Michael Flamme OGL-350 Mod.

1: Paper 19MAY22

Part I

When I started my career, the leadership in our organization was made up of older men

that were retired from the military. This happened after a single VP was hired and did what he

knew best in his years of leadership. This regime did not last but a few years. There was no

room for growth if you were not former military or an engineer and with all that, male. If you

take a look at the organization I work for now, there is a vast difference that the company is

headed in the right direction over the past few years. Leadership has developed new business

employee resource groups to bring people together and an inclusive environment for those

who wish to be allies also. These groups help connect the individual self of being a part of the

organizational system and promote the employee perceptions that there is an acceptance of all

employees to support the full spectrum of talents. (Mor Burak, M. E. 2016. Pg.5 ).

Our leadership now is made up of former hourly workers who have made their way up,

leaders who came from other lines of businesses outside our company, engineers, former

military, and a large percentage of women who are now in senior roles. The diverse amounts of

leaders that are becoming more and more present are providing an inclusive organization for all

other individuals who can work together to generate a shared interest among others within the

organization and reduce barriers(Mor Burak, M. E. 2016. Pg.6 ). As well, it is evident that there

is attention to diversity management approach in our workplace. Our leaders recognize

inequality as a problem of exclusion (Woods, 2021. Pg. 5), that everyone belongs in our

workplace, that it makes good business sense, and that will most likely improve the

organization (Woods, 2021. Pg. 5).

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Michael Flamme OGL-350 Mod. 1: Paper 19MAY22

One interesting component I took away from the reading on identity is those who desire

to speak up to define who they are based on their race or ethnic group. The first example was

humbling that those that have been considered less privileged, including a woman and their

rights, are the ones to speak up and announce who they are. Just the opposite, white students

rarely mention being white, and men do not usually mention their maleness (Tatum, B. 2010.

Pg. 2). It seems that these are categories or groups of people with a dominant status in society

and are not the ones that feel the need to speak out. It is also interesting that because these

groups are not speaking out, they are the identities that often get ignored (Tatum, B. 2010. Pg.

2).

While developing my pie chart, I had a rough time separating items that I feel work

together (i.e. Husband, Father, Provider, Brother, Uncle) within the second dimension. As I

entered them into the chart, I wanted to make sure their importance was to show them as the

majority of what I feel is me. I don’t feel that only 25% of me is being a husband or father as

shown. 100% of me is all those things so it was hard to give them a specific weight on the chart,

as they are very important characteristics.

The primary dimensions that make me are the other attributes of each item. I am a

Caucasian male with European ancestry, and I am currently forty-one years old. Since my

gender identity is male, I take on the roles throughout my life as a son, a brother, an uncle, a

husband, and a father. Some of these characteristics were not by my choice and they become

roles that I choose to embrace during my life. I am proud of them. Only one of these

characteristics was affected during my life at this point. A divorce changed my role as a husband

for several years, but offset the importance of my role as a father during that time. This was a

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Michael Flamme OGL-350 Mod. 1: Paper 19MAY22

time in my life that gave me many learnings and a greater understanding of who I wanted to be.

I needed to understand myself better. The importance of my role as a husband once again is a

top priority for me.

While away from the husband role for several years, it was challenging for me to not

think of myself as a lower-level classification than those that were married. I found a

connection in groups with those that were also divorced like me. I was able to share

experiences and understand that I wasn’t alone in my position. As noted in the article, The

Promise of Diversity Management, I felt a similar experience that this connection with this type

of group become it was where I could feel like I belong and can compare to others (Mor Burak,

M. E. 2016. Pg.4 ). The remaining pie chart shows the other roles I assume throughout my life. I

am working diligently as a student at ASU. I practice my drum playing and play in a band with

my friends which is something that brings me to ease and better mental health. The last piece

of my pie is my role as an American in this country. It currently has a small piece of importance

because I feel very at odds with how divided our country is right now. I hope it will become

more important to me as time goes by.

In the cultural intelligence pre-test score, I received 85 points over the 20 questions. Out

of the 140 available points, I received a 61% score. My strongest result came from enjoying

interacting with people from different cultures. I grew up in a small mountain town and did not

get to see much of anything else until I was in my 30s. I do enjoy participating in a conversation

with others so that I can learn more. My other strengths are my cultural awareness that others

are from different backgrounds, being cautious about my verbal and non-verbal communication

with others, being confident in my ability to socialize with others that I am unfamiliar with and

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Michael Flamme OGL-350 Mod. 1: Paper 19MAY22

confident that I can get accustomed to shopping conditions in a different culture. I know this

last one is a strong trait for me from the few trips I have taken to China. My wife lived in China

for over a year for work and it was a great chance for me to travel and gain experience outside

of my own culture. My weakest points were knowing the legal and economic systems of other

cultures, the rules of the vocabulary of other languages, and the cultural values and religious

beliefs of other cultures. I need to spend more time engaging with others of other cultures and

be more open-minded with everything outside of my small bubble. I need to continue to be a

better listener and be willing to try new things as well.

Part II:

I chose to utilize Hofstede’s model to describe my family organization. The first value is

individualism/Collectivism. On my wife’s side and my side of the family, there is more emphasis

on equality and helping others in our family if you can. Our relationships are hierarchical due to

the nature of parental roles, but lately, as we get older, the group is focused on what is best for

the group rather than personal growth. This may be a factor of Covid and not seeing each other

for such a long time.

The power distance in our family is very low as well. We are supportive of each other

gaining success and bringing everyone up equally, as we can. There is more reliance on sharing

and participation with the group. As I get older, there is less power distance with my parents as

they seem to want us to become more equal to them. I feel I understand this well as they get

older, they will require more of our help and support.

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Michael Flamme OGL-350 Mod. 1: Paper 19MAY22

Our family’s Uncertainty Avoidance is on the higher side of the low. We are comfortable

with unstructured situations and able to deal with things as they arise. My dad and his side of

the family were more on the high side and it is still prevalent with some of my father’s actions

growing up. To this day, he acts more on the low side. The way our parents have not to tolerate

uncertainty in certain events helps align how we continue to make better decisions as we get

older.

The masculinity/femininity concept in our family is very much more on the feminine side.

We are much more focused on the relationships and nurturing of each other. Humility is a

strong trait for us also. We work hard for ourselves and help others around us because we want

to, and not for the need for accomplishment and reward. We are good at different things that

help each other out. When we get together as a group, we make the best of it.

Time Orientation in our family has more of a perspective on the short-term. We value

what we have come from and value what we have now. However, the hope is we are

celebrating what we have to live for now that will provide perspective on our kids being able to

be successful and happy, as they get older.

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Michael Flamme OGL-350 Mod. 1: Paper 19MAY22

References:
1. Pie Chart:

2. David Livermore. 2010. CQ: The Test Of Your Potential For Cross-Cultural Success

3. Mor Burak, M. E., Lizano, E. L., Kim, A., Duan, L., Rhee, M., Hsiao, H., & Brimhall, K. C.
(2016). The Promise of Diversity Management for Climate of Inclusion: A State-of-
the-Art Review and Meta-Analysis. Human Service Organizations: Management,
Leadership & Governance, 40(4), 305-333.

4. Woods, D, Benschop, Y., & van den Brink, M. (2021). What is intersectional
equality? A definition and goal of equality for organizations. Gender, Work, and
Organization, 29, 92-109.

5. Tatum, B. (2010). The complexity of Identity: Who Am I? In Readings for Diversity

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