Essence of Leadership in Multiculturalism-Role of White Men in Managing Multicultural Issues

Abstract

Today's global business environment is exciting, evolving, and at the same time challenging: marked by change, complexity, and multiculturalism. The way in which we work has changed dramatically — virtual teams are commonplace, allowing little face-to-face interaction with the people we manage or report to who are based in other countries. Regardless of where our headquarters or domestic offices are located, we interact with global customers and our teams are staffed with international colleagues. Furthermore, our companies are frequently involved in the challenging process of absorbing competitors, being acquired, or being responsible for complicated reorganizations across global borders. These situations lead to management and communication challenges. As a means of effectively addressing these issues, cross-cultural management and change management strategies are imperative. With this combination of strategies, executives have the concepts and tools to successfully bridge cultural differences, maneuver the dynamics of organizational culture, and align and engage people to achieve organizational objectives in a changing business environment.