Cross Culture Management: Examining National Culture, Leadership, and Motivation in the Case of Craig Evans

This case study explores the challenges of hiring Craig Evans as the project director for the Triton Hydro Generation in Uganda. It examines the impact of national culture, leadership, and motivation on the success of the project.

Cross culture management

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
National Culture...........................................................................................................................3
Leadership....................................................................................................................................4
Motivation and HRM...................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
Books and Journals....................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The case study reflects upon acquiring a potential solution to the prevailing concern in
regard with whether to hire Craig Evans as the project Director of the Triton Hydro Generation
in Uganda. Craig Evans is an experienced employee and has facilitated successful operations in
the field of construction as well. He has been able to achieve relevant targets efficiently and
within the budget delegated by the respective firms. He has the relevant understanding about the
cultural and traditional norms of Uganda. He is also graduated from the University of Michigan
which makes him a desirable candidate for the respective role. The CEO of Triton Hydro
Generation, Lawrence Colbert is second guessing the suitability of Craig Evans due to his past
activities. Craig Evans has compromised the cultural values of Triton Hydro Generation in the
previous roles such as his participation in weird ritual practices, his involvement with the local
bodies, his unwillingness to promote Christian culture etc. Craig Evans has also been charged for
promoting nepotistic environment within the organisation which can consider as an unethical
practice within an organisational setting.
The report highlights upon the examination and assessment of Craig Evans in order to
evaluate his appropriateness for the position of Project Director for the upcoming damn
construction project. The reports highlights upon the national culture, leadership as well as the
motivation and HRM. The report incorporates the application of theories and model in order to
acquire detailed insights about the above mentioned domains. The effective recommendations in
context to resolution of the existing issues are also discussed in the proposed report.
TASK
National Culture
National culture can be characterised as the cultural norms and beliefs of the citizen residing in
respective country. It is a concept that details about the social values, dilemmas, concerns,
traditions and rituals of the population of a concerned country (Boussebaa and Mahadevan,
2020). As per the case study, Uganda is a country wherein the majority of the population is
Christian. Thus, it can be stated that the society of Uganda is dominated by the Christian Culture
which makes it necessary for the organisations prevailing in the country to facilitate the adoption
of the same. The CEO of Triton Hydro Generation wants Craig Evan to work in accordance with
the Christian values in order to alleviate the organisational culture of the respective business

entity. However, Craig Evans is more inclined towards the Ugandan practices which lead to
emergence of conflicting opinion within the same. Craig Evans is partial towards the Ugandan
traditions and practices and likes to participate in the same as well. Although, it is his respective
choice but his unwillingness to better his interaction with the other colleagues may lead to
strained relationships among the same. The former can lead to severe implication on the working
rapport among the staff as well. The government of Uganda has initiated an anti-corruption
campaign wherein the business firm are required to deal in an ethical manner. He has also been
charged for providing incentive and extra money to the in charge or higher authorities in order to
get the work done on time. The above mentioned issues reflect upon the concerns that can
restrict the growth of Dam constructions project.
Key Analysis
 It is very evident from the above analysis that the work operations of Evans do not suit
the national culture of Uganda. It can hinder the work operations of the business firm.
 His association with the tribal community as well as engagement in non appreciative
tribal ritual can impose threat to the image of the Triton Hydro Generation.
 Craig Evans involvement in unethical means in terms of nepotism and bribing can lead to
government intervention which can also lead to the failure of the project as well.
Recommendation
 It can be suggested, that the company should focus upon facilitating a meeting wherein
Craig Evan should be provided clear instructions and guidelines regarding the work
ethics of the business firm (Sackmann, 2020).
 The ignorant behaviour towards the national culture can result in adverse affects for the
upcoming project. Hence, it can be advised that management should warn Craig Evans to
carry out his work in accordance with the Christian values.
The above mention recommendations will help the company to ensure that Craig Evans
operations are facilitated in accordance with the national culture of Uganda and alleviates the
same.
Leadership
Leadership plays a very significant and prominent role in the enhancement of the productivity in
the business functions and operations. It can be termed as concept of management that focuses
upon influencing the staff members and directing the same so as to facilitate the accomplishment

