MGT559 Contemporary Issues In Leadership : Solution Essays

Question:

On successful completion of this subject, you should:
 
• be able to identify and discuss how leadership is mobilised in relation to a range of contemporary challenges;

• be able to critically engage in discussions about the ethical dimensions of leadership;

• be able to build a theoretical framework for the practice of leadership in the face of contemporary challenges;

• be able to effectively articulate and put into practice learning about leadership in the face of contemporary challenges.
 

Answer:

Introduction 

Managing an organization and community is not an easy task and with respect to this, the management of a community requires consistent efforts from all the members, which assists in ensuring that the community prospers at large. The primary issue which shall be highlighted in the particular report is the issue related to the management of the diversity as present in the community. The Australian community comprises of people belonging to different backgrounds and cultures, which gives rise to various conflicts which might arise due to their religious actions or through processes. The German migration which took place in Australia thereby heightens the conflicts and other related experienced diversity, which exists within the community (Aho & Quaye, 2018).

As understood, these groups are mainly settled in different rural districts of the Adelaide Hills and practice religion which is different and unique, which thereby makes it difficult for the community to cooperate amongst themselves. In addition to this, the challenge lies that there exists considerable generational gap, poor language and other communication factors which leads to various conflicts (Multicultural.sa.gov.au  ,2016).  In the workplace, with special reference to that of Police services this diversity and related conflicts can easily bring about various conflicts which might have an impact on the overall development of the community at large and can have an impact on the lives of the individuals as well. For instance, in the line of the work of the Police services, it is difficult to manage the audience and the different members of the society if they belong to different cultural backgrounds and for this purpose the police services needs to start including diverse employees as well who can blend well with the community and maintain peace as well as harmony. This will assist it to connect better with the target audience and maintain an ethical code of conduct. In order to resolve this problem and bring about a sense of cooperation between the different members of the firm and the community, the practice of deconstruction theory and the reconstruction theory, can be successfully applied (Western , 2013).  

The report will be based on the review of literature which will highlight the manner in which the eco leadership in form of ethical leadership can be applied in the firm and in a community, along with a discussion on the manner in which this aspect will be able to successfully be applied in the situation, to control the conflicts which arise due to diversity.

 

Review of literature relating to the issue of diversity and conflicts and the leadership theory which needs to be applied successfully

According to Kim and Brymer  (2011), Australia boasts that it has a unique culture as well as history, which has been largely successful in shaping the diversity of the different individuals. This can be stated as living in the country along with the diversity of the different lifestyles of the individuals as well as the contemporary culture as present in the particular region. According to Pekerti and Sendjaya  (2010), the three different elements which have affected the diversity of the country can be stated to be the indigenous population, colonization by the British in the past and the considerable immigration, which has resulted in the presence of the diverse cultures

Moreover, Cranston, Ehrich and Kimber  (2006) state that the country can be quite vibrant and multicultural as the immigrants have belonged to various parts of the globe and the main strength of the country also lies in the rich cultural diversity. In order to ensure that this diversity is managed well and that the different individuals are provided with equal importance, there exists various legislations like that of the racial discrimination act, which seeks to ensure that there are laws to ensure the same. This act is still active in the country and reflects a strong message on collective commitment towards equality and fairness. The Australians are capable of speaking more than 200 languages and some of the languages comprise of the Italian, Chinese, Greek and others. The major religion as practiced in Australia is Christianity, which professes a variety of religions (Multicultural.sa.gov.au  ,2016).

Additionally, according to Kim and Brymer  (2011), although Australia is considered to be a cooperative country which has been very successfully in embracing the diversity which takes place, it can be understood that there still exists racism and discrimination in the country. In a survey which determined the discrimination level as present in the country, it was identified that around 18% of the Australians have been discriminated with respect to their skin, religion, ethnic origin and this has also resulted in the employment which takes place in the workplace. Stating so, considerable measures are being taken by the different members of the workplace and community in order to ensure that the different individuals feel deeply connected with the culture of Australia, and are willing to stay in the country for a long period of time.  For instance, the Common wealth bank has comfortably embraced the diversity in its activities and has a large number of diverse employees and has 52000 employees in more than 1000 locations and can be stated to be culturally inclusive (Dca.org.au, 2018).

