Description

Learning Activity 1 Theme One: Understanding the unique challenges facing leaders today, and

the skills needed to meet them will help you as a leader to act decisively and proactively.

Maria Artos, a 25-year-old female graduate of Harvard Business School, has just been appointed

to the job of Director of IT in a medium-size business. Her immediate junior in the business,

Anthony Jones is a 53-year-old long term employee of the business.  He was passed over for the

job that Maria Artos now holds.

 First, identify all the leadership challenge issues that might be suggested by this fact pattern.

 As can be imagined, both Artos and Jones could feel uncomfortable since Artos was told that

Anthony Jones also applied for the position and Anthony could be resentful for being passed

over. Students will create an opening interview/meeting between Artos and Jones on her first

day on the job.  Use this week’s course material to create the exchange between Artos and

Jones.

 In creating the exchange between Jones and Artos, have Artos deal with all the identified

issues using her “leadership relationship building skills”. Note: In responding, consider that

the situation is one in which the skills from week five should be employed along with

addressing the topic of diversity.

Learning Activity 2

The executives of GDD are meeting to consider three finalists for a new position: Division Head

of the Middle East.  The winning candidate will be in a high- profile job.   Although GDD

usually lets Division Heads choose their management staff, a unique opportunity allowed GDD

to acquire a small local company with training in the delivery field.  The average age of the all-

the male group is 39.  

The effectiveness of the person in this new leadership position is of utmost importance for GDD’s

future.   GDD is also aware that certain cultural differences will make developing the division

harder than usual.   GDD needs a candidate who will know how to work with the Yemen

employees and at the same time has some knowledge of the customs and language of the

country.  After carefully reviewing résumés, the board selected six candidates for the first round

of interviews, after which the list of finalists was narrowed to two.  Both candidates seem to have

the intellect and experience to handle the job.   One candidate is female and the other male. The

male candidate is 34 while the female is 36. Both candidates are attractive and single.

Before the second-round interview, Rockfish has decided to ask you to devise a set of questions

that will help elicit information as to how familiar the candidates are with handling the cultural

diversity issues the job will present.   

In addition to using the course reading for the week, you may want to research some of the

cultural bias issues unique to the Yemen culture (Hint:  consider women in the Arab workplace).