Quiz 11: Global Leadership Issues and Practices

Are Women Appropriate for Global Leadership Positions? The World Bank has stated that a core development objective is to achieve gender equality and full participation of women in business, particularly in developing nations. Despite this, as noted by Adler, a most of the research on leadership has focused on men, with only a minor portion dealing with the potential of women as leaders. Research has continued to show unevenness in terms of the level of participation of women in leadership roles, particularly as reflected in numbers of women leaders in business. Although women occupy more than 51 percent of the managerial and professional positions in U.S. organizations, there are few females in the top tier of corporate leadership. b Women CEOs such as Indra Nooyi at PepsiCo or Cynthia Carroll at Anglo American represent a very small minority of the leadership in publicly held corporations. Instead, most of the women who serve as CEOs have either started their own firms or have taken over the leadership of a family business. In a study involving 942 companies from the Fortune 1000, it was discovered that almost half of the companies had no women in their top executive ranks. Only 7 percent of the firms had more than two women executives and less than 3 percent had more than three women in top executive positions. c Only 14.4 percent of executive officer positions in Fortune 500 companies were filled by women in 2010, and only 15.7 percent of the positions on corporate boards. d Data such as these suggest that growth in the number of female CEOs in the United States may be constrained in the near future, given the limited quantity of women in the executive pipeline. Research has shown that women and men differ in terms of their typical leadership styles. For example, women tend to view leadership as an opportunity to empower their subordinates and enhance their potential to excel; men tend to see their leadership position as a chance for exerting control over their subordinates. e Adler argues for an increased level of women in global leadership positions, due in part to research suggesting that traits and qualities typically associated with women are consistent with those linked to effective global leadership. f For example, she found that global leaders who were women: • Came from diverse backgrounds, with no predictable pattern associated with their route to leadership positions. • Were not selected for leadership positions only by women-friendly companies or countries. • Symbolized hope, change, and unity through their selection as leaders, particularly in light of their position as outsiders who were going against the odds, thereby suggesting the potential for organizational or societal change. • Were driven to achieve success based on vision, rather than desire for hierarchical status. • Relied upon broad-based, popular support or support directly from the marketplace, instead of traditional, hierarchy-based structural or party support. • Pursued paths to power that involved lateral transfers within their organizations, instead of the more traditional path up the hierarchy that was common among men. • Leveraged the enhanced visibility that they received due to their status as women or as "the first woman." This special status meant that they received more attention from the media than did men, and they were able to use this visibility as a platform to enhance their position and performance. Consistent with Adler's work, other research has found that women tend to have a leadership style that is more participative, interactional, and relational, with greater levels of emotional intelligence and empathy, than is the case for men. g These are attributes that have been suggested as being better suited for leadership performance within a global context. Women have also been found to attribute greater importance to the areas of social responsibility, inclusion and diversity, and global skills-and women were believed to be better prepared in these areas as well-than was the case for men. h Women have also been found to use leadership styles that are more participative or democratic and less directive or autocratic than the leadership styles used by men. i The research findings presented in this Global Debate suggest that perhaps women might be better suited for the challenges associated with global leadership positions than might be the case for men. Yet how could such a possibility be true, given the small number of women occupying executive leadership positions?

