Assignment Overview
* Purpose: Integrate ideas from course resources and your research to analyze the challenges and develop strategies for leaders faced with team conflicts grounded in differences in global perspectives about ethical practices.
* Leadership Competencies Key: Analyzing and Evaluating Information, Making Judgments, Understanding Others, Considering New Ideas, Showing Respect and Positive Regard, Seeking Learning Opportunities, Thinking Broadly and Strategically, Writing Fluidly and Persuasively
Write a paper analyzing team conflicts grounded in cultural differences in perspectives about ethical practices and proposing strategies to facilitate a leader’s ability to resolve those challenges. Avoid the use of quotes. Summaries, analyses, and recommendations should all be in your own words, with citations of sources of information.
Identify an ethical issue (human rights) that reflects significant cultural differences between U.S. perspectives and practices in Iran.
– For this paper, you will fully present and defend the positions of both countries (from the U.S. perspective AND as if you are a citizen of Iran) before analyzing challenges presented by differences between those positions and offering strategies to manage global ethical conflicts.
Your paper should cover four broad topics:
* Issue
* Perspectives
* Analysis
* Strategies
Presentation of Perspectives
U.S. Perspective(1-2 pages):
* Fully present the U.S. perspective of your selected issue. Offer historical and current examples to demonstrate the U.S. perspective. Explain the cultural roots of the U.S. perspective. Questions to explore include (but are not limited to): Are there political, economic, geographic, social, or demographic reasons for the U.S. perspective of your selected issue? Are there differences among groups within the U.S. in their perceptions of this issue, or are assumptions about the issue fairly uniform within the U.S. population? Explain. How is the U.S. perspective of this issue evident in organizations?
Other Country’s Perspective (1-2 pages):
* Fully present Iran’s perspective of your selected issue. Offer historical and current examples to demonstrate that country’s attitude.
Cautions and reminders: Present the country’s perspective FROM their perspective. Avoid explaining their position on the issue through a U.S.-values lens. Cite sources of information about their perspective. Do not rely on your assumption about their perspective, and be careful to evaluate your sources of information about their perspective critically. For example, avoid drawing from biased sources against your chosen country’s views.
Explain the cultural roots of that country’s perspective. Questions to explore with a respectful and genuinely open mind include (but are not limited to): Are there political, economic, geographic, social, or demographic reasons for their perspective of your selected issue? Are there differences among groups within that country in their perceptions of this issue, or are assumptions about the issue relatively uniform within their populations? Explain. How is that country’s perspective of this issue evident in their organizations? (Be sure to cite sources of information and avoid quotes.)
Analysis of Differences, Challenges, and Opportunities (2-3 pages)
* Draw on ideas and concepts from our Unit 04 resources, as well as on additional research, to develop your analysis of the ethical challenges and intercultural opportunities surrounding your chosen issue for a leader from a U.S. organization who is managing or collaborating with a team from the other country you’ve selected for this assignment.
* Explicitly include culturally contingent vs. universally positive leadership attributes and their implications in your analysis. Discuss ways intercultural differences in perspectives about your ethical issue could contribute to expatriate failure.
Strategies (1-2 pages)
* Offer strategies for resolving ethical conflicts related to your chosen issue. Though you may offer general recommendations for leaders facing intercultural ethical challenges, your strategies should focus on resolving team conflicts grounded in cultural differences in perspectives about the specific ethical issue you explored in the beginning sections of the paper. It’s vital that your strategies are not dependent on “convincing” team members from the other culture of the “rightness” of the U.S. perspective; the strategies should demonstrate understanding and respect for the different perspectives AND recognition of the importance of the U.S. leader adhering to their ethical principles.
