According to Moran, Moran, and Harris (2011), there are certain words that should never be used in Nigeria, Africa; native, hut, jungle, witchcraft, and costume. The connotation behind these expressions tends to be that Africa is still a dark continent. Nigeria, as is true with many other parts of Africa, has made great strides in development and is proud of its advancement. Therefore, it is best to remember that a hut is a home and a costume is really clothing. Nigerians want to be friends with foreign visitors, and they are proud to have them in their homes. They will go to great lengths to be a friend, but they do not want to be patronized.

Nigeria has been home to many ancient civilizations for over 10,000 years, and in the late 19th century, the British got their tentacles involved during a period of hot European competition over spheres of influence in Africa. The area became a British protectorate in 1901, and today’s Nigeria borders were drawn in 1914. After WWII, the Nigerians were stronghold on the British leaving, in which they finally did in 1960 after setting Nigeria up with a new, representative government (Urban, 2015). Considering just this brief lesson in Nigerian history, it is no wonder why the Nigerian culture is so proud.

Nigeria has home a long way since there October 1st, 1960 independence by becoming one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Being home of the Nok civilization/culture, the earliest ancient and highly advance civilization in Nigeria who were known for their well ordered economy and good system of government, it should come to no surprise that Nigeria has managed to strive economically despite being plagued by its noted ethnic and religious cleavages. In addition to a growing economically, Nigeria has also taken positive steps in helping to reduce ethnic and religious divisions and has emerged as a positive example for many African nations (Pride of Nigeria, 2015).

If you ask me, Nigeria is the ultimate story of strength in diversity and it is not only African nations that can learn from this, but us all. Just imagine following the leadership of an ancient civilization dated back to 1000 B.C.E. and emerging as one of the fastest growing economies in modern times. I wouldn’t want anyone to call my house a “hut” either!

 

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.

Pride of Nigeria: Naija For Life. And You Wonder Why? (2015). Tribe origin, a cultural movement. Retrieved from http://www.orijinculture.com/community/pride-nigeria-naija-life/

Urban, Tim. 19 Things I Learned in Nigeria. (2015). Wait but why. Retrieved from http:/waitbutwhy.com/2014/08/19-things-learned-nigeria.html

In the past week, I couldn’t help but notice a very interesting insight into the Russian culture from a fellow student. Craig Bauer (2015) elaborated on the fact that up until WWI and WWII, Russia was a country of the invaded. After sitting on this for a while and after and in depth lesson on doing business with Russia, I couldn’t agree more with his other insight; that Russia isn’t the “evil empire” I had previously thought it to be. They are simply misunderstood and a glimpse into the national psyche of Russians is only the first step in understanding why the “evil empire” has such a bad wrap.

Russians have long suffered from a sense of inferiority (for which they overcompensate); in the days of the aristocracy, the Czar’s court turned to things French and German to show how civilized and sophisticated they were. Having been often cut off from outside contacts, the Russians also have manifested xenophobia periodically. Totalitarianism also made many citizens feel like prisoners in their own society. The younger generation is more educated, more open, and more cosmopolitan, as well as more disillusioned and cynical (Moran, Moran, and Harris, 2011).

In order to dissect this further, let’s take xenophobia for example. Xenophobia is defined by Merriam-Webster (2015) dictionary as fear and hatred of strangers of foreigners or anything that is strange and foreign. In fact, several resources state that in recent years Russians have shown and have shown an increase in xenophobia. For example, in 2014, Vera Alperovich reported that, “The social base of ethnic nationalism in the country continues to grow,” a trend in which, in the absence of official efforts to counter it, is creating a situation in which “outbursts of xenophobic attitudes will occur ever more frequently”. This statement can also be backed up by polls that show that the percentage of residents of the Russian Federation who support the slogan “Russia for Russians” has risen from 56 percent to 66 percent, and the share of the population who favors expelling immigrants rather than helping them adapt has gone 64 percent to 73 percent, according to the Levada Center.

Overall, it is hard for Americans to identify with the hardships that Russia has had to endure over the centuries, so it is no wonder as to why I, or most, would have such a perception of “evil”. Russian’s with a “rude” attitude don’t help the misconception any further, but neither does ignorance to the fact that not smiling at a stranger is considered normal to them. Russians aren’t “evil,” they are just different.

