Case Study 16.3: Navigating Cultural Dimensions at the Latino Center

This case study examines the leadership challenges and cultural dynamics within the Latino Center, a non-profit organization serving the Latino community and River City. The case focuses on the impact of new leadership, Mary Davis and Jose Reyna, and their efforts to renovate the center and enhance its services. It analyzes their leadership styles in comparison to Latin American leadership profiles, highlighting the importance of team-oriented approaches and cultural sensitivity. The study also delves into Latino cultural dimensions, emphasizing the significance of community support and the potential for ethnocentrism to hinder effective leadership. The case concludes by discussing strategies for tempering excitement and incorporating cross-cultural competencies to ensure successful community engagement and project implementation. Desklib provides access to similar case studies and solved assignments for students seeking to deepen their understanding of leadership and cultural dynamics in community organizations.

Case study 16.3 Paper: Whose Latino Is It? 1
Case Study 16.3: Whose Latino Centre Is It?
Latanya Foster
Chaminade University of Honolulu

Case study 16.3 Paper: Whose Latino Is It? 2
Case study 16.3 Paper: Whose Latino Is It?
Case Overview
Latino Center is a non-profit organization which is responsible for serving the
requirements of the Latino and the River City community, with the help of different
programs and services. Consisting of a population 200,000 people, River City is growing at a
fast pace, that is, at an annual rate of 5%. The community is diverse with a mix of 65%
white, 20% African – American population, 13% Latino and 2% Native American. The
Latino community is also growing at a very fast pace, with an annual growth of 10%. The
Latino Center is administered by a board of directors and an executive director. Most
recently, Mary Davis and Jose Reyna are the newest members of the Latino Centre and have
experience in the areas of neighbourhood development and city government respectively
(Mahajan, 2011). Both these new entrants have led to immense alteration in the Centre; this
includes renovation of the infrastructural facilities, shifting the focus of the community
programs along with some legal, cultural and educational services. The Board of Directors
consists of 15 people, out of which 10 discern themselves as Latino while remaining 5
recognize themselves as Non-Latino. In order to create a better space for offices, programs
and services of the centre, the old building owned by Latino Centre is scheduled for
renovation.
Strong and Weak Areas of Mary’s and Jose’s Leadership
Jose and Mary, being the newest members of the Latino centre, have worked towards
improving and enhancing the services that the centre offers. The building being renovated,
which was substantiated by the people’s view at community forums, requires around $1.4
million. For this, the board of directors started a citywide campaign to raise the capital for

Case study 16.3 Paper: Whose Latino Is It? 3
renovation. Mary and Jose have their jobs, but in addition to that, they have also managed to
raise a handsome amount of $1.3 billion for the project using their skills – all in a period of
six months. Most of the funds come from private foundations and corporations (Mitevska-
Encheva, 2018). Their dedication and clarity of vision is one of the major strengths’ they
possess. However, when speaking about weakness, their strength in a way has turned out to
be their Achilles' heel because, while they did know what they had to do, they lacked in
being cognizant of the interests of the community, just the same.
Targeting Latino Community at the Fund Raising Campaign
Mary and Jose put forth the idea of raising funds from the Latino community, because the
latter are more inclined towards giving in the service of their churches, rather than to non-
profit establishments. However, there shouldn’t be a problem if the Latino were targeted for
the funds because it has to be kept in view that it is mainly for the benefit of the Latino
community on the whole. Moreover, the funds were to be used for betterment of the society
and there shouldn’t be an issue with that (Mauksch, 2016.)
Comparison of Mary’s And Jose’s Leadership with Latin America Profile
The Latin America profile emphasizes on a team-oriented leadership approach rather than
an individualistic one. Mary and Jose worked together to accomplish a goal; they also
changed their vision when it was not entirely supported and appreciated by the community.
Their leadership was value-based, which means that they had the ability to inspire and
motivate people to enhance their performance. Due to this quality, they were able to manage
a good amount of $1.3 billion for foundations and corporations. Marys’ and Josés’ leadership
was participative in nature (Martínez-San Miguel, 2015). This is clear from the fact that
when people were opposing their ways, they tried and aligned the objectives. A desirable

