Is Leadership Culturally Bound - Literature review Example

Leadership and Culture Name Institution Lecturer Course Date 1. Introduction According to Chemers (2002), Leadership is a process in which an individual is able to make decisions that influence others in business organization. Leadership in a business organization’s determined by the different leadership characteristics of the management leaders in a business organization (Gaur, 2006, 469). The Project Global Leadership defines leadership as the ability of an individual to influence other through empowerment and inspiration so s to ensure the success or achievement of objectives. Hence leadership has a rudiment in the functionalism productivity and success of firms in the world. On the other hand, culture lacks a universal definition hence can be described differently by different authors. Despite this leadership is considered to be culturally bound and a fundamental activity that revolves around the values and beliefs since the leadership of an individual is based on the norms and traditions held in different cultural settings. According to Hofstede, culture is described at national levels as the collective programming of the mind of different individuals which enable us to differentiate one individual to another. This means that, culture is those values, practices and norms that are adopted by the people living in a country. These values and practices that are adopted by these people define the ways in which they live their lives. According to Jackson & Parry (2011), some experts describe culture at the firm’s level as the practices that are adapted by a group of people as they solve problems which are perceived to be the right ways to solve organizational issues. The focus of this essay is the characteristics of effective or ineffective leadership across cultures and critically evaluate as to whether the leadership is culturally bound especially in areas where the leadership is related to specific leadership styles such as transformational leadership. In addition, the essay will analyze the different views of researchers from literatures on the ways in which culture has an influence on leadership. 2. Literature Review on Culture and Leadership According to Dickson et al (2011), leaders in different cultures should ensure that they have a better understanding of communication skills in different cultural settings. This is because the adaptation to diferent6 culture has an influence on the employees of the organization. Communication barrier in a business organization is due to misunderstanding of employee's vulture by those in management positions. This is because employees have tendencies to identify themselves with leaders from their own cultural background. This is because employees have a feeling that the managers of a business organization understand the different moral values and challenges in that culture. Hence, managers should ensure that they have better communication skills that can enhance their leadership. Despite this, it is important for managers of different firms to be able to understand the various cultures of all the employees in the company since choosing a leadership style that does not conform to the cultures of the employees will cause resistance from the employees of the company. Buelens et al (2002) argues that managers of companies are forced by the cultural circumstances that their employees have come to look forward to, this is because different cultures see what a leader may be trying to communicate differently; for example, the American employees may see that a Japanese manager is harsh while the same manager is accommodative to other individual. However, Dickson et al (2011) argues that the leadership styles in the worlds are not universal. According to the GLOBE research program, there are universal aspects of different leadership styles which are related to culture. This program argues that the developers of different leadership continuum concepts are the one who characterize the adaption of different leadership contingencies. Hence the leadership styles used in different areas varies and range from boss-centered styles to subordinate oriented styles. This means that the leadership is subject to the amount of freedom the manager of a business organization wants to give to the employees of the business organization. According to Matveev & Nelson (2004), the leadership of any business organization is bound to the cultures of different technologies in the world. Since culture is defined as practices that are embedded in the society, the changes in technology and advancement in technological knowhow has resulted into changes in society and its practices. For a business organization leader to offer quality leadership, he or she should be able to understand the technological and internationalization culture that has emerged as a result of technological advancement in the world. The technological advancement t causes globalization of the world and the different industries in it. This means that there is a change in how people in the society behave. In order to ensure good performances, business organization should adopt new ways that hen implemented will be able to adapt to the new cultural practices. The advancement has also because changes in political scenes, and cultural environments in which the business organization operates. This implies that leaders should be able to understand the political and cultural environment before offering leadership of the business organizations (Osler, 2010). According to the contingency theories, the cultures of different countries keep on changing. This means that leaders of different business organization should also ensure that they are able to adapt to the changes in the countries. The leaders in these countries should change their styles according to the unique cultural changes which are particular for that country. For example, in cases where there is high power distance, there is a need for leaders to ensure that