Furthermore, according to Western, S. (2013), the management of the diversity at the workplace and at the community can be considered to be quite relevant and more as diversity has various benefits. A diverse workforce will be successfully able to manage the changing consumer demands and also assist in providing a view point and perspective from different angles. In addition to this, a diverse organization is better than a limited one as the diversity embracing firm is able to build a sound image for itself in the market. Stewart (2004), states that the diversity which takes place at the workplace often promotes the acceptance, respect and the team work which is required to be present irrespective of the differences which exist in the workplace. These differences may be with respect to the age, gender, political beliefs, race of the people and the communication styles which are largely preferred amongst the different employees at large. However, very often the people become intolerant of the people and have an objection against the systems which largely administer the operations of the workplace (Benschop, 2016). For this reason, it becomes quite critical for the business to ensure that they are aware of the diversity issues so that they can be prepared in advance and can easily prevent the issue from becoming a rather big escalation.

 

The first diversity issue which often takes place in the workplace and the general community, is related to the issue of Acceptance and Respect. Very often as agreed by Chin and Trimble  (2014), the different individuals are often not willing to accept the cultural diversity and rather engage in disrespecting the individuals who belong to the opposite cultural background. There needs to exist crucial acceptance among the employees with respect for one another. According to Western (2013), it is the ethical leadership in the form of eco- leadership which can go a long way in ensuring that there exist considerable training programs which educate the different employees with respect to the manner in which the different employees are required to accept one another and appreciate the differences which take place. Sabharwal (2014) states that the second kind of issue which may arise in the workplace is due to the accommodation of the beliefs of the employees at large. According to Owens and Hekman (2012), when the employees in an organization or the general members of a community share different political beliefs, cultural beliefs and other related aspects then, it may pose a threat. According to Cranston, Ehrich and Kimber  (2006), this is where the ethical leadership comes into consideration whereby the different employees would be required to keep their religious beliefs and other related beliefs to themselves, and would instead be required to adhere to the wok responsibilities and the duties which they are assigned to. Another diversity issue which may exist in the workplace is the issue related to the Gender Equality which takes place at the workplace (Humanrights.gov.au, 2018).

The employers and the employees need to portray an eco- leadership which aims to tie all the members of the community into an agreed cooperation and as agreed by Lawton and Pa´ez  (2015), they are required to prevent any kind of a generation discrimination which may exist and ensure that there exists adequate equality in terms of salary payment, structure, opportunities of hiring as well as the promotion at large. In this manner, the Police services as an organization will become more inclusive in nature. According to Hubbard, Rice and Galvin (2015), the generational gap can also be considered to be a relevant diversity issue which exists in the workplace. In this aspect, it needs to be considered that, there are certain companies where there exists more diverse age groups, from teenagers to the senior citizen and in this aspect, it needs to be understood that the social circles which are formed may then lead to the isolation of certain employees. The young police officers may often discriminate against the new ones and this may lead to a sense of mismanagement (Humanrights.gov.au, 2018).  According to Kidder (2009), the situation might be the same in case of the discrimination which takes place in the community, whereby a certain section of the group members may then isolate the other group members and then this may lead to discrimination which may cause conflicts within the community. Lastly, the barrier of Language and Communication which exists between the various members may also lead to a sense of discrimination between the different members and may cause communication issues which further ads up to the relevance of various problems. Hence, the leader is required to play a great role in this aspect and hereby assist the community as well as the organization, to ensure that they are successfully able to resolve the different conflicts at the workplace and community at large .

