Leadership across Cultures

Dr. Carol Reade Bus 162

Introduction

Companies, as global corporate citizens, strive to attain their organizational and social missions.

Corporate leaders are expected to motivate and inspire employees in ways that contribute to the success of the corporation as a global entity.
Question: To what extent does leadership vary across culture?

Learning Objectives
Review

the basic philosophic foundation and styles of leadership research findings regarding leadership across cultures leadership differences and similarities across cultures leadership trends

Examine

Assess

Discuss

What is Leadership?
The

process of influencing people to direct their efforts toward the achievement of some particular goal or goals.

Effective

leadership involves the ability to inspire and influence the thinking, attitudes, and behavior of people.

Managers versus Leaders

Leadership Vision

Leaders help to shape the vision of an organization (future-oriented), whereas managers attempt to carry out the current vision (present-oriented) The questions global leaders address are universal; the answers are often culturally specific (Adler, 2008)

Leadership Vision

Corporate visions tend to reflect the values and goals of a particular society In the present time, corporate visions need to go beyond the domestic context and encompass the world, while implementation of strategies needs to take into consideration cultural variation

Leadership Foundations
Philosophical Background: Theories X, Y, and Z Theory X Manager
A manager who believes that

people are basically lazy and that coercion and threats of punishment often are necessary to get them to work.

Leadership Foundations
Philosophical Background: Theories X, Y, and Z Theory X Manager Theory Y Manager
A manager who believes that

under the right conditions people not only will work hard but will seek increased responsibility and challenge.

Leadership Foundations
Philosophical Background: Theories X, Y, and Z Theory X Manager Theory Y Manager Theory Z Manager
A manager who believes that

workers seek opportunities to participate in management and are motivated by teamwork and responsibility sharing.

LeaderSubordinate Interactions
Authoritarian Leader

Subordinate

Subordinate

Subordinate

One-way downward flow of information and influence from authoritarian leader to subordinates.
Adapted from Figure 131: LeaderSubordinate Interactions
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

LeaderSubordinate Interactions
Paternalistic Leader

Subordinate

Subordinate

Subordinate

Continual interaction and exchange of information and influence between leader and subordinates.
Adapted from Figure 131: LeaderSubordinate Interactions
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

LeaderSubordinate Interactions
Participative Leader

Subordinate

Subordinate

Subordinate

Continual interaction and exchange of information and influence between leader and subordinates.
Adapted from Figure 131: LeaderSubordinate Interactions
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Leadership Foundations
Leadership Behaviors and Styles Authoritarian Leadership Paternalistic Leadership Participative Leadership
The use of work-centered behavior designed to ensure task accomplishment. The use of work-centered behavior coupled with a protective employee centered concern. The use of both work- or taskcentered and people centered approaches to leading subordinates.

Leadership Style

What is your leadership style?

Leadership in the International Context

How do leaders in other countries attempt to direct or influence their subordinates? Are their approaches similar to those used in the United States?
Research shows that there are both similarities and differences most international research on leadership has focused on Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and developing countries such as India, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

Rankings of Leadership Attributes

Leadership in the International Context

Both

US and Chinese managers support Theory Y, but for different reasons.

In

US, Theory Y managers believe that satisfaction of higher order needs is a motivator China, Theory Y managers believe that all employees should rise together both economically and culturally, in line with philosophy of Chairman Mao.

In

Leadership in the International Context

Leadership in China a study

Individualism

Measured by importance of self sufficiency and personal accomplishments

Collectivism

Measured by willingness to subordinate personal goals to those of the work group with an emphasis on sharing and group harmony
Measured by the importance of societal harmony, virtuous interpersonal behavior, and personal and interpersonal harmony

Confucianism

Leadership in the International Context

Leadership in China results of study

The New Generation group scored significantly higher on individualism than older generation

They also scored significantly lower on collectivism and Confucianism

These values appear to reflect the period of relative openness and freedom, often called the Social Reform Era, in which these new managers grew up They have had greater exposure to Western societal influences may result in leadership styles similar to those of Western managers

Leadership in the International Context

Leadership in Japan

Japan is well known for its paternalistic approach to leadership Japanese culture promotes a high safety or security need, which is present among home countrybased employees as well as MNC expatriates

Japanese managers have much greater belief in the capacity of subordinates for leadership and initiative than do managers in most other countries only managers in Anglo-American countries had stronger feelings in this area

Recent Findings and Insights

Transformational, Transactional, and Charismatic Leadership
Transformational leaders are visionary agents with a sense

of mission who are capable of motivating their followers to accept new goals and new ways of doing things.
Charismatic leadership focuses on the individual abilities of

the leader to motivate and inspire followers.

Transactional leadership refers to leaders who exchange

rewards for effort and performance, a something for something basis.

Recent Findings and Insights

Transformational, Transactional, and Charismatic Leadership
Transformational leaders are characterized by four interrelated factors: Transformational leaders are a Idealized Influence source of charisma and enjoy the admiration of their followers.
They enhance pride, loyalty, and

confidence in their people, and align these followers by providing a common purpose or vision that the latter willingly accept

Recent Findings and Insights

Transformational, Transactional, and Charismatic Leadership
Transformational leaders are characterized by four interrelated factors: These leaders are extremely effective in articulating their Idealized Influence vision, mission, and beliefs in clear-cut ways, thus providing an Inspirational Motivation easy-to understand sense of purpose regarding what needs to be done

Recent Findings and Insights

Transformational, Transactional, and Charismatic Leadership
Transformational leaders are characterized by four interrelated factors: Transformational leaders are Idealized Influence able to get their followers to question old paradigms and to Inspirational Motivation accept new views of the world regarding how things now need to be done Intellectual Stimulation

Recent Findings and Insights

Transformational, Transactional, and Charismatic Leadership
Transformational leaders are characterized by four interrelated factors: These leaders are able to Idealized Influence diagnose and elevate the needs of each of their followers through Inspirational Motivation individualized consideration, thus furthering the development of these people Intellectual Stimulation
Individualized Consideration

Recent Findings and Insights

Bernard

Bass examined transformational, charismatic, and transactional leadership behavior across cultures
Bass

found some differences across cultures

For instance, transformational leaders in Honduras would be more directive than their counterparts in Norway.

Concluded

that there is far more universalism in leadership than believed previously

Creating a Positive Future

Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General, challenges business leaders to reposition business to help the world:

Let us choose to unite the power of markets with the strengths of universal ideals let us choose to reconcile the creative forces of private entrepreneurship with the needs of the disadvantaged and the requirements of future generations.

Bottom-of-the-pyramid business strategies

Summary Points

Studies vary on the extent to which US leadership approaches are acceptable in other cultures

Globalization is resulting to some degree in a convergence of work values.

Global leaders must show flexibility in their approach when working across national borders Global companies and their leaders have a growing responsibility to be good global citizens, to align corporate goals with the needs of society and the environment