Leadership Cultural Diversity and Global Mindset

Leadership Cultural Diversity and Global Mindset Extensive research has been undertaken over the past 50 years to identify and analyze leadership behavior. Leadership has been defined in many different ways, but most definitions assume that it involves an influence process concerned with facilitating the performance of a collective task. It involves a process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person over other people to guide, structure, and facilitate activities and relationships in a group to achieve organizational effectiveness and success. Robins and Judge (2008) define leadership as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals (p. 385). Along the ability to influence, intercultural, interpersonal and organizational communication skills are crucial for global leaders. For effective leadership in multicultural settings, a global mindset and diversity understanding are the most important skills required of leaders. There are several distinct theoretical bases for leadership. At first, leaders were felt to be born, not made. So-called great person theory of leadership, it implied that some individuals are born with certain traits that allowed them to emerge out of any situation or period of history to become leaders. The trait theories concentrate on the leaders themselves and have shown little promise for either the understanding of the leadership process or the relationship with effective leadership performance. Recent research findings show a significant relationship with the Big Five personality traits and effective leadership. According to Luthans (2008), there is emerging interest in positive organizational behavior capacities (i.e. hope, optimism, resiliency, emotional intelligence, and, especially, self-efficacy) and effective leaders, and there is continuing concern with leader skills and competences (pp. 413-416). Most researchers evaluate leadership effectiveness in terms of the consequences of the leaders actions for followers. Leadership is an exchange process between the leader and the followers. The group and exchange theories emphasize the importance of followers. Graen and Uhl Bien (1995) applied a multi-level and multi-domain perspective on leadership, distinguishing between leader-based, follower-based, and relationship-based leadership styles (p. 224). Leader-based style was found to include more structured tasks, strong leader position power, member acceptance of leader, and common understanding of leader and power. Follower-based became known for more unstructured tasks, weak position power, member non-acceptance of leader, and leaders absence from responsibilities. The relationship based style included situation favorability for leader between two extremes, accommodated differing needs of subordinates, and could elicit superior work from different types. Now known as Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory, it says the leaders treat individual followers differently; in particular, leaders and their associates develop two-person dyadic relationships that affect the behavior of both (Luthans, p. 417). This research continues to be relatively supportive despite some criticism it received over the years. LMX seems to be more descriptive of the typical process of role making by leaders, rather than prescribing the patterns of downward exchange relations optimal for leadership effectiveness. However, from the social cognitive perspective, it should be taken into account that leader-member exchanges are a reciprocal process, as leaders may be inclined to change follower self-concept in the short run to achieve performance goals and more enduring changes. Meanwhile, followers reciprocally shape leaders self-schemas through their responses, both as individuals and through collective reactions. The traditionally recognized theories of leadership tend to be more situation-based. In particular, Fiedlers contingency model made a significant contribution to leadership theory and potentially to the practice of human resource management. The situation in which an organization operates plays an influential role in designing and managing the organization effectively. The situational variables and contextual aspects of leadership affect leadership roles, skills, behavior, and followers performance and satisfaction. Effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leaders style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader. The theory suggests that a key factor to leadership success is the individuals fixed leadership style. Based on empirical research, Fiedler concluded that task-oriented leaders end to perform better in situations of high and low control, while relationship-oriented leaders perform best in moderate control situations. It is im portant to note that contingency theory emphasizes that leaders are not successful in all situations. In the 21st century workplace, this theory is still predictive and provides useful information about the type of leadership most likely to be successful. Data from this empirical research theory could be particularly useful to organizations in developing leadership profiles. However, the theory does not clearly explain why people with certain leadership style are more effective in particular situations than others, as well as what to do when the leader and the situation mismatch in the workplace. In addition, mush use of psychology and sociology has contributed to the development of five major contingency theories: Fiedlers least-preferred co-worker (LPC) theory (relationships, power, and tasks), Evanss path-goal theory (paths and rewards), Kerr and Jermiers leadership substitutes theory, multiple-linkage models (leadership and group effectiveness), and Fiedlers cognitive resource t heory (Robins and Judge, 2008, pp. 386-403). The studies have given a rise to a number of taxonomies which Yukl (2002) proposes might be refined into the three jointly inter-reacting categories of task-, relations-, and change-oriented behaviors. On looking at the fields of study covering participative (change-oriented) leadership, delegation and empowerment, Yukl more closely examined Vroom-Yetoons model of participative leadership to identify decision procedures in different situations. In his Leadership in Organizations book, he considers some detrimental success of collective participatory efforts by members of an organization to achieve meaningful tasks then gives the following definition of leadership: Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how it can be done effectively, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish the shared objectives (p. 7). One of the most important and difficult leadership responsibilities is leading change, especially the cultural change. The creation and establishment of a clear and compelling vision is useful to guide the organization through change, and guidelines are necessary for formulating a vision, as well as implementing change for political or organizational or people-oriented actions. Throughout the change process, the role of the leader is key. While traditional leadership theories focused on the leaders influential power over the followers, the contemporary leadership theories focus on the importance of the leader as a communicator. Contemporary organizations are constantly searching for leaders who can exhibit charismatic, authentic, and transformational leadership qualities. They want leaders who have clear vision and the right charisma to carry out the vision. Although exhibiting the right behaviors at the right time may be perceived as a result of true leadership effectiveness, the evidence strongly shows that people have a relatively uniform perception of what a leader should look like. They attribute true leadership to people who are smart, personable, verbally adept, and inspirational. The effectiveness of charismatic and transformational leadership crosses cultural boundaries. Effective leaders today must develop trusting relationships with the followers, because as organizations have become less stable and predict able, strong bonds of trust are likely to be replacing bureaucratic rules in defining expectations and relationships. Leaders who are not trusted are not likely to be effective. Yukl clearly explains, in chapter 9, why attributions of charisma are jointly determined by the leader, the followers, and the situation (pp. 240-267). Charismatic leaders arouse enthusiasm and commitment in followers by advocating a vision and increasing the followers confidence about achieving the vision. Attribution of charisma to the leader is more likely if the vision and strategy for attaining it are innovative, the leader takes personal risks to promote it, and the strategy appears to be succeeding. Self-confidence, strong convictions, speaking ability, and other leader traits or skills increase the likelihood of charisma. Ethical charismatic leaders use power to serve others, align vision with followers needs and aspirations, consider and learn from others, as well as stimulate followers to think independently and to question the leaders views. They prefer open, two-way communication, share recognition with others by coaching, developing, and supporting followers. They rely o n internal moral standards to satisfy organizational and societal interests (Howell and Avolio, 1992, p. 45). Robins and Judge (2008) defines charismatic leadership theory as a theory which states that followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors (p. 413). Charismatic leadership may affect some followers more than others. People are more receptive to charismatic leadership especially at times of crisis, stress, and negative outcomes. Charismatic leaders have idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Luthans, p. 435). However, as a group they are considered a subsection of transformational leadership. Transformational leaders make followers more aware of the importance and value of the work and induce followers to transcend self-interest for the sake of the organization. They empower organizations by developing follower skills and confidence to prepare followers for greater responsibilities. Under difficult conditions, resilient transformational leaders help followers to see threats as opportunities for advancement and responsibility for success (Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio, 2007, p. 126-127). They support and encourage followers to maintain enthusiasm and effort in the face of obstacles and difficulties. As a result of such influence, followers motivation and performance increases along with improved trust and respect toward the leader. The primary characteristic of transformational leadership is the idealized influence, as opposed to charisma, allowing people to differentiate between the two theories. The major difference is how followers are treated. While transformational lea ders seek to empower and elevate the followers to develop followers into leaders, charismatic leaders may seek to keep followers weak, loyal, and dependant on them. While transformational leaders increase follower motivation and performance to a greater degree, effective leaders typically use a combination of transformational and transactional leadership types (Yukl, pp. 253-254). Leadership effectiveness may not necessarily be enhanced by transactional leadership; however, contingent reward behavior is effective for recognizing accomplishments, as well as rewarding the efforts and good performance (Bass, 1990, p. 22). Global Mindset Cultural Diversity In todays rapidly changing global economy, it has become crucial for leaders to possess such intelligence that analyzes and employs the greatest possible emerging and challenging opportunities as well as observes and interprets the dynamic and culturally diverse world in which they lead humans the most valuable assets of any given organization. The success of the strategies multicultural organizations pursue is largely impacted by the leaders perceptions and interpretations of the global socioeconomic environment. With central focus in the field of cognitive psychology and organizational theory, global mindset has much to do with human beings and their sense in the world in which they encounter daily interaction with one another. We live in a world where do exit dynamic, ambiguous, and complex information that get our attention and absorption. Using cognitive filters, we are selective in our absorption and biased in our interpretation. There exists the likelihood that our mindset an d new information may, however, be engaged in an inconsistent correlation, under which circumstance the information becomes subject to rejection or the mindset becomes subject to change. The mindset of other members in an organization has an influence on and does indeed shape the mindset of the collectivity of individuals within the organization. The level of power, the status of people with whom being interacted, the purpose of interaction, etc, does play a crucial role in the shaping of ones mindset. New experiences, a change in the relative power of different individuals, and a change in the process of organizational and social interaction within members do result in a change of the organizational