1. With no initial complaints, was it appropriate to remove the Christmas decorations in the first place? 2. What was the correct action in response to the Jewish employees who objected to the menorah being displayed publicly? 3. How should you address the resulting conflicts between religious groups in your organization? 4. What is the best response to the grievance filed by the group of Hispanic employees?

ed, are work-related goals in your field that could be considered universal? What is Altho most important work-related goal that differs by culture 5. Should research on determining the dimensions of culture continue or should research shift its focus? Critical Incident: Whose Holiday Is It, Anyway? As a leader in a large Southeastern insurance company, you find yourself in the middle of a tense situation. Two years ago, the traditional yuletide decorations put up annually in your department were considered insensitive to the value of non-Christian employees. As far as you could tell, none of your employees complained, but a human resource manager said that out of respect for all reli- gions, no holiday-related decorations should be put up if they didn't reflect all cultures. Last year, employees thought they had addressed the problem by putting up traditional Christmas decorations, along with a menorah and Kwanzaa-related decorations. Although they had not complained earlier, sev- eral Jewish employees explained that the menorah was a private symbol, and it was not intended for public display in an office lobby. All of the holiday deco- rations were ordered removed and several of your employees complained that the Grinch was alive and well in your company. You began to notice that divi- sions that had not existed earlier among your employees began to develop along religious lines, and you felt that overall performance levels were falling because of the conflict. This year you quietly tried to sidestep the entire holi- day fiasco by telling your administrative assistant not to put up any decorations and not to mention it to anyone. However, a Hispanic group of employees Cultural Frameworks and Their Importance for Leaders 53 noticed the absence of Christmas decorations and asked your assistant why there weren't any since no one had specifically complained about the tree in the past. Your assistant told them that it was your decision, and they filed a griev- ance claiming that their cultural values required that they be allowed to put up a tree with decorations. CRITICAL INCIDENT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. With no initial complaints, was it appropriate to remove the Christmas decorations in the first place? 2. What was the correct action in response to the Jewish employees who objected to the menorah being displayed publicly? 3. How should you address the resulting conflicts between religious groups in your organization? 4. What is the best response to the grievance filed by the group of Hispanic employees? Exercise 3: Describing Cultural Identity OBJECTIVE contribute to an in To identify the complex culturally learned roles and marini