References

Bauer, Craig. (2015). Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved from https://cms.psu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=4C485F8D8DFB455FB13DED908E14FF9E&Title=Lesson+13+Eastern+Europe+and+Russia+Discussion

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.

Merriam-Webster. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary xenophobia

Goble, Paul. (20 March 2014). Xenophobia in Russia at an All-Time High, Experts Say. The Interpreter. Retrieved from http://www.interpretermag.com/xenophobia-in-russia-at-an-all-time-high-experts-say/

When I ask most of my friends how far back they can date their ancestry, they usually can’t make it past great grandparents and if you were to ask me ten years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to either. My great grandmother would visit every year from The Netherlands and my grandmother’s brother often from Switzerland. I knew that my mother was from The Netherlands as well, but other than that, I didn’t know much more. That is, until I traveled to Western Europe. I discovered that I had a very large family and even a family castle, Werdmuller Von Elgg, that dates my ancestry back centuries!

 

As soon as I walked out of the airport in Switzerland and looked around a strange yet familiar feeling came over me. I had never been to Europe before and with amazement I looked at my mother and said, “Everyone here looks like they have and agenda, why did you ever leave?”. I felt instantly more comfortable there, than I ever had in the United States and now I understand why; even though I wasn’t raised there, every single generation before me was.

What I found most interesting is the common set of perceptions that I shared with my European family. For example, right off the bat I identified with the European inherit interest in the quality of life, at all levels of society. There is a predominant humanist belief that people are to be served by progress, and not the reverse (Moran, Moran, & Harris, 2011). Even from a young age I can recall my fiends calling me a “hippie” because I didn’t share the same views. For example, I would have much rather been helping my grandmother on a Friday night rather than going to a movie, I never watched television, and was always a bit reluctant toward progress of technology. I also identify with several of the characteristics outline by Moran, Moran, & Harris (2011) such as a belief that individuals should be at the center of a life, a sense of social responsibility, a mistrust of authority (this rang high truth in the military!), and a desire for security and continuity.

I do believe that people are creatures of habit, but I also think that our culture is engrained in us despite what our environment is trying to teach us to do and how to think. It is a bit eerie to learn that you may have the exact same habits, mannerisms, and hobbies of a cousin half way around the world in which you’ve never known nor met. Even more startling, you may find that your entire family prefers mayonnaise on french fries (which they actually serve in the Netherlands) and you aren’t a weirdo. My advice is that if you haven’t had the pleasure to travel half a world away to meet your ancestors, is that you do so. Who knows, you might even have a family castle too!

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.

There are two quotes that I will never forget. The first is from my mother saying, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say” and the second is from a previous boss in giving advice, “People do what you do, not what you say you do”. As simple as these wise words of wisdom from the experienced are, they are literally easier said than done and if you haven’t noticed, they contradict each other all the while having the same meaning. In order to understand these words of wisdom deeper, social learning is a good place to start.

Social learning is about learning from others in the social environment through behavior (Pennsylvania State University, 2015). For example, my mother may have said that I am not allowed to stay up late and watch television, but she herself, would be up until 1 a.m. doing so. Although this may seem like a simple example, there is much more to it. A mother’s behaviors leave a lasting impression on a daughter, as the little girl wants to be just like her role model, which is why the second quote is much more true and accurate. So what happens when we transcend from children wanting to be like their parent into the adult world of a career?

Social learning never goes away. In fact research shows that it may eventually rear its ugly head through the affects of toxic leadership (Gallus, Walsh, Driel, & Antolic, 2013). Researches have described this “dark side” of leadership in a number of ways such as abusive supervision, petty tyranny, narcissistic leadership, etc. Now staying up late to watch television doesn’t seem so bad, but through social learning, the toxic behaviors described may permeate throughout an entire organization. As adults in the professional world, it is extremely important for us not only to recognize these behaviors, but also immediately find the source. There may be a co worker from another department with such “dark” behaviors, but rather than reprimand the individual, it may be much wiser to take a look at the leadership in the department, as the behavior trickles from the top down, and this department in particular may become a breeding ground for unacceptable behavior through social learning of a toxic leader.

