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Philip A. Foster Articles

Written by: Philip A. Foster

Developing the Global Leader – Transitioning Leaders and Their Organizations to a Global Environment. - Click To Read Article
Entering the 21st century we find a time of unprecedented globalization of business and economies. The advent of the Internet and other technologies are linking individuals across cultures and creating collaborations unheard of in centuries past. Accessibility of information and goods via the Internet open the doors for nearly every business to have a global presence. Reality dictates that understanding geography, language, customs, values, ethics, varying laws and national psychologies will all determine the success of a leader within the global marketplace. Leaders who take the time to assimilate into another culture will best develop relationships that will positively impact their organization.

Literacies of Global Leadership – The art of understanding and connecting - Click To Read Article
Organizations must deal with worldviews that make assumptions of how things area rather than how they should be (Sire, 1997, p 16). Beyond worldviews; complexities in geographical terrain, language, laws, and customs should all be considered. Understanding terrain aids in develop and look for opportunities for the organization to develop relationships and pursue knowledge which can translate into an impact within the marketplace (Black, Morrison, and Gregersen, 1999, p 51).

Think Time - Click To Read Article
How often do you take time to just sit and think? To close the door on all the noise; put on some music or sit in silence and just ponder those things that require your attention? My guess, if you're like most people, you don't really take a lot of time to think.

Focusing on the Unemployment Numbers is Wrong - Click To Read Article
For some time now we have been flooded with unemployment numbers that fluctuate by fractional differences. I may be a small voice in the wilderness on this one – but the government statisticians have us focused in the wrong direction. Don’t get me wrong, we need to see an improving economy but getting people back to work under 19th and 20th century plans will not work!

Creating an Unhappy Customer - Click To Read Article
The customer may not always be right in what they are asking for – but rest assured they will always be right if they believe that they are being treated less than they ought to be. If your organization seeks excellence – it must include an obsession with great customer service.

Doing Customer Service Right! - Click To Read Article
The way to keep customer and grow your market share will revolve on how you treat both current and potential customers. It would seem that during the holiday season this notion becomes clearer to me. Unfortunately during the holiday months companies hire more seasonal workers and the quality of customer care (mostly in retail) plummets.

Fractional Leadership – Strategy for leading the 21st century organization - Click To Read Article
As the world begins to climb out of what some are now calling the Great Recession, organizations are beginning to learn how to deal with unemployment, underemployment, and a growing self-employment sector. Organizations have learned along the way to do more with less and many have found that there are benefits to a leaner operation. In many cases, organizations have seen sizable drops in revenue that have forced them to downsize and in some cases resort to outsourcing and contract labor in an effort to stay lean, flexible and competitive.

Western Arrogance and the Multinational Organizations - Click To Read Article
find it interesting that western civilization is seen as arrogant, dominating, and imperialistic (Rodges, 2011) when many countries embrace many of our cultural attributes. From my own experience, as an American I have been guilty in the past of assuming that some Europeans are very much the same way.

Is Business for People or for Profit? - Click To Read Article
The only way I know how to begin answer the question is business for people or profit is through an analogy. The human body is the structure which holds our soul. Without the body, the soul has no physical ability to produce an outcome in the physical world (that we know of).

A simple structure in a complex world is stupid - Click To Read Article
In pondering whether Western thinking on organizational design is easily transferable to other countries and cultures I have to ask myself a core question: What influence does my own culture have on organizational design?

Behavioral Attributes of leaders and followers within an Open Organization Structure. - Click To Read Article
Organizational design and its effects on employee behavior has become an important focus of the modern organization and its leaders. No longer can employers rely on the traditional models of design structure, function and employee interaction. The current business climate almost instinctively requires organizations and its members to become more agile in their response to the ever changing economic conditions. Organizations must learn to develop processes to share knowledge and resources across boundaries to achieve stated goals. The purpose of this article is to introduce the emerging concept of the Open Organization structure and the behavioral attributes of the leaders and followers within its system.

Desk Audit - Click To Read Article
A brief article on getting ready for the new year.

The Role of Organizational Design in 21st Century Organizations. - Click To Read Article
The world is pressed on all sides by a diminishing full-time workforce, differing cultural, generational, political, and religious views and the organization of the 21st century must be more agile than its 19th and 20th century ancestors. The role of organizational design is imperative to how the organization deals with challenges it now faces. Today’s organizational design will require an ability to share ideas, knowledge, resources and skills across organizational, generational and cultural boundaries within and outside of the organizational system for the purpose of achieving desired goals. This article addresses the role of organizational design in 21st century organization.

