Organizational Culture, Communication, CSR: Management Podcast Report

This report analyzes a management podcast focusing on organizational culture, communication, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the context of Hydro Generation's dam construction project in Tanzania. The report applies the Hofstede model to identify cultural differences impacting the organization, highlighting problems such as lack of employee diversity and improper leadership. Solutions include cultural training for expatriate managers and adapting leadership styles. The analysis extends to communication and negotiation challenges, exploring issues of cross-cultural miscommunication and employment procedure differences. The report suggests solutions like training for cross-cultural management and implementing appropriate employment procedures. Furthermore, it addresses CSR and ethical concerns, focusing on the relocation of villagers and unethical practices. The report provides solutions to the ethical issues. Finally, the report also contains a reflective analysis of the organizational culture aspect of the podcast, discussing the application of the theory, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the group task, and suggesting improvements for future similar tasks.

Running head: MANAGEMENT PODCAST
MANAGEMENT PODCAST
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Podcast.................................................................................................................................2
Organizational Culture.....................................................................................................2
Problems......................................................................................................................2
Solutions......................................................................................................................3
Communication and Negotiation.....................................................................................4
Problems......................................................................................................................4
Solutions......................................................................................................................6
CSR and Ethics................................................................................................................8
Problems......................................................................................................................8
Solutions......................................................................................................................9
Reflection...........................................................................................................................11
References and Bibliography.............................................................................................15

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Podcast
Organizational Culture
The organizational culture followed within Hydro Generation might be explained with
the help of the Hofstede model. The Hofstede model discusses five different factors that assist
the development of the given organization within the concerned territorial boundaries. The
Hofstede model states that the differences in the power dimension and the other culturally
influential matters tend to affect the organizational culture as well. The given case study suggests
that the company has been facing certain issues due to the differences in the organizational
culture of Tanzania and that of the United States.
Problems
The two major problems with the organizational culture as demonstrated within the given
case study refers to the lack of the proper communication between the managers and the local
employees and the lack of diversity among the employees of the organization.
 Lack of the employee diversity
The concerned case study portrays the fact that there exists a high cultural gap among the
members of the workforce that have been serving in the lower hierarchical levels within
the organization and those who have been employed as the expatriate managers within
the given organization. However, the company is known to have not been having a
greater amount of employee diversity within the project. The expatriate managers are
observed not to be well trained in the cultural matters that are followed by the locals who
have been residing in the area (Fellows and Liu 2016). This has resulted in the matters

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that are related to the lack of the proper communication among the members associated
with the project.
 Lack of proper leadership
The leadership within the given organization is observed to have been improper in nature.
The leadership styles that have been implemented within the dam construction site tends
not to be properly applicable in terms of the conditions that are being faced by the
organization. The company has been employing members of the local community within
the construction project. This had led to the conditions within the organization wherein
the concerned organization needs to implement the proper leadership in order help in the
development of the construction project (Samuel et al. 2017). The lack of the proper
leadership has led to the lack of the proper motivation on the part of the employees
associated with the project. The lack of the proper leadership might further result from
the lack of maintenance of the organizational culture within the project. This in turn
might lead to the conditions wherein the company might lack the required improvement
of competitive advantage within the international markets.
Solutions
The issues that have been highlighted within the concerned organizational culture might
be resolved with the help of solutions that have been suggested as under.
 Employee diversity
There is observed a difference among the cultural factors that are presented within the
country of Tanzania as compared to the cultural factors presented within the territorial
boundaries of the United States. The power index of Tanzania is 70 (Waisfisz 2015). This
reveals the fact that people belonging to the Tanzanian cultural background are known to

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be accepting the hierarchy of the organization. This implements the fact that the
employees belonging to the Tanzanian cultural background tend to have a better
acceptance for the organizational hierarchy that is maintained within the given
organization. The major issues that have been highlighted in the realm of the employee
diversity might be dealt with by providing proper training to the concerned expatriate
managers who have been posted within the territorial boundaries of Tanzania. The
managers who have been belonging to the cultural background existing in the United
States need to be trained in the proper manner so that the concerned management might
be capable of dealing with the Tanzanian employees.
 Improper leadership style
The improper leadership style that has been implemented within the given organization
might be changed through the close study of the practices and the behaviors as
demonstrated by the concerned employees of the organization. The implementation of the
various leadership styles within the given organization tends to be helpful in the
development of the various issues that assist the improvement of the overall performance
of the given organization in the given organization. The leadership style within the
organization tends to deal with the issues that might arise due to the lack of the proper
understanding of the cultural issues that are faced by the concerned organizational
workforce. The implementation of the proper leadership within the organization helps in
the derivation of the conditions that might help the concerned organization to deal with
the proper development of the competitive advantage of the company in the given
markets.

