Leading a Multicultural Team through a Change Process Essay

Leading a Multicultural Team through a Change Process - Essay Example The company – The firm has invested millions of dollars in the development of the project. Even though information regarding the amount of money the firm has invested is not available to me right now I can assume the firm spent millions of dollars developing this drug due to the fact that the average cost of creating a new drug is approximately $862 million (Adams & Brantner, 2006). Shareholders – Successful completion of the project will positively impact the price of the common stocks of the company. If the project fails the money spend on the project will become a sunk cost. A sunk cost is a cost that cannot be changed by any present or future decision (Weygandt, Kieso, & Kimmel, 2002). If the project becomes a sunk cost the firm will lose its entire investment which will have the effect of deteriorating the price of the common stocks of the company. Diabetes patients – Diabetes is a serious disease that affects 230 million people worldwide (Medicalnewstoday, 2006). This new drug will improve the quality of living of these patients. John - a 43-year-old African American, man, born in Bowie, Maryland Julie - a 51-year-old Chinese-American woman, born in the District of Columbia Jinsoo - a 27-year-old South Korean man who immigrated from Seoul Tom - a 63-year-old white American, born in Los Angeles, California, who recently moved to Maryland Darius - a 32-year-old Iranian man whose parents brought him to the United States when he was six years old Harpreet - a 30-year-old Indian woman who immigrated 10 years ago ... d to Maryland Darius - a 32-year-old Iranian man whose parents brought him to the United States when he was six years old Harpreet - a 30-year-old Indian woman who immigrated 10 years ago Issues The work team faces a variety of issues that are affecting its performance. For starters the team is very mad that its former leader was fired. They do not know that their leader was fired due to the unethical action of taking bribes from vendors. During the early stages of my tenure with the team I have to accept that there is going to be resistance to change from the team. Resistance to change is a very bad occurrence because it slows down the innovation process. Another problem with the team is a lack of teamwork. The team is also suffering from cultural conflict. It seems as if the personal agenda of each member has become more important than the project itself. Darius and Tom have been in conflict over how to approach the design of a critical piece of the product. There is low morale amo ng some of the team members. John and Julie are so disillusioned that they are job hunting. Losing these two members is not an option for the company since they hold key technical skills that are needed to successfully complete the project. The productivity of Jinsoo has decrease due to the conflict that exists among the team members. Tom, the oldest team member, believes he is been discriminated due to his advance age. Another issue is that Darious and Harpreet were added to the team just three months ago. Their entrance completely changed the composition of the team. Currently the newly formed group is in the storming stage of group development. The storming stage is a period of high emotionality and tension among group members (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2003). A final issue that the

Globalization and Nation State Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Globalization and Nation State - Essay Example 1997, p.1). Many professionals ranging from commentators to journalists, from politicians to scholars across all disciplines, have tried to describe and analyze this phenomenon and tend to agree that "globalization," along with the halt of the Cold War, has radically changed the basic "rules of the game" for a variety of key factors, particularly states (Smith et al. 1997, p.1). With the onset of this "globalization" and transnational companies, there have been long debates about the relationship of so-called sovereign states to each other (Wallerstein 1999, p.20). Wallerstein (1999) states that views range from those who emphasize the effective sovereignty of the various states to those who are cynical about the ability of so-called weak states to resist the pressures (and blandishments) of so-called strong states. Krasner (1999, p.34), on the other hand, reports that some analysts argue to the point that the world is entering into a new era, one in which the existing institutional structures, especially the sovereign state (by which they often mean several different things) is being undermined weakened, marginalized, or transmuted, by globalization. According to Krasner (1999, p.34-35), globalization can mean some mix of developments that might include the legitimization of human rights, the digitalization of transactions, the speed of communication, the density of global non-governmental organization (NGO) networks, the transmission of diseases, the growth of international capital markets, the surge of manufacturing in geographically dispersed areas, the universal availability of MTV, the increase in illegal migration, legal migration, and the like. Most analyses that emphasize the growing importance of globalization point to the transformatory nature of modern technology e.g. costs of communication and transportation have plummeted. Kelleher and Klein (1999, p.146) defines sovereignty in that "states accept no political authority as superseding their own." According to the principle, no international institution has the right to determine the laws and policies that apply to people within the borders of any sovereign state. Sovereignty, then, has the effect of designating government as the sole representative of the population of a state (Kelleher and Klein 1999, p.146). Krasner (1999, p.35) also provided that the term sovereignty has been commonly used in at least four different ways: 1. Interdependence sovereignty has referred to the ability of a government to actually control activities within and across its borders (including the movement of goods, capital, ideas, and disease vectors). 2. Domestic sovereignty has referred to the organization of authority within a given polity. 3. Westphalian sovereignty has referred to the exclusion of external authority; the right of a government to be independent of external authority structures. 4. International legal sovereignty has referred to the recognition of one state by another; some entities have been recognized by other states; others have not. Recognition has been associated with diplomatic immunity and the right to sign treaties and join international organizations. Globalization: A Threat to Sovereignty According to Krasner (1999, p.36), many observers have suggested that the increase in globalization is a threat to sovereignty. He asserts that