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Cultural differences and management

  • 1.  Cultural differences and management

    Posted 07-05-2006 16:49
    Hello GDO listmembers,
    I am posting this at the request of Kathy Lund Dean from Idaho State University. It's from one of her former students, and we both thought someone on the GDO list might be able to help. If you have research leads, please respond directly to Alma.
    Thanks.
    Joy Beatty

    ***********

    While interning with the Government Accountability office this summer, I
    was confronted with a problem that reminded me of your class. Our
    directors are very concerned about a performance gap between Caucasians
    and African Americans which has grown larger over the last four years.

    The GAO is a very structured organization with a core goal of being a
    model organization in Government. We have a very structured management
    hierarchy, many strict deadlines, and a pay-for-performance system.

    In our class we examined Hofstede's international cultural dimensions
    and we discussed how to effectively manage across cultures.

    Do you know of any cultural research that has been done inside the
    United States that examines cultural differences between Caucasian and
    African Americans that could give insight into required management
    control changes?

    Do you have any other thoughts on this issue?

    Thank you for your time,

    Alma Cole, SSCP
    Government Accountability Office, IT Team
    colea@gao.gov
    202-512-4094