mindset. According to Gupta and Govindarajan (2002), the cognitive psychology has shown that mindset exists through knowledge structure primarily composed of differentiation and integration attributes. The latter first of two refers to the narrowness of knowledge the individual brings to a context, whereas the latter one refers to the level of integration of disparate knowledge elements in the knowledge structures. When differentiation is low, integration is not an issue; however, when it is high, integration becomes a critical attribute. Many of us are changeable and each time frequently swing towards the person we last met. This scenario where high differentiation is accompanied with low integration is known to be High D-Low I. Conversely, those who welcome diverse options and demonstrate integrative perspective are known as High D-High I which itself is the definition of global mindset. Gupta and Govindarajan define global mindset more precisely as one that combines openness to and awarene ss of diversity across cultures and markets with a propensity and ability to synthesize across this diversity The value of global mindset is best illustrated by the companys ability to combine speed with accurate response. The companys ability to grasp the needs in the local market and its ability to build cognitive bridges across the needs and between its own global experience and capabilities are manifested in such comparative advantages which identify the emerging opportunities, analyze the trade-off between the local adaptation and global standardization, smoothen the complimentary activity coordination across the borders, spread out the concept of new products and technologies, share best practices effectively and efficiently across subsidiaries. The value of global mindset becomes quite apparent when analyzing how its presence or absence might affect a companys strategy in a rapidly growing foreign market of extremely complex economy where public policy is unpredictable and preference is given to local companies as opposed to foreign. Modifying and reformulating strategies in order to achieve goals in the foreign market may still not be enough for success if there is a lack of understanding of changes in the foreign market and demand and lack of integrative global perspective towards the ongoing events in the foreign market. Awareness of changes in foreign market environments can therefore become a major source for valuing and upholding the global mindset and identifying and addressing its ever-existing challenges. Achieving global mindset occurs through cultivation, as prescribed by cognitive psychology and organization theory, and it is driven by curiosity and commitment to gaining knowledge about the world and its way of operation, by exposure to diversity, by unequivocal formulation of current mindsets, as well as by development of integrated perspective on diversity of standards in cultures and markets. Cultivating curiosity about the world is a reflection of attitudes, an element of individual personality makeup. Although the companies are capable of manipulating with adroitness to further produce curiosity among employees, their greatest freedom still lies on employee selection and in managing the demographic makeup of the companies. Companies cultivate knowledge regarding diverse cultures and markets through facilitating such knowledge at individual levels and through diversifying the company workforce itself which build cognitive diversity inside the mindset of individuals as well as b ring together a diverse knowledge base across the organization members. Formulating current mindset is heavily influenced by the process of interaction between people and the environment which shapes the interpretation of the surrounding world, hence affecting how the mindset changes or remains unchanged. Self-consciousness becomes a necessary and inseparable component when cultivating the current mindset which work best through asking managers to articulate own beliefs about the subject domain, as well as through drawing comparative analysis of how different managers would interpret the same reality. Getting formal education that builds on the awareness of diverse cultures and markets and participating in events and projects in foreign markets, and emerging oneself into more extensive cultural learning programs and trainings are all powerful ways of constructing a global mindset. Diversity is about differences, and humans do not easily negotiate differences. The human brains response to differences is typically arousal, alarm, and sometimes attacks, until such time as the differences are processed by exposure, reason, or mastery (Marsella, 2009, p. 121). The interactions between social diversity markers (i.e. ethnicity, race, age, sex, gender, social class, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental challenges, physique, etc) as well as between interpersonal and individual differences result in different conditions of acceptability. Differences become the source of problems in cultures and organization; however, diversity encounters occur under problematic perceptions. Leaders across the globe face the ever-increasing cultural challenges during their day-to-day interaction with humans within and outside the organization. In this global era, cultural diversity intelligence, competence, understanding, appreciation and embracement are required of effective global leaders. [Negotiate Diversity Immergance of Conflict (this is on a chart in the article)] Successful leadership of todays increasingly diverse workplace is among the most important global challenges. The problem of managing todays culturally diverse workforce is the unfortunate inability of the leaders and managers to fully comprehend the organizational, cultural, and global dynamics. The global economy has moved diversity to the top of any leaders agenda. There is a reason to believe that cultural issues in leadership should be studied to reveal both differences between cultures and specific within-country practices that would help expatriate leaders succeed. Organizational communication will differ across cultures. Todays global leaders need to recognize such differences. Most of the research on leadership theories has been conducted in English-speaking countries, limiting our knowledge about how culture might influence their validity, particularly in Eastern cultures. During the last decade, interest in cross-cultural leadership has increased dramatically for apparent reasons. Increasing globalization of organizations has made it more critical to learn about effective leadership in different