of organisation objectives (Meares and Bennett, 2020). Leadership is an important component in
leading the work operations as it helps to increase in the efficiency of the workers. The
performance of the workforce can also be accelerated through implementation effective
leadership practices in a business enterprise.
As per the case study, it can be assessed that Craig Evans is a manipulative leader. The fact that
Craig Evans was incompetent and disorganised while dealing with the employees can also be
seen as a sign that he is an ineffective leader. He is an impatient professional as well. In order to
regulate the functioning of the dam project in an effective manner, the CEO needs an individual
who is more organised and works in a systematic manner. The criterion for leadership is that an
individual should have the right mindset and ethical approach to guide its subordinates towards
the right path. But according to the case study, Craig Evans has always approached his work in
an unprofessional manner and has also adopted unethical means such as in order to get his work
complete on time. A leader should be someone who is respected by his subordinates. He should
conduct himself in a manner that the other individuals are influenced in a positive way to be like
him and follow his footsteps (Behrens, 2020). But in this particular case, the leadership skills
exhibited by Evans are not acceptable at all. A leader should set an example for its subordinates
to be honest and sincere towards their respective work. Craig Evans has not showcased sincerity
and has always been very impulsive with his decisions as well.
Decision making can considered to be the most prominent skill that needs to be acquired by a
leader in order to formulate appropriate decision through which the employees as well as the
organisation is facilitated with benefits and leverages (Wang, 2020). The decision making ability
of Craig Evans cannot be taken seriously. He has been associates with rituals which are very
misleading and shameful. The fact that one of the potential professionals of the project is a part
of such mockery can be very critical for the further course of the project plan. Hence, it can be
analysed that Craig Evans leadership skills were extremely disappointing and discouraging for
the project as well the employees working under him.
In order to facilitate the dam construction project, the two major forms of leadership theory that
can be capitalised by Triton Hydro Generation can be referred to as expert theory and system
theory.
Expert theory of leadership highlights upon the leaders who have innate knowledge about the
functioning of business activities and technical operations as well. They have the right

experience in the industry which allows them to be very time efficient and helps others to
practise the operations in an effective way as well (Tuomi, Tussyadiah, and Stienmetz, 2020).
Expert leadership is very brilliant option in terms of managing the work in a productive manner.
Through the capitalisation of the respective theory, the leaders are able to exercise the regulation
of the construction operation in a very systematic and defined manner.
System theory of leadership can be characterised as a type of leadership in which the leader is
focused upon guiding the project plan in an organised manner. It highlights upon the skill sets as
well as the capabilities that can help the firm with the relevant support and enablement to
facilitate competent leadership outcomes in future ( Jia, 2020). The respective theory can help
the organisation to be more flexible in context to dealing with the uncertainty in the environment.
The whole firm is treated as one and the theory is applied to the firm as a whole. System theory
also allows the firm to implement decisions while focusing upon the relationship between the
business organisation as well as the business environment so as to facilitate the flow of business
functions without any external interruption.
Key Analysis
 It can be assessed that Craig Evans is extremely partial towards the local community. But
in order to be an effective leader an individual or a leader is required to treat everyone in
an equal manner irrespective of their background religion, caste, colour or creed.
 It can also be realised that the respective project involves a large amount of capital and
managers from various parts of the world are also hired in order to facilitate the
functioning of the same.
 In such circumstances, it will be very risky for the company to recruit Craig Evans as a
leader. From the past experience it can be derived that he is not interested in collaborating
with new individual and is likely avoid interactions with the same. Hence, he will not be
able to provide justice to the role of leader in any which way.
Recommendation
 It can be recommended that the company should invest in a leader that is skilled in its
respective role and justifies the same in an excellent manner.
 Effective leadership theories and models also need to be incorporated within the project
plan in order to ensure that the employees render brilliant performances.

 The leader is required to be very assertive and optimistic in nature in order to promote
positive working conditions at the construction site (Ma, 2020).
 The company should be able select a leader that is able to minimise the conflicts to the
minimum and is able to solve the same in a peaceful and dignifies manner.
 In construction industry, it is very necessary for the employees to be proactive and
focused upon their day to day operations in a disciplined manner. Thus, it is also
suggested that the leader appointed by the company should exercise discipline within the
staff members and ensure that their focus is on the right tract and they are not deviating
from the project goals.
Motivation and HRM
Motivation can be termed as an attribute that compels the individuals to render their full potential
in every facet of life (Charoensukmongkol, 2020). In order to accomplish the targets of
construction plan, it is very significant for the Project manager to motivate its employees on
constant or regular manner. The respective practices dwells the employees to strive for the best
and accomplish the target in effectively and within the time frames designed by the respective
business firm. Human Resource management is one such section of the business organisation
that has the necessary ability to motivate the workforce towards achieving the business goals to
the best of their capability. In the field of construction, skill is an expertise that needs to be
mastered by the employees working in the concerned sector. As per the case study, Craig Evans
used to recruit the individuals according to his own will. He used to give the first preferences to
his associates and known parties while facilitating the recruitment operations. This can be termed
as an unfair practice as it eliminates the selection chances of individuals who are more deserving
and skilled that the people hired by Craig Evans. The prevailing nepotism can turn off the
employees working in the organisation and reduce the willingness among the same to deliver the
best outcomes for the company. There are several needs and requirement of the employees which
needs to be satisfies by Human resource personnel so as to extract the best capabilities out of the
same (Keonouchanh and Peng, 2020). These needs and wants can be explained through the
application of motivation theories and models.
Maslow Hierarchy of Motivation