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Thus, from the above discussion it might be stated that the proper understanding of the
Hofstede model would help in the development of the organizational culture that is presented
within the dam construction project within the Tanzanian borders.
Communication and Negotiation
The communication and the negotiation processes are extremely important in the
development of the organization. According to the theory as proposed by Lewis (1999), the
communication within the given organization is necessary in order to develop a proper
understanding of the issues that are related to the management of the cross-cultural issues within
the given organization. This in turn affects the employee motivation and the engagement of the
employees within the organization.
Problems
The major problems that are faced in terms of the communication and the negotiation
within the project refer to the issues of the miscommunication due to the lack of the proper cross-
cultural communication within the project and the ways in which the given organization has been
employing people.
 Improper cross-cultural management
The company in discussion, Hydro Generation, is one of the companies that is based in
the US. The organizational culture of Hydro Generation is thus in line with the cultural
background that is being followed within the country of the United States. The company
had aimed at the construction of a dam at the given site. The is in turn led to the
requirement of the incorporation of the local employees within the project. The local
employees within the project tended to deal with the cross-cultural issues within the
construction project of the dam (Clohisy Yaszemski and Lipman 2017). The lack of the

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proper cross-cultural communication among the employees of the organization tended to
impact the motivational measures that are implemented within the given organizational
workforce so as to help in the development of the organizational performance.
 Employment procedures
The employment procedures that are being followed within the Tanzanian territories tend
to differ from the procedures that are generally followed within the territorial boundaries
of United States. The potential employees of an organization are generally selected on the
basis of the qualities and the experiences that are held by the potential employee.
However, this is generally not applicable in case of the employees who have been
belonging to the Tanzanian cultural background (Harkiolakis and Halkias 2016). The
companies that have been active within the Tanzanian territories tend to recruit the
employees on the basis of the word-of-mouth or the recommendations of the other
employees who have been serving the company at the various hierarchical levels within
the organization (Ulmer and Pyle 2016). The differences in the employment procedures
tend to affect the performances of the organizational workforces who have been involved
with the construction of the dam.
Solutions
The issues that are faced by the organization in discussion in terms of the communication
and the negotiation within the site of the dam construction might be resolved through the
following recommended measures.
 Improper cross-cultural management
The issues of the cross-cultural management might be resolved with the help of the
proper training that needs to imparted to the concerned expatriates. The employees of the

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organization who have been belonging to the Tanzanian cultural backgrounds tend to
have a huge difference with the expatriate managers who have been belonging to the
cultural background prevalent within the territorial boundaries of the United States. This
has led to the lack in the proper communication within the managerial and the lower level
employees within the given organization. The lack of the proper communication among
the employees within the project might thus in turn affect the success of the project in the
Tanzanian territories. In order to have a better communication within the organization,
the concerned management is advised to deal with the training and the development of
the various expatriates who have been appointed by the organizational management at the
site wherein the dam project had been continuing in the Tanzanian province.
 Employment procedures
The implementation of the convenient employment procedures within the organization
might help in the resolution of the various issues that have been implemented within the
organization. The selection of the employees of the organization should be made in
accordance to the knowledge base of the concerned potential employee of the
organization. The selection procedures should be made in accordance to the
organizational culture that is being followed by the concerned organization. The
implementation of the proper employment procedures within the given organization
would help in the development of the issues that might affect the overall performance of
the given organization. This in turn tends to affect the competitive advantage that is
gained by the concerned organization in the international markets.
The employment of the organizational workforce might further be maintained through the
development of the training and the developmental procedures that are presented within the

