Charismatic Leadership, Gender Inequalities in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand - Assignment Example

Leadership Name Name of Institution Leadership Introduction This paper provides reflections on some of the topics that have resonated with or opposed my views on leadership. The first reflection entry looks at my experiences of gender inequality in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand and how they relate to leadership. When reading the course text, I noticed that Ladkin dedicated a lot of attention to the 2008 US election to explain the concept of leadership. Given that the US is in the middle of another election, I look at the candidates and focus on charismatic leadership in the second reflection. In particular, I consider how Barack Obama and Donald Trump can both be considered as charismatic leaders despite their considerable differences. The third entry looks at the relational leadership concept that is discussed in a journal article authored by Cunliffe and Eriksen. The entry compares my cross-cultural interactions with the findings of the research on leadership in new and challenging environments. The fourth article covers ethics and how it relates to leadership. The focus is on whether leaders should offer rewards for ethical behaviour. Reflection: Gender Inequalities in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand I grew up in Saudi Arabia, a country that has considerable differences with Western countries. I moved to New Zealand four years ago and came to realise that gender is one of the areas that highlights these differences. The differences in gender can be enumerated by looking at the gender gap, which the World Economic Forum defines as a measurement of how well a country is leveraging female talent based on political, economic, educational, and health-based indicators (World Economic Forum, 2015). The World Economic Forum measures differences in gender using an index where 0.00 indicates inequality and 1.00 indicates gender equality. Saudi Arabia is ranked 134th out of 145 nations with a gender gap score of 0.605. In comparison, New Zealand holds the 10th position with its score being 0.782 (World Economic Forum, 2015). My experiences in both countries confirm the existence of these gender-based disparities. I noted that women and men in Saudi Arabia are only equals in educational attainment which has improved over the last 30 years. This is the reason that I am here in New Zealand as both men and women are afforded the opportunity to study abroad. However, the country still lags behind other nations and changes will take place at a slow pace as a result of religious and cultural factors. When it comes to New Zealand, I have noted that women have more opportunities. For example, women gain more tertiary qualifications, and their businesses outperform those run by men. However, there is still the issue where women have been found to do more unpaid work than paid work (OECD, 2015). This entry will concentrate on my observations on gender inequality in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand and how they relate to leadership. According to Alsaleh (2009), gender inequality manifests itself in three ways. It can be seen where men get better opportunities than women, have greater control in direct relationships between genders, and occupy social positions that have economic, political, and cultural power. My experiences in Saudi Arabia confirms these positions where women have historically had fewer opportunities, lived in a patriarchal society, and failed to hold leadership positions. However, there have been great improvements in recent years with more women getting opportunities such as access to higher education. For example, 58% of college students in the country were female. Importantly, only 25% of all men in the country enrol in college as compared to 36% of females (Dawson, 2012). My presence in New Zealand is clear evidence of the improved access to education that Saudi women have had in recent years. Despite the more equitable access, there remains an issue in the area of leadership which can be attributed to culture and religion. For example, women are expected to study courses like education, nursing, and sociology and not courses like law and engineering which are the preserve of men. Access to employment, and thus leadership opportunities, are also restricted since women are expected to work in fields that match with their nature. The issue of segregation at Saudi workplaces also contribute to the nation’s larger gender gap. When it comes to New Zealand, there is the general perception that women and men are equals. However, a deeper look shows that there are still significant gaps in areas of employment and leadership. According to Ladkin (2010), leadership is a social construct, which means that it has been developed and shaped by perceptions and cultural practices. Sinclair (2005) notes that the predominant view of leadership in the Western world assumes the need for heroic masculine performance. This view is supported by a study conducted by Rhee and Sigler (2014) whose findings were that men were rated as more effective than women. Similarly, women who went against gender stereotype attracted negative reviews when compared to men who took the same approach (Rhee and Sigler, 2014). My experiences in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand have shown me that gender inequality in leadership and other facets of life is a shared problem. This course has allowed me to recognise the factors that have contributed to this problem, with religion and culture playing a major role in Saudi Arabia and perceptions playing a major role in New Zealand. My understanding of these issues means that I will be more aware of gender inequality and seek ways to raise greater awareness of the issue in the workplace. Importantly, my experience shows that Saudi Arabia is making slow progress in the area of gender equality as evidenced by my presence in Saudi Arabia. The 2012 New Zealand Census on Women’s Participation also shows that the country is making slow progress in areas like leadership (Human Rights Commission, 2012). I will use the knowledge gained in this course to contribute towards eliminating the view that women cannot equal or surpass men in areas like education, employment, and leadership. References Alsaleh, S. (2009). Gender inequality in Saudi Arabia: Myth and reality. Department of Health Informatics, School of Public Health & Health Informatics King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Census for Women's Participation. (2012). The Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 20 October 2016 https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/2314/2360/5171/web-census.pdf Dawson, M. (2012). Saudi Arabia-Reflections on Women's Rights And Gender Equality. