OLEAD 410: Leadership in a Global Context

Cultural Leadership blog

A Cup of Coffee and a Cultural Discussion

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Understanding the Cultural Differences between Russia and the United States in a modern world.

Today there is a lot of political controversy surrounding the United States and Russian relations. Today I want to help you gain a better understanding and push the politics aside. Russia is a beautiful country and has been on my bucket list for many years.  There are many unique cultural differences ranging from social, political, and every day. My friend Irina immigrated to the united states from Russia just 5 years ago, I was able to sit down with her and discuss the differences face to face.

She gave me bullet points and told me to take notes on these key issues she was very adamant that these were the stories to be shared.

Russia was once a Soviet nation, where there was no freedom of expression and no individuality. Personal expression was just that personal, only to be shared amongst others in private. Today in America we smile when we make eye contact with one another or with strangers when we cross paths. That’s taboo in Russian culture, it’s a very personal thing, there is no eye contact and no smiles. This is a direct result of the years of oppression, Irina told me that the youth are friendlier but this will take decades even a century to overcome. There are no expressions or questions everything is very no-nonsense and business. Only your close friends ask you are doing and say hello. There is a focus on more negative stories than positive.

Business is quite different in Russia as well, Russia is heading toward being one of the top country when it comes to the highest number of business owners.  More women than ever before are in positions of leadership. The field that has the most women so far is the technology sector.  That is something the United States should adopt. When speaking to Irina she said in the big cities you will see more people. However traditional business is still very sexist and demeaning according to Irina. Women are to be seen and not heard, expected to dress up everyday, and do their job quietly and quickly. This is one of the reasons she decided to become an American citizen, the freedom to be herself wherever she words.

Cultures change a little bit everyday, some for the better others not so much. As always there are positive aspects worth adopting and others to let die. Russia is changing hopefully for the better until then we should keep encouraging acceptance and freedom.

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

The Danish Business Model Is It Really As Sweet As It Sounds?

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Danish Business Culture is it really as sweet as it sounds?

For the past three years, I have been hearing stories from my friends who travel and study abroad that I must visit Copenhagen. They tell me how happy everyone is there, how wonderful the food is, that this country has everything figured out. Denmark was voted one of the happiest countries in the world. I was eager for this lesson because it finally allowed me to double down on research and figure this out for myself.

Denmark is a kingdom located in the Netherlands there are only 5 million citizens 4 million of which live in the capital of Copenhagen. Denmark’s political structure consists of a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. Denmark has one of the highest tax brackets in the world which makes its welfare system one of the best. Education and Medicare are free for all residents.

What really fascinated me was the business culture. While in the United States it’s not uncommon to be confident and cocky. In Denmark, it is taboo to overshare and boost one’s success. They believe that there should be a common equality and that boasting one’s success can be demeaning to others or intimidate others, this is seen as a potential setback for future success. It is also frowned upon to make jokes at others expenses especially to demean women.

Danes do not promote a culture of hierarchy and as a result, in a meeting, everyone gets a handshake and only your name is given not a title. Danes traditionally dress down as to not promote hierarchy as well. A modest blazer or button up is appropriate. Women are welcomed in meetings in Denmark but still have a ways to go. Based on previous lessons women are more welcomed in business in Denmark than elsewhere. Women work high ranking positions and as a result, Denmark being a progressive country has responded by having daycare facilities in the office.

Denmark’s office structure is one America is slowly adopting. Denmark’s offices value a culture of rest and focus. Most of the offices in Copenhagen feature big windows, large cafeterias, libraries, gyms, recreational rooms, and daycares. Allowing people to de-stress and focus on innovation. This is drastically different than America’s fluorescent-lit cubicles and water coolers. Danes value vibrant innovation and equality.

My question is with a culture so focused on innovation and equality that doesn’t celebrate individual success isn’t that in itself stunting? If are afraid to share your ideas at the risk of being too confident that will not drive you to keep wanting to improve. That’s where the United States is the outlier. I don’t want to sound too political but in my opinion, the United States is unequal and one must work to attain greatness and innovation. We encourage one another to be better, be stronger, and to think bigger because doing so brings this country better innovation and brings the person a better life. Being confident and working to be the best is what the United States is all about. By being our best we benefit everybody and that’s what makes our country the best in the world. We should foster the innovative and creative spaces that the Danes have done so well, but we should also encourage them to not be afraid to shine and be better and not be afraid to be proud.  

