Ethnocentrism is the very thing that can rob humanity from connecting with one another. It can take us away from advancing and collaborating with each other. We need to recognize all cultures and know that we all have something to offer. One group is never more superior than the other. The sad thing about this is that we don’t all live with this way of thinking.

       Ethnocentrism comes in many different shapes and sizes and can be identified as stereotyping and seeing things in a biased fashion. In the lesson 2 module, it clearly states that “People who can’t see the world from other perspectives will often label groups with sweeping generalizations.This is known as the out-group effect (Turner & Haslam, 2001)”. We often have this issue amongst co-workers in corporate environments. Instead of workers cultivating a culture within the corporate setting, at times, we set ourselves up for failure when we have an Ethnocentric way of thinking.

        As a real estate agent, we work in a very aggressive and competitive environment. As you know, It is very easy to have an ethnocentric attitude in the office especially if you are a high producer. Your perception and ideology of others become shallow and think others are not on your level. That ethnocentric way of thinking can cripple an office from growing as a company because an office is only as good as its agents. Over time this can cause a real estate team to fall apart if it stays in this state.

       Agents should be helping agents, no matter the level of volume they do on a yearly and monthly basis. A top producer or every agent for that matter would be working collectively, so that all agents survive and bring the best level of service for clients, reaching unprecedented goals and work in harmony. We must untangle and be aware of our unconscious minds and make sure we are not hindering others and the overall success of the people we are around every day. In the lesson commentary, it states “But it is important that ethnocentrism expresses itself through unconscious values” (Ethnocentrism, n.d.). Ethnocentrism can kill innovation, success and stop many companies from growing right in its tracks. To me, ethnocentrism is a lack of humility and willingness to collectively care about the overall success of something. The more we are conscious of it, the better off we will be.

References:

Drever, H. E. (1952). A dictionary of psychology. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.

Turner, J. C. & Haslam, S. A. (2001). Social identity, organizations and leadership. In M.E. Turner (Ed.), Groups at work: Advances in theory and research ( pp . 25–65). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Ethnocentrism. (n.d.) Leadership in a Global Context — OLEAD 410. Online course lesson, Penn State World Campus, Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved January 16, 2018, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1916378/modules/items/23640511

I’m currently taking a course entitled Leadership in Global Context. The class centers around an appreciation of thinking and leading from a global perspective. We’ve been talking about culture and the traits inherent in the culture of successful global leaders. Traits such as personal and cultural values; how they’re formed and when. How the values you develop determine the behaviors you exhibit. Finally, how they’re all interconnected and essential to successful global leadership.

During the second week of class, I learned a new term. Ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is defined as an “exaggerated tendency to think the characteristics of one’s own group or race is superior to those of other groups or races” (Drever, 1952, p. 86). Ethnocentrism also leads to stereotyping. People who can’t see the world from other perspectives will often label groups with sweeping generalizations. This is known as the out-group effect. (Turner & Haslam, 2001) As I processed the definition I couldn’t help but associate it with our current political administration. I’m speaking about Donald Trump.

I didn’t start off disliking Mr. Trump. I’m actually a conservative who probably should welcome someone from outside the political establishment. When he first announced his candidacy, I found his public speaking engagements entertaining. I saw the entire process as a self-indulgent marketing exercise. However, over the past year I’ve come to fear him and what he stands for. As I started learning about leadership culture, character and culture, (Northouse, 2015), my understanding of what a great leader should be, changed.

As I considered the definition of ethnocentrism, I came to believe it perfectly describes, and unfortunately defines, our current president. A quick search of ethnocentric leaders identifies some very scary people. The US is a melting pot of different cultures. It’s the basic foundation of what we stand for. On the bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty is written, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” (Lazarus, E 1883)

As I look across the business landscape, it appears to me that any business with no ability to appeal to a global audience places themselves in the downside of opportunity. It was with that in mind that I decided to take this class. I wanted to ensure I wasn’t limiting myself and my career opportunities by narrowing my vision about thinking and leading globally.

It’s early in the semester and we’ve barley scratched the surface of culture and values and how they impact global thinking. And yet it’s easy to understand the relationship between values and culture because it impacts us all. Values tend to be formed in the beginning of one’s life. (Massey, 1979) A person’s values determine his or her individual behavior. (Rokeach, 1973) The collection of an individuals’ behaviors determines the cultural values that each individual’s behavior is measured against. The idea that the person leading our country sees himself as superior and above all others, means his values, defined and instilled during adolescence, have made him the person he is and will always be.

 

References

Drever, H. E. (1952). A dictionary of psychology. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.

Massey, M. (1979). The people puzzle: Understanding yourself and others. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Co.

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth ed.). New York: Routledge.

Northouse, P.G. (2015). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. Los Angeles: Sage

Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New York: The Free Press.

Turner, J. C. & Haslam, S. A. (2001). Social identity, organizations and leadership. In M.E. Turner (Ed.), Groups at work: Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Lazarus, E. (2005). Selected Poems: Selected Poems (American Poets Project)

Mexico is one of the hardest working countries in the world; unfortunately, Mexico is also one of the countries where its people contribute less to their savings and retirement accounts.

Why?

Because we are a culture that adores instant gratification.

I was born and raised in a middle-upper class family in Mexico. My grandfather from my dad’s side made a fortune with a three story hair salon in the most posh area of Mexico City in the fifties; the golden era of the Mexican film and theater industry.

Their clientele included some of the biggest celebrities of the time as well as some of the most influential people in the city; politicians, singers, actors, ambassadors, etcetera.

My grandpa and his family lived very well; big house, big parties, many travels, but above all, he loved cars; he owned Lincolns, Cadillacs, Jaguars, and other nice cars. My dad’s first car was a 1956 baby blue Jaguar, which in those times and especially for a 20 year old, was very rear.

However, my grandpa never saved, nor did teach his children to save. As a result my grandfather struggled when he and grandma couldn’t work anymore.

I saw history repeating itself with my dad; he worked as a pharmaceutical rep for an American company and did very well for almost two decades, but again, never saved a penny. One day he decided to sell our house to start a business and after a few years of struggle, the business went bad forcing us to come to the States.

These terrible saving habits or lack of, were passed on to us, and like it or not, I have to admit that I have the same problem. I do not have a problem making money, but I most definitely have a problem saving it.

This subject came to my mind a few days ago when I was reading Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture, specifically the 6^th dimension, Indulgence/Restraint.

“Indulgence is when a culture allows for immediate gratification of the human universals we discussed earlier” (Hofstede, 2001; Hofstede & Hofstede, n.d.)

After reading the lesson commentary, I actually googled Hofsted’s comparison by country and compared Mexico with some of the best countries to live, and also countries where people save the most for retirement (Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, United States, Canada, Germany and France).

I immediately noticed that something really stuck out, according to Hofsted’s comparison, Mexico scored a whopping 97 points on indulgence while the other countries scored anywhere from  30 the lowest (Italy) to 68 the highest (U.S.)

This is consistent with Hofsted’s notion that “national culture is stronger as it is engrained in people earlier in their lives during critical value formation stages.” We are a culture where instant gratification and indulgence is been passed on from generation to generation. Been aware of it is in my mind, the first step to change it.

 

References:

http://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/economy/2013/07/16/10-hardest-working-countries/index.html

https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/mexico/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryhannon/2012/02/14/why-latinos-arent-saving-for-retirement/#6879d41a406f

http://conference.iza.org/conference_files/SUMS_2013/dal_borgo_m5011.pdf