cultures. Influencing and motivating culturally diverse workforce has become an increasing challenge for global leaders or leaders of cultural diversity on local levels. Successful influence requires a broad understanding of cultural differences and motivational factors in each culture. The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program has carried on a cross-cultural investigation of leadership and national culture, using data from 825 organizations in 62 countries to identify nine dimensions on which national cultures differ: power distance; individualism versus collectivism; masculinity versus femininity; uncertainty avoidance; long-term versus short-term orientation; and humane versus performance orientation (Robbins and Judge, 2008, p. 125). The GLOBE framework is primarily based on Geert Hofstedes Framework for Assessing Cultures one of the most referenced approaches for analyzing cultural variances since 1970s (p. 124). According to Yukl (2002), the results of the GLOBE research indicate that certain traits, skills, and behaviors are rated highly relevant for effective leaderships in all culture, for example, integrity (honest, trustworthy, just), visionary (has foresight, plans ahead), inspirational (positive, dynamic, encourages, motivates, builds confidence), decisive, diplomatic, achievement-oriented, and team-integrator, whereas some attributes varied widely in relevance across cultures, such as ambitious, cautious, compassionate, domineering, indirect, risk taker, self-sacrificing, sensitive, status conscious, etc. (p. 418). Examining the relationship among societal cultures, situational variables (such as strategy, culture, uncertainty, etc), leadership process, and organizational effectiveness, the GLOBE project has provided significant research results for leadership of cultural diversity in the rapid pace of globalization and economic development. To have a broader understanding of how leadership of cultural diversity and organizational communication with global mindset are applied in real world practices, I have decided to interview three individuals, who hold positions in public, non-profit, and private sectors, as well as to analyze and relate my findings to some leadership and diversity management research. My first interviewee, Miss. Hanying Li from Singapore, had started working in private sector but transitioned to the non-profit sector for most of her career life. She currently serves as senior program officer for Mangroves for the Future, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (AUCN) Asia Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand. Mangroves for the Future (MFF) is a regional multi-partner initiative on coastal ecosystem rehabilitation and management. Her main responsibilities include program coordination with all stakeholders, including six partner agencies, two donors, eight focal countries, etc., as well as project management (84 small projects and 9 large projects in six countries), and day-to-day running of the regional Secretariat. She has unshakeable knowledge of diversity and enormous amount of professional experiences cross-culturally. She was a valuable asset for my research, as I was trying to particularly learn about cross-cultural leadership in Asian cultures. Wi th her strong background and knowledge of Singaporean culture and workforce, she was able to address the core culture values and beliefs of Singaporeans which facilitated my exploratory study of Hofstedes and Trampenaars cross-cultural dimensions and leadership. Singapore is a major success story. Its solid foundation leaves only the question of how to continue expanding in the face of increasing international competition. To date, however, Singapore has emerged as an urban planners ideal model and the leader and financial center of Southeast Asia. Li believes that leading an organization, motivating the workforce, and assuring organizational success in Singapore require a careful study of cultural values, traditions, and norms, as well as diversity training. In her opinion, not many people from western leading nations have been successful in Asian markets, primarily because of the inability to understand and accept the cultural differences and lead according to those differences. According to Li, Singaporeans treat special groups of people with special respect and courtesy. Honored guests, elders, parents, teachers, bosses and leaders must be treated differently. They strongly value and adhere to a hierarchical relationship in society, as a result of Confucian teaching thinking. They see the society as composed of people who are inherently unequal in rank and standing, and differences in rank are signaled and reinforced by the style of the interaction between the parties involved. Deference, respect and formality towards superiors are the norm. In addition, juniors are supposed to keep their opinions to themselves unless specifically and directly asked. Hence, subordinates in Singapore are unlikely to question authority and are less likely to initiate upward communication unless requested to do so because its culture values the importance of status differences and hierarchies. The complex authority and status relationships characterize Singaporeans as a hier archical culture which parallels with the idea of power distance in Hofstedes study. Luthans (2008) notes that power distance is the degree to which members of a collective expect power to be distributed equally (pg. 432). Singapore has a high rating on power distance which means that large inequalities of power and wealth exist and are tolerated in the culture. Li suggests that a societys level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders; furthermore, power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international experience will be aware that all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others. In Singapore, people feel less threatened by ambiguous situations, motions are shown less in public, younger people are trustworthy, and people are willing to take risks in life. The authorities are there to serve the citizens. Conflicts and competition can be contained on the level of fair play and are used constructively. Singapore has comparatively low uncertainty avoidance; it has organization settings with less structuring of activities, fewer written rules, less risk taking by managers, higher labor turnover, and more ambitious employees. The Organization encourages personnel to use their own initiative and assume responsibility for their actions. Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these. Luthans (2008) defines uncertainty avoidance as the extent a society, organization, or groups rely on norms, rules, and procedures to alleviate the unpredictability of future ev ents (p. 432). Li mentions that leaders from individualistic cultures might have hard time motivating Singaporean employees if there is no appreciation and respect for employees family members. Tasks are not usually distributed to individuals, but rather to a group. Traditional Asian value of family ties remains paramount to the average Singaporean. Hence, it is not surprising that it is the group rather than the individual that is emphasized in Singaporean society. In Singapore, children are raised to stay within the family. From early infancy on, children are conditioned to be a part of the group and to stay within the group. They are socialized to be dependent on the group, to make decisions that benefit the group, and to make choices for, and in support of, the group. Children are taught to assist and uphold the honor of the group, whether that group is the family, the school, the neighborhood, or the nation. The person who places individual needs ahead of the group needs is considered to be am oral, almost a misfit, or even a social deviant. To sum up, familys moral influences and kinship partners lead Singaporeans to be collectivistic, rather than individualistic. Group collectivism is the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, or cohesiveness in their organizations or families (Luthans, 2008, p. 432). In contrast, individualism is t he tendency of people to look after themselves and their immediate family. Lastly, towards the end of the interview, Li mentioned about the importance of cross-cultural human-relation intelligence for effective leadership. Some cultures like Singapore are emotionally neutral not showing their feelings in public or organizations, acting stoically, and maintaining their composure which does not necessarily mean disinterest. This notion of emotional intelligence has become increasingly important for culturally diverse leadership environments. Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio (2007) defined emotional intelligence (EI) as the ability to accurately perceive, express, understand, use, and manage emotions in oneself and others in order to facilitate cognitive, emotional, and social growth and development (p. 183). My second interviewee, Mr. Hovep Seferian, is the Vice Consul, Press and Trade Attachà © of the Brazilian Embassy in the Republic of Armenia. Throughout his life and career, he has lived and experienced major cultural differences and challenges in Syria, Lebanon, India, Egypt, France, Brazil, and Armenia. His multicultural experiences have immensely influenced his perspective on cultural differences. As an immigrant especially in India and Lebanon, he underwent major obstacles, hoping to integrate in the system without being discriminated. Life experiences have not only made him a transformational leader, but also a selfless public servant and administrator. Seferian emphasizes the importance of ethical and moral responsibilities public leaders should have when tensions and diversity challenges occur. They are to be perceived honorable in their field before they are trusted with public affairs and business. Once honor is gained by the followers, they are to follow personal morality, as well as professional, organizational, and social ethics. An ethical public leader would not use the position for personal or private gains in a democratic mechanism. Nations are democratic when public officials follow the rule of law to truthfully serve the citizens without selfish ambitions. Personal motivations, value-free neutrality, legitimacy, and social equity may heavily influence on public leaders role in the society and their commitment to ethical conduct in decision making and democratic service. Personal morality is closely related to personal motivations, since personal concerns, such as career advancement, financial security, or private gains, play a significant role in the professional workplace. The public service environment is quite complex, making it difficult to generalize about the nature of public service and identify the way public leaders can best serve the public. The organizational and social ethics hold the public leaders responsible for protecting individuals in the society and furthering the process of the group as a whole. Standards of conduct, formal guidelines for ethical behavior, and other norms have been created to hold public leaders accountable for their actions. Ethics and morality in government sector should be addressed more now than ever before with the emerging diversity challenges the system encounters, Seferian believes. Despite the cultural and diversity challenges, public/government officials have an obligation to be fair and just for all citizens. As representatives of the citizenry, they have the responsibility to bring social justice, equity, and economic efficiency. However, Safarian mentions that in certain countries, like those of the former Soviet Union, it has become increasingly difficult for public administrators to intervene in governmental decision-making and public policy to address diversity and equality issues. Although attempts towards democratization have been made, the cultural and polit

Zoe’s Tale PART II Chapter Eighteen

The conversation Hickory was having with Dad about the Conclave and the Colonial Union was really interesting, right up until the point where Hickory said it and Dickory were planning to kill my parents. Then, well. I sort of lost it. To be fair, it had been a really long day. I had said good night to Enzo, dragged my butt home, and could barely think straight enough to hide the stone knife in my dresser and fend off Babar's lick attack on my face before I collapsed onto my cot and passed out without even bothering to get all the way undressed. At some point after I lay down, Jane came home from the medical bay, kissed me on the forehead and slipped off my boots, but I barely remember that other than murmuring something to her about how happy I was she was better. At least, that's what I was saying inside my head; I don't know if my mouth formed the actual words. I think it did. I was very tired at the time. Not too much after that, though, Dad came in and gently nudged me awake. â€Å"Come on, hon,† he said. â€Å"I need you to do something for me.† â€Å"I'll do it in the morning,† I mumbled. â€Å"I swear.† â€Å"No, sweetheart,† he said. â€Å"I need you to do it now.