Leadership in a Multicultural Environment: Successfully Managing an American Company's First Branch

Understanding the Cultural Factors That Impact Leadership in Egypt

Task:

The purpose of this assignment is to help you see that one's leadership style and effectiveness is culturally dependent. Following is the scenario: You have been managing for ten years in your current position and have been hired to open your American company’s first branch in Egypt). You were born and raised in the U S. You realize that you are coming from a US orientation and that there are many organizational, leadership, and multicultural environment issues you must address in order to be a success in this particular country. You want to understand what the new country’s workers look for in a leader and what it will take to be a successful leader in the country.

Part I. Following your introduction, you seek to orient yourself to the country. Briefly describe the country’s culture to include:

• Ethics (Morality) • Life Styles/Traditions • Business Practices Based on the above cultural elements, what are tips for leading in this country? The focus should be on analysis rather than description. We have learned quite a bit in this course about leading a global organization – how to do it and what to avoid in relation to the above three areas? I am looking for analysis of the three areas above to course concepts related to multiculturalism (e.g., communications, etc.) and your demonstration of understanding of them as you prepare to set up this branch. How will this knowledge impact you as a leader?

Part II. You seek to dig deeper and understand your new branch employees through an analysis of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions: • Analyze your country of choice in relation to the US on the following Hofstede cultural dimensions: power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long term orientation. How are they different and how are they the same? • In relation to each dimension, what must you consider to design a successful branch? I am looking for analysis of organizational design concepts related to multiculturalism based on what you found with the five dimensions. Provide a minimum of one practical and realistic recommendation for each of the five given what you learned about the cultural dimensions.

• In relation to each dimension, what you must you consider as a leader to be successful? I am looking for analysis of leadership concepts related to multiculturalism based on what you found with the five dimensions. Provide a minimum of one practical and realistic leadership recommendation for each of the five dimensions. Remember, you are not expected to be an expert in the county/culture you select, but rather I am looking for demonstration of your new expertise in the application of management, leadership, and organizational design concepts in a global society. The purpose of this paper is to apply the concepts you are learning in the course and demonstrate both your understanding and application. Focus on practical recommendations for success that are workable within the culture. It is recommended that you utilize important concepts from the course to organize your presentation and provide context for the exposition of your source material. Emphasis in the paper should be on analysis related to course concepts and not a description or summary about the country/culture. Finally, be sure to write in third person voice even though your scenario is such that you are imagining yourself in this role. You should use sources from the UMUC virtual library databases beyond our weekly eReadings lists. Do not use Wikipedia or Google the topic--use the UMUC virtual library databases. Include at least six references from academic journals. The assignment should be 7-8 pages (no more, no less within reason), excluding the title page, reference list, or any tables/figures (if applicable). Post in your assignment folder as an MS Word file to the link titled Final Individual. This, along with all papers, must be in APA format.