 

 

References:

Business communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://businessculture.org/northern-europe/denmark-business-culture/business-communication/
Business Etiquette. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://businessculture.org/northern-europe/denmark-business-culture/denmarkbusiness-etiquette/
Mellish, K. X. (2018, July 10). Danish business culture – How to Work in Denmark. Retrieved from https://www.howtoliveindenmark.com/category/danish-business-culture/
Moran, S. V., MA, Moran, R. T., Ph. D., & Abramson, N. R., Ph. D. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences(Ninth ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
The Local. (2018, May 03). The dos and don’ts of Danish business etiquette. Retrieved from https://www.thelocal.dk/20180503/the-dos-and-donts-of-danish-business-etiquette

Individuality: Give and Take

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Unlike the other neighboring nations, Japan has a very individual culture. Ranking on Hofstede’s Insights as a 46, while this number is low compared to the United State’s 95  Japan values family and the people are loyal to the companies they work for something that can’t necessarily be said about the United States.

Japan is said to have a collectivist culture meaning that what’s done is done for the good of the group, not the individual. This dates back to the masculine paternal aspect of family’s who settled in Japan. “The most popular explanation for this is that Japanese society does not have an extended family system which forms a base of more collectivistic societies such as China and Korea. Japan has been a paternalistic society and the family name and asset was inherited from father to the eldest son. The younger siblings had to leave home and make their own living with their core families.” (2. Hofstede’s Insights) This collectivist idea is what we lack in America, sure we put family first and we try to do what benefits the group best but at the end of the day, we will do what brings food to our table. Which could also be seen as collectivist depending on how you look at it.

Japanese tend to have business loyalty, unlike in the United States where the average time spent at a company is decreasing every day. What makes this so surprising is when it is compared to the neighboring countries who like the United States have a tendency to spend a shorter time at companies.

While Japan is a very forward and progressive moving country by Asian Standards they still have a long way to go. In Japan, women are still struggling to gain titles of power in the workplace. Women are paid on average 30% less than their male cohorts. It is still expected that when a woman is married she will leave her job, or perform lower grade tasks. There are also significantly fewer women entrepreneurs than men as women struggle to find venture capital.

 

While Japan has many ideological values that we can inspire us to be better businessmen and women and leaders, hopefully, we can do the same for them. In the United States, women are able to perform better. We can adopt the Japanese values of putting family first, or at least, considering them more in business decisions. At the end of the day, equal rights and family are what is most important.  

 

References

  1. Moran, R. T., Ph. D., Abramson, N. R., Ph. D., & Moran, S. V., MA. (2014). Managing Cultural Differnces(Ninth ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
  2. Country Comparison. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/japan,the-usa/

3.Warburton, K. (n.d.). Women in Business in Japan. Retrieved from https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/japan/culture/women-in-business/

 

What Individualistic Qualities Contribute to Building a Global Super Power?

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A compression of China and India’s Individualism

When reading over Hofstede’s concept of Individualism for China and India I was not surprised to say but a little shocked to see the score of 20  and India to see 48. The scores before had been so close this was the first time no pun intended that they were more individual. Individual, in this case, means more collectivist vs. more independent cultures.

Chinas individualistic score of 20 represents a more collectivist culture. This comes as no surprise. China has been a global powerhouse for centuries dating back to their dynasties. They still are today and it’s because of this collectivist power. China is a modern day communist country, the citizens of China have little freedoms with modern luxuries like freedom on the internet being taken away daily. However at the risk of getting to political we will focus on broad subjects and comparisons.

India individualistic score of 48 puts it about the average of 45.27 lending to an ideal indecent culture. India is almost a free market economy minus power and railways. This allows people to create and sell their own goods without regulation. A vast difference from China where there is over regulation. India also has freedom of religion where the most popular religion is Hinduism, but citizens are free to practice any belief.

When researching these countries a question came to mind, with these two countries being so different how do they remain so powerful, which one is a better structure to ensure one is a global power player? One would think a hardworking collectivist culture as we see in China. But if that’s what’s best for the people? In India, individualism and freedom can also ensure power but is it too deregulated? The middle ground is the United States where many areas are regulated in the world of business but that’s it and we are still a global superpower but we are still very very young.

With all of that being said, our country still is growing and the USA is still very young. We look back on the history of these great nations to see what works best for the nation as a whole and what is best for those residing in it.

References

Country Comparison. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/india/

Zimmermann, K. A. (2017, July 20). Indian Culture: Traditions and Customs of India. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/28634-indian-culture.html

Chinese Culture, Tradition, and Customs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://elements.science.psu.edu/psu-pku/student-resources/resources-for-penn-state-students/chinese-culture-tradition-and-customs

Moran, R. T., Ph. D., Abramson, N. R., Ph. D., & Moran, S. V., MA. (2014). Managing Cultural Differnces(Ninth ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

 

Being Change Adaptive What North American and Latin American Business Could Learn From One Another

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Image result for Latin America

Celebrating Business What We Can Learn From Latin America

I have always been drawn to Latin American culture, a culture that puts people first celebrates family, and lives in the moment. A saying comes to mind that I learned back when I was younger that applies greatly to this mindset “work to live, don’t live to work”.