Justin Marshall earned a bachelor's degree in business, with honors, from a prominent state university in the American Midwest. After graduation, he worked for two years in the finance department for a consumer products company and then two additional years in business development, consistently receiving excellent performance reviews from his superiors. He then returned to school to pursue a MBA degree at one of the top-ranked universities, ultimately graduating in the top 5 percent of his class. After being head hunted by several corporations, Justin accepted a lucrative offer to work for a prominent computer software and services company, which we will call Compcorp. Demonstrating stellar performance, Justin quickly worked his way up the corporate hierarchy. By the age of 31, he was promoted to a position as divisional vice president for the United States, where he oversaw the transformation of his division from one with mediocre performance to one of the most profitable divisions in Compcorp's global operations. Justin's performance as division VP caught the eye of the company's senior executives, and he was offered the opportunity to become VP of one of Compcorp's international operations, a division serving the Asia-Pacific region. Although growing in overall sales, this division had underperformed its major competitors in recent years, and Compcorp's executives told Justin that they wanted to see if he could replicate his earlier success and transform the Asia-Pacific unit's performance. Justin leaped at this opportunity. He had always dreamed of living and working abroad, and he exuded confidence that he could quickly diagnose the unit's problems and turn things around. Within a month, he had transitioned out of his former position, packed up his family, and moved into an apartment near the Hong Kong headquarters of his division. Applying the skills and experiences he had honed in his earlier positions, Justin began an aggressive evaluation of his new division. He pored over the financial statements and other documentation, met with dozens of key personnel throughout his division, and quickly initiated changes to help ratchet up performance. Rigorous reporting requirements and performance reviews were implemented, and Justin met with each of his country managers and other key personnel to agree on a set of ambitious cost-cutting and revenue growth targets. Individual unit performance was monitored closely and the results of each individual unit were shared across the unit's top managers. As Justin expected, performance showed a strong uptick during his second quarter as division VP. When he traveled back to headquarters for a quarterly review meeting with his superiors and the heads of other divisions, he proudly pointed out his unit's performance improvements and projected even stronger results for upcoming quarters. He basked in the positive feedback and attention he received from his bosses, as well as the substantial performance bonus he had earned. Justin felt that it was only a matter of time until he was promoted again, perhaps into a senior VP position back at headquarters. During the months after he returned to Hong Kong, results for Justin's third quarter in office evidenced a slight decline, and he was also surprised to receive resignation letters from several key managers from his division. A few of these departing managers took comparable positions with Compcorp's competitors in the region, and rumors of morale problems began to filter back into the Hong Kong offices. Despite Justin's efforts to turn the situation around, the trend of personnel departures and performance declines continued into Justin's fourth quarter in office. A team from the American headquarters visited the region several times, meeting with Justin and a number of his executive team members and other subordinates, trying to discern what the problem was and how it should be resolved. Justin realized that he needed to do something, and soon, to reverse the performance trend, or his position would be at risk. Despite his efforts to initiate a number of rapid changes, performance did not improve. Shortly after his unit reported additional subpar performance for Justin's fifth quarter in office, he was invited back to company headquarters for a meeting with the company's president. At that meeting, Justin was informed that he was being reassigned to a VP position in one of Compcorp's less prestigious domestic units and that a replacement executive was being appointed to lead the Asia-Pacific region. Although termed a lateral transfer, Justin knew that his reassignment was viewed in the company as a demotion and that his once high-flying career path had encountered serious turbulence. Despite his efforts to focus on his new position and reestablish his visibility in the company, and to regain the career trajectory he had once had, Justin felt that his actions were not paying off. Within a year of his transfer, he left the company to pursue opportunities with a different organization. What might explain Justin's failure to perform well in his new leadership role as the head of the Asia-Pacific division?

What is a global mindset, and why is it important for international companies?

Use the globalEDGE site (http://globalEDGE.msu.edu/) to complete the following exercises: Your long-term goal is to be in a position of global leadership in a large, multinational corporation. As you take this course, you realize the importance of developing global leadership skills through international and cross-cultural experiences. As a result, you are now considering participating in an international internship program. Using the International Internship Directory provided by globalEDGE, identify internship opportunities in private corporations in Germany. Which three programs do you find most interesting?