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. Retrieved 20 October 2016 http://journal.georgetown.edu/spring-break-saudi-arabia-reflections-on-womens-rights-and-gender-equalitya-by-michael-dawson/ Ladkin, D. (2010). Rethinking leadership: A new look at old leadership questions. Edward Elgar Publishing. OECD Better Life Index. (2015). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 October 2016 http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=54757 Rhee, K. S., & Sigler, T. H. (2015). Untangling the relationship between gender and leadership. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 30(2), 109-134. Sinclair, A. (2005). Doing leadership differently: Gender, power and sexuality in a changing business culture. Melbourne Univ. Publishing. The Global Gender Gap Report 2015. (2015). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 20 October 2016 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR2015/cover.pdf Reflection: Charismatic Leadership Ladkin (2010) dedicates significant attention to the 2008 US election when examining the concept of charismatic leadership. She looks at how Hillary Clinton, the overwhelming favourite in the race for the Democratic nomination, lost to a newcomer in the form of Barack Obama. Like much of the world, the ongoing contest for the US presidency has attracted my attention. Like the 2008 election, Clinton has had to fight against male competitors who are not constrained by cultural expectations of leadership. According to Ladkin (2010), Clinton faced criticism when she was tough and was also censured when she attempted to show emotion. In the current election period, she competed with Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination. Like Obama, Sanders was not viewed as a favourite, but he still provided Clinton with significant competition despite losing in the end. When it comes to the main election, Clinton is competing against Donald Trump, an individual who some view to be charismatic. As an observer of the US election, I have found some of the policies proposed by Trump to be unethical and frightening in the modern world. I have also been surprised by the strong following he has been able to attract. This entry will examine how both Obama and Trump can be viewed as charismatic leaders despite their considerable differences. Ladkin (2010) begins the topic of charismatic leadership by questioning whether there is substance behind charismatic power and whether it is essential to successful leadership. She notes that the concept of charismatic leadership was identified by Weber who considered charisma to be a gift that was only accessible be extraordinary and exemplary individuals (Ladkin, 2010). Weber also notes that followers play a critical role in the concept of charismatic leadership. Thirdly, Weber argued that charismatic leadership typically arises in times of crisis, maybe because people need intervention from a divine being during periods of crisis (Ladkin, 2010). Ladkin identifies Churchill and Gandhi as examples of charismatic leaders who emerged when the UK was at war and when India was fighting for independence respectively. An alternative definition of charismatic considers it as a force that has the power to convince followers to alter their beliefs to align with those of the leader (Bass, 1985). A third view of charismatic leadership identifies some of the behaviours exhibited by charismatic leaders. Here, they are expected to push for ideas that contrast with accepted norms, rely on unusual ways to encourage change, assess factors that block change, and communicate in a way that convinces followers to share the same vision (Conger & Kanungo, 1987). A look at the election of Obama shows that he satisfied these conditions. He was an outsider whose ideas and African heritage contrasted with the existing norms. Obama also used effective communication and used hope as the main theme of overcoming the financial crisis at the time of the election. An examination of Trump also shows that he meets the criteria for charismatic leadership. He has proposed ideas, for example building a wall on the Mexico border, which contrast with existing norms. He also relies on a communication strategy that has endeared him to a group of followers that have come to share his views. When it comes to the need for crisis, it can be argued that Trump has created a context of the US facing internal and external threats that need urgent resolution. In contrasting the two leaders, it is evident that one used a message based on hope while the other utilised fear to motivate and influence followers. However, they both satisfy the conditions for being considered as charismatic leaders. Before taking this course, I considered charismatic leadership to be beneficial in both the business and political contexts. This was because of my belief that being compelling or charming was a sure way of motivating followers and earning their loyalty. This course on leadership has allowed me to realise that charismatic leadership is not a strategy that can be applied in all work