China is the world’s most populated country in the world, accounting for 19% of the world’s population, with more than 1.36 billion people (Pennsylvania State University, 2018). An important point for a global leader is that China’s economy continues to grow at an exponential rate and is poised to pass the United States from an economic standpoint by the year of 2020 (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014). For this reason, it is very important for leaders to understand cultural differences that exist in China as it is highly likely that one will need to develop business relationships with China. Guanxi is a Chinese term that essentially means social networking and is considered by many to be the most important business practice in China (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014) and it is crucial for a global leader to understand what this means and how one can develop such relationships to succeed in China.

A key to the success of guanxi is the development of trust and strong personal relationships. It is important to show long-term reliability and competence. Much of the business relationships with guanxi involves personal and mutual trust. Two ways that one can begin to develop these relationships in China is with gift-giving and hosting dinners (“What is Guanxi?”). In China it is imperative that one spends time outside of formal business meetings with business counterparts. This time can include tea sessions and dinner banquets (Goh & Sullivan, 2011).

Guanxi plays a far more important role in China than it does in the United States. A review of Hofestede’s dimensions of culture (Pennsylvania State University, 2018) points to the fact that a U.S. leader will likely need to spend time understanding guanxi as it relates to the dimension of individualism. China scores very low (20) in this dimension while the United States scores very high (91). This means that a U.S. leader is generally individualist and more experienced with individualist business counterparts while the Chinese are a collectivist culture where the group needs are typically more important than the individual. Guanxi lends itself such that both parties have to feel that they share the same goals and will receive the mutual benefits from the business relationship. A U.S. global leader will have to be flexible and understand the importance of this significant cultural distance in China.

China continues to grow from both a population and economic standpoint and the likelihood that any leader will conduct business with a Chinese firm grows every day. A global leader must understand the importance of guanxi as well as how to develop guanxi if one is to succeed in business with China. Guanxi has been developed over time in order for the Chinese to have a means of ensuring trust among themselves in both personal and business matters (Goh & Sullivan, 2011). Networking is important in most cultures but is of utmost importance in Chinese culture. Business relationships can only be successful in China if they are built and cultivated on personal and mutual trust.

References

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

Pennsylvania State University (2018). Leadership in Global Context: OLEAD 410. Lesson 10: Asia: Focus on China and India, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University.

What is Guanxi? Retrieved from http://www.worldlearnerchinese.com/content/what-guanxi.

Goh, A. & Sullivan, M. (2011, February 24). The Most Misunderstood Business Concept in China. Businessinsider.com. Retrieved from www.businessinsider.com/the-most-misunderstood-business-concept-in-china-2011-2.

 

 

Mexico may receive negative U.S. media attention at times, but its economy is booming and continues to be a growing consumer market for United States exporters (Li, 2012). A U.S. leader will continue to have more and more opportunities across the world with the expanding global economy. Mexico presents many opportunities for U.S. leaders as global supply chains have increased between the United States and there has been a boom in manufacturing along the border (Li, 2012). However, a U.S. leader will not be able to successfully lead in another country and culture without taking the time to understand the differences between cultures with respect to power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, long-term orientation and indulgence.
There are many reasons why a U.S. leader in today’s global economy may have opportunities to benefit from leadership ventures in Mexico. First, the close proximity as well as free trade agreements means that Mexico is a top choice for many U.S.-based businesses to expand their market share (Nicholson, 2014). Another reason why Mexico is a big opportunity for a U.S. leader is that it is one of the top growing market places in the global economy. In 2014, Mexico ranked #16 on Bloomberg’s list of the Top 20 Emerging Markets (Nicholson, 2014). A third reason why a leader in the U.S. may work with Mexico is that Mexico is the U.S.’s third largest trading partner and the second largest goods export market (Nicholson, 2014) which equaled $500 billion in goods and services traded in 2011. From a forward-looking perspective, Mexico’s social media population is the fourth fastest growing and its middle-class increased 17% between the years of 2000 and 2010. These two factors paint a positive picture for solid growth in the huge eCommerce business (Nicholson, 2014).

While Mexico is the United States’ neighbor directly to the south, it has many cultural similarities with Central and South America and a U.S. leader must be aware of several cultural differences in order to be successful in Mexico. A review of Hofstede’s six dimensions of culture with regards to Mexico shows a global leader how to best make a positive impact in this culture. Mexico has a high power distance which means that a leader should not express egalitarian values (Pennsylvania State University, 2018). A high uncertainty avoidance in the culture of Mexico means that rules, laws and processes are a must for a global leader to ensure that unclear or ambiguous situations do not arise (Pennsylvania State University, 2018). Individualism is low in Mexico when compared to the United States and therefore a U.S. leader must be aware that Mexican culture lends to the trend that most workers prefer to work in groups to benefit everyone (Pennsylvania State University, 2018). Masculinity is high which means that a global leader in Mexico define clear roles for men and women. Long-term orientation is below average in Mexico and therefore a global leader should spend time defining clear short-term goals which should roll up to focus on the long-term goals (Pennsylvania State University, 2018). The final cultural dimension is indulgence and Mexico’s culture scores very high in this area. A global leader would benefit from motivating followers through use of parties and celebrations.