† The tone of his voice, gentle but insistent, told me he really did need me to get up. I did, but with enough grumbling to maintain my honor. We went to the living room of our bungalow; Dad steered me to the couch, which I sat on and tried to maintain a semiconscious state that would allow me to go back to sleep when we were done with whatever it was we were doing. Dad sat down at his desk; Mom stood next to him. I smiled sleepily at her but she seemed not to notice. Between me and my parents were Hickory and Dickory. Dad spoke to Hickory. â€Å"Can you two lie?† he asked it. â€Å"We have not yet lied to you,† Hickory said. Which even in my sleepy state I recognized as not being an actual answer to the question that was asked. Dad and Hickory bantered back and forth a little about what being able to lie brings to a conversation (in my opinion, mostly the ability to not have to argue about stupid things it's just better to lie about, but no one asked me), and then Dad asked me to tell Hickory and Dickory to answer all his questions without any lies or evasions. This finally woke me all the way up. â€Å"Why?† I asked. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"Please do it,† Dad said. â€Å"All right,† I said, and then turned to Hickory. â€Å"Hickory, please answer my dad without lying to him or evading his questions. All right?† â€Å"As you wish, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"Dickory too,† I said. â€Å"We will both answer truthfully,† Hickory said. â€Å"Thank you,† Dad said, and then turned back to me. â€Å"You can go back to bed now, sweetie.† This annoyed me. I was a human being, not a truth serum. â€Å"I want to know what's going on,† I said. â€Å"It's not something you need to worry about,† Dad said. â€Å"You order me to have these two tell you the truth, and you want me to believe it's not something I need to worry about?† I asked. The sleep toxins were taking their time leaving my system, because even as I was saying this I realized it came out showing a little more attitude to my parents than was entirely warranted at the moment. As if to confirm this, Jane straightened herself up a bit. â€Å"Zoe,† she said. I recalibrated. â€Å"Besides, if I leave there's no guarantee they won't lie to you,† I said, trying to sound a bit more reasonable. â€Å"They're emotionally equipped to lie to you, because they don't care about disappointing you. But they don't want to disappoint me.† I didn't know if this was actually true or not. But I was guessing it was. Dad turned to Hickory. â€Å"Is this true?† â€Å"We would lie to you if we felt it was necessary,† Hickory said. â€Å"We would not lie to Zoe.† There was a really interesting question here of whether Hickory was saying this because it was actually true, or whether it was saying it in order to back me up on what I said, and if the latter, what the actual truth value of the statement was. If I were more awake, I think I would have thought about it more at the time. But as it was, I just nodded and said, â€Å"There you go,† to my dad. â€Å"Breathe a word of this to anyone and you're spending the next year in the horse stall,† Dad said. â€Å"My lips are sealed,† I said, and almost made a lip-locking motion, but thought better of it at the last second. And a good thing, too, because suddenly Jane came up and loomed over me, bearing her I am as serious as death expression. â€Å"No,† she said. â€Å"I need you to understand that what you're hearing here you absolutely cannot share with anyone else. Not Gretchen. Not any of your other friends. Not anyone. It's not a game and it's not a fun secret. This is dead serious business, Zoe. If you're not ready to accept that, you need to leave this room right now. I'll take my chances with Hickory and Dickory lying to us, but not you. So do you understand that when we tell you not to share this with anyone, that you cannot share it with anyone else? Yes or no.† Several thoughts entered my mind at that moment. The first is that it was times like this when I had the smallest inkling of how terrifying Jane must have been as a soldier. She was the best mom a girl could ever have, make no mistake about it, but when she got like this, she was as hard and cold and direct as any person could be. She was, to use a word, intimidating. And this was just with words. I tried to imagine her stalking across a battlefield with the same expression on her face she had now, and standard-issue Defense Forces rifle. I think I actually felt at least three of my internal organs contract at the thought. The second is I wondered what she would think of my ability to keep a secret if she had known what I had just done with my evening. The third was maybe she did, and that was what this was about. I felt several other of my internal organs contract at that thought. Jane was still looking at me, cold like stone, waiting for my answer. â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"I understand, Jane. Not a word.† â€Å"Thank you, Zoe,† Jane said. Then she bent down and kissed the top of my head. Just like that, she was my mom again. Which in its way made her even more terrifying, if you ask me. That settled, Dad started asking Hickory about the Conclave and what it and Dickory knew about that group. Since we had made the jump to Roanoke, we had been waiting for the Conclave to find us, and when they found us, to destroy us, like they had destroyed the Whaid colony in the video the Colonial Union had given us. Dad wanted to know if what Hickory knew about the Conclave was different than what we knew. Hickory said yes, basically. They knew quite a bit about the Conclave, based on the Obin government's own files on them – and that their own files, contrary to what we had been told by the Colonial Union, showed that when it came to colonies, the Conclave much preferred to evacuate the colonies they confronted, rather than destroying them. Dad asked Hickory why, if they had different information, they had not shared it earlier. Hickory said because they had been ordered not to by their government; neither Hickory nor Dickory would have lied about having the information if Dad had asked them, but he had never asked them about it before. I think this struck Dad as a bit weaselly on the part of Hickory and Dickory, but he let it go. Dad asked Hickory if it'd seen the video the Colonial Union had given us, of the Conclave destroying the Whaid colony. Hickory said that it and Dickory had their own version. Dad asked if their version was different; Hickory said it was – it was longer and showed General Gau, who had ordered the destruction of the Whaid colony, trying to convince the Whaidi colony leader to let the Conclave evacuate the colonists, only to have the Whaid refuse to leave before the destruction of their colony. Hickory said that other times, on