KENNETH C HOLMES
STRATEGIC HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
PROFESSOR: JAMES LANE
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
PHASE 2: DISCUSSION BOARD
AGC’S LEADERSHIP STYLES AND THEIR EFFECTS
Evaluation of the AGC’s current culture:
Let us start with who AGC is. Atlantis Global Corporation or (AGC) is the global leading
manufacturer of electronic circuit boards for high-definition television screens. They are based
out of the Mid-West United States, and have three subsidiaries in Asia (subsidiary A), Africa
(subsidiary B), and South America (subsidiary C). AGC management has a mix of management
styles. Starting with the CEO John Dawson, he is an autocrat who takes full responsibility for all
decision making with no regard for employee ideas or suggestions. He is incredibly uninspiring
and provides no motivation for employees at any level to understand and fulfill AGC’s mission.
Under his control, the corporate climate is negative, detrimental for all staff, and because of that,
employees are leaving in large numbers. Shawn Williams follows a democratic style allowing for
employee input, allowing them to be a part of the process and solution (N.A., 2013).
The first issue is the clash of management ideologies. Since the CEO is calling the shots,
AGC’s current corporate culture is the Process Culture. In this culture, employees adhere to the
processes and procedures of the organization. Feedback and performance reviews do not matter
much, and the employees abide by the rules and regulations, and work according to the
ideologies of the workplace. This style is common in government organizations (N.A., 2013). As
long as John Dawson is calling the shots, Shawn will not be able to affect any change, unless he
can change their perspective and institute a cultural overhaul. The current style has created an
unfortunate situation. AGC top management has run the company only with regard to the bottom
line, and no regard for factors affecting business or personnel, particularly overseas. AGC is
potentially losing their top position as circuit board manufacturer because of the corporate
climate. Their subsidiary leadership has continually cited issues with retaining current employees
and attracting new employees. There are issues with the absence of cultural awareness and
respect, employee input, high employee dissatisfaction, and major losses of skilled personnel to
the competition.
Components of the culture needing change:
On this matter there are many issues to address. AGC board members need to change the
corporate culture and adopt a management style that will encourage AGC’s growth, and continue
their global position. On this issue AGC needs to adapt the Academy Culture, which is
commonly used in fields with highly-skilled employees. Under this culture: roles and
responsibilities are delegated based on an employee’s background, education and work
experience; education is taken seriously, and ensured by management to continually upgrade the
skills and knowledge of all employees to improve professional competency; and employees are
encourages to stay and grow as human capital assets. This culture is commonly used with
educational institutions, universities and hospitals (N.A., 2013).
AGC needs to: understand and account for cultural differences in all their divisions;
understand and accept that employee understanding of the company vision, mission and
participation makes employee’s part of the process and solution; they need to remove the
corporate glass ceiling and encourage diversity in the management team, encouraging the
promotion and advancement of women and men from all cultural backgrounds; educate their
management staff in regards to cultural awareness and respect for those differences; establish an
employee education program to continually update employee skills, and keep up with
advancements in technology. There is one simple reason for all of these changes, it will
encourage their diversity on a global scale, make their employees part of the solution, and help
AGC maintain, and secure the educated, highly-skilled talent they need.
Impact of the current leadership style on AGC:
The current leadership style has had major impact on AGC. The mindset of the board has
established the same game plan and policy across their global structure. The board has
established a policy where employees have no input or understanding of AGC’s mission, they
have no understanding of cultural awareness or respect, and they do not offer any continuing
education to keep their employees up-to-date with technological changes. As a result they have
alienated their employees, and they are leaving in large numbers to work for their competitors.
This alienation has created a negative mindset on the entire staff. As a result, there is a real risk
of AGC losing their top position as circuit board manufacturer.
Problems associated with voids in global cultural awareness:
Many companies conduct business on an international basis, these transactions make
economic sense, and are essential in today’s global market. While these relationships are
profitable when successful, they depend on a company being able to understand and apply
international, cultural differences. Managers not only need to understand cultural differences,
they also need to actively participate in cross-cultural training to acquire the knowledge and
skills to be the cultural liaison. Businesses and managers are finding international cultural
intelligence and competence more important than ever to succeed in today’s global economy
(N.A., 2015).
Failure to identify cultural issues and take
action can lead to culture shock, which includes:
feelings of isolation, being worried and anxious,
reduced job performance and high nervous energy
and helplessness. Firms that do not address and
respect cultural differences will have difficulty
communicating, managing conflict and
misunderstandings, creating leverage and cultural
compatibility, developing relationships, building
credibility and trust with clients. In a nut shell,
discouraging culture creates a situation with no
shared values, lack of trust, a blame culture, puts the
focus on problems instead of opportunities, no
celebration of diversity, non-tolerance for failure,
and loss of confidence in leadership and the
management system (Bibikova, 2015).