Mexico’s economy is growing and there are other factors that lend to an increasingly larger market share opportunity for organizations outside of the country. The United States will continue to seek opportunities in Mexico and therefore leadership will be necessary to deliver results. While Hofstede’s six dimensions of culture and the scores associated with them identify differences between groups and are a culture trend, they are a powerful tool for a global leader to understand those cultural trends and how to lead and interact with followers within that culture. It is important that U.S. leaders take the time to understand these cultural differences should these leadership opportunities arise.

References

Pennsylvania State University (2018). Leadership in Global Context: OLEAD 410. Lesson 9: Central America and Mexico, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University.

Li, H. (2012, February 20). Doing Business in Mexico: Cultural Differences to Watch for. Ibtimes.com. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/doing-business-mexico-culture-differences-watch-413594.

Nicholson, C. (2014, April 10). Global Marketing Spotlight: Mexico. Lingualinx.com. Retrieved from https://lingualinx.com/blog/global-marketing-spotlight-mexico/.

 

The Importance of Synergy in Teams

            Teamwork is an important aspect to the success of any team, including organizational teams and sports teams. A leader can foster an environment of teamwork by promoting a culture of synergy within that team. The concept of synergy can be summarized by the physics concept of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (Federer, 2013). A collaborating team will likely produce stronger results than any individual and therefore creating synergy within a team is a critical leadership role. Under strong leadership, a team with synergy can develop into one that can execute flawlessly and drive results. On the other hand, a lack of synergy can show that the most talented individual will not deliver results due to a culture of discord, turnover, poor results and increasing disharmony. This year the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association are a very good example of what a lack of synergy can do to a team and its results.

 

At the end of January, the Cleveland Cavaliers had lost 10 of its last 15 games after competing for the championship last season. The team includes the best player in the NBA in LeBron James but made numerous changes to the roster since playing in the championship last season. This new team clearly lacks synergy and many symptoms have been brought to the forefront that show a lack of trust, respect, communication, passion and commitment within the team. In the month of January, grievances were aired privately and publicly with team members questioning the efforts of each other including a finger-pointing session (Berger, 2018). A new member of the team said in January “We’ve got to communicate better, we’ve got to have each other’s backs. We’ve got to trust each other on both ends of the floor. And as you can tell, that trust is not there yet” (Berger, 2018). This lack of synergy quickly turned a championship contending team into a losing team that is trending on a downward spiral.

 

There are three important ways that a leader in the Cavaliers example could have done a better job in creating synergy within the team. These include promoting teamwork, providing resources to encourage strong communication and allowing for the open discussion of ideas between the members of the team (Pennsylvania State University, 2018). Shackleton’s way of forging a united and loyal team is one way that a leader could promote teamwork. This way includes keeping the door open to everyone at all times, being fair and impartial, leading by example and having regular meetings in order to build group loyalty (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014).   A leader can provide better resources to encourage strong communication by holding structured, scheduled open forums in which team members communicate openly and honestly with each other to deter the impact of poor communication resulting in the grievances that were aired publicly this season with the Cavaliers. Finally, creating synergy could have been driven by allowing for the open discussion of ideas between the team members. While the leadership team with the Cavaliers includes managers, coaches and the best players, the team would have benefited from collaborating with all team members on ideas and perspectives as it likely encouraged passivity from those individuals who were not involved in communication and problem-solving (Federer, 2013).

 

Synergy is the combined action that takes place when different individuals collaborate for one common cause that improves results by the sharing of perceptions, insights and knowledge (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014). A leader who promotes a culture of synergy can drive teamwork and improved results. The Cleveland Cavaliers performed like a working group in January rather than a high-performing team. A working group consists of team members each doing his or her best while a high-performing team consists of team members who deliver excellent results through a high level of commitment to the organization, each other and the responsibilities of the team (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014). In order to drive synergy and improve results, the Cleveland Cavaliers would have benefited from promoting teamwork, providing resources to encourage strong communication and allowing for the open discussion of ideas between the members of the team (Pennsylvania State University, 2018).

 

References

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

 

Pennsylvania State University (2018). Leadership in Global Context: OLEAD 410. Lesson 6: Cultural Synergy, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University.

 

Federer, D. (2013, December 6). How to build team synergy. Businessobserverfl.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018 from https://www.businessobserverfl.com/section/detail/how-to-build-team-synergy/.

 

Berger, K. (2018, January 30). Cav’s Front Office Mistakes Pushing LeBron and Co. to Breaking Point. Bleacherreport.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018 from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2756488-cavs-front-office-mistakes-pushing-lebron-and-co-to-breaking-point.

 

Hello Everyone!

My name is Rob Davenport and I am currently in a retail leadership role as a District Manager with Tractor Supply Company.  I am from and live in the Harrisburg, PA area which is in southeastern PA.  A long-term goal that I have is to find a leadership role in which I can do more to help others, such as with a non-profit organization.  I have held retail leadership roles for the past 14 years.  My favorite hobby is distance running and I plan on running a marathon later this year.

I look forward to learning from all of you this semester!