Setting Your Moral Compass to North. Why talking about ethics is not enough - Click To Read Article
Just mentioning the word ethics conjures up a number of thoughts on ethical and moral failings. The late 20th century and early 21st century is marked by an increase in discussions and scholarly debate of the subject. At times you cannot even so much as turn on the television or pick up a newspaper without some news on the ethical failings of an individual or organization. Could it be that we are less moral than we once were or do moral failings only appear more prevalent simply because there is an increase in awareness through education, training and discussion? This article discusses the potential reasons for such failings and what can be done to address the matter.

Controlling Your Schedule - Click To Read Article
Are you stuck in the "TO-DO-LIST" trap?

Strategic Thinking for Leaders - Click To Read Article
The business environment today is constantly in flux and on the edge of volatility. No longer can business simply be the best at making a widget without also considering how to best transfer widgets to market before the competition. Superiority in the widget market is backed by an organizations ability to think and act strategically. This article explains the concepts of strategic thinking and planning and provides some practical competencies needed to develop the skills of strategic thinking.

Considering Five Emerging Global Trends and their Impact on Organizational Strategic Leadership - Click To Read Article
Today’s global economy is as volatile as ever. Many organizations have grown to understand the need to monitor and strategically anticipate emerging global trends in an effort to remain competitively relevant. This article will address these key trends and the subsequent required response of an effective organizational leader.

Tribe, Nation, Business Unit – Are we not are all the same? - Click To Read Article
We often look to cultural diversity when considering organizational processes and strategic leadership. This article notes the need to understand cultural differences as they relate to business operations.

Creating Organizational Change, Motivation and Momentum - Click To Read Article
Change is the one constant that businesses can rely on today. Navigating such change can be a challenge to organizational leadership. Helping employees understand the need for change must be a focus of leadership. Understand the motivational needs of the employee base while clearly communicating the needs of the company will become a much-sought skill for leaders today. This article addresses some challenges faces by organizations within the ever-changing business environment and offers insight into the change process, organizational communication and motivational attributes of the employee base.

Reverse Mentoring and the Leader-Follower Theory - Click To Read Article
Navigating through the rapidly changing world of blogs, podcasts, social networking, tablet computers, smart phones and other technologies can be a daunting task for anyone. Managers and business owners find themselves facing the reality that they are increasingly out of touch with these modern technologies and the lexicon of the under-35 crowd. Equally challenging and frustrating is paying for specialized training in technologies that are sure to be out of date the moment you leave the classroom. One solution to this managerial quandary is “reverse mentoring.” Reverse mentoring helps managers to effectively use the skills and knowledge of their employee base without stepping outside the confines of the organization. Understanding the process of reverse mentoring is the first step to successfully embracing emerging technologies and ideas

Leader-Follower Theory and the Transformational Organization - Click To Read Article
Leaders often seek the secret formula of leadership theory in their pursuit of effective organizational transformation. They desire a method that will aid them in efficiently moving their organization towards specified goals and objectives with the least amount of resistance. The goal of this paper is to address the leader-follower theory and its use in the transformational organization. This paper will address the attributes of humility and servant leadership and its contribution to the effectiveness of the leader-follower theory towards organizational transformation.

Controlling the Email Monster - Click To Read Article
We are all very busy... and we have more than enough to do without being dragged down by reading volumes of email. Here are 5 steps to controlling your Email Monster.

Doing The Right Thing - Click To Read Article
An article with examples of Customer Service and meeting the needs of our customers.

Permission - Click To Read Article
Sometimes we just need to know we can!

Work Life Balance - Click To Read Article
Finding balance between work and your personal life.

Warp Speed or Blow Out - Click To Read Article
Life is measured by how fast and how much we can get done in a short period of time! Are you burning yourself out?

Uprooting the Weeds in your life - Click To Read Article
Overcoming the things in life that strangle out our success.

Rut Busting - Click To Read Article
A Christian World view article on living beyond complacency - Climbing out of the Rut!

Positive Affirmations Killing Negative Thinking - Click To Read Article
Overcoming negative thinking in 30 days.

Long Before 43 Folders - Click To Read Article
A review of David Allen's Book Getting things Done and the whole 43 Folders Phenomenon. Using a Tickler File System.

Its all about choices - Click To Read Article
Everyday we are bombarded with choices to make. We make choices everyday that affect what we believe about ourselves and our ability to succeed in life.

Creating Meaningful Change - Click To Read Article
Developing Meaningful Change in your life.





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