There are many common practices that must be understood. For example: eye contact in
the USA is an easy way to connect with people, and indicate straightforwardness and honesty; in
Arab culture it is considered respectful, and too little as disrespectful; English culture views it as
respectful, but too much makes one feel uncomfortable; and in South Asia it is generally
considered aggressive and rude. In the Arab world it is disrespectful to show the soles of your
shoes. In India it must be understood you never serve beef at a gathering, because cattle are
highly regarded and considered sacred. In Arab, Asia and Latin American countries building a
relationship is a prerequisite for business transactions. It often requires lengthy meals with long
discussions about non-professional topics to establish their trust and build the relationship
(Bibikova, 2015).
Having indicated the ramifications of cultural voids, it is also important to state the
ramifications of combining cultures. While workplace culture is important for maintaining a
healthy, positive, and happy employee environment, creating better employee relations, and
greater productivity, issues will still arise. It is important that leaders be aware of, are able to
handle them, and address those issues before they become a problem. Cultural differences can
potentially hamper an employee’s sense of togetherness and belonging, and complicate effective
communication. Religion can also create issues. Some religions require a specific manner of
dress or particular cultural garb, and then there is open discussion about religious differences.
Both can create cultural division and rifts in the workplace. There are also cultures that simply
come across like they think they are superior, they may or may not realize it, but their attitude
can create conflict. Conflict resolution can also be difficult, cultural differences may not be the
problem, it can be the communication barriers that make resolution complicated (Lewis, 2015).
It is important to understand that many people have loved ones who are serving or have
served in the military, religious and cultural issues can stir up attitudes, memories and traumas
that can create problems in the workplace. Those very same cultural differences can also create
political differences and issues in the workplace. I have had some experiences with cultural
differences. One situation involved an East Indian woman who worked in the office. She used a
woodsy herbal hair oil that made everyone in the office nauseas, she was asked several times to
not use the product on the job, but she refused. Within two weeks the office manager fired her
for non-compliance. They did not want to, but she made everyone sick. When I sold shoes at
Dillards Department Store, I worked with an older woman from Spain who thought she was
better than everyone else. You could not direct or correct her without her spewing “I don’t need
this job, my husband make plenty of money, and I am better than you”. Thankfully I quit that job
to be a waiter, I could not deal with their personality disorders anymore. When I was a waiter, I
had several experiences waiting on a grown men from Nigeria, talk about a superiority complex,
in each case these men thought the world of themselves.
Challenges AGC faces:
The challenges AGC faces regarding their lack of focus on cultural differences include:
establishing an education program focuses on both cultural awareness and technological
changes; focusing education and rebuilding of their management team in regards to cultural
respect, understanding and sensitivity; reestablishing and rebuilding their relationships with
employees and clients; and lastly, in the process of rebuilding management-employee-client
relationships, they can rebuild and reestablish their dominance in their market.
Solutions to correct these problems:
Shawn is in a position to make major changes and solutions in how AGC deals with
cultural diversity. If I were Shawn I would make several recommendations. I would recommend
implementing a cultural awareness and sensitivity program that all managers would be required
to attend and complete. I firmly believe it is important that management understand how
different cultures view what we see as common place, and understand what is appropriate and
inappropriate in other parts of the world. I would also recommend a foreign language study
program to help employees on all levels communicate better. I would recommend an employee
education program, with an emphasis on improving and updating employee skills to keep pace
with technological changes, encourage skilled employees to stay, and attract new skilled
employees. I would recommend AGC remove the ‘corporate glass ceiling’ and expand the
management pool to include men and women from all cultures, and ethnicities. Very soon,
women of different ethnicities and color will outnumber the older white male as the leader. It has
also been proven that companies with a broad cultural management mix outperform their
competitors, it is important for AGC to have a broad mix of cultures represented in management.
REFERENCES
Bibikova, V. K. (2015). Managing Cultural Differences. Retrieved from
www.100ventures.com/crosscutting/cross-cultural_differences.html
Lewis, J. (2015). Problems Encountered With Workplace Culture. Retrieved from
www.smallbusinesschron.com>Human Resources>Workplace Culture
N.A. (2013). Management Style - Meaning and Different Types of Styles. Retrieved from
www.managementstudyguide.com/management-style.html
N.A. (2013). Types of Organization Culture. Retrieved from
www.managementstudyguide.com/types-of-organization-culture.html
N.A. (2015). International Cultural Differences. Retrieved from
www.refferenceforbusiness.com>Gr-Int