Is Leadership Culturally Bound - Essay Example

Consequently, the association between cultural factors and leadership is of such a complex nature that not only does it extend to the understandings of organizational culture but it is also vividly observable in a country’s national culture. As MNEs continue to dominate international markets and the world continues to evolve into a global village the question which arises as a consequence of these changes asks whether leadership is culturally bound? As indicated by the wealth of literature that is available on the subject, it can be stated that the phenomenon of leadership in indeed bounded by culture.

Not only is this observation evidenced in prior research but it can also be noted by an assessment of real world examples. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to advocate the presence of cultural implications with regards to the phenomenon of leadership, in doing so the research employs the findings of prior researches and cases from the world of organizational management. Furthermore, the research paper also explores counterarguments in relation to the topic under consideration in order to present a thorough, comprehensive and well-informed argument.

According to House et al. (2002) the objectives behind the initiation of the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) program comprised of several aspects that are related to leadership and its cultural implications. The outcome of the program suggested that national culture can be examined on the basis of nine dimensions which essentially describe the characteristics of a country and its people. After conducting extensive large-scale surveys over a range of industries, the second stage of the GLOBE research program revealed that it is possible to compare and contrast the dimensions of culture with the attributes of leadership that can be deemed appropriate in the context of a particular culture.

For example, in his analysis of the GLOBE framework Robbins (2001) notes that there exists a stark difference between the leadership preferences and expectations of individuals which is largely in accordance with and attributable to their culture. Robbins (2001) asserts that a humane approach and collectivism are defining features of Indian culture which are greatly respected and appreciated amongst the masses despite of the recent emergence of urbanites that prefer individualism. Therefore, an Indian employee’s notion of an effective leader is best reflected in heroic and charismatic leadership which also shows concern for the well-being of subordinates while, taking initiatives for employee development.

On the other hand, employees belonging to France tend to associate the notion of leadership with that of a bureaucratic setup due to which their perception of a leader is of an individual who does not abide by a humane approach when managing the affairs of the organization’s employees and leading them towards the achievement of organizational objectives (Robbins 2001). The practical application of this understanding is that within the context of Indian culture, a leader would be able to achieve desired and ideal results by the adoption of consideration as