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3. What is interactive leadership, and why might this approach be increasingly important for
all leaders in the twenty-first century?
In interactive leadership, the leader favors a consensual and collaborative process, and
influence derives from relationships rather than position power and authority. Women's
4. Discuss ways in which low power distance as a social value among followers could affect
their interaction with a leader who displays high power distance.
High power distance means people accept inequality in power among institutions,
organizations, and individuals. Countries that value high power distance are Malaysia, the
Philippines, and Panama. Low power distance means people expect equality in power.
5. Why do you think many women opt out from seeking higher levels of corporate leadership?
Discuss why you think this either is or is not a trend that might hurt organizations over the
next decade.
Some women get off the fast track before they ever encounter the glass ceiling, which has
been referred to as the opt-out trend. In a survey of nearly 2,500 women and 653 men, 37
percent of highly qualified women report that they have voluntarily left the workforce at
6. Take another look at this chapter’s Consider This box. What might be some reasons men
seem to be falling behind in today’s world? If this is true, why is it that women are still so
poorly represented at higher organizational levels?
Students’ answers may vary. The most recent recession hit traditionally male-dominated
industries the hardest. Of the 15 fastest-growing professions, 12 are dominated by women.
Among 25- to 29-year-olds, 32 percent of women have college degrees, compared to 27
7. Why is it important for today’s leaders to develop cultural intelligence? Do you think a
leader who has never had experience with people different from himself or herself can
develop the ability to smoothly adapt to culturally different ways of thinking and behaving?
Discuss.
In a multicultural environment, leaders will be most successful if they are culturally
flexible and able to easily adapt to new situations and ways of doing things. In other words,
8. Recall a leader you worked for. At what stage of personal diversity awareness (refer to
Exhibit 11.7) was this leader? Explain. At what stage of diversity awareness are you?
Students’ answers will vary. However, students should base their responses on the
following the stages of personal diversity awareness:
• Stage 1: Defense. This stage is at the lowest level where the person perceives threat
against his or her comfortable world view, uses negative stereotyping, and assumes
his or her own culture superior.
9. Do you think people and organizations can ever become gender- and color-blind? Discuss.
Students’ answers may vary. Most of them may feel that people and organizations cannot
be completely gender- and color-blind. Attitudes are deeply rooted in our society as well as
10. The chapter described a conflict at a meatpacking plant over providing break times for
Muslims to pray. How might leaders accommodate the needs of diverse groups without
offending other groups or appearing to show favoritism?
It takes a special kind of leadership to deal with the differences in a multicultural
organization. One idea would be to use cross-border assignments and extensive individual
Teaching tools and exercises
1. Leader’s Bookshelf: Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
Lean In, by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, is one of the most controversial books to
come out in years. Sandberg acknowledges that women face tremendous barriers in the
workplace, but she argues that women also need to break down the barriers within
themselves and find their own assertiveness. She recounts workplace and social science
research proving that bias and institutional barriers exist, but she also presents evidence
showing that women hold themselves back. Gender stereotypes, Sandberg says, are so
powerfully ingrained in women that they continue to perpetuate them subconsciously.
Sandberg writes that women are largely to blame for the fact that “men still run the world.”
Here are a few of the career sins Sandberg says women commit:
• They let insecurity hold them back.
2. Interview: Assessing Cross-Cultural Differences
Interview three foreign students at your university. The registrar’s office could put you in
touch with the students. Ask the following questions:
• What country are you from and what is your first language?
3. Out-of-class research: Review six recent issues of a business periodical (such as Business
Week, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, or Wall Street Journal) Find two articles on
international business and evaluate them by asking:
• What types of cross-cultural differences might arise in these situations?
• How might managers deal with those cross-cultural differences?
4. Out-of-class film. Watch the 2006 hit movie The Devil Wears Prada, in which Meryl
7. Leadership at Work: Personal Diversity
Each of us feels different in many ways from the average behavior or expectations that
other people seem to value. This reflects our own feelings of diversity. The differences you
feel compared to others could be about your physical characteristics (height, age, skin
color) but also could reflect a difference in your thinking style, feelings, personality, or
behavior, especially when you feel different from what other people expect or what you
perceive are the social norms.
Leadership development: cases for analysis
I. True to Myself
Synopsis
Ethney Gentry was thrilled to have infiltrated the ultimate good old boy network, landing a job
with a mid-size Tulsa-based oil company. Armed with solid credentials and what she considered
the strengths of female leadership—listening, collaboration, consensus building, and
Ethney tried to show no reaction as she set her cup on the desk. “Are you implying that I was
selected over more qualified male candidates?” “No. I was not on the selection team. I’ve seen
your resume and you are an excellent addition to the organization. But qualifications aside, you
and I fulfill, shall we say—the ‘diversity’ requirements for an otherwise all-male club.”
