Leadership Style in Japan and the US - Case Study Example

Report Student’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Leadership Style in Japan and US Introduction Hersey & Blanchard (1974, p. 3) indicates that the leadership pattern is a domain that relates to patterns of behavior and interactions that leaders display while managing employees. According to Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson (1996 cited in Shahmandi et al., 2011, p.47) these styles include “telling, selling, participating and delegating”. While talking of cross leadership styles analysis, the discourse of national culture as assessed by literatures by Hofstede and GLOBE leadership project becomes integral since apart from individual traits they contextualize the behavior of the leader and the followers/ subordinates and thus, an influence in leadership style (Dickson, Den Hartog & Mitchelson, 2003). Weihrich (1990, p.3) present various differences that exist between leadership styles in Japan and US. According to him, one point of difference is decision making. In US, the leader as the head of any group is the ultimate decision maker. However, this is a total contrast in Japan where the leader acts as a social facilitator and group member. Secondly, leadership style in US is directive based as compared to Japan where they employ paternalistic style. Since Americans display highly individualistic tendencies, the leadership allows for divergent views which at a time curtail cooperation while in Japan the basis of engagement by a leader is to attain common values through cooperation. Additionally, mostly leadership styles in US are anchored on top-down approaches to communication as opposed to Japan where leadership style is anchored on a bottom-up approach. Lastly, the leadership style in US is demarcated by confrontation as opposed to Japan where leaders depict a tendency of avoiding confrontation while emphasizing on harmony which sometimes might lead to ambiguities. How women might be discriminated at work place The discrimination women faces at work place are related to the societal stereotyping and bias ascribed to them and not anchored on individual competencies. For these might include belief such as women are less intellectual than men; women are incompetent or less leaders as compared to men or restriction of job opportunities along gender-typed job orientation (Heilman & Welle, 2005, p.25-26). There are various discriminatory tendencies that might be directed to women at workplace. These include overt discrimination, sexual harassment and glass ceiling discrimination (Bell, McLaughlin & Sequeira, p.66-68). For instance, overt discrimination entails employing gender as a criterion for work-related decisions while glass ceiling entails lack of access to power and status in the organization. Moreover, Coombs & King (2005, p.467) indicate that women might be discriminated at workplace in relation to four parameters. These are career advancement discrimination, punitive behaviors, practice barriers and hiring barriers. For instance, they note that female physicians are five times more likely to encounter career advancement impediments as compared to their male colleagues (p.470). On the other hand, Heilman & Welle (2005, p.28-29) notes that the discrimination women might face in workplace can be labeled as either formal discrimination or informal discrimination. For instance, formal discrimination relates to allocation of resources in skewed manner that favor men. The above discriminatory behaviors might result in negative consequences in an organization. At worse there are the legal penalties and fines to contend with. Most countries outlaw any gender based discrimination and thus, any organization has an obligation to guarantee equal opportunity for all irrespective of their background. Secondly, a firm can suffer from negative publicity as a result of gender discrimination leading to reduced brand awareness and equity. Moreover, it can contribute to employees who are less motivated & satisfied thereby leading to reduced productivity. Lastly, discrimination is not talent and capability-centered. This implies that if an organization engages in discrimination or allows employees to engage in the same, they are likely to lose talents and employees with requisite talents yet it is these that constitutes core competencies of an individual that then should be transferred into value creation and competitive advantage of an organization (Channar, Abbassi & Ujan, 2011). Culture cluster & leader behavior to effective leadership practices Culture is an important galvanizing factor in an organization as it defines how employ should behave by culturing