OLEAD 410: Leadership in a Global Context

Cultural Leadership blog

Life in Central America is Not All That Bad

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Much of the international news and media coverage that involves Central America is negative overall in regard to the region and what occurs in this area of the world. For example, we often hear of the organized crime that occurs in Central America, such as human trafficking or drug cartels. However, according to a report that was released recently, life for those who live in the region of Central America is not all that bad, and is certainly not only negative as it is often portrayed. According to an article from US News by Sintia Radu (2017), “People from three Central American countries say satisfaction from their lives has improved dramatically during the past 10 years, according to a report from Gallop.”

While it is apparent the people that live in the region of Central America are not living miserable lives, as it may seem they do from the often negative media coverage of the region would portray, the question of how the region can be viewed as a more positive environment is posed. Jon Clifton, a managing partner at Gallop stated that “the value of measuring such public perceptions is that they can be a guide for future positive change” (Radu, 2017).

In order for a positive change to occur, which Clifton expressed is possible, the region of Central America, as well as the rest of the world would need to make changes to the way we participate in global communication. At the most basic level, “communication is about the exchange of information between individuals” (Pennsylvania State University, 2017). However, on a global level, we have to adapt the way we communicate in order to communicate appropriately. In order for the valuable information gathered from the Gallop report regarding the lives of those who live in the region of Central America to be of any use toward positive future change, it is crucial that global communication is used carefully and considerately in order to portray a more positive image of Central America.

“Research shows that how people report on their lives is a powerful indicator that can better predict major events when traditional economic indicators, such as gross domestic product, or GDP, show a different picture” (Radu, 2017). This means that it is important and necessary to listen to what the people within the region of Central America are saying about life there, instead of only looking at traditional figures to interpret what life is like in the region. Overall, it is important to take away that we do not only pay attention to what media coverage is being provided for us about any region, but we also look to what the people who live in a specific region say about how their lives are there.

 

References:

Pennsylvania State University. (2017). OLEAD 410: “Defining Communication.” Retrieved at https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1867265/modules/items/22824723

Radu, S. (2017, November 3). Increasing number of people in Central America say their lives are thriving . Retrieved November 29, 2017, from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-11-03/increasing-number-of-people-in-ceamerica-say-their-lives-are-thrivingntral-

Opportunity in Africa Could be Compromised

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Africa has many natural resources that present opportunity for the country, However, according to Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014), “Africa has been classified as the Third World in economic terms–it contributes only 1 percent of the global economic output” (p. 506). Furthermore, “this poor continent is often viewed as a land of tragedy or promise because of its rich natural and human resources that have not been fully developed” (Moran, et. al., p. 506).

This economic opportunity that exists in Africa was recently discussed by President Donald Trump. On September 20, 2017, President Trump spoke at a luncheon during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly. According to an article from CNBC, the luncheon that President Trump hosted included attendees that are leaders of the nations of the large and diverse African continent (Wilkie, 2017). At this luncheon, President Trump made the statement “I’ve had so many friends going to your countries, trying to get rich. I congratulate you. They’re spending a lot of money” (Wilkie, 2017). While it seemed as though President Trump intended for this statement to the African leaders to be delivered as a compliment, it was not perceived as such.

President Trump’s statement to the leaders of the diverse African continent poses a few important points. First, it points to the fact that there is in fact a great deal of opportunity within Africa that is not being capitalized on, but there is a possibility of this happening. However, by friends of Trump’s expanding their business ventures to Africa to “try to get rich” and “spending a lot of money,” this may not be the way that Africa can improve its economic status. Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2104) explain that in order for the continent Africa to actualize the prospects of improving their economy, “Africans will have to learn how to: (1) practice synergy among themselves; (2) control their populations; (3) advance their literacy, education, and productivity; (4) build infrastructure, especially roads and transportation; (5_ promote conservation and ecotourism; and (6) connect with the information age and its technologies” (p. 506). By Americans heading to Africa in its current economic state, it is not allowing Africa to improve because it means that Africa is skipping these steps that are explained by Moran, Abramson, and Moran, which are necessary in order for the African continent to actually improve economically in the long run.

The statement made by President Trump at the luncheon also proves the point of how important it is for a person speaking to an audience from a leadership position to know their audience and speak with consideration to the cultural differences. With the statements that President Trump made at the luncheon, it is clear that he was not considering how his statements would be perceived by the African leaders that were his audience. When speaking from a leadership position, it is crucial that the leader adapts their statements and their overall speech to the culture that they are speaking to.

Overall, there is opportunity for Africa to improve its economic conditions. However, by wealthy American business people moving their money-making ventures to Africa before allowing the countries of the African continent to improve themselves with the steps outlined by Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2104), there will not be any real and sustainable long-term improvement to the African economy.

 

References:

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Wilkie, C. (2017, September 21). Trump congratulates African leaders for making his friends rich. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/20/trump-congratulates-african-leaders-for-making-his-friends-rich.html

Overtourism in Western Europe

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Western Europe is the region of Europe that includes many countries, a few of which are Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (Pennsylvania State University, 2017).  A recent issue that has risen to the forefront within western Europe is the issue of overtourism and how these counties and the entire region has managed this issue.

