Leading with Cultural Intelligence, 2012a

neighbors; what used to be a quiet neighborhood is now a festival every week. His neighbors have lots of
visitors who park up and down the side street, their children running around without any parental
guidance. Once, he held a party to celebrate his son’s graduation from high school, and his relatives and
friends had to park two blocks away because of his neighbor’s party.
At work, he’s pressured from his director to hire more people who “reflect the community” that Garden
Grove has become. From volunteers to paid staff, he’s had to work through policy changes and make
accommodations for who he hires. He disagrees with his director that he should hire someone just to
make a quota, and besides, he can’t find anyone who has the skills or the experience for the department
jobs. Although he loves his job, it’s not what it used to be. He’s increasingly unmotivated to go to work. It
seems that all he does these days is attend training sessions on diversity. What’s happened to his passion
for public service?
As the director, you have noticed the changes in Joe. You know it has to do with the new vision of the
organization to increase racial and cultural diversity as part of the city’s strategic vision. To help Joe
manage his self-concept, think about the following questions: What do you think is Joe’s self-concept?
What are the beliefs that are being challenged? When evaluating this case study, there are several items
that are important to note:
Joe has a long history of family traditions and roots in Garden Grove.
His experiences and knowledge of Garden Grove span generations.
Joe and his family are accustomed to interacting with people who are Caucasian.
He has a belief that his neighborhood was a “quiet” place to live, but it is now disrupted because
of the new neighbors, who are not so quiet.
He has a belief that the parties thrown by his neighbors are so large that he considers them
festivals.
He does not understand the collective nature of the Asian Indians, Vietnamese, and Chinese
neighbors in his neighborhood.
He believes that one should be hired on the basis of merit and skill rather than filling a quota.
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