them to conform to certain expectations (Ackroyd & Crowdy, 1990, p.7). In this regard, an employee is likely to behave according to the organizational culture. For instance, if an organizational culture is anchored of individual achievements or team work, a new employee is likely to conform to the same. There numerous literatures on culture cluster. The first framework analyses culture in terms of risk taking and being responsive to change. This is based on Rowe et al. (1994). The second one is based on flexibility and team work as postulated by Hellriegel et al. (2004). The third is the model developed by Harrison and Stokes (1992). This analyses culture in terms of power relations and bureaucracy. The last is work culture as analyzed by Deal & Kennedy. This culture does not occur in vacuum. A leader has an integral role of creating a distinct organizational culture (Ackroyd & Crowdy, 1990, p.7 & 8). The nexus between culture cluster, leader behavior and effective leadership is anchored on situational theories of leadership. Leader behavior as per the situational theories on leadership accepts the fact that personal characteristics, the nature of the job, the nature of organization and the nature of followers influences the leadership style and model to be adopted by the leader and hence his or her effectiveness (Bertocci, 2009, 34). Nevertheless, all these parameters pointed out are a function of culture which a leader can greatly shape so as to make him or her effective. Effective leadership is anchored on driving change by creating aura of possibilities among individuals through various interpersonal skills such as followership, persuasion & teamwork so as to overcome resistance while ensuring the grand dream of the desired end result is attained (Lucey, 2008, p.12). Culture cluster and leader behavior such as laissez-faire, management-by-exception, contingent reward, individual consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and idealized influence (Oshagbemi & Gill, 2003, p.295) informs a leader on the appropriate involvement pattern while interacting with subordinate staff. The same can be extended to responsible global leadership where behavior such as intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and idealized influence are the most appropriate. References Ackroyd, S. & Crowdy, P. (1990). Can culture be managed? Working with “raw” material: the case of the English slaughtermen. Personnel Review, 19(5), 3-12. Bell, M. P., McLaughlin, M. E., & Sequeira, J. M. (2002). Discrimination, harassment, and the glass ceiling: Women executives as change agents. Journal of Business Ethics, 37(1), 65- 76. Bertocci, I. D. (2009). Leadership in organisations: there is a difference between leaders and managers. Lanham: University Press of America. Channar, Z. A., Abbassi, Z., & Ujan, I. A. (2011). Gender Discrimination in Workforce and its Impact on the Employees. Pakistan Journal of Commerce & Social Sciences, 5(1). Coombs, A. A. T., & King, R. K. (2005). Workplace discrimination: experiences of practicing physicians. Journal of the National Medical Association, 97(4), 467- 477. Dickson, M. W., Den Hartog, D. N., & Mitchelson, J. K. (2003). Research on leadership in a cross-cultural context: Making progress, and raising new questions. The leadership quarterly, 14(6), 729-768. Harrison, R., and Stokes, H. (1992). Diagnosing Organizational Culture. New York: Pfeiffer and Company Heilman, M. E., & Welle, B. (2005). Formal and Informal Discrimination Against Women At Work: The Role of Gender Stereotypes. Hellriegel, D., Jackson, S.E., Slocum, J., Staude, G., Amos, T., Klopper, H.B., Louw, L., and Oosthuizen, T. (2004). Management (2nd South African ed). Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa. Hersey, P. and Blanchard K.H. (1974). So You Want to Know Your Leadership Style? Training and Development Journal, pp. 1-15. Lucey, J. (2008). Why is the Failure Rate for Organizational Change so high? Management Services, Winter 2008, p. 10-18. Oshagbemi, T., & Gill, R. (2003). Gender differences and similarities in the leadership styles and behavior of UK managers. Women in Management Review, 18(6), 288-298. Rowe, A.J., Mason, R.O., Dickel, K.E., Mann, R.B., and Mockler, R.J. 1994. Strategic Management: A methodological approach (4th ed). New York: Addison-Wesley Shahmandi, E., Silong, A. D., Ismail, I. A., Abu Samah, B. & Othman, J. (2011). Competencies, Roles and Effective Academic Leadership in World Class University. International Journal of Business Administration, 2(1), 44-53. Weihrich, H. (1990). Management practices in the United States, Japan, and the People's Republic of China. Industrial Management, 32(2), 3-7. Read More