Justin Marshall earned a bachelor's degree in business, with honors, from a prominent state university in the American Midwest. After graduation, he worked for two years in the finance department for a consumer products company and then two additional years in business development, consistently receiving excellent performance reviews from his superiors. He then returned to school to pursue a MBA degree at one of the top-ranked universities, ultimately graduating in the top 5 percent of his class. After being head hunted by several corporations, Justin accepted a lucrative offer to work for a prominent computer software and services company, which we will call Compcorp. Demonstrating stellar performance, Justin quickly worked his way up the corporate hierarchy. By the age of 31, he was promoted to a position as divisional vice president for the United States, where he oversaw the transformation of his division from one with mediocre performance to one of the most profitable divisions in Compcorp's global operations. Justin's performance as division VP caught the eye of the company's senior executives, and he was offered the opportunity to become VP of one of Compcorp's international operations, a division serving the Asia-Pacific region. Although growing in overall sales, this division had underperformed its major competitors in recent years, and Compcorp's executives told Justin that they wanted to see if he could replicate his earlier success and transform the Asia-Pacific unit's performance. Justin leaped at this opportunity. He had always dreamed of living and working abroad, and he exuded confidence that he could quickly diagnose the unit's problems and turn things around. Within a month, he had transitioned out of his former position, packed up his family, and moved into an apartment near the Hong Kong headquarters of his division. Applying the skills and experiences he had honed in his earlier positions, Justin began an aggressive evaluation of his new division. He pored over the financial statements and other documentation, met with dozens of key personnel throughout his division, and quickly initiated changes to help ratchet up performance. Rigorous reporting requirements and performance reviews were implemented, and Justin met with each of his country managers and other key personnel to agree on a set of ambitious cost-cutting and revenue growth targets. Individual unit performance was monitored closely and the results of each individual unit were shared across the unit's top managers. As Justin expected, performance showed a strong uptick during his second quarter as division VP. When he traveled back to headquarters for a quarterly review meeting with his superiors and the heads of other divisions, he proudly pointed out his unit's performance improvements and projected even stronger results for upcoming quarters. He basked in the positive feedback and attention he received from his bosses, as well as the substantial performance bonus he had earned. Justin felt that it was only a matter of time until he was promoted again, perhaps into a senior VP position back at headquarters. During the months after he returned to Hong Kong, results for Justin's third quarter in office evidenced a slight decline, and he was also surprised to receive resignation letters from several key managers from his division. A few of these departing managers took comparable positions with Compcorp's competitors in the region, and rumors of morale problems began to filter back into the Hong Kong offices. Despite Justin's efforts to turn the situation around, the trend of personnel departures and performance declines continued into Justin's fourth quarter in office. A team from the American headquarters visited the region several times, meeting with Justin and a number of his executive team members and other subordinates, trying to discern what the problem was and how it should be resolved. Justin realized that he needed to do something, and soon, to reverse the performance trend, or his position would be at risk. Despite his efforts to initiate a number of rapid changes, performance did not improve. Shortly after his unit reported additional subpar performance for Justin's fifth quarter in office, he was invited back to company headquarters for a meeting with the company's president. At that meeting, Justin was informed that he was being reassigned to a VP position in one of Compcorp's less prestigious domestic units and that a replacement executive was being appointed to lead the Asia-Pacific region. Although termed a lateral transfer, Justin knew that his reassignment was viewed in the company as a demotion and that his once high-flying career path had encountered serious turbulence. Despite his efforts to focus on his new position and reestablish his visibility in the company, and to regain the career trajectory he had once had, Justin felt that his actions were not paying off. Within a year of his transfer, he left the company to pursue opportunities with a different organization. What might Compcorp have done to enhance prospects for Justin's successful performance? What might Justin himself have done to enhance the likelihood of success in his new assignment and to help avoid derailing an otherwise highly promising career in Compcorp?

What is the difference between management and leadership?

Use the globalEDGE site (http://globalEDGE.msu.edu/) to complete the following exercises: During your university studies, you have been taking French lessons. Although you are now fluent in the language, you still do not feel comfortable speaking it. Your mentor, a global marketing director at a consumer products company, suggested that you live in France for a period of time to further enhance your French-speaking skills and, at the same time, to develop global leadership capability. Use Exploring Abroad -which contains information on working, teaching, studying, and traveling abroad-to prepare a short report on living in France.

How does global leadership differ from domestic leadership?

What are the different types of roles that a global leader may need to take?

How does Blake's Global Leadership Triad differ from the Pyramid Model of Global Leadership? How are the two models similar?

Compare and contrast the GLED model and the "right stuff" model of leadership development. What is similar between the two models? What is different?

What are some of the tools and techniques that an aspiring global leader might be able to use to develop his or her global leadership skills?

Describe global teams.

Many business managers will say, "Leadership is leadership the world over." What are they missing?

How might national level culture affect change?