Latin American business people put people first, they see their business like people. They treat people as family and focus on making the best of every situation and seek out the best in others. While here in America we are taught to live to work, eat sleep and breathe business. This works in our favor of course but it costs us our life.

Latin America has adopted the ideals of southern European culture, that seeks to savor the moment, perform their best, and remember people are people and to treat them as such. In Brazil, it is ill form to speak negatively about another business in public, while in America it can be seen as a power move. In Argentina, it is expected that everyone to dress their best for meetings, men in a three-piece suit and women in a skirt and heels, however back here in the U.S. luxury athleisure and casual Fridays have turned into the normal business attire. Latin America still holds business a formal discourse, while in America we have taken a more casual and liberal stance, however, there is still much both cultures could learn from one another. Not all business operations are ideal in Latin America, in Argentina, it is extremely rare to see women in a senior position. This is because she is still expected to be at home with her children. In America, women have taken a seat in almost every high ranking office, from CEO of digital powerhouses like Yahoo to Seats in the nations highest courts of law.

The northern and southern European influence is still evident today in American and Latin America. There are ideals that we can adopt from one another. In America, we can adopt the familial respect for one another, and Brazil and Argentina could adopt a more modern perspective on women in senior positions.

There is still room for growth and ideas we should adopt from both cultures and we are beginning to do so. In America we need to learn not to take ourselves so seriously and remember what matters at the end of the day is family and each other. While in Latin America hopefully one day women will be taken more seriously and have a seat in the high offices.

References:

Lustig, N. (2017, July 19). 4 Lessons U.S. Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Latin American Startup Culture. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/297227

Warburton, K. (n.d.). Women in Business in Argentina. Retrieved from https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/argentina/culture/women-in-business/

Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.todaytranslations.com/doing-business-in-brazil

Dawson, F. (2014, July 31). Growing Entrepreneurship in Latin America. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/freddiedawson/2014/07/31/growing-entrepreneurship-in-latin-america/#308a17091af9

Shedding a Light on Miscommunication

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-preface names and companies have been changed for discretion-

When I was interning at the Shark Group for the second year my project from the first year was picked up by Daymond John to be his new business venture. I was very excited and was given the opportunity to come aboard and be a part of building the foundation for the new venture. I was offered the chance to build the website for the new venture. This new venture was in an industry that I wasn’t completely prepared for let’s say for the sake of the story it is the lighting industry. I was working with high profile people and a little nervous. However, my supervisor lets just call him Bill was a friend of mine from the summer before and was a mentor is a way to me. Bill has been in the lighting industry for decades. The lighting industry is a big deal, I decided to learn everything I could about the industry. I went to lighting events, bought lighting magazines, studied everything about being a lighting agent. The lighting industry is a completely different culture it’s dominated by men. Me being a young female intern I felt like I wasn’t going to be taken seriously. Especially coming in and pitching a website, I saw myself from their perspective a millennial girl who wants to help with tech- annoying. However, I was able to win them all over, for the first two months it was great. I was working directly with Bill on our Shark Lights initiative the website was sleek and everyone was happy.

   Until Bill introduced me to his marketing manager *Quincy. Quincy didn’t like me for whatever reason. I think he thought that I could be stepping into his territory, he would offensive listen to trap me in my lighting terminology or defensive listen. I would sit down with him to discuss the website and he would just keep his ideas coming. This was great I knew what direction to take, however, when he would leave to go back to Atlanta I would send him updates but it was clear he would never see them. I had to learn how to communicate with him. I did so by listening to what he said and taking the words he used -and these are just everyday words not even lighting jargon- and make my ideas sound like they were his. For example here’s a phone conversation:

Quincy: Okay Margot, for the slide that has our roster of lights I want it to be a black background with white overlay and have the Jordan light shown and then I want a link to the information. I want it to be like click, boom there’s the information.

Margot: That’s a great idea so let me just think this through again, so you want a matte black background with a glossy white underlay behind the Jordan light Tile with a button that says discover more when the users click it boom! It takes you to the roster for Jordan and gives you all of the information. Great!

 

That’s just an example but further, down the road, I began to pitch ideas with his voice and he would like them better.

Meanwhile, while all this was going on outside my internship. My internship was for a completely different division. The division understood that I was working outside, balancing school and planning my wedding that was only a few months away.

I let everyone know in advance that I had a bridal shower memorial day weekend and that I would be taking the week off to road trip to Saint Louis with my family.

