MODULE 1 PAPER 1

OGL – 350

Summer A Semester

24 May 2019

Erik Rubbelke

Arizona State University

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Module 1 Paper

Part I

This week’s readings, audiovisual presentations, and enrichment activities such as the

cultural IQ pre-test and pie chart were eye opening. While I feel as though I did learn a few

things, I think the most significant reaction I had to this week’s tasks was the perspective and

self-realization I gained of myself as it comes to diversity.

I had no idea that so much study had been conducted already on cultural diversity, and

have previously failed to assume cultural diversity in a work place is everywhere, and should be

utilized to the organization’s advantage rather than overlooked. Social identity resourcing, the

process of taking cultural identities of an organization’s employees and turning these identities in

to additional assets at the disposal of the organization (Creary, 2009). This concept has eluded

me throughout my years managing personnel. While I do sometimes utilize the backgrounds of

others to my advantage, I have never done the critical thinking to realize that what I am really

doing or social identity resourcing. Having worked overseas for years at a protecting our

nation’s embassies in various countries of various cultures, I have utilized the cultural diversity

of my team to my advantage on a moment’s whim many times. However, from here on I will

ensure I set aside some time to critically assess how my subordinate’s cultural identity may be

useful in given scenarios, to better utilize their backgrounds to my advantage.

Additionally, I learned that shared leadership is an excellent idea when it comes to

managing a culturally diverse team. Shared leadership prevents individuals from seeing

leadership as a quality or responsibility that rests with just one person, and forces team members

to get on the same page and assume responsibility while working with one another to accomplish

the task at hand without fighting over differences which could be cause due to cultural diversity
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(Gotsis & Grimani, 2016). This concept is intriguing to me. As a Marine leader I deal with

individuals from all over the globe regularly. While my typical subordinate is from the United

States, the diversity of the unit is vast, as we have members from all 50 states. Believe it or not,

this does at times cause issues amongst the younger individuals, as they have not had experience

with many who do not share the same values, political opinions, etc. I often attempt to delegate

my authority and implement shared leadership because it is a simple way to delegate authority

and get things done while providing others the ability to grow professionally and lead. Though I

currently practice shared leadership where possible, I did not ever think of it as a way to more

effectively manage a culturally diverse team over any other style of leadership.

I also learned about the three reasons why diversity management needs to be

implemented within an organization, and sooner rather than later. The three reasons lain out in

our readings this week 1) Diversity is not going away, 2) It is the right thing to do, and 3) It

makes good business sense (Barak, 2014). These are significant to note for any leader today

that may manage a diverse workforce. As time goes on, countries continue become more

culturally diverse due to simplified travel, and business is conducted globally, to include over the

internet, more than ever. For this reason, we must understand that diversity is not going away,

and we must adapt to it. Additionally, adapting to the diversity in our organization is the right

thing to do, because it enables the organization to meet its obligation to promote social justice

through its policies. Last, implementing diversity management can potentially give the

organization an edge over competitors in global market, specifically when competitors fail to

implement diversity management (Barak, 2014).

For me personally, these readings opened my eyes to the fact that I already implement

some of this diversity management, but that I should refine my practices. By giving a few
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moments to analyze the diversity of my team, I will be better equipped to complete tasks

effectively and manage my personnel in a way that achieves the mission accomplishment I

require of them while meeting their expectations of how they should be treated and utilized by

organizational leadership.

In this week’s Enrichment activity, we created a pie chart which displays traits and

organizational affiliations that I find significant to self-concept. Having completed this, I realize

that I value work ethic, mental abilities, and dependability significantly more than work

experience, ambition, the ability to lead, or physical abilities. I Found this interesting because as

a Marine I am required to stay in good physical shape, and I demand the same of those around

me. However, I frequently find that those in the best shape are not the most effective leaders of

the most proficient when it comes to mission accomplishment, despite what their personal

appearance may lead you to believe. This also made me realize that while I value having

ambitious employees, those without the work ethic to actually accomplish their goals are simply

living in the clouds and often detract from unit readiness.

We also conducted a cultural IQ pre-test this week. My overall score was 110, leading

me to believe that I am culturally intelligent though I still have room to improve. Having spent

many years living overseas in other countries, I believe that I am culturally intelligent, and hope

that this score is not simply a sign that I am naïve and completely over estimate my own cultural

intelligence. I expect that as this course continues on, I will learn more, and hopefully determine

whether I am correct about my cultural intelligence or not. My strengths are in my

comfortability adapting to new cultures, and that I have no problem learning about them or

respecting them while abroad. My weakness is in the understanding of the arts and languages of
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other cultures, as these things are often slow to come to me and I make little to no effort to

appreciate arts.

All of these ideas and self-realizations relate to organizational considerations, as diversity

is not going away and deserves to be studied and respected in order to achieve maximum

performance of any company. Employees are more diverse each and every day during these

times, and the study and implementation of effective diversity leadership is essential to running

things well.

Part II

For part II of this paper I will be describing my family as I see it viewed through the lens

of the Hofstede Cultural Value Model. Due to health and financial issues, I have moved my

mother and father in with my wife and I, and for that reason, there are some difference views but

for the most part we are in line with one another in the elements of the Hofstede Model.

When it comes to collectivism, my family is more individualist, as relationships are often

based on exchange and personal goals trump those of the group. Additionally, individuals are

treated with equality regardless of position in the family, though there is an appreciation for the

uniqueness of each individual.

When considering the power distance element of the Hofstede Model, my family has a

lower power distance. There is almost no interest in status or age and a complete focus on power

sharing. Without each one of us doing our part, this living situation would not work at all, and

therefore there is a heavy reliance on team participation.

My family has a difference as it pertains to the uncertainty avoidance. My wife and I

make every effort to control every circumstance and best influence the future that we can, as a

tight culture would. My parents on the other hand are more focused on the glory days and do not
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require complete truths or explicit rules, they live a freer flowing lifestyle and accept more risk,

which is part of how they ended up living in my house in their sixties. They are a loose culture.

I was surprised to find I view my family on the femininity side of the Hofstede Model.

Gender roles are not really applicable in our household, as we all do dishes, cook, and clean. As

of now I am the only one working, but my wife will begin working to bring money home as well

once her work permit is received. Our family is more egalitarian with loose gender roles, and

due to the health issues of my parents we spend a lot of time focusing on nurturing relationships.

Additionally, we live a modest life because it is what we can afford in this situation, and we

maintain humility. For us, it is all about quality vs quantity.

Last, and probably where my wife and I differ most from my parents is time orientation.

My wife and I focus heavily on the future. We invest, we attempt to control every aspect of the

future as best we can from the present. We value persistence, thrift, and humility. We recycle

and pick up trash on the streets, volunteer, and donate money where we can in order to ensure

that others and future generations are able to enjoy this planet just as we do. My parents on the

other hand feel that the world is already ruined and that their best days are behind them. They

put very little effort in to planning for the future probably because they feel is has already failed

them, and they do not show much concern for future generations, but focus solely on themselves.