they use autocratic leadership styles so as to ensure performance is guaranteed. According to Kets de Vries et al (2005), the manipulative and autocratic leadership is applicable in countries such as Spain and Russia where the power system sis suitable for such leadership styles. In addition, countries that have high power distance cultures should have high employee willingness in the participation of leaders in different business organizations. In some countries that have lower power distance such as Sweden employee participation is effective. In these cultures, there is no need to use manipulative or autocratic leadership for the employees. According to Marquardt & Horvath (2001), the business world exists as a globe that has people in it who interact with each other. Since the business organizations have employees, the employees of the business organization belong to different cultures. These cultures have an impact on the activities of the business organization. This means that in order for the employees and leaders of the business organization to o-exist, there is a need to understand the awareness of different cultural practices. Managers of different business enterprises undergo different learning and experience s. this means that the leadership skills and styles they employ in an organization is a product of the different cultures that they have passed through. This is a clear indication that the culture and leadership cannot be separated from each other (Shamir et al., 1993, p. 564). This is because the leadership styles are leaned through cultural experiences of the leaders in different cultural settings and firms. When leaders manage different organization they are able to interact with employees from different cultural backgrounds. In addition, different organization re managed using different organization culture that influence the management skills and styles of the managers (Schein, 1992, p. 44). Hence, for a leader, it is necessary to ensure that one is able to learn different leadership styles in different business organization and establish those leadership styles that work best at different cultural practices (Rao, 2008). 3. Cultural differences in leadership The awareness of leadership and culture has grown n for the past few decades. This is due to the increased demand in understanding the need to embrace the culture in leadership. This implies that managers have realized the importance of understanding different cultures and communication skills in business administration (Rao, 2008). In order to better understand culture and leadership, different dimension including the Hofstede dimension of culture can be explained. According to Hofstede, the cultural dimensions of workers can be differentiated in the worker's country level. Hence, in order to understand cross cultural differences, there is a need to understand the cultural behaviors of different workers in different countries in the world. This led to the conclusion by Hofstede theory that leadership and cultural dimensions in the world can only be analyzed and differentiated at the country level. According to the four dimension theory of culture Hofstede argues that the culture of the country can be distinguished from the behaviors of the individuals themselves. According to Hofstede (2001), the less powerful individuals in the society are influenced by the decisions that are made by those in powers. This means that these powerless have no say and the decisions made by powerful individuals are binding (Scandura & Dorfman, 2004, p.228). In the uncertainty dimensions, different individual in different countries have ways and means that they use in dealing with challenges and uncertainties in the society. Hence, when managers leader people in these countries they should understand that people have different cultural ways of solving problems and dealing with uncertainty. Another dimension of Hofstede cultural dimension includes individualism and masculinity (Oneaa & Tatarusanua, 2012, p. 748). Using Hofstede dimensions of culture, one is able to understand that that these cultural dimensions are the ones that differentiate the behaviors of leaders and workers in different nations. As managers lead business organization, their thinking and management skills are influenced by these cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2006). According to Hofstede (2006), there are variations in the way different leaders perceive leadership characteristics. This means that different leadership patterns are likely to emerge in the society and different profiles of the society. However, it is argued that the post cultural challenges that face different countries have a negative challenge on the management of business organization. This is because managers who are not conversant with these cultural challenges will have to get adapted to the challenges in order to offer sound leadership. This implies that leaders and other authorities cannot be able to generalize concepts of leadership that works in one culture and apply them in a country that has a totally different culture (Rao, 2008). This means that the leadership has a challenge in ensuring that they are able to develop skills that are applicable in different cultural setting. Hofstede also argues that the individualism culture such as that of the United States of America is different from the communist culture that is used in most of the Asian countries including Russia. This means that a leader who has management experience in leadership in American business organization is supposed to learn and adapt to different cultural practices that are different from the American individualistic culture if the leader is top offer quality leadership in Asian countries. This way the leader should undergo training and be able to adapt to new cultural practices and avoid generalization of concepts. According to Spreitzer et al (2005), generalization of concepts is a major challenge in cultures that require diverse leadership styles. The