[Excerpt] U.S.-based organizations once found a competitive advantage in going multinational and leveraging resources and markets their competition could not access. But in today’s market, simply going global is no longer enough to provide that advantage. Organizations must now adapt to create more global connectivity and an integrated workforce. This is the new way to achieve a competitive advantage, but it does not occur without first hurdling several obstacles

Goodapple, Jacob

English

DigitalCommons@ILR

Cornell University ILR School 
DigitalCommons@ILR 
Cornell HR Review 
2-28-2015 
Navigating Leadership in U.S.-Based Multinationals 
Jacob Goodapple 
Cornell University, jlg448@cornell.edu 
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Navigating Leadership in U.S.-Based Multinationals 
Abstract 
[Excerpt] U.S.-based organizations once found a competitive advantage in going multinational and 
leveraging resources and markets their competition could not access. But in today’s market, simply going 
global is no longer enough to provide that advantage. Organizations must now adapt to create more 
global connectivity and an integrated workforce. This is the new way to achieve a competitive advantage, 
but it does not occur without first hurdling several obstacles. 
Keywords 
: HR Review, Human Resources, Organization, Globalization, Leadership, Culture 
Disciplines 
Human Resources Management | International Business | Labor Relations | Leadership Studies | 
Organizational Behavior and Theory | Organizational Communication 
Comments 
Suggested Citation 
Goodapple, J. (2015, February 28). Navigating leadership in U.S.-based multinationals. Cornell HR Review. 
Retrieved [insert date] from Cornell University, ILR School site: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/chrr/
76 
Required Publisher Statement 
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original version of this article, and to see current articles, visit cornellhrreview.org 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/chrr/76 
  
cornell HR review 
 
 
NAVIGATING LEADERSHIP IN U.S.-BASED MULTINATIONALS 
 
Jacob Goodapple 
 
U.S.-based organizations once found a competitive advantage in going multinational and 
leveraging resources and markets their competition could not access.  But in today’s 
market, simply going global is no longer enough to provide that advantage.  
Organizations must now adapt to create more global connectivity and an integrated 
workforce.  This is the new way to achieve a competitive advantage, but it does not occur 
without first hurdling several obstacles.   
What happens when a U.S.-based organization launches internationally?  Do the U.S. 
leaders pioneer and establish the new business?  They cannot talk the talk (literally) or 
walk the walk (figuratively).  When U.S. leaders do not understand how to connect with 
diverse employees, clients, cultures, or norms, how successful can they be?  Organization 
culture versus region culture, which wins?  With the Pyramid of Multinational 
Leadership in place, any organization can take on the worldwide frontier.  Everyone 
wins. 
The Pyramid of Multinational Leadership is built on four factors: the organization vision, 
organization culture, region culture, and leadership awareness.   
 Organization vision: the core ideology and envisioned future that drive 
strategic decisions.1 
 Organization culture: a set of shared mental assumptions that guide 
interpretation and action in organizations by defining appropriate behavior 
for various situations.2 
 Region culture: the symbols, language, values beliefs and norms that 
make up a society.3 
 Leadership awareness: understanding of how to adjust leadership styles 
according to situation context. 
 
Building a Stable Foundation – the company vision 
 
As Collins explains1, vision includes the organization’s core ideology and envisioned 
future.  Core ideology breaks down into the core values and purpose of the organization; 
a consistent identity that transcends product or market life cycles, technological 
breakthroughs, management fads, and individual leaders.  While markets, labor pools, 
and technology change, expand, and challenge the organization, the core values remain 
static.  These are intrinsic to the organization and guide it into the future, intending to 
preserve the reason for its existence. 
 
The envisioned future is what Collins coins as an organization’s big, hairy, audacious 
goals (BHAG).  This is a 25 year vision that is specific, intense, passionate, tangible, and 
© 2015 Cornell HR Review  
 
 2 
linked directly to the core ideology.  Similar to the core ideology, the envisioned future is 
the driving engine intended to stimulate ongoing progress in the correct direction.   
Since the organization vision is static and the core of all objectives and strategies, this is 
the foundation of the hierarchy.  Without the organization vision clearly drawn out and 
shared across the entire organization, the chances of having a strong global company 
immediately decrease.  The organization and region cultures are not necessarily static, 
and this is why it is important to be grounded to the vision.  To build a strong foundation 
of leadership from the top down there needs to be consistent and constant communication 
of the vision and strategy across the entire organization.  This can happen during 
orientations, town halls, informal meetings, formal feedback conversations, training and 
development programs and more.  It is just important that it happens with conviction and 
it happens often. 
 