An article from CNBC explains that overtourism is “a phenomenon that is disrupting communities, imperiling cherished buildings and harming the experience of travelers and local residents alike” (Pylas, 2017). With so many people visiting specific locations within western Europe at the same time, problems have become obvious and inevitable. Overtourism has become increasingly worrisome within the region of western Europe. It has led to Venice diverting massive cruise liners from porting there, and Barcelona to more closely monitor apartment rentals. The problem of overtourism has even led to slogans showing up such as “tourists go home” and “tourists are terrorists” (Pylas, 2017).

Taleb Rifai, the secretary general of the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization stated that the recent slogans are a wakeup call (Pylas, 2017). The question now, however, is how to manage the problem of overtourism. Tourism cannot be viewed as an overall negative aspect in western Europe because of the benefits it brings to the economy. An article from Eurostat (2017), states, “In 2014, one in ten enterprises in the European non-financial business economy belonged to the tourism industries. These 2.3 million enterprises employed an estimated 12.3 million persons.” By comparing the many benefits that tourism brings to western Europe’s economy with the problems arising due to overtourism, the question now is how to properly manage the tourism in the region.

Taleb Rifai explains that “what is required…is the need to manage tourism in a ‘sustainable and responsible’ way that benefits local communities” (Pylas, 2017). While this does seem like the best solution available, the question remains of how exactly this can be achieved for western European tourist destinations. There are many destinations, and the solution will not look the same for the different cities and various tourist locations. I think that it will be important for western Europe to have some sort of overarching policies in place to address the problems associated with overtourism, but that ultimately the solutions will be best achieved by working on more local levels. For instance, the frequent tourist destinations in Italy will have to employ different solutions than the frequent tourist locations in Spain for the problem of overtourism to be managed the most efficiently.

 

References:

Pennsylvania State University. (2017). OLEAD 410: “Lesson 12: Western Europe.” Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1867265/modules/items/22824786

Pylas, P., & Press, A. (2017, November 15). Managing overtourism an increasing feature of global travel. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/15/the-associated-press-managing-overtourism-an-increasing-feature-of-global-travel.html

Tourism statistics. (2017, April). Retrieved November 15, 2017, from http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Tourism_statistics

Cultural Synergy in the Music Industry

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Recently, there have been many pop songs released by well-known artists that have integrated both English and Spanish lyrics. With this sudden increase and success of these bilingual songs, cultural synergy has begun to have a new role in an industry that is part of the lives of almost all individuals: the music industry.

Synergy is defined as “the synthesis of what each individual in the group has to offer” (Pennsylvania State University, 2017). However, synergy can also be applied to a larger scale of cultures. Cultural synergy occurs when two or more cultures effectively combine in order to reach a common goal. Cultural synergy can be observed in the recent explosion of pop music featuring both English and Spanish lyrics. These songs often feature the music style of common Spanish songs, and feature lyrics from both languages. Also, these songs have featured many well-known American music artists, such as Justin Bieber and Beyonce.

Cultural synergy is evident here because the strong attributes of both the Spanish and English cultures has been brought together in order to achieve the best possible outcome within the music industry. For example, an article by NBC News states “Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” Remix featuring Justin Bieber is currently the top song in the country” (Moll-Ramirez & Armas, 2017). “Despacito” is only the first song of many that came to follow that feature bilingual lyrics. This also makes the “Despacito” Remix the first predominantly Spanish language song to obtain the coveted spot on the Billboard Hot 100 since the “Macarena” in 1996″ (Moll-Ramirez & Armas, 2017). Other songs that have come to follow this bilingual trend include “Mi Gente” by J Balvin, Willy William, and Beyonce and “Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias.

While “Despacito” may have started the feature of both English and Spanish lyrics in songs, it definitely was not the end, as there have been multiple billboard-topping bilingual songs that have seen success since its release. These songs are a perfect example of how cultural synergy occurs in a real-world setting. Although it may not be an organizational setting as many of us often picture cultural synergy occurring in, it is a great example of how both of the strong attributes (the likable style of Spanish music paired with big name American music artists)from each of the languages have combined to provide top results, thus showing how cultural synergy works at its best.

 

References:

Moll-Ramirez, V., & Armas, M. (2017, May 19). Despacito: The UnBeliebable explosion of a bilingual song. Retrieved November 11, 2017, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/despacito-unbeliebable-explosion-bilingual-song-n761681

Pennsylvania State University. (2017). OLEAD 410: “Lesson 6: Cultural Synergy.” Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1867265/modules/items/22824739

 

Hello Class!

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Hello classmates! Great to virtually meet all of you. 

My name is Marci Anderson and I am currently working toward earning my Bachelors Degree in organizational leadership. After this semester, I will have only 3 semesters left until I earn my degree.

I currently live in Maryland, although I am from Texas originally. As for where I am in my life professionally, I currently work at a tanning salon as a manager. Although this is not a long-term career type of job for myself, it has actually been quite helpful and interesting being able to work as a manager and learn about leadership at the same time. Although I (still) do not know the specifics of my long-term career goals, I know that I was to work in the business world and most likely would like to own my own business one day. Most likely I would like to own some type of clothing store.

Something that I find really fun and consider a hobby is collecting sea glass. I live near the Chesapeake Bay and there are many secret spots that are great for sea glass collectors! I also love doing DIY projects involving sea glass, although this is something I do not have tons of free time to do recently.

I look forward to working with all of you this semester and wish everyone the best of luck!

 

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