Web Poster 5 - Effective Leadership in Organizations and Cultures

My department in about 60% Chinese and the remainder are from various backgrounds.  My current boss seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that not everyone in our department is Chinese.  She talks in Chinese and forces everyone to go to Chinese restaurants for team lunches, etc.  She's extremely smart and nice, but tries to micro-manage us and does not give us much freedom to make our own decisions.  I can see that most of the Chinese employees seem to get along with her but everyone else hates her.  It's unfortunate because she does make an effort and I often wonder if it's because she has not adapted herself to diversity of our group.  David specifically addresses this in his web poster and his research does indicate that the Chinese culture does use more of a transactional approach.  Surely if my boss adapted herself more to the American culture and tried to use transformational leadership she would be more successful with non-Asian employees.

I found this web poster to be extremely informative and thorough.  I thought the section on the four leadership approaches were especially interesting.  I think situational leadership is one of the most difficult approaches for a manager.  It seems to me like this approach should be the most successful but research indicated that it doesn't have a significant effect on team performance.  

Web Poster 4 - Organizational Communication and Cultural Change

Violet's web poster discusses the importance of an organization's culture and understanding the different aspects before attempting to make any cultural changes.  An organization's success is important to their success.  Too often organizations try to make cultural changes without proper procedures and implementation and are faced with resistance.  In her web poster, Violet discusses how sharing or telling a story can be an effective strategy to change a culture.  I found this to be interesting.  I also agree that leadership is one of the most important factors in a successful cultural change effort.  Surveys and interviews are a good way for organizations to understand how their employees feel.  I think when making any change, organizations should make an effort to understand how their employees currently feel and use effective leaders to implement the change.  Of course this is not always easy, as Violet explains in her web poster, change is usually resisted.

Web Poster 3 - The Effects of Corporate Culture on Front-Line Employees

I think this topic is especially important because the front line employee is who the customer interacts with.  The impression the customer takes away can make a big impact on whether the customer will return, especially in retail.  I can think of several instances where I didn't buy an item or started shopping somewhere else because of poor customer service.  It's the organization's responsibility to ensure that their front line employees represent the organization in an appropriate manner.  As Charlemagne points out in the web poster, corporate culture and employee satisfaction impacts how the employee represents the company.  I don't think companies give enough importance to this as poor customer service exists in every organization. Although I'm not sure that organizations are punished enough for their poor customer service, especially nowadays.  With technology, people are being replaced with automated processes.  The most frustrating is calling a customer service representative and trying to communicate with an automated machine.  

The web poster also discussed how decisions taken at the top affect front line employees.   Additionally the web poster discusses how reputation is important and can make or break the success of the organization.  I thought the ideas for future research were also well thought out and the links were very informative.

Web Poster 2 - The Effect of Gender on Verbal and Non-Verbal Communications in the Work Place

I was especially interested in this web poster because I have had experiences working with both male and female managers. Some of the current research findings were interesting such as: women interrupt and talk less. In my experience, I had found this to be the opposite. I also never realized that women talk more about personal topics - this is definitely something to keep in mind when conversing with the opposite gender. In the classic research section - it was interesting to learn that because of their communication styles, men are more likely to suffer from information overload. I think overall, this web poster indicated that both the genders communicate very differently and that their styles are opposite in nature - no surprise! The layout of the web poster clearly separated each topic and made it easy to read. There were references to a lot of sources so it definitely included a wide variety of research. I also thought the website, 6 ways to improve your nonverbal communication, was useful as well. I never knew how important nonverbal communication (such as: posture, eye contact, etc.) was in the workplace, and this web poster really highlighted how we should all be aware of our nonverbal cues.

Web Poster 1 - Cross-cultural Communication Issues in USA and India Organizations

This web poster by Kartik brings forth some really important issues in cross cultural communication between the U.S. and India.  The introduction was especially catchy as it showed a picture of a handshake and provided possible ways of interpreting a handshake.  I never thought about and I had always thought a handshake was just a handshake - but as I learned from the web poster, it can mean much more.  The discussion on the differences between individualist and collectivist cultures was especially interesting and useful.  With all the jobs that are being outsourced to India, this web poster is especially relevant to the business world today.  Kartik's web poster has increased my awareness of the differences between the American and Indian cultures.  A successful manager must be able to understand and adapt as well as manage conflict in these cultures.

I thought Kartik's web poster also provided interesting suggestions for further research.  The fact that Kartik already has experience in both cultures makes this web poster stronger.  I really enjoyed reading this poster and I learned a lot from it.

11.5 How to get to the top

The way to the top should be through hard work, talent, etc. , but this not always the case.  Sometimes I look at people at the top and wonder how they even got there.  It seems a lot of people at the top of the organizational hierarchy are there because of their connections.  Some of the most brilliant and capable people never make it to the top because they do not know the right people.  A lot of people in leader roles are not qualified and make it to the top easily because they know or are related to someone important.  This is unfortunate for organizations and does not benefit them in anyway.  I also see a lot of companies that promote on the basis of seniority.  This does nothing to motivate employees either.  Just because someone is more senior does not necessarily mean that they are more qualified for the promotion.  For this reason, companies should have and enforce clear guidelines for promoting that are based on qualifications and capabilities.

11.4 Gender differences in management styles

I have worked for both female bosses and male bosses, and I have to say so far working for a male boss has been a much better experience. Being a female myself, I hate to feel this way, but it seems to be true. I have talked to many of my friends about this and they all agree. It seems that female managers are more controlling and there's more politics involved. With the male boss, everything was little more relaxed and open. My reasoning for this is that in male dominated organizations, women sometimes feel the need to try and "show their power & authority" by micro-managing. Although I completely understand that this could just be my experience and that this doesn't apply to everyone.