Hydro Generation: Nepotism, Leadership, and Cross-Cultural Issues

This case study examines the challenges faced by Hydro Generation in Tanzania, focusing on the issue of nepotism and its impact on leadership within a cross-cultural context. The analysis highlights the differences in work culture and ethical practices between the US-based company and the Tanzanian environment, particularly regarding the acceptance of nepotism. The study utilizes Hofstede's cultural dimensions model to explain the power distance in Tanzanian culture and its influence on leadership. Recommendations are provided, including training and development for local employees on ethical practices and the implementation of ethical leadership within the project. The study emphasizes the importance of addressing these issues to improve project performance and maintain a competitive advantage in the Tanzanian market. The case study also addresses the dilemma of a manager, Brett Jones, adapting to local customs, which may conflict with the company's values and ethical standards.

Running head: CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT – NEPOTISM IN HYDRO GENERATION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT – NEPOTISM IN HYDRO GENERATION
Table of Contents
Problem................................................................................................................................2
Analysis...............................................................................................................................2
Recommendations................................................................................................................3
References............................................................................................................................5

2CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT – NEPOTISM IN HYDRO GENERATION
Problem
The given case study discusses the major issues that are being faced by the United States
based company Hydro Generation. The major issue that is highlighted in the case study is the
improper management of the cross-cultural issues that are faced by the company due to the
differences in the cultural backgrounds of the countries. The case study reveals that the work
culture and the organizational values that are maintained by the companies active within the
territorial boundaries of the United States have a greater amount of differences. The work culture
of the organizations operating within the United States consider the practices of nepotism and
bribery to be unethical practices and tend to avoid the existence of these practices in the
workplaces (French 2015). The Tanzanian work culture on the other hand does not consider the
practices to be unethical in nature. The work culture of Tanzania allows the nepotism within the
workplace. This often leads to the employment of improper staff who in turn are observed to
have been affecting the overall performance of the concerned organization. Ali and Brooks
(2009) state that these practices are often found to have been affecting the leadership that is
implemented in order to develop a proper success of the project within the Tanzanian territories.
The leadership activities that are implemented within the project are observed to be hampered
due to the practices of the nepotism and other unethical practices such as bribery within the
organization. The leaders who have been serving at the higher levels of the organizational
hierarchy tend to be highly affected by the lack of the proper employees within the organization
due to the implementation of the nepotism within the employment procedures within the
organization.

3CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT – NEPOTISM IN HYDRO GENERATION
Analysis
The major issues that have been highlighted in this case is the issue of nepotism and
bribery that are observed to have been practiced in the case of the dam construction project that
have been undertaken by Hydro Generation in the Tanzanian territories. The ethical factors state
that the cultural interpretation should not affect the people who have been involved with the
given project (Paquette, Sommerfeldt and Kent 2015). The non-involvement of people in terms
of the cultural interpretation might help in preventing the implementation of the unethical
practices within the given organization. The continuation of the unethical practices might
further affect the development of the ethical leadership within the organization. The
implementation of the activities of nepotism has affected the organizational leadership
through the inclusion of the employees who are not competent enough to maintain the
organizational culture as is followed by the concerned company in the Tanzanian market.
This might be explained better with the help of the cultural dimensions model as highlighted
by Hofstede. The power distance in the Tanzanian culture is observed to be 70 (McSweeney
2002). This highlights the fact that the Tanzanian workforce abides by the rules and the
regulations that have been highlighted by the leaders of the organization. The leaders of the
organization are observed to have not been implementing the importance of maintenance of
the organizational culture that is followed within Hydro Generation. Forganni and Reed
(2019) observe that this in turn has been leading to a clash among the expatriate leaders and
the local employees.

4CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT – NEPOTISM IN HYDRO GENERATION
Recommendations
The above discussion highlights the existence of the unethical practices that are being
followed within the dam construction project at Tanzania. These issues might however find a
resolution with the implementation of the recommended measures as stated below.
 Training and development
The local employees should made to attend the training sessions on the various ethical
practices that are imbibed within the organizational culture of Hydro Generation. The
employees should be trained on the implication of the ethical practices within the
organization and the ways in which the ethical practices might help in the overall
development of the project. Ethical leadership
The concerned management within the organization might be advised to implement the
ethical leadership in the project. the ethical leadership on the part of Brett Jones might
further help in the development of the overall performance of the project as well as help
in the increase of the competitive advantage within the Tanzanian markets.

5CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT – NEPOTISM IN HYDRO GENERATION
References
Ali, M. and Brooks, L., 2009. A situated cultural approach for cross-cultural studies in
IS. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 22(5), pp.548-563.
Forganni, A. and Reed, H., 2019. Circumvention of Trade Defence Measures and Business
Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 155(1), pp.29-40.
French, R., 2015. Cross-cultural management in work organisations. Kogan Page Publishers.
McSweeney, B., 2002. Hofstede’s model of national cultural differences and their consequences:
A triumph of faith-a failure of analysis. Human relations, 55(1), pp.89-118.
Paquette, M., Sommerfeldt, E.J. and Kent, M.L., 2015. Do the ends justify the means? Dialogue,
development communication, and deontological ethics. Public Relations Review, 41(1), pp.30-
39.