GLOBE program has also been able to investigate different leadership styles in different cultures in order to determine the relationship between leadership, leadership styles and culture of the country and business organization. From the study, the cultural leadership relationship was discovered and concluded that the behaviors of an individual influence the culture. Hence, the transformational leadership style is seen as a leadership style that arises easily from the behaviors of a leader. This is because transformational leaders seem to be more effective in cultures that are more collective than individualism cultures. The GLOBE research also established that charismatic leadership is associated with assertiveness of the individual leaders. For example, martin, Luther is among the leaders who was charismatic and had a good understanding of the white culture as well as the Africa-American culture. 4. Leadership Is Bound To Culture of a Nation According to Gaur (2006); Robbins & Judge (2013); Northouse (2013), leadership is bound to culture in the worlds due to the advancement in the use of technology and changes in political scenes. In addition, the increased level of globalization and internationalization of business activities has posed different challenges to business organization hence leaders seek new ways of overcoming challenges. Hence there is a need for leaders to understand cross-cultural practices and values in order to become competent and improve performances in their companies. Elenkov (2002) argues that the leadership activities in a business organization comprises of cultural activities. Hence, leadership can be said to be a cultural act that takes place over a long period. The business organization in any country has values, practices and norms that are built after sometimes. In addition, the leadership characteristics of an individual are built during a cultural process in which these values and beliefs are embedded in the leadership of the organization (Sarros & Santora, 2001, p. 244). This implies that leadership is culturally bound and the leadership process is a factor of the cultural process and aspects. According to Chemers (2002), managers of a business organization cannot offer quality leadership if they are to separate cultural activities and the leadership of the business organization. Managers and order administrative leaders should ensure that they are aware and understand the different aspects and processes that comprise culture in a society in order to ensure good performances in the business organizations (Lord & Maher, 1991, p. 47). According to research by the GLOBE, transformational leadership elements are seen to be the only elements that conform to all cultural dimension of the world. Hence, the elements of transformational leadership can be said to have a universal application since the provide values such as trustworthiness, encouragement and positive thinking (Tsang, 2007, p. 274). The GLOBE research argues that leadership in all corners of the world should be able to provide the employees and members of business organization with powerful visionary solutions and proactive decision making. In addition, the leaders in these business organizations should offer motivation to the employees so that they can be able to accept the leadership styles of the business management team in the organization (House et al., 1999, p. 156). Hence, the transformational leadership has been said to have a universal application since there is pressure from the technological changes and globalization that takes place in the world. In addition, competition and influence from multinational corporations in the world influence transformational leaders to have a universal approach to management of business organizations (Gaur, 2006, p. 467). The research of the GLOBE conforms to arguments from Tsang (2007) who argues that transformation leadership style is the only leadership that is universal and can be applied in all countries. This is because the contingency theory suggests that leaders should be able to adapt to different challenges and differences in cultural practices. Transformational leaders fit in these views since it enables leaders to posse’s different characteristics that allow them to fit in different cultures. Conclusion Leadership in business organization has experiences changes and challenges. Leadership can be described as a process in which an individual is able to influence the decisions of the others. Different leaders in a business organization have different styles of leadership this means that the characteristics of a leader determines the type of leadership in a business organization. Leadership styles are important in a business organization since it influences the performance of the business organization. The culture of the business organization and the culture of different environments have an influence on the leadership styles and management of a business organization (Maczynski, 1997, p.223). In addition, the culture of the country has an influence in the leadership styles that are used by managers in managing employees in the country. This is because the leadership process is believed to be a cultural activity that involves norms and practices in the country. Hence the leadership is culturally bound since culture affects the ways in which leaders behave in business organizations. In addition, the culture of a country affects the ways in which the employees perceive the leaders and communication skills of the leaders to their employees. The society is composed of social systems and traditions that form the elements of culture and leadership in the country. This means that when leaders of the organization are affected by the same norms and values, there is a need to understand these values and practices in order to offer quality leadership. Hence depending on the cultural values of nations, different leadership styles are applicable in different settings. 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