University Leadership Reflection Paper Analysis and Discussion

This reflection paper explores the concepts of global leadership, cross-cultural management, and the dynamics of multicultural teams. The paper begins with an introduction to reflection and its importance in self-awareness and improvement. It then discusses the application of cross-cultural management principles in a real-world organizational setting, highlighting the challenges and strategies for managing a diverse workforce. The student reflects on the relevance of course materials, including theories such as Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the cross-cultural adjustment leadership model, providing thoughtful responses to questions and identifying areas for consideration. The paper also examines relevant theories and concepts, such as the four modes of adjustment in cross-cultural leadership and the impact of cultural dimensions. The student shares ideas triggered by the material, including challenges in communication and adaptability, and suggests strategies for addressing these challenges. The paper concludes by emphasizing the role of reflection in improving self-confidence, emotional intelligence, and the ability to learn from past experiences. References to academic sources are included to support the discussion.

Running head: REFLECTION
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Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Application of the concepts of the module in real practise.............................................................2
Thoughtful responses to question....................................................................................................3
Question that the materials causes me to consider..........................................................................3
Other relevant theories related to the study material.......................................................................3
Any ideas that the materials have triggered.....................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Reflection helps in creating self-awareness through analysis of the past experiences and
drawing various understanding from the same. It helps in improving the abilities of the people to
meet with future challenges efficiently through past learning and making application of the same.
Global leadership refers to the ability of the leader to carry out operations in different countries
and this requires the leaders to be properly managing cross-cultural aspects of the organizations
(Ang and Van Dyne 2015). It is necessary for the mangers to have the ability to manage diversity
effectively and efficiently and it is also important for the leaders to be able to manage multi-
cultural teams properly. The main aim of the paper is to reflect on the different concepts learned
in the modules and show the application of the same.
Discussion
Application of the concepts of the module in real practise
The study material discusses about the cross-cultural management for organizational
leaders who are engaged in carrying out activities in more than one countries and the importance
of managing diverse workforce. The materials also discusses about the management of the multi-
cultural teams in order to improve the performance of the organization (Bird and Mendenhall
2016). Cross-cultural teams and communications refers to the ability of the leaders to properly
managing the different values, beliefs and other cultural aspects of the workforce with diverse
background ad it is necessary for leaders such that they can make use of the skills and abilities of
the diverse workforce from different background. In order to do the same the leader must be
having sufficient knowledge about the existence of diverse cultural beliefs and other aspects
related to the same. I am presently working in an organization where there are employees from

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diverse background and belonging to different culture. However our leader is able to manage all
the groups’ effectively because we understand the fact that all the people have different cultural
values and others and therefore they behave according to different activities. Some of the
employees are more comfortable with change and there are some who are not. This is because of
the fact that certain countries score a high marks in uncertainty avoidance whereas others score
lower marks.
Thoughtful responses to question
In order to understand the ways in which global leadership will be carried out, the
concept and theory related to cross-cultural dimensions have been used. For instance the concept
of Hofstede discusses about the different cultural aspects that determine the behaviour and
attitude of the employees that is necessary for understanding by the leader such that he can
manage the people efficiently (Thomas 2015). In order to manage the cross cultural teams
effectively the leader needs to make application of the theory called the cross-cultural adjustment
leadership theory in order to understand the four modes of adjustment.
Question that the materials causes me to consider
Some of the questions that the study material makes me consider is why people belonging
to same organization behave differently in different situations and what are the factors that
influence their decision making or their behaviour in the organization. For instance sometimes I
do not understand why the people in the organization take orders from the mangers more readily
without asking any questions and do not communicate properly with others.

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Other relevant theories related to the study material
Some of the theories are necessary to be understood in connection with the cross-cultural
leadership is that of Hofstede theory and also the theory of cross cultural leadership adjustment
model. According to the cross cultural leadership adjustment theory, there are two main
dimensions that need to undergo a change such that in order to efficiently deal with cross cultural
team management. According to the theory there are basically four main adjustment modes-
replication, absorption, determination and exploration. In case of replication there is low
personal and role development that leads to lower changes in the tasks and to self by the
individuals. In case of absorption the leader make changes to their attitudes and behaviour
however they fail to make changes to the task contents. In case of determination try to focus on
bringing changes to the task contents however do not change their attitudes and behaviours and
in case of exploration the leaders try to continuously develop their behaviour and attitudes and
also change the tasks role.
Figure 1: The four modes of adjustment
Source: (Thomas 2015 )

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The Hofstede on the other hand helps in explaining the different behaviour and values of
the workforce die to their culture background and it is done on the basis of 5 major dimensions
that are- Power distance, individualism and collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and
femininity, long term and short term and indulgence and restraint (Jyoti and Kour 2015). On the
basis of the above main factors the behaviour of the employees will be understood as different
countries vary from each other on the basis of these cultural dimensions.
Figure 2: Hofstede cultural dimensions
Source: (Beugelsdijk and Welzel 2018)
Any ideas that the materials have triggered
With the help of the different theories and concepts of cross-cultural aspects, it has
helped me answer many questions related to the attitude and behaviors of the people and how the
diverse workforce is managed. There are many challenges that my leaders have to face such as
communication barriers because of cultural differences which includes accent, fluency different
attitude of people towards their seniors adaptability to various changes- for instance there are

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many employees who do not agree to change easily and there are employees who are ready for
changes as they see it as a challenge. There are various strategies that can help in these situations
such as adaptation, structural intervention, managerial intervention and exit strategies.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that reflection helps in improving the self-
confidence and integrity of individuals because individuals need to reflect on their experiences
and therefore they can learn from their experiences. It also helps in improving the emotional
intelligence of the people. It helps people to learn from their past experiences and they make
application of the same in case of being faced with similar situations in future.

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References
Ang, S. and Van Dyne, L., 2015. Handbook of cultural intelligence. Routledge.
Beugelsdijk, S. and Welzel, C., 2018. Dimensions and dynamics of national culture:
Synthesizing Hofstede with Inglehart. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 49(10), pp.1469-
1505.
Bird, A. and Mendenhall, M.E., 2016. From cross-cultural management to global leadership:
Evolution and adaptation. Journal of World Business, 51(1), pp.115-126.
Jyoti, J. and Kour, S., 2015. Assessing the cultural intelligence and task performance equation:
Mediating role of cultural adjustment. Cross Cultural Management, 22(2), pp.236-258.
Smith, P.B. and Peterson, M.F., 2017. Cross‐Cultural Leadership. The Blackwell Handbook of
Cross
‐Cultural Management, pp.217-235.
Thomas, D.C., 2015. Cultural intelligence. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, pp.1-3.