Adding Levels – culture versus culture 
 
Assimilating organization culture into region culture is one of the obstacles an 
organization needs to hurdle to be successful.  Organization culture typically shares 
commonalities with the region in which it originated.  A U.S.-based organization 
expanding into areas of South America, for example, should expect a clash.  Referencing 
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, differences may prevail in the following dimensions: 
 
 Individualism versus collectivism 
 Feminine versus masculine 
 Power distance 
 Uncertainty avoidance 
 Pragmatic versus normative 
 Indulgence versus restraint  
 
Specifically, a U.S.-based organization culture may operate as individualistic and 
masculine within a flat structure, comfortable executing in ambiguity while maintaining a 
poor work-life balance and normative orientation.  The region culture in South America 
may tend to be collectivist with a desire for a strong hierarchy, clear direction and context 
provided at all times.  Additionally, South America might have a high focus on family 
and life outside of work.  The U.S.-based organization may restrain from celebrating with 
social events and dancing whereas the region culture thrives on this.  These differences in 
cultures can cause problems with teamwork, communication, motivation and reward, 
engagement, collaboration and innovation.  The big question is, how do you conquer the 
clash to be as effective as possible in the increasingly competitive global market?  In the 
Pyramid of Multinational Leadership, the organization culture and region culture need to 
blend and operate together.  With this being said, they have very different roles that need 
to be understood by everyone in the organization.   
 
The organization culture should be considered something like a moral compass.  Per the 
definition previously stated, the organization culture is a set of shared mental 
assumptions that guide interpretation and action in organizations by defining appropriate 
behavior for various situations.  The organization culture links decisions to the vision of 
© 2015 Cornell HR Review  
 
 3 
the company and provides direction in any given situation.  The organization culture 
should not act or execute though.  It is like the brains of the operation.  The region culture 
is the muscle.  Region culture abides by symbols, language, values beliefs and norms of 
the region the organization operates in and executes accordingly.  This two-part system is 
how conflicting cultures shift from a problem to a two-step solution providing a 
competitive advantage. 
 
Finish with the Apex – nothing works without awareness 
 
Success would be easy if the journey ended at marrying the organization and region 
cultures.  It does not end there, however.  To truly execute on a global strategy the 
leadership of the organization must have highly developed awareness – an understanding 
of how to adjust leadership styles according to situational context.  In this specific 
context, the leaders will be adjusting to the cultural variances.  In order to accomplish 
this, the organization needs to educate its leadership. 
 
An ideal leader will show up every day with the organization vision leading each step, 
defining the direction.  All the decisions the leader makes will answer questions using the 
organization culture, again the brain of the operation.  However, all actions will be 
executed in accordance with region culture.  It is in the execution where leadership across 
cultures is critical.  Without expertise of what leadership styles match the organization 
culture to specific region cultures, the leader will be ineffective.  Knowing that match and 
the variances in each situation is the key of leadership awareness; it ties everything 
together and completes the pyramid. 
 
For example, you work for a financial firm (your 
organization) that is currently increasing assets 
through client acquisition.  It is well-known that this is 
a performance-driven and performance-rewarded 
culture.  Per the strategy, your business development 
team is on the forefront of this initiative as they 
prospect for clients.  Human resources (HR) is tasked 
to structure a new rewards system for the business 
development team to support client growth initiative.  
Per the organization culture HR knows it is necessary 
to implement a performance based rewards system.  
That is step one.  How you reward the business 
development team is step two.  In Asia rewarding the 
business development team with recognition and more 
complicated projects might work, in America a cash 
bonus, in South America a celebration with public 
recognition.  Per the region culture, HR will need to 
have rewards specifically designed for the region. 
 
 
 
© 2015 Cornell HR Review  
 
 4 
Conclusion – the pyramid is built 
 
By viewing the Pyramid of Multinational Leadership as a linear process with four steps, 
organizations can put a framework into place that will provide a global competitive 
advantage.  First, organizational vision is the foundation of the process – the core 
ideology and envisioned future that drive long-term strategy.  Second, organizational 
culture guides decision-making processes on a day-to-day basis.  Third, regional culture 
dictates execution on a day-to-day basis after taking into consideration the strategy and 
how the organization should address the situation.  Fourth, leadership awareness helps 
glue everything together by ensuring awareness of the cultural nuances and matching the 
leadership style with the situation.  With heavy leadership communication of the 
organization’s vision, and training and development of leadership awareness, an 
organization can harness a competitive advantage to succeed across cultures. ℵ 
 
Jacob Goodapple graduated from Cornell in December 2014 with a Master of Industrial 
and Labor Relations focused on Human Resources and Business.  Before completing 
graduate school, Jacob worked with Merrill Lynch, ExpertPlan, Goldman Sachs and 
American Express.  His bachelor degree is in Labor Studies and Employment Relations 
from Rutgers University.  He is currently working with General Electric in the HR 
Leadership Program.  
 
1. Collins, James C. Porras, Jerry I. (1996), “Building Your Company’s Vision” 
Harvard Business Review  
2 .Ravasi, D., Schultz, M. (2006), "Responding to organizational identity threats: 
exploring the role of organizational culture", Academy of Management Journal, 
Vol.49, No.3, pp. 433–458 
3.  Gerber, John J. Macionis, Linda M. Sociology (7th Canadian ed. ed.). Toronto: 
Pearson Canada. pp. 59–65 
  


Navigating Leadership in U.S.-Based Multinationals

[Excerpt] U.S.-based organizations once found a competitive advantage in going multinational and leveraging resources and markets their competition could not access. But in today’s market, simply going global is no longer enough to provide that advantage. Organizations must now adapt to create more global connectivity and an integrated workforce. This is the new way to achieve a competitive advantage, but it does not occur without first hurdling several obstacles.2_28_15_Navigating_leadership.pdf: 88 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

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