The theory lays concern over the concept that there are five major requirements of an individual
providing service in the business firm. In order to motivate the individuals to provide excellent
performance, it is necessary to realise these needs of the employees in an organisation.
 The first need can be termed as facilitation of adequate salary and compensation through
which an individual can meet its physiological needs i.e. food and shelter.
 The second need of employee can be stated as secure working environment wherein an
employee is provided the optimum security and safety at the workplace.
 The third required of the employee can be stated as their involvement in the business
activities and enhanced engagement in business procedures (Chen and Zhu, 2020). They
should be considered as a part of the organisation and treated with utmost respect and
dignity.
 The fourth need of employees focuses upon opportunity for professional development
through which they can achieve recognition and rewards which can boost their self
confidence and esteem as well.
 The fifth and the most important requirement of the employees is to be able to achieve
self actualisation i.e. to provide the maximum potential to achieve the highest level of
performance in an organisation.
Hence, Triton Hydro Generation needs to concentrate towards providing adequate
opportunities to the employees and helping them to achieve these needs. This will help the
firm to retain more employees as well as attain higher results.
Key Analysis
 In previous roles, exhibited by Evan, it can be assessed that he has been partial to his
relatives and associated people and hired the same.
Recommendation
 Craig Evans should be restricted to facilitate the hiring process. A new recruiter can be
designated by the company. The Craig Evans should be provided with the duties and
responsibility of managing the other aspects of the project plant such as negotiation with
the locals, arrangements for resources, monitoring the performance of the staff etc.

CONCLUSION
From the above examination of the case study, it can be concluded that CEO of Triton Hydro
Generation should not hire Craig Evans for the upcoming project plan. Although he has been
able to achieve good results and outcomes in the past but it does not deviate from the fact that his
work practices are very unethical and unprofessional. The company should not take risk and
should hire an individual who respects the national cultural of the firm, has the appropriate
leadership skill to lead the operations as well as motivate the employees to give their best.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Boussebaa, M., 2020. From cultural differences to cultural globalization: towards a new research
agenda in cross-cultural management studies. critical perspectives on international
business.
Mahadevan, J., 2020. The concept of culture in cross-cultural management: genealogical
considerations. SAGE Handbook of Contemporary Cross-Cultural Management.
London: SAGE.
Sackmann, S.A., 2020. Culture in Cross-Cultural Management: Its Seminal Contributors from a
Positivist. The SAGE Handbook of Contemporary Cross-Cultural Management, p.17.
Meares, M.M. and Bennett, J.M., 2020. Cross-Cultural Management and Intercultural
Communication. The SAGE Handbook of Contemporary Cross-Cultural Management,
p.313.
Behrens, A., 2020. Part Four. Cross-Cultural Management: The Toolbox. In Culture and
Management in the Americas (pp. 159-192). Stanford University Press.
Wang, L., 2020. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS ARE CONFRONTED WITH
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT.
In ADVANCED SCIENCE (pp. 45-48).
Tuomi, A., Tussyadiah, I. and Stienmetz, J., 2020. Service robots and the changing roles of
employees in restaurants: A cross cultural study. E-review of Tourism Research, 17(5).
Şişcan, S.Z., 2021. Substantiation of new approaches to strategic and cross-cultural
management. Management.
Jia, S.S., 2020. Motivation and satisfaction of Chinese and US tourists in restaurants: A cross-
cultural text mining of online reviews. Tourism Management, 78, p.104071.
Ma, Y., 2020. Cross-cultural Management Research in a Company.
Charoensukmongkol, P., 2020. The efficacy of cultural intelligence for adaptive selling
behaviors in cross-cultural selling: The moderating effect of trait mindfulness. Journal
of Global Marketing, 33(3), pp.141-157.
Keonouchanh, T. and Peng, C., 2020, July. A Critical Review of Cross-Cultural Conflict
Management in Transnational Projects. In 4th International Symposium on Business
Corporation and Development in South-East and South Asia under B&R Initiative
(ISBCD 2019) (pp. 258-262). Atlantis Press.
Chen, J. and Zhu, J., 2020. The Evolution of Theoretical Approaches in Cross-Cultural
Adaptation Research. In Cross-Cultural Adaptation Experiences of International
Scholars in Shanghai (pp. 11-33). Springer, Singapore.