I told Bill and Quincy I would be away for two weeks because finals were the week before. I told them I can be reached by phone and email but I won’t be working on the assignment because I wanted to be with my family and not stressed which I cleared with my division who knows Bill very well. They all thought it was reasonable.

 

Now, when I returned back to work following the bridal shower my mentor Sydney took me into her office and said “Margot, Bill is very confused as to why he hasn’t heard from you. I told him there has to be some mistake Margot is very professional and never leaves a loose thread.” I was shocked and scared, I love my job and never want to jeopardize it. I work hard to keep a reliable reputation and value a quick turnaround time as any PR girl would. “I told her, I’m just as confused, I have not heard from Bill and I told everyone I would be out for two weeks. I worked ahead and told them they can call and email. I haven’t heard anything since.” “Bill said he tried to call you and got no reply.” I then showed her my phone and it had no missed calls from him. She told me to be careful as he will be fierce in a meeting but that he likes me and just to address this issue. She told me to tell the truth and don’t hold anything back. The most important lesson I learned from her was and I was guilty of this was that as a woman I don’t ever want to let anyone down. I want to always present my work one time and do my best. I do that but if you can’t be upfront about it. That wasn’t the issue here though. The issue here was that there was miscommunication. We resolved the issue but I was nervous because  Bill is a high profile attorney and he was looking for pitfalls in my story. He even presented his phone. The day that he called me was when I was in rural Pennsylvania with my family so the call never came through. We resolved the issue and all was good. Until my last day before I left for my wedding.

 

   On my last day, I just wanted to make sure that Bill had all the files and information he needed for the website. I also was going to present him with my hours and ask for compensation of some sort for my time as he offered in the beginning. When we sat down I reminded him that I was working on this project outside of the internship. All work was done from home at night after school work. I told him I wanted to make sure it was the best and on par with Daymond’s brand. I had wracked up 2,000hrs. Bill was shocked, he said he had no idea I was working this hard and did not expect this level of work from me. This is where the cultural difference came into play. Bill was not familiar with the amount of work that went into a website. Every photo, color, font, etc. has to be cleared of copyright and has to be unique especially for what this brand is. I also had to write all the verbiage and create the logo. He was completely unaware because he doesn’t understand technology like I do. This is where we both failed together. He felt bad that I worked so hard and was scared of what my parents thought of it. I assured him my parents aren’t mad but they did ask me to ask for compensation because of my student loans.

 

   The moral of this story was to always communicate, communicate when there is a known culture barrier and don’t be afraid to ask for clarity. Bill should have asked for clarity on my hours and I should have tried harder to communicate just how detailed websites are.

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

I Dare You To Succeed This Semester!

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Hello, fellow classmates, my name is Margot Harvath-Fletcher and I am currently residing in the quaint coastal New England town of Marblehead Massachusetts. I am majoring in Public Relations and Strategic Communication. This past summer I married my husband in beautiful Bar Harbor, Maine.

My professional life currently consists of finishing up school primarily but I also am an executive personal branding consultant for a firm in New York City but am working remotely this semester.  Prior to that, I interned for the Shark Group which is a division of the television show Shark Tank. I interned for over two years working in the speaking division which really is the head of the business for Daymond John. While there I really gained insight into his leadership skills and how he was able to turn $20 into a $2 billion dollar brand just by taking initiative and setting goals. With that being said my long-term goals are to launch my own business which I am in the early stages of doing.

My leadership experience is long and I am proud to say that. It began when I was growing up being the oldest in my family made me a natural leader. When I got older I attended a leadership camp named Camp Miniwanca on the shores of Lake Michigan where you still do the traditional camp activities but it teaches children the fundamentals of leadership and confidence.

Following that, I became a camp counselor for various camps over the summers. When I moved to New York City I taught sailing at the Manhattan Yacht club for two years where I was a counselor then worked my way up to being the head of the youth program.

When I first arrived at Penn State ( I was originally at the University Park Campus) I enrolled in their outdoor orientation program called URSA which focuses on leadership and urban renewal and volunteering. It probably is one of the very moments from college I treasure the most, not only did it introduce to the RPTM and OLEAD courses which are my favorites but it also introduced me to like-minded individuals who value friendships and leadership values.

My favorite leadership quote stems from my summers at Camp Miniwanca:

“My own self, at my very best, all the time.” -William H. Danforth who is the founder of the camp. He also wrote a book titled I Dare You which I highly recommend reading it’s very short and talks about the foursquare approach to leadership and personal development.

A fun fact about me, I have lived in 10 states those being: Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Arkansas, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, and Massachusettes.

I am very happy to be in this course and to meet you all virtually. I wish you nothing but success.

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