Assignment # 3: History, Globalization and Values-based Leadership

Discussion Questions:

 You have been made a manager in Sweden, known for its Institutional Collectivism. What
incentives and reward structures would you use to motivate your employees?

Institutional Collectivism which is defined as: The degree to which organizational and societal
institutional practices encourage and reward (and should encourage and reward) collective
distribution of resources and collective action.

Companies that have a collectivist work culture focus on the needs of the group rather than
focusing on the needs of individual employees. Collectivist cultures also put more emphasis on
common goals, which means they work together to achieve goals that help the community. A
collectivist group usually makes decisions together, and they choose the option that best
supports the community.

There are many great ways to provide team-based rewards and it is highly important for a
company to implement such reward systems to boost team performance and engagement. If I,
will choose a reward / incentive system to give my team, it will be an incentive pay but focuses
more on profit-sharing. The idea of this profit-sharing system is to encourage employees to
maximize profits since they know they're going to get a share/ percentage of the accumulated
amount/profit. Profit-sharing can help enforce the spirit of teamwork in achieving the
organization's goal.

Another incentive system is goal- based reward. These can be either short-term or long-term
goals, with a preset goal in a pre-determined time. This is usually effective because pay-out is
closer once the goal is reached. Goal-based reward programs are highly effective in encouraging
teamwork, motivation, and effort.

 Your company has twelve branches in United States and will be opening its first branch in Brazil.
Your company prides itself on its self-managed teams. Will you keep this policy in the new
country? Why or why not?

Self-managed work team is a small group of employees who take full responsibility for
delivering a service or product through peer collaboration without a manager’s guidance. Self-
directed teams take full ownership and responsibility to drive business results for a particular
process. Unlike an operational team, most self-managed teams don’t have a hierarchy. Instead,
self-design teams have more autonomy over their processes and roles within the bounds of what
team members agree is needed to achieve agreed upon team outcomes.
 Shifting to self-managed teams isn’t easy. But, with time and commitment, you can create a
strong, productive team that offers unique benefits for your company.

For this scenario, I will keep the same policy even in another country as this proves to be
effective way of management, putting up 12 companies/ branches with the same style of
running is a proof. Although there will be unique leadership challenges, it also offers leadership
opportunities and skill development because a self-managed team also has more discretion over
decision-making within their process and how the entire team is managed.

Teams often develop more effective decision-making practices that combine considering more
viewpoints, more natural collaboration, and give-and-take, and moving toward action to remove
obstacles and stay focused on the shared outcomes. This is a great way to expand employees’
experience and allow them to try out and master new capabilities through rotating roles and
learning from other teammates.

 You’re a manager in Japan, and you’ve just discovered that a team leader under your supervision
has made a mistake that will result in a quality problem? How will you handle this mistake?

Quality problems are organizational issues that lead to the production and delivery of low
quality products and services. This includes gaps processes, training, systems, technology, and
procedures that cause regular and continued quality failures.

Encourage open communication and a blame-free environment, where team members can
report errors without fear. Approach the employee who has made a mistake, start by being
curious about it. Ask questions about what happened and what their perspective is on the
situation. Use active listening skills when speaking to team members, as it will let them know
that you are paying attention. Identify the root cause of the mistake, as the manager I will work
with the team leader to decipher the best possible and most effective sustainable corrective
action. Implement corrective action to address the issue. Once implemented, monitor the action
plan to check if the mistake is prevented or persist.

 You work in Hongkong for a Swiss-owned firm. The Swiss are known for their high uncertainty
avoidance. What differences might you expect to see from your Swiss bosses compared with
your Hongkong employees?

Uncertainty avoidance is a cross-cultural phenomenon that describes how different cultures or

societies react to and tolerate uncertainties. Countries or companies that have a high degree of
uncertainty avoidance develop and implement rules or laws driven towards sustainable
development and prevention of uncertainty. Individuals or countries with high uncertainty
avoidance come up with effective measures and ideas to combat or reduce the occurrence of
the unknown and make changes and step by step by planning to mitigate uncertainty.

The differences that I might expect from high uncertainty avoidance culture versus low
uncertainty avoidance culture are as follows:

 HIGH: Structure, rules, expertise.

 Security (avoiding the unfamiliar). Rather than taking risks, people prefer to stick to what they
know already.
 Hectic. “Life” is being perceived as hectic and stress full. Pretty much from all angles.
 Emotions/passion.
  LOW: Few rules, and little structure.
 Entrepreneurial. Starting your own business is seen as very normal. The same goes for risk-
taking (no guts, no glory!).
 Stress-free. People experience “life” as being relatively stress-free.
 Cool, calm & collected.
 People of Hong Kong can be flexible with rules and laws based on their analysis of the actual
situation. People here are comfortable with uncertainty, are adaptable, and entrepreneurial.

Conclusion:

Recognizing these cultural variations can lead to better relationships, more effective decision-making,
and increased success in global markets, ultimately fostering a more culturally sensitive and globally
competitive business environment. Assessing these dimensions, businesses can adapt their strategies,
communication, and management styles when operating in diverse cultural contexts. The cultural
dimensions model can improve business communications in various settings, whether operating in one’s
own country or internationally.