Good Leaders Are Cross-Cultural Leaders - Essay Example

All firms globally require a human resource management office for it to run effectively and to ensure high productivity. Human resource management (HRM) is the department within a company that mainly focuses on employment and recruitment and managing the people in it. Every organization has to have a human resource management office. It is the office that mainly deals with recruitment, training, compensation, hiring, safety, organisation development, wellness, benefits, performance management, employee motivation communication and administration of personnel in the organization. HRM differs from one organisation to the other (Hofstede 2001). It is a big challenge to become a successful international human resource manager. In any organization, there are policies and practices to be followed to effectiveness. All HRMs must develop skills, knowledge and experience internationally to help boost the productivity of their firm. International Human Resource Manager however does not have a big difference with HRM; the only difference is that IHRM as the name suggests, is internationally recognized while HRM are just locally known. Mostly, HR managers are under IHR Managers and they act as their juniors. Effective combination of appropriate principles and IHRM practices leads to success in an organization. Development of philosophies in leadership grows and changes as a leader develops through interactions. They also develop through learning in school courses, books and ones life experiences. Because IHRM deals with interaction and movement from place to place over the national boundaries meeting different cultures, acknowledgement of the different cultures is important to ease communication (Houghton & Neck 2002). Nowadays culture has become a measurable variable representing difference in social status, history, economic and political factors influencing interaction in the society. Cultural awareness is quite essential to any IHRM at a local headquarter and corporate settings. Operations of the IRHM like hiring, promoting, rewarding and firing of employees should not be done in relation to ones culture. Quality leadership can be looked at in the context of various famous leaders in the World. Leaders who have excelled in leadership and they have had a major difference in their way of ruling. All workers in an organization require strong, ethical and effective IHRM (John & Tim 2008). This is because they are all entitled to personal safety, freedoms and rights as employees. A good and effective IHRM should not base their judgment on political, economic and technological advancement but on the societal needs and the benefit of all members in the organisation. An effective IHRM must have leadership skills and styles due to the fast growth in the diversity of people’s needs nowadays. Many organisations should stop wasting time on responsibility and look up to their purpose and that is the work of the IRHM to look into. Cross cultural relativity has become a major issue in the 21st century among leaders. Many of the prominent leaders in the world happen to be cross cultured and according to them it has not been easy to rise to the top. They have gone through oppression, torture and humiliation because of fighting for the rights of their own people (Mendenhall, et al 2007). To be an international human resource manager is no different from being a cross cultured leader and hence it has its ups and downs. One must learn how to go about different indigenous leadership philosophies on human relations like many great leaders have done. As good IHRM, one should be able to operate firms while in their home country. This will also include working with foreign offices with different organizational structure and culture and be able to run it effectively (Milhouse et al 2001). One must learn different business and communication styles, know motivational philosophies, adapt new cultures, and learn new languages and also new practices in management. This improves their relations internationally and thus they become aware of how to interact with different people in the world. As an IHRM it is necessary to know when and how to use authority. Misused authority is dangerous in an organization. It can lead to conflicts in and thus lowering the productivity of the firm. Majority of the famous leaders did not use force to lead their followers; they respected them and treated them as equals. As a result they stood with them even in times of trouble and oppression. Many successful leaders fall before they accomplish their mission. According to Maxwell (2002), many great leaders fall towards the end of their life due to some reasons; dilution of their original vision; their success distorts them and finally their weaknesses are not addressed at all. To start with Maxwell talks about dilution of the vision that was a motivation to them. Many leaders divert form their vision and they end up following other links which finally lead them to their fall. For example Mahatma Gandhi’s continued quest for independence led to his criticism. His acceptance of the British education was another way he deviated from his vision totally. This is because he wanted to be accepted by the British people. His original vision for fighting for justice and oppression was gone and he was so into leadership. His fall was finally evident when he was shot and killed on January 30th 1948. All his successes made him feel superior to an extent that people did not notice his weaknesses. For example, he treated his wife harshly and he always wanted her to be subservient. There is another incident when his wife refused to clean the toilet and he struck her. He mistreated his wife while he advocated for justice and equality which was an irony on his part. He even broke his marriage vows and bowed to celibacy. No good leader can set such an example to the society. Finally, though Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader, few of his actions, deeds and also people contributed to his fall at the end of a job well done. Nelson Mandela was another great leader whose fall was evident at the end of the battle due to diversion of vision; people ignoring his week points and pride of their success. Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi had one thing in common; they started the non violent resistance in their country. Despite Mandela fighting for justice, his party ANC in 1980 committed acts of injustices and violated human rights. That caused criticism of the ANC party. His way of fighting for justice was through other offences like treason and sabotage. His vision of using non violent resistance was long gone by then. Another great weakness concerning Mandela was his inability to maintain a family. He had three marriages. Two ended as a result of political involvements. His first wife was a member of Jehovah Witness church which was a church with negative aspects against politics and that is one of the reasons they divorced. Nelson Mandela was a man of criticism. He critiqued other leaders including George Bush and his neighbour, Zimbabwean president as unjust leaders. Finally, despite the fact that Nelson Mandela still remains as a legend in the world, he upheld his successes too much and the people did not even notice his weaknesses which would have made him a better leader if they were worked upon. As an IHRM, one must learn how to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the organisation they are working for. One must learn how to fight vices in the organisation to improve productivity and growth of the company. Leaders like Nelson Mandela are an inspiration to many young leaders in the world today. His dedication to the welfare of the citizens was his major weapon to fight oppression and injustices through apartheid in South Africa. Despite him being imprisoned, he still attained recognition and respect globally as he was put into prison fighting for justice (Houghton & Neck 2002). As an IHRM one must be willing to take chances in leadership and ensure that the rights of all of their employees are adhered to. They should not be part of oppressors but the people fighting the oppression in relation to Mahatma Gandhi, another prominent leader who despite the cultural differences, he was determined to fight for human rights. IHRMs should lead a spiritual and ascetic life. Mahatma Gandhi was oppressed by abuses, beatings, jail sentences but he responded by fasting, praying, meditation and urged all his supporters to do the same. As a good IHRM, one must have good interpersonal relationship with the employees. Solidarity should be the major goal in maintaining a good relationship between employers and employees. Sacrifices must also be part of the task in that one should be willing to take risks for the employees’ and the company’s welfare (Manz & Neck 2004). Mahatma’s teachings and philosophies still have an influence and inspire many movements worldwide. In India Mahatma still remains a symbol of freedom and spiritual leadership and thus should be a good IHRM in any organization. A good IRHM should also be a strategic planner. All human resources processes and policies are made by strategizing, technological advancement and structural factors. Human resource managers must learn to coordinate and integrate tasks taking places in different environments with people from different cultures and hence strategies must be applied to enhance productivity. Margret Thatcher, the longest continually serving British Prime Minister, the second daughter of a dressmaker and a green grocer also portrays an emulative leadership in the world. Just like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, she also fell at the end of the battle as she lost her vision; she had weaknesses which were not addressed and her successes overdid her character. Among some of the failures were: increase in unemployment due to privatisation of many companies; lowered the economy for some few as a result of reduction in taxation. She also created social differences between the haves and the have-nots; a bad sign form a leader. To add to that during her reign, there was a hunger strike that led to deaths of many people. Her downfall began to creep in when bombers tried to bomb her but she escaped unhurt in 1984. Moreover, she allowed the use of nuclear force to have peace during the Second World War. An effective IRHM should be repellent to rules that oppress the workers. They should not compromise in benefiting the organisation as the workers suffer, but they should advocate for justice towards the workers. Margret being a woman, she set quite a good example that women too can become effective leaders in the society. IHRM should be an authentic and genuine leader. They should be capable of understanding deeply the techniques, strategies and actions they do. They should have commitment in their work like many well known leaders did. Genuine leadership comes from deep inside oneself and it is initiated and inspired by the spirit and the soul. However, the relationship between the employers and workers depends on how honest they are to each other. For example, Mahatma Gandhi had very good relations with his fellow Indians and hence solving the conflicts was made easy. IHRM in the 21st century should have values to guide them in leadership. Leadership is based on values and morality. The rules assist the values in leadership at any organisation. For example, all members in an organisation should observe punctuality and late comers should be punished. Other values include respect for one another, commitment, hard work and many others (Yun, Cox & Sims 2006). Values form the basis for a strong spirit based leadership in which the organisation thrives in. IRHM with strong values upholds the company’s status highly and they make it thrive productively for the benefit of staff, community, stakeholders, and the owners of the organisation. Leaders without humility cannot be effective in any organisation. They end up making hasty decisions and hence they reduce productivity of the company. IHRM should be humble and observe humility as a virtue. Humility helps leaders know their function in decision making. Leaders with humility show respect to all other members at their service. They are also able to leave their ego alone to pursue their dreams and goals (Dickson, et al 2003). Barrack Hussein Obama became the first African American to become a president in United States. He portrays an effective leadership to the whole world and his leading philosophies are followed by