Overall it is up to leadership to set the standard within an organization and live up to that standard through behavior. The days of, just because the boss can do something means I can too, is over. We will soon be the leaders that people will model themselves after and recognizing how much of an impact our behavior makes in an organization is the fist step in creating a positive culture where toxic leadership becomes relic of the past.

 

References

Pennsylvania State University. (2015). Lesson 03: Introduction to Leadership in a Global Context. Angel, Lesson 05, 1-6. Retrieved 15 February 2015, https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp15/olead497b/001/content/05_lesson/02_page.html

Gallus, J., Walsh, B., Driel, M., Gouge, M., & Antolic, E. (2013). Intolerable cruelty: A  multilevel examination of the impact of toxic leadership on U.S. military units and service members. Military Psychology, 25(6), 588-601. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http:// search.proquest.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/1530644071? pq- origsite=summon

I remember being a little girl and playing the game Prince of Persia on my dad’s big box of a mac computer. Fast forward to now and I can Skype with my friends thousands of miles away, download just about any app I can think of, and even submit this blog while on a flight home. The world as I know it has changed and with these advances in technology, so has global leadership and at the heart of it lies differences in culture. Culture is complex and overcoming its obstacles are more-so. Whether it be on a national level or within an organization, at the root of culture is a shared social system of ideas and values that can be contrasted to another culture (Redmond, 2015). The question is how to overcome this difference and the answer is to travel!

There is no better way to understand and respect another culture than to submerge ourselves in it. Research shows that global leaders report benefits from international assignments and indicate that the opportunity to live and work abroad was the most powerful experience that helped them develop their global leadership capabilities. For example, having more of a global perspective for business operations and an increases ability to communicate with and motivate people from different cultural backgrounds (Kok-Yee, Dyne, & Ang, 2009).

Through cultural intelligence observations, it has also been proven that it is not the quantity of travel that is important, but rather the quality of the travel experience that aids global leadership development (Kok-Yee, Dyne, & Ang, 2009). This reminds me of several people that I used to work with in the military that wanted absolutely nothing to do with local culture while traveling overseas. On every deployment, they would literally never leave the base, or if there was no base, they would never leave the ship. That being said, they also weren’t very good leaders locally. The Navy is strong because it is diverse, and although one may not travel leaps and bounds within the organization, they are still dealing with many different cultures on a day to day basis.

Overall, simply knowing about differences in culture isn’t going to have much of an impact on a leader unless their is an open mind along with it. We can all learn a great deal from each other whether it be through customs, values, food, or gestures. There is a monument of respect that bridges the difference gap, so the next time you travel, leave the tour guide behind and ask a local where to go and what to do. The experience will not only help develop skills as a global leader, but it will also leave you humble.

References

Kok-Yee, N., Dyne, L., Ang, S. (2009). Developing Global Leaders: The Role of International Experience and Cultural Intelligence. Advances in Global Leadership, 5, 225-250.

Redmond, B. (2015). Lesson 01: Introduction to Leadership in a Global Context. Angel, Lesson 1, 1-8.

Hello Class! My name is Jeslynn Puskar. Although I am a Florida native, I currently reside in Virginia Beach, VA. I separated from the military as an FA-18C mechanic to pursue the dream of a career in law. Upon my separation I was selected for an internship which recently turned into a full time job as a paralegal. I am also here at Penn State World Campus Online as a full time student finishing up my B.S. in Organizational Leadership. I plan to take a few months off after I graduate to study for the LSAT and then apply to law school. Eventually, I would like to get involved with humanitarian work. Also, after I retire I would like to be a yoga instructor. As for leadership experiences, I have had an interesting few such as a community service event planner, supervisor in the Navy, and fitness coach. It will be quite the challenge to shake the following quote as my all time favorite: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act, but a habit” – Aristotle. I am unmarried without children but would like to be a wife and mother of two someday. Sometimes I feel that I am interested in everything under the sun, but to narrow it down here are a few; fitness, outer space, travel, reading, yoga, meditation, cooking, sleeping, diving, swimming, surfing, paddle boarding, riding bikes, drinking wine, dancing, and laughter. The most unusual hobby is probably cleaning. I am always trying to prefect the ritual. My friends call me OCD, but to me, there is nothing better than a sparkling clean house! I am looking forward to learning and working with you all! Good luck this semester!