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leader has always planned ahead of time, and that is exactly what Mary and José did. They
were encouraging, motivating, and had a clear vision of their plans. The Latin American
leadership is based on the foundation of inspiration, participation of all, etc. All these
qualities were observed in both the leaders of Latino Centre.
Latino Cultural Dimensions
Culture generally means beliefs, values, norms, and traditions that are known and
followed by a group of people. Ethnocentrism being one of the major obstacles to effective
leadership. It makes people prejudiced and intercepts from gaining knowledge of or
venerating other cultures. Hall (1976) has presented in an article that the main attribute of
belief is the degree and level of focus on a single person (individualistic) or the team
(collectivists) (Joo & Chung, 2014).
The main characteristic of Latin American cultural dimension is that they are loyal and
devoted. Cultural dimensions classified and compared archetypes between cultures on the
basics of time, leadership, gender and causality to mention a few. Earlier, the centre was
making a slow and steady progress, keeping in view its one major goal – providing
emergency services to the local community. With Mary and José leading the centre, they now
have a contemporary and a more sophisticated vision, which didn’t very well align with the
grounded previous vision. In the past, when the change came it was phased and gradual;
whereas the view that Mary and José held was way more grand and refined. The Latino
cultural dimensions are about expressing support towards community by providing basic
services which was not so in the case of Mary’s and José’s leadership – it was more focused
on structural changes. This led to resistance of people towards the renovation project
(Uzonwanne, 2014).

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Tempering the Excitement
The Latino centre building used to be a fire station that was maintained for around 15
years. The building was bought by the centre from River City for $1. The fire station required
restoration, but it had a suitable location, right at the center of the Latino community. Mary
and José planned a first class renovation of the building, with the latest green building
techniques. Both leaders and some other members of the board were excited for the process
of renovation. These techniques were healthy, efficient and environmentally safe. If I were in
Mary’s or Jose’s place, I would have taken the process of renovation gradually and steadily
instead of rushing into it. I would have taken my time to gather the support of the board
members and that of the community (Shlossberg, 2011). As mentioned by Adler
Bartholomew, (1992) I would have incorporated the cross-cultural competencies meant for
leaders. These include developing an understanding of the business culture and politics,
learning perspective, drift and innovation of various cultures, ability to work with people
from other cultures, and most importantly to grasp and associate with people from various
cultures from a point of fairness rather than supremacy (Jogulu, 2010).

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References
Jogulu, U. (2010). Culturally‐linked leadership styles. Leadership & Organization Development
Journal, 31(8), 705-719.
Joo, B., & Chung, J. (2014). Suggestion of a classification table of design modeling elements in
cultural dimensions - Focused on Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions -. Journal Of Korea
Design Forum, null(43), 223-232.
Mahajan, S. (2011). Study on Leadership Styles and Theories. Indian Journal Of Applied
Research, 4(3), 281-282.
Martínez-San Miguel, Y. (2015). Ethnic specularities: Exploring the Caribbean and Latino
dimensions of Down These Mean Streets. Latino Studies, 13(3), 358-375.
Mauksch, S. (2016). Managing the dance of enchantment: An ethnography of social
entrepreneurship events. Organization, 24(2), 133-153.
Mitevska-Encheva, M. (2018). Effects of Demographic Indicators on Perceptions of Followers of
Leadership Styles. Information & Security: An International Journal, 39(3), 206-219.
10.11610/isij.3918
Shlossberg, P. (2011). Ritual, Art, And Latino Political Communication. Cultural Studies, 25(6),
940-943.
Uzonwanne, F. (2014). Leadership styles and decision-making models among corporate leaders
in non-profit organizations in North America. Journal Of Public Affairs, 15(3), 287-299.

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