many leaders worldwide despite him being cross cultured. Comparing leadership traits with Barrack Obama, an effective IHRM should be educated with the necessary technical know how on what they are dealing with, they should have experience in different fields of study but mostly to do with human relations. Obama holds a big reputation and his name is attributed to success. His failures and weaknesses are not yet known as he is still in power and he is ruling in a very commendable way. This shows that he has concern over the society and that is the reason why he dealt with rights of the civil servants and other society uplifting related jobs. An effective IHRM in the 21st century should have huge experience when dealing with people to ensure favourable working environment for the workers (Dowling 2008). Just like Barrack Obama’s leadership skills, an effective IHRM should always fight vices in the organisation. Barrack Obama was dedicated to fighting racial discrimination in the United States which he has fought and won. The fact that he was elected as the president proves it all. Barrack Obama attributes his success to the people and hence leaders like IHRM who the company rely heavily on for success should not dessert their people and view themselves as superior in the organisation (Manz & Neck 2004). An effective IHRM should be able to differentiate between power and authority or control. Mostly, authority and power are misinterpreted or abused in organisations by leaders (Yun, Cox & Sims 2006). Leaders can at times use them to develop themselves instead of the organisation. However, a good IHRM should know to what extent to use their power to exercise authority or control in the organisations. They should also recognise that power can be shared among members to make it easier to run the organisation. Scholars argue that when people have a sense of togetherness, they tend to produce more. A leader who uses their power effectively invokes trust, joy and enthusiasm to their team and hence productivity is increased. They also acquire trust and respect from the workers and other members of staff in the organisation (Connerley & Pederson 2005). For example Nelson Mandela from South Africa, so many people trusted in him because he gave them a sense of belonging in a country where they were regarded as outcasts. Barrack Obama is another prominent leader who gave the African Americans in the United States a sense of belonging because he knows how to use his power to exercise his duties to the citizens. Moreover, he gained trust from the white people and they agreed to vote for him as the President of United States despite him being African American. Another very important philosophy for IHR Management is having a shared vision among all the members in the organisation. A leader without a vision is not a good leader. This is because they have no idea what direction they are heading the organisation to. Working in an environment where there is a shared vision leads to collective leadership. Many leaders believe that a shared vision with objectives and goals leads to positive growth in the organisation (Bligh, et al 2006). On the other hand, a shared vision ought to be deeply rooted in the organisations foundation for it to be attained. An IHRM in the 21st century should always guide their team members to work towards a certain vision and goal. Having faith and the spirit to fight on is another key important ingredient to becoming an effective IHRM in the 21st century. It is the faith that drives one to want to achieve more in life and live to their dreams and ambitions. Barrack Obama had so much faith that he decided to run for presidency in United States and he emerged the winner. Having self confidence is also important to achieving ones goals and dreams (Bolman & Deal 2001). As a leader in human resource department, one should believe in their abilities and they will run the company with ease. They should also focus their interest on the general public and help them benefit as well as the organisation. Margret considered herself unstoppable and she worked to benefit the citizens. The IHRM has various duties that they hold; therefore they should be hard working to ensure that all the duties are taken care of. 21st century has however come up with much advancement in technology, politics, social and economic wellbeing. IHRM should be very dynamic people, people who are able to change and adapt with different environments within a short period of time (Anne & Ruysseveldt 2004). In conclusion, cross cultural relativity has had a big impact on leadership. It has become the theory to shape people’s beliefs, provide ideas, arrange value system and show more about human behaviour. To the contrary many renowned leaders are cross cultural and they have proven to the world that it is not a hindrance to success (Dickson et al 2003). Being cross cultured should not hinder achievement of goals in any organisation. Despite ones race one can make an impact in the globe. IHRM should gain their inspiration from the prominent leaders who have made it despite oppression, injustices, and humiliation. IHRM should always perform their duties to the benefit of the workers without discrimination according to gender, race, tribe and religion. References Anne, WH & Ruysseveldt, J 2004, International human resource management, SAGE Publications Ltd, London. Bligh, MC, Pearce, CL & Kohles, JC 2006, "The importance of self- and shared leadership in team based knowledge work: a meso-level model of leadership dynamics", Journal of Managerial Psychology, pp. 296-318, Vol. 21 No.4, Bolman, LG & Deal, T 2001, Leading with soul: An uncommon journey of spirit, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. Connerley, ML & Pederson, PB 2005, Leadership in a diverse and multicultural environment: Developing awareness, knowledge, and skills, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. 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Milhouse, V et al 2001, Trans-cultural realities: Interdisciplinary perspectives on cross cultural relations, London, Sage Publications. Yun, S, Cox, J & Sims, HP 2006, "forgotten follower: a contingency model of leadership and follower self-leadership", Journal of Managerial Psychology, pp. 374-88, Vol. 21 No.4. Read More