You Manage It! 4: Global Mentoring as Global Development

Organizations face enormous challenges in bringing people together and having them understand and trust the organization and its systems. Some groups of people may have experienced discrimination and/or disrespect, or come from a cultural background that is not the norm in the organization. It may be difficult for these workers to trust and embrace an organization’s system. As employees, these workers may need support and opportunities if they are to get ahead. A mentoring program can provide the support and guidance they need. Employees can run into roadblocks to their advancement and feel ill equipped to deal with the problem. Organizations may also want employees in far-flung places across the globe to understand their organization’s values, processes, and culture. Mentoring can also be an effective means for dealing with these issues.

Critical Thinking Questions

  1. 9-31. Do you think that people should be required to serve as mentors? What characteristics should these mentors possess?

  2. 9-32. Workers can learn about policies, procedures, and so on by reading electronic or hard-copy documents. What else does mentoring bring to the situation that apparently makes this form of employee development so effective?

  3. 9-33. How do you think mentors and mentees should be matched? Should they be assigned, or should they be allowed to choose each other?

Team Exercise

  1. 9-34. As a team, consider the mentoring activity from the mentee perspective. Place yourselves in the position of someone who does not feel like part of the organization, has hit a plateau, or may be in another country and not have a deep understanding of the organization. What would you be looking for from this person’s mentor? Are there potential difficulties that the mentor should be aware of? How should mentors be identified and assigned (from your mentee position)? Share your team’s judgments with the rest of the class.

Experiential Exercise: Team

  1. 9-35. With your team, identify mentor selection criteria for mentors whose primary purpose would be to share organizational knowledge with international employees who need to develop this knowledge base. What characteristics should employees have in order to serve in this mentor role? Identify selection criteria for mentors who will focus on disadvantaged workers or workers who seem to have hit barriers in their careers. Should two sets of selection criteria be developed for these two roles? With your team members, identify the needed mentor characteristics. Share your selection criteria with the rest of the class.

Experiential Exercise: Individual

  1. 9-36. Do you think mentoring is effective for developing a more unified organization? Ask peers, family members, and friends whether they have had a mentor in their career. Was the relationship helpful? Why or why not?

Sources: Based on Development and Learning in Organizations. Mentors and minorities: How to create a united workplace. 24, 28; Dimorski, V., Skerlavaj, M., and Man, M. M. K. (2010). Comparative analysis of mid-level women manager’s perception of the existence of ‘glass ceiling’ in Singaporean and Malaysian organizations. The International Business and Economics Research Journal, 9, 61–77; Francis, L. M. (2009). Shifting the shape of mentoring. T & D, 63, 36–40.
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