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given company. This in turn might help in the proper distribution of the gained knowledge
among the organizational employees and that in turn might lead to the improvement of the
organizational performance in the given markets.
CSR and Ethics
The corporate social responsibility and the ethical concerns within the organizations is
one of the major aspects that help in the overall development of the organization. The
deontological ethics might be used to state the individuals who have been a part of the given
project should not be subjected to the cultural factors that are being maintained within the
organization. the concerned management of the organization might be advised to look into the
training and the developmental procedures in order to deal with the issues of nepotism.
Problems
The company, Hydro Generation, has been facing issues in the matters that are related to
the corporate social responsibility and the ethical factors as well. The major issues that are faced
by the organization refer to the various unethical practices that are maintained at the dam
construction site and those that are related to the proper relocation of the villagers who would
require to be relocated to some other location in order to continue with the construction of the
dam.
 Relocation of the villagers
The villagers who have been staying at the areas around the construction site need to be
relocated to a different location. This constitutes one of the major factors that is
implemented under the corporate social responsibilities that need to be fulfilled by the
given organization (Pisani et al. 2017). The concerned company is known to have been
facing issues regarding the development and the relocation of the villagers that had

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aggravated due to the intervention of the international press in the matters that dealt with
the piousness of the river concerned (Constantinescu and Kaptein 2018). The tribal
people in the area had claimed that the river held religious importance for them and they
had to perform a tribal ritual in order to appease the tribal Gods who have been residing
in the area which had to be performed twice. This led to the conditions wherein the cost
of the process had to be incurred by the company and the expatriate manager who was in
charge of the construction of the dam.
 Unethical practices
The major ethical issue that has been highlighted in the given case study refers to the fact
that the concerned organization tended to deal with the issues of nepotism that is
observed to have been practiced within the given project (Donaldson 2017). The
employees of the Tanzanian origin who have been working within the project are majorly
observed to have been appointed on the basis of the referrals and the recommendations of
the existing staff of the organization. This practice of nepotism within the given concern
might pose a huge amount of threat to the organizational performance at the dam
construction site of Hydro Generation at Tanzania (Bowen and Prescott 2015). The issue
of bribery might also pose great issue in the development of the overall performance of
the company in the given territories.
Solutions
The issues that are being faced by Hydro Generation in terms of the corporate social
responsibility and the ethical matters might be resolved with the help of a few recommended
measures.
 Relocation of villagers

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The company is advised to implement the relocation of the concerned villagers to a place
wherein they might have access to all the amenities that they would be requiring for their
daily existence. The company might also be advised to implement the various measures
that would help the villagers to resettle as well as have access to the amenities that they
would require for their daily livelihood. The company is further advised to train the
expatriate managers on the cultural values as are maintained by the local tribal people.
This in turn would help in the development of the required strategies that would help in
the inclusion of the various matters that would help in the overall development of the area
as well as the community that has been staying within the given area.
 Unethical practices
The company in discussion is known to have been facing a number of unethical practices
within the operations of the company at the Tanzanian dam construction site. The major
issue that is being faced by the organization is the issue of the nepotism. This can be
understood properly as well as resolved with the help of the deontological theory of
ethics as has been stated by Kant. The employees of the organization need to be
appointed on the basis of their education and skills instead of a word-of-mouth
recommendation by one of the existing members of the organizational workforce. The
issues of bribery might be also be resolved with the help of the various methods of
training that needs to be provided to the concerned employees of the organization.
Thus, it might be stated that the proper implementation of the activities of the corporate
social responsibility would help the company in discussion, Hydro Generation, to develop a
better competitive advantage within the international markets.

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Reflection
The following paper attempts a discussion on the enrichment of my knowledge base due
to the participation in the composition of the podcast on the organizational culture that is
observed to have been maintained within the project of the dam construction by Hydro
Generation, one of the companies that is based in the United States. The paper in the initial
section would discuss the issues that have been faced by the company during the project as have
been discussed within the given case study. The paper thereafter would proceed to highlight the
various theories that are relevant to the organizational culture that is maintained within the
organization. The paper attempts a reflection of the various theoretical factors that were used in
the composition of the podcast. The paper finally concludes with a discussion on the ways in
which the theories might lead to the resolution of the issues that are faced by the company in the
given scenario as well as explains the ways in which the implication of these theories might lead
to the resolution of similar situations in the future days.
The case study sheds light in to the situations that are faced by the higher management of
Hydro Generation, a company based in the United States. The company has undertaken the
construction of a major dam within the territorial boundaries of Tanzania. However, the
company is known to have not been having a greater amount of employee diversity within the
project. The expatriate managers are observed not to be well trained in the cultural matters that
are followed by the locals who have been residing in the area. The given case study reveals the
fact that the dam construction project conducted by Hydro Generation, a company based in the
United States, has been facing a huge number of issues that are related to the organizational
culture that is being followed within the given project. The concerned case study portrays the
fact that there exists a high cultural gap among the members of the workforce that have been