 

According to Heres and Lasthuizen (2012), the major leadership theory which can assist in solving the challenge of diversity in the workplace relates to the theory of deconstruction. The deconstruction theory will go a long way in assisting the different members of the organization to build up and understand the factors which actually has an impact on the diversity relating to the workplace and on the general community at large.  In addition to this, ethical leadership through eco- leadership forms the basis of forming a diversity inclusive society which can then assist the community. Western (2013), states that the reconstruction leadership theory goes a long way in understanding the different types of leadership theory like the controller leadership theory, the therapist leadership, the eco-leadership and the messiah leadership. These leadership styles greatly assists in laying down the different  ways in which the diversity in a firm can be managed easily and help in defining whether the community will be able to successfully abide by the diversity issues or not (Benschop, 2016). This means that leadership goes a long way in managing the community and hence, when the right kind of leadership which is the Eco-leadership, will be adopted by the organizations like the Police services, it will assist the community and overcome the mutual issues they face (Chin & Trimble, 2014). According to Favoreu, Carassus and Maurel (2015), the process of reconstructing will assist in considering the factors which might have an impact on the overall community and hence, while considering these factors, it generally becomes quite easy to abide by the requirements of the community. Under the reconstruction leadership style, the eco-leadership style has a greater role to play and this way the leader is able to handle the situation in hand by considering the point of view of the different factors, which tends to have a strong impact on diversification and also helps in assessing how the diversification process will take place. The therapist theory of leadership recommends that the leader needs to apply a unique leadership style by considering the different factors affecting the business and the community at large. In this manner, the community issues can be resolved easily. According to Furst and Cable (2008), by the application of the leadership theory and related models, a leader will be successfully able to ensure long term success which will ensure that the people in the community and in the organizations are easily able to live in cooperation. In this manner, the different communities can expand peacedully and the economy can foster mutually (Chin & Trimble, 2014). 

 

Conclusion

Therefore, from the review of literature as done on the Leadership in managing diversity, it can be largely understood that, the issue of diversity is a very huge one. As the country of Australia, is a considerably large country with a unique history, people from all over the world have made migrations to the given country and with respect to this, they have been able to bring about considerably change and additions to the history as well as the culture of the country at large. Through the literature, I have become increasingly aware of the problem of diversity and how the particular problem is quite deep rooted into the business and the manner in which this problem is affecting the overall welfare of the country. In this regard, it can also be stated that, the only manner in which the problem of diversity can be solved is by the application of the ethical leadership models which would then assist the community and the overall workplace to perform considerably well (Day, 2000). In regard to this, I undertook a review and analysis of the concept of the reconstruction theory of leadership can be applied in order to review the overall diversity related issues, and the manner in which the eco leadership and ethical leadership may be applied to the firm at large.  

According to the review of literature, I was able to understand that the role of a leader in managing the diversity is very important because the leaders are required to manage a large number of people together and the entire operations of the organization and the community can be stated to be in the hands of the leaders. The leaders can make a difference by creating an effective scheduling, looking out for volunteers, playing to the strength of the team and facing all the problems properly. However, it becomes considerably important for the organization to understand that they are required to see the diversity which is extends as a merit rather than as a challenge. The major reason why this is done is because it is important to use the different talents and achieve the overall goals so that the community can become larger (Benschop, 2016).

According to literature as witnessed in Western (2013), the management of the leadership is one of the most important aspects of a leader and hence, in this aspect, it needs to be understood that the leader needs to nurture the different opinions and views of the different team members and the individuals belonging to the community at large. This becomes important to understand that the leader needs consider the point of view of all the members as present in the community and then take adequate steps accordingly. The leader is required to be honest with the members and from this ,I have understood that honesty can also be taken to be an integral measure of success and this aspect, it needs to be stated that the right action at the right place needs to be performed (Australian Public Service Commission. ,2013). Additionally, poor leadership skills often leads to considerable problems for the entire community and hence, it becomes crucial that the leader is able to adhere by this issue and engage in success.  For this reason, after understanding the issues with more clarity, I have taken a plan for myself and have aimed to start an investigation into the responsibilities of a leader which will help me to work well for the community as well as the general workplace. I have taken a measure whereby I have planned to interact with the different people as present and address the aspect related to unethical leadership which takes place at the community. The engagement with the members will also ensure that the people feel valued and help in removal of biases.