Alex gazed up at the numerous photographs showing oil rigs scattered across the Oklahoma
plains. “I learned to play the game,” she said somewhat wistfully and then suddenly turned and
looked at Ethney. “I’m not trying to intimidate you. But I think that coming in, you should
Case questions and answers
1. If you were Ethney, how would you try to conduct yourself at the oil company? Why do you
think your approach would be successful?
Students’ answers may vary. The greatest disadvantages for women leaders stem largely
2. Do you think male-dominated cultures like this one still exist? Do you think women have to
plot a strategy to be accepted? Would you adopt a strategy in which you acted different
from your normal personality? Why?
Students’ answers may vary. There is increasing evidence that companies where women
make up a significant percentage of board members and senior management perform better
than those with only a few women in high-level positions. There also has been growing
3. What does it mean to be “True to yourself”? Is being true to yourself more important than
achieving personal career success in a male-dominated company? Is it okay to enable the
continuation of an “unhealthy” work environment for women? Why?
Students’ answers’ may vary. Women face tremendous barriers in the workplace, but
women also need to break down the barriers within themselves and find their own
II. The Trouble with Bangles
Synopsis
Leela Patel was standing by her machine as she had four eight hours of each working day for the
past six years. Leela was happy; she had many friends among the 400 or so women at the food
processing plant. Most of them were of Indian origin like herself, although Asian women formed
less than a fifth of the female workforce. Leela was a member of a five-woman team that
reported to supervisor Bill Evans.
Case questions and answers
1. What is your initial reaction to this story? Why do you think you had this reaction?
Students’ answers may vary. Some may of them may find that Evans did not have the
correct training in the culture, religion, and traditions of Asian workers to handle the
2. Based on this limited information, how would you rate this organization in terms of
developing leadership diversity? Discuss.
Students’ answers may vary. The organization is between Stage1—where people see
differences as a threat against their own comfortable worldview and frequently use
3. If you were a top executive at this company, how would you handle this problem?
Students’ answers may vary. Some may say that it is not an option to disregard the custom.
There must be a communication campaign to try to explain the safety and hygiene issues.
Digital Homework Grid
Case Assessment Questions
Topic
Category
Which of the following
exemplifies a benefit of a
Leadership Challenge #3
Perform
diverse workforce?
a. Harry is a manager who
believes that a diverse
workforce attracts the best
talent for employment and
quality.
Which of the following is an
example of a drawback of a
diverse workforce?
a. Robert is a financial
manager at GiftsGalore Inc.
who believes that the
additional costs of
nontraditional workers are
high.
Leadership Challenge #3
Perform
Which of the following is an
example of a disadvantage of
diversity in workforce?
a. Ryan feels that it is tough to
communicate within a diverse
group as it may lead to
misunderstanding.
b. Timothy is a manager at
Atria Corp. He feels that the
additional costs of
Leadership Challenge #3
Perform
Homework Questions
Topic
Category
Which of the following
examples reflects ethnocentric
behavior?
a. Workers from the country
of Atria considering other
workers to be incompetent
b. A manager encouraging
only by women
Leadership Challenge #1
Lead
Which of the following
Leadership Challenge #1
Connect
examples reflects gender
stereotyping?
a. Providing equal
opportunities for men and
Frederick is a cab driver who
sees two people standing on
the street. One of them is a
well-groomed woman,
whereas the other is a
shabbily-dressed man. The cab
driver assumes that the man
cannot be his customer and
drives up to the woman. This
scenario is an example of:
a. the glass ceiling.
Leadership Challenge #1
Lead
Given below are some
scenarios and some challenges
in society. Match the right
concepts with the scenarios in
the box given below.
CONCEPT
S
SCENARIOS
Stereotype
Martha is a
Frenchwoman
who has been
living in the
United States for
many years. She
likes to make
friends with the
local people but
she believes that
the French are
Leadership Challenge #1
Perform
superior to the
Americans.
Glass
ceiling
Henry believes
that the French
are not friendly
and
belief.
Ethnocentr
ism
Amy has been
working at a top
multinational
company for six
years. Although
Listed below are the
dimensions of Hofstede’s
social value system. Drag and
drop the options below into
the illustrated box
categorizing them into
dimensions and their
definitions.
Leadership Challenge #2
Connect
power/Collectivism/It
reflects a value for a loosely
knit social framework in
which people are expected to
take care of themselves/High
power distance/It is a
preference for a tightly knit
social framework in which
people look out for one
DIMENSI
ONS
DEFINITION
S
Richard is a human resource
manager of Dazzle Corp. He is
given the task of promoting
Leadership Challenge #3
Lead
representation of minority
groups within the organization
c. Setting recruitment goals to
select only members of
Which of the following best
describes workplace diversity?
a. It refers to the similarities in
characteristics exhibited by
male employees in an
organization.
Leadership Challenge #3
Connect
Which of the following
statements is true of a diverse
workforce?
a. It discourages the working
tendencies of minorities and
women.
Leadership Challenge #3
Connect
Match the preferred styles of
handshakes with their cultures.
Cultures
Preferred
style of
handshake
Leadership Challenge #4
Lead
