International and Cross-Cultural Leadership - Developing a Positive Culture within the Organization - Essay Example

Culture has an impact on the perception, attitude and beliefs of people as it brings about the required change in behaviour which has a long lasting image on the overall performance. Interacting with people from other culture tends to influence the beliefs, attitude and behaviour as it transforms the person and makes him act in a totally different way. It is commonly experienced that people find it difficult to interact with people from a different culture because of difference in opinion and beliefs which makes it difficult for people to come to a common decision. This has thereby forced people to undergo the required training program so that a change in behaviour can be brought which will help to make the required changes in the manner people act. This paper looks at highlighting the manner in which culture has an influence on people working style and making the required changes in the attitude, behaviour and belief improves the process of communication and fetches better results. This will also look to present different examples to substantiate the different findings and will bring about a complete change in the outlook through which people look at different things and the manner in which overall effectiveness can be achieved through it. Organizations continuously face issues associated with difference in culture of employees which needs to be handled carefully so that a conducive environment where people work together for a common goal can be ensured. Lack of communication and understanding of the other culture seems to be a major issue which needs to be encountered. Since, people belong to different culture so their way of speaking, acting and carrying out the work is different (Dorfman, 2006). It becomes imperative that people understand each other culture and brings about a change in their behaviour so that positive results can be achieved. People from different culture has different understanding regarding signs, gestures, communication and decision making so understanding the culture and making major ramifications will help to bring about a change in the manner people work. This was an aspect which I witnessed while dealing with other people belonging to different culture and understanding and learning their cultural needs helped me to make the required changes in which I worked. This helped to ease the process of carrying out different activities and helped me to carry out the different work in the best possible manner. Understanding and learning the basic cultural needs helped me to improve my mechanism of working and brought about a complete change in my attitude towards people and thereby ensured that the work can be accomplished in the best possible manner. The difference in people and their style of working arises due to difference in personality which people belonging to different culture. People with different personality have different ways of working and carrying out their activities. Since, people have attitude and are not willing to make changes or compromise on it so it becomes difficult for people to adjust to the different needs and requirements (House & Aditya, 2007). The focus in entirely towards carrying out the different work in the most effective manner which requires making changes in the behaviour and changing the attitude so that people are able to mix together and work in a manner which ensures better participation from all. This helps to bring about the required transformation and changes the manner in which different activities are carried out. Organizations focuses towards reducing the personality differences and treating all people equally so that there is no differences among people and all are able to come together while working with one another. For example it is seen that culture of India gives less importance to time and even if people are slightly late for work it doesn’t matter whereas the American culture is more punctual towards work and adhere to the time limits which have been provided (Thompson & Luthans, 2010). This situation requires making alteration in the behaviour and bringing about a change in the attitude of people so that they are able to influence the manner in which different work and activities will be carried out. This will help to bring uniformity and deal with the different issues as people will be cooperative and work towards a common purpose and goal. It has also been identified that people face issues while dealing with people from other culture as they have a preconceived notion about people from other culture and thereby act in a manner which created difficulties. This needs to be changed and can be achieved through a process of dialogue where people interact with one another and understand each other. This also helps to remove the differences which are present and creates a path through which better understanding can be garnered (Leung & Bond, 2009). This process brings about a complete change in the attitude of people and helps them to work and act in a manner where there is better coordination and control regarding the different work activities which are being carried out. Discussing the different issues and spending time with people from other culture through an open mind helps to bring the required transformation and helps to develop a process which will bring long term positive results and impact the working style in the most positive manner (Smith, Misumi, Tayeb, Paterson & Bond, 2009). Developing a positive culture within the organization helps to achieve positive results as a change in the attitude and behaviour of people brings a complete change in the working style. For example, if a culture of an organization denotes innovativeness it will ensure that the employees within the organization are able to find out new ways of doing the same job (Burns & Stalker, 2009). This can be achieved if people working in the organization are able to mould their behavior, beliefs and attitudes so that a complete change can be witnessed through which different work activities are carried out. This will help to develop a positive impact on the overall performance level and will create a path through which working on the different areas will improve the long term performances. Having a positive culture will also help to reduce the degree of risk and improve performances so that the entire working can be carried out on grounds which are effective. Culture also acts as a point of difference both between people and organizations as it helps to determine the different ways through which better relations can be developed. This will foster towards a change in the manner colleagues, employees, customers, management and others interact with one another and will help to develop the required relations through which better productivity will be ensured (Hickson, Hinings, McMillan & Schwitter, 2009). The impact of such a decision will be witnessed in the working culture as it will improve the manner in which different resources are used and will improve the different ways of carrying out different activities. The entire process will require that individuals play their part and bring about a change in their behaviour. If people are able to change their attitude and develop the required fundamentals through which different facets associated with culture is looked at will help to improve the entire process of carrying out activities and will reduce the level of risk. It is imperative to understand that working in the global arena will result in dealing with people with different cultural backgrounds. To be effective and to be able to fetch the best results bringing about a change in the attitude and behaviour of individual is essential. All individuals will have to play their part and bring about the required change in their thought process (Gagliardi, 2006). This will help to garner positivity and will bring about the change which people are looking while working. The impact of such a decision would be better understanding and appreciating each other and their work so that overall aspect associated with working culture is better understood. A study conducted in the same direction further shows that appreciating the culture of other people to which they belong help to develop positive relationship which thereby improves the manner in which communication take place (Bass, 2007). The process brings about the change in the working dimensions and develops the required framework through which people work in a coordinated manner. This creates a long term impression and helps to deal with the different core areas through which the overall working is better coordinated. This aspect is thereby important while dealing with people from other culture and will help to bring about the required change in the attitude of people. Thus, culture is an important aspect while dealing with people from different backgrounds and being able to encounter those and developing a positive impact helps to improve the overall performance. This requires looking towards shaping the attitude, beliefs and behaviour of individuals so that understanding and appreciation of all cultures can be ensured. The process will lead towards bringing people together and bringing the required transformation so that understanding is improved and work culture is better developed. This will help to improve productivity and reduce risk as the overall manner of working and carrying out different work will improve. References Bass, B. M. 2007. Does the transactional-transformational leadership paradigm transcend organizational and national boundaries? American Psychologist, 52(2), 130-139 Burns, T., & Stalker, G. M. 2009. The management of innovation. London: Tavistock Publications, Tavistock Centre Dorfman, P. W. 2006. International and cross-cultural leadership research. In B. J. Punnett & O. Shenkar (Eds.), Handbook for international management research, Oxford, UK: Blackwell, pp. 267-349 Gagliardi, P. 2006. The creation and change of organizational cultures: A conceptual framework. Organization Studies, 7(2), 117-134 Hickson, D. J., Hinings, C. R., McMillan, J., & Schwitter. 2009. The culture-free context of organization structure: A tri-national comparison. Sociology 8, 59-80. House, R. J., & Aditya, R. N. 2007. The social scientific study of leadership: Quo vadis? Journal of Management, 23(3), 409-473 Leung, K., & Bond, M. H. 2009. On the empirical identification of dimensions for cross-cultural comparisons. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 20, 133-151. Thompson, K. R., & Luthans, F. 2010. Organizational culture: A behavioral perspective. In B. Schneider (Ed.), Organizational Climate and Culture, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. pp. 319-344. Smith, P. B., Misumi, J., Tayeb, M. H., Paterson, M., & Bond, M. H. 2009. On the generality of leadership style across cultures. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 30, 526-537. Read More