Additionally, I would like to take considerable steps so as to see to it that I become a stable person and that I am able to become a good leader and that I will be able to easily improve my knowledge. I have understood that the eco-leadership theory will help me to perform my responsibilities effectively, and help me in fostering qualities like human spirit, ethics, network and ability to face the challenges. When I will apply these issues in real life, I will engage in ensuring that I am able to become a better leader. Hence, through the review of literature, it could be understood that diversity is a common issue and that in order to ensure success, ethical dimensions of leadership will be required to be applied and face this issue.

 

References

Aho, R. E., & Quaye, S. J. (2018). Applied Critical Leadership: Centering Racial Justice and Decolonization in Professional Associations. Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs, 3(3), 2.

Australian Public Service Commission. (2013). Leadership and ethical behaviour. Retrieved December 26, 2017, from State of the Service 2012-13: https://www.apsc.gov.au/about-the-apsc/parliamentary/state-of-the-service/sosr-2012-13/chapter-two/leadership-and-ethical-behaviour

Benschop, Y. (2016). The dubious power of diversity management. Stefan Gröschl. Diversity in the Workplace (pp. 35-48). Routledge.  Australia: Taylor Francis, Pg. 1-14.

Chin, J. L., & Trimble, J. E. (2014). Diversity and leadership. Sage Publications.

Cranston, N., Ehrich, L. C., & Kimber, M. (2006). Ethical dilemmas: The “bread and butter” of educational leaders’ lives. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(2), 106-121.

Day, D. V. (2000). Leadership development: A review in context. The Leadership Quarterly, 11(4), 581-613. Doi: 10.1016/S1048-9843(00)00061-8

Dca.org.au (2018). Diversity Council Australia [online]. Available at: https://www.dca.org.au/ (Retrieved on: 06 Jan. 2018).

Favoreu, C., Carassus, D., & Maurel, C. (2015). Strategic management in the public sector: a rational, political or collaborative approach? International Review of Administrative Sciences, 1-19.

Hubbard, G., Rice, J., & Galvin, P. (2015). Strategic Management: Thinking, Analysis, Action (5th ed.). Melbourne: Pearson Australia.

Humanrights.gov.au (2018). Australian Human Rights Commission. [online].  Available at: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/ (Retrieved on: 06 Jan. 2018).

Kidder, R. M. (2009). How good people make tough choices: resolving the dilemmas of ethical living. Harper Perennial.

Kim, W. G., & Brymer, R. A. (2011). The effects of ethical leadership on manager job satisfaction, commitment, behavioral outcomes, and firm performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(4), 1020-1026.

Lawton, A., & Pa´ez, I. (2015). Developing a Framework for Ethical Leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 130, 639–649.

Multicultural.sa.gov.au  (2016).  Multiculutral Action Plan  [online]. Availabale at: https://www.multicultural.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/48992/Multicultural-Action-Plan_Nov-2016.pdf (Retreived on: 06. January. 2018).

Owens, B. P., & Hekman, D. R. (2012). Modeling how to grow: an inductive examination of humble leader behaviors, contingencies, and outcomes.(Report). Academy of Management Journal, 55(4), 787. doi:10.5465/amj.2010.0441

Pekerti, A. A., & Sendjaya, S. (2010). Exploring servant leadership across cultures: Comparative study in Australia and Indonesia. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(5), 754-780.

Sabharwal, M. (2014). Is diversity management sufficient? Organizational inclusion to further performance. Public Personnel Management, 43(2), 197-217.

Short, J. (2014). Social Entrepreneurship and Research Methods. Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Stewart, J. (2004). The meaning of strategy in the public sector. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 63(4), 16-21.

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