other colony worlds, colonists did ask to be evacuated, and the Conclave carried them off the planet, and sent them back to their homeworlds or allowed them to join the Conclave as citizens. Jane asked for numbers. Hickory said they knew of seventeen colony removals by the Conclave. Ten of those had the Conclave returning colonists to their former homes. Four of those had the colonists joining the Conclave. Only three involved the destruction of the colonies, after the colonists refused to move. The Conclave was dead serious about not allowing anyone else to start new colonies, but – unlike what we were told by the Colonial Union – didn't insist on killing everyone on those new colonies to make the point. This was fascinating stuff – and disturbing. Because if what Hickory was saying was true – and it was, because Hickory would not lie to me, or to my parents against my will – then it meant that either the Colonial Union had been wildly wrong about the Conclave, and its leader General Gau, or that the CU had lied to us when it told us what would happen if the Conclave found us. The first of these was certainly possible, I suppose; the Colonial Union was in a state of active hostility with almost every other alien race that we knew about, which I would guess would make intelligence gathering harder than it might be if we had more friends. But it was really more likely that the second of these was the truth: Our government lied to us. But if the Colonial Union lied to us, why did it do it? What did it get from lying to us, punting us to who knows where in the universe, and making us live in fear of being discovered – and putting all of us in danger? What was our own government up to? And what would the Conclave really do to us if it found us? This was such an interesting thing to think about that I almost missed the part where Hickory explained the reason why it and Dickory actually had detailed files about the Conclave's other colony removals: in order to convince Mom and Dad, should the Conclave come knocking, to surrender our colony rather than to let it be destroyed. And why would they want to convince Mom and Dad of this? â€Å"Because of Zoe?† Dad asked Hickory. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"Wow,† I said. This was news. â€Å"Quiet, sweetheart,† Dad said, and then gave his attention back to Hickory. â€Å"What would happen if Jane and I chose not to surrender the colony?† he asked. â€Å"We would prefer not to say,† Hickory said. â€Å"Don't evade,† Dad said. â€Å"Answer the question.† I caught Hickory giving me a quick look before it answered. â€Å"We would kill you and Lieutenant Sagan,† Hickory said. â€Å"You and any other colony leader who would authorize the destruction of the colony.† Dad said something to this and Hickory said something back, but I missed most of it because my brain was trying to process what I had just heard, and it was absolutely and completely utterly failing. I knew I was important to the Obin. I had always known it abstractly, and then Hickory and Dickory had pounded the point into me months ago, when they had attacked me and showed me what it felt to be hunted, and showed me why I had to learn to defend myself. But in no formulation of my importance was even the conception that I was so important to the Obin that if it came to it, they would kill my parents to save me. I didn't even know how to think about something like that. Didn't know how to feel about it. The idea kept trying to hook into my brain, and it just wasn't working. It was like having an out of body experience. I floated up over the conversation, and listened to Jane interject herself into the discussion, asking Hickory if even after admitting this as their plan, if it and Dickory would still kill her and John. Kill my mom and dad. â€Å"If you choose to surrender the colony, yes,† Hickory said. I actually felt a snap as I reeled myself back into my head, and I'm happy to say that I quite suddenly knew exactly how to feel about all of this: absolutely enraged. â€Å"Don't you dare,† I said, and I flung out the words. â€Å"Under no circumstances will you do that.† I was surprised to find myself standing when I said it; I didn't remember getting up. I was shaking so hard with anger I wasn't sure how I was still standing. Hickory and Dickory both flinched at my anger, and trembled. â€Å"This one thing we must refuse you,† Hickory said. â€Å"You are too important. To us. To all Obin.† To all Obin. If I could have spat, I would. Here it was again. All of my life, bounded by the Obin. Bounded not in who I was, but what I was. By what I meant to them. There was nothing about my own life that mattered in this, except what entertainment I could give them as billions of Obin played the records of my life like it was a funny show. If any other girl had been Charles Boutin's daughter, they would have happily watched her life instead. If any other girl's adopted parents had gotten in the way of the Obin's plan for her, they would have slaughtered them, too. Who I was meant nothing. The only thing that mattered was that I just happened to have been one man's daughter. A man who the Obin had thought could give them something. A man whose daughter's life they had bargained with to get that thing. A man who ended up dying because of the work he'd done for them. And now they wanted more sacrifices. So I let Hickory and Dickory know how I felt. â€Å"I've already lost one parent because of the Obin,† I said, and loaded everything I could into that last word. All my anger and disgust and horror and rage, at the idea they should so casually decide to take from me two people who had only ever shown me love and affection and honor, and flick them aside like they were nothing more than an inconvenience. I hated Hickory and Dickory that minute. Hated them in that way that comes only when someone you love takes that love and betrays it, completely and totally. Hated them because they would betray me because they believe they loved me. I hated them. â€Å"Everybody calm down,† John said. â€Å"No one is killing anyone. All right? This is a nonissue. Zoe, Hickory and Dickory aren't going to kill us because we're not going to let the colony be destroyed. Simple as that. And there is no way I would let anything happen to you, Zoe. Hickory and Dickory and I all agree that you are too important for that.