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serving in the lower hierarchical levels within the organization and those who have been
employed as the expatriate managers within the given organization. This has resulted in the
matters that are related to the lack of the proper communication among the members associated
with the project (Laforet 2016). The company has also been facing an issue in the leadership that
is maintained within the given project by Hydro Generation.
The major theoretical aspect that might be used to discuss the conditions faced by the
construction project is the theory of the cross-cultural management as has been stated by
Hofstede. The theory of the cultural dimensions as stated by Hofstede tend to highlight the fact
that the cultural dimensions that are followed by an organization are highly affected by five
factors that are related to the cultural factors that are maintained within the given country (Anitha
2016). The major issue that is being faced by the concerned company is explicable through the
difference in the cultural dimensions as have been stated within the given model. The five
different components that form the model of cultural dimensions play huge roles in the
development of the cultural conditions within the workplace (Stapley 2018).
The power distance factor in the Tanzanian culture is observed to be 70. This reveals the
fact that the people in the concerned country tend to abide by the rules that have been set by the
senior management of the organization (Waisfisz 2015). This in turn leads to the conditions
wherein there is no upheaval within the project from the lower level employees of the
organization. The majority of the issues that have been highlighted in this case refer to the lack
of the proper cross-cultural management within the given project. The company in discussion is
observed to have employed the expatriate managers within the dam construction project active
within the Tanzanian territories (Zhu 2015). However, there is observed a lack of proper training
among the expatriate managers associated with the project. The expatriate managers, especially

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Brett Jones is observed to have been associated majorly with the local workers. He is observed to
have been abiding by the tribal norms and in the process diminishing the actual organizational
culture of the company in discussion, Hydro Generation. The concerned person is observed to
have been adapting to the various unethical issues like the implementation of nepotism and
bribery within the organizational workforce (Mohelska and Sokolova 2015). These practices are
generally considered to be unethical in the cultural backdrop of the United States but however
are not of much importance in the Tanzanian territories.
The company might be advised to review the theory of cultural dimensions that have
been proposed by Hofstede in order to deal with the proper management of the activities that
have been undertaken at the completion of the dam construction project within the Tanzanian
territories. There is observed a difference among the cultural factors that are presented within the
country of Tanzania as compared to the cultural factors presented within the territorial
boundaries of the United States. The power index of Tanzania is high which states that people
belonging to the Tanzanian cultural background are known to be accepting the hierarchy of the
organization (Kujala, Lehtimäki and Pučėtaitė 2016). This implements the fact that the
employees belonging to the Tanzanian cultural background tend to have a better acceptance for
the organizational hierarchy that is maintained within the given organization (Huhtala and Feldt
2016). The major issues that have been highlighted in the realm of the employee diversity might
be dealt with by providing proper training to the concerned expatriate managers who have been
posted within the territorial boundaries of Tanzania.
The creation of the podcast on the organizational cultural issues as represented within the
given case study has helped me in the development of a proper understanding of the various
issues in the realm of the organizational culture that a company might face in the daily operations

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of the company. The podcast has further helped me to have a clarity in the matters that are
related to the identification of the various issues that might be faced by a given business
organization as well as develop ways in which these issues might be resolved. The podcast
composition has also helped me to understand the theories and the application of the theories in
the practical scenario that is represented through the various case studies. The group work has
helped me understand my strengths and the weaknesses in terms of the proper communication
within the given team. The composition of the podcast has also helped me to develop the ability
to research the proper material in accordance to the situation that is being faced by the concerned
organization. The study of the model of the cultural dimensions as have been stated by Hofstede
has helped me gain better knowledge in terms of the various factors that affect the organizational
culture.
The afore-mentioned paper might bear a conclusion in the matters that are related to the
proper understanding of the factors that are helpful in the development of the podcast. My
involvement in the given project has helped me to develop my knowledge base on the various
cultural factors that are related to the overall development of an organization. The participation
has also helped me develop my presentation skills that are immensely important in the
development of a future career in the world of business activities. The creation of the podcast has
also helped me in the proper understanding of the cross-cultural issues that affect the overall
performance of a business organization in the international markets.

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