† I opened my mouth to say something to that and just started sobbing instead. I felt like I'd gone numb from the legs; suddenly Jane was there, holding me and leading me back to the couch. I sobbed on her like I did so many years ago outside that toy store, trying to sort out everything I was thinking. I heard Dad make Hickory and Dickory swear to protect me, always, under all circumstances. They swore. I felt like I didn't want their help or protection ever again. I knew it would pass. Even now I knew it was because of the moment that I felt this way. It didn't change the fact that I still felt it. I was going to have to live with it from now on. Dad talked with Hickory more about the Conclave and asked to see the Obin's files on the other colony removals. Hickory said they would need to go to the information center to do it. Even though it was now so late it was almost morning, Dad wanted to do it right then. He gave me a kiss and headed out the door with the Obin; Jane held back a second. â€Å"Are you going to be okay?† she asked me. â€Å"I'm having a really intense day, Mom,† I said. â€Å"I think I want it to be over.† â€Å"I'm sorry you had to hear what Hickory said,† Jane said. â€Å"I don't think there would have been any good way to handle it.† I sniffled out a small grin. â€Å"You seem to have taken it well,† I said. â€Å"If someone was telling me they had plans to kill me, I don't think I would have taken it anywhere as calmly.† â€Å"Let's just say I wasn't entirely surprised to hear Hickory say that,† Jane said. I looked up at her, surprised. â€Å"You're a treaty condition, remember,† she said. â€Å"And you are the Obin's main experience of what it's like to live.† â€Å"They all live,† I said. â€Å"No,† Jane said. â€Å"They exist. Even with their consciousness implants they hardly know what to do with themselves, Zoe. It's all too new to them. Their race has no experience with it. They don't just watch you because you entertain them. They watch you because you're teaching them how to be. You're teaching them how to live.† â€Å"I've never thought about it that way,† I said. â€Å"I know you haven't,† Jane said. â€Å"You don't have to. Living comes naturally to you. More naturally than to some of the rest of us.† â€Å"It's been a year since any of them have seen me,† I said. â€Å"Any of them but Hickory and Dickory. If I've been teaching them how to live, I wonder what they've been doing for the last year.† â€Å"They've been missing you,† Mom said, and kissed the top of my head again. â€Å"And now you know why they'll do anything to have you back. And to keep you safe.† I didn't have a good answer to that. Mom gave me one last quick hug and headed to the door to join Dad and the Obin. â€Å"I don't know how long this is going to take us,† she said. â€Å"Try going to bed again.† â€Å"I'm too worked up to get back to sleep,† I said. â€Å"If you get some sleep you'll probably be less worked up when you wake up,† Jane said. â€Å"Trust me, Mom,† I said. â€Å"It's going to take something pretty big to get me over being worked up about all of this.†

Organizational Culture Assesment - 1717 Words

Case Analysis B: Organizational Culture Assessment Life is stressful and the value of the healthy organization is measured by the quality of the work-life balance of the employees. Even the best-managed organizations have stressors occurring on the regular and the irregular periods. Those regular stressors, such as quarterly reports or financial tides are expected. The unplanned and often unsuspected stressors occur within the organization. These unplanned stressors will create chaos and an unhealthy organization. Lindberg and Vingà ¥rd (2012) examined nearly 20,000 publications to discover some indicators for a healthy work environment, which they reduced to 24 for a systematic review of what employees thought comprised a healthy†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Time management: is the number one contributor to one’s stress level. Having enough time to take care of the customer and sharing anytime left between the other customers and employees are an issue. †¢ Customer: Secondary stress contributors such as interpersonal and lack of control / predictability (Landy Conte, 2009) are ever present. Driscoll, Field, and Pendry wrote, â€Å"The process of developing good practices in diversity management, as with any relatively new endeavor, involves repetition and fine-tuning of both theory and practice† (2007). Selden and Selden wrote there must be a paradigm shift to â€Å"fairness and equality† (pg. 381) within the organizations culture to become more accepting of minority groups from all employees (2001). The organization’s leaders were oblivious of the outcomes and suffered the ramifications for leadership’s lack of sensitivity and the employee’s unethical behavior. 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John Cage Is The Epitome Of A Cutting Edge Composer

John cage is the epitome of a cutting edge composer. This is due to the fact that cage has achieved an appreciation for music which is unmatched by any other composer. Cage enjoys sounds because of their dynamics and their lengths, something other composers usually overlook. This gives him the advantage to compose music in a unique manner; he can make music that is unmatched by others. This is what undoubtedly makes him one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. One significant reason why cage is considered unique is because of his experimentation with unorthodox instruments such as the prepared piano and tape recorder. This was in efforts to break the musical boundaries of traditional music in the west, this style was a change from his traditional musical styles early on in his career, which were more alike to his mentors and followed more of 12-tone style. The ideas brought forward by cage made him more of a philosopher than a composer, he broke the normal role of a composer by encouraging people to focus on sounds rather than music and by promoting eastern philosophies, specifically Zen Buddhism. He has extended his teachings for years to come after his death by publishing many books such as â€Å"silence† and â€Å"lectures and writings†. Cage always placed an emphasis on the ideas conveyed by his music more than how they sounded, for example cage composed a piece in which the performers are silent, only with ambient sounds in the background. This goes to showShow MoreRelatedEssay on Fall of Asclepius95354 Words   |  382 Pagespale skin. Yeah, Lucas replied with enthusiasm. Just like the supplier said, they are completely authentic. They are also sharpened. Let a piece of paper fall on it and it will split into two. Have you tested to see how tough it is at cutting solid objects yet? Costing a few thousand for each sword, I rather not. It was hard enough to get these blades. You have to be a very good friend with the supplier to even see one real katana. A bit creepy you collect weapons, mumbled Rahj