situations. According to Ladkin, charismatic leadership mainly surfaces in periods of crisis. After describing the case of Obama and Clinton, Ladkin (2010) notes that although she was pleased that Obama was elected, she felt uneasy because followers had unrealistic expectations that were frightening. When considering the current US position, I also view the charismatic leadership of Trump to be frightening due to the impractical expectations of the followers. As a leader, I will avoid the charismatic approach to avoid creating unrealistic expectations. I have changed my view of charismatic leadership and will endeavour to rely on other approaches to leadership that do not have the disadvantages evident in the charismatic approach. References Bass, B.M. (1985). Leadership and Performance: Beyond Expectations. New York: Free Press. Conger J.A. & Kanungo R.N. (1987). Toward a theory of charismatic leadership in organisational settings. Academy of Management Review, 12 (4), 637–47. Ladkin, D. (2010). Rethinking leadership: A new look at old leadership questions. Edward Elgar Publishing. Reflection: Relational Leadership Article As an international student in New Zealand, my experience has been about meeting new people from different countries, religions, and cultures. For example, my experience in class has involved working with students who are drawn from different areas of the world. I have found that cross-cultural communication plays a pivotal role in mediating these interactions with other students. This is because cross-cultural communication increases the understanding of different groups from diverse backgrounds and traditions. As an example, this course has given me the opportunity to work on a group assignment with four students from India, China, and Indonesia. Through working in the group, I found that the task could only be completed well if I accepted the points of view of the other group members who had different cultural backgrounds. I found that we were able to achieve our goals because each member contributed different ideas. We were also able to use our unique experiences to think outside the box and obtain good results while also getting a broad overview of each other’s countries and cultures. The net result is that we have built meaningful relationships that will make any future group tasks to be considerably easier. This entry compares this learning moment with the findings of an article authored by Cunliffe and Eriksen which looks at relational leadership. The article is based on the US government’s decision to establish a new agency, the Transport Security Authority, to look after the security of its transport system in the aftermath of 9/11. The government created the position of Federal Security Directors (FSDs) who were supposed to coordinate security and all US airports immediately. This created significant challenges given that some of the FSDs could not get sufficient training and equipment before taking their positions. They also had to develop new systems and organisational structures and cultivate relationships with a wide group of stakeholders that included local police, the Secret Service, transport agencies, airport retailers and other groups (Cunliffe & Eriksen, 2011). The authors conducted a study that sought to determine how leaders can establish and run organisations in new and uncertain environments. The selected research methodology involved embedding one of the researchers within the organisation and conducting semi-structured conversations with the holders of the new positions as well as other stakeholders that worked with the FSDs. The methodology also involved site visits and observing the FSDs in action. The authors considered traditional leadership theories and found them to be lacking since are out of the realm of daily experiences (Cunliffe and Eriksen, 2011). What was needed in the new environment was the relational approach to leadership. Ladkin (2010) describes the approach as one where leadership takes place on the basis of creating one-to-one relationships between individual followers and leaders. Ladkin notes that the successful creation of these relationships can encourage followers to work in a way that exceeds the expectations of the leader. In the TSA case, the researchers found that success in new and uncertain environments depends on building relationships. Communication and dialogue were also found to play a critical role in the success of the FSDs as they had to collect the views of other stakeholders to be successful. The researchers found that allowing all parties to express themselves in an open way was important in achieving organisational success. For example, screeners at the airport were encouraged by the FSDs to share their failures to ensure that others in the organisation would learn and be prepared to handle similar issues. In summary, the relational approach is about building relationships, respecting others, and engaging in open dialogue where the opinions of all participants are valid. My experience in the new and challenging environment of working with individuals from different cultures has shown me that the contemporary leadership theories might not always be relevant. I have come to accept the value of relational leadership as it will allow me to go beyond cultural differences and create collaborative relationships. As stated, we were able to achieve our goal in the group assignment by welcoming the views of all members and engaging in open dialogue. I will use the group experience and the findings of the article by Cunliffe and Eriksen in my future work. This approach will be especially critical since I expect to work with individuals drawn from various cultures in the world. As a leader, I will encourage open dialogue and use the different opinions of an increasingly diverse workforce when making decisions. References Cunliffe, A. L., & Eriksen, M. (2011). Relational leadership. Human Relations, 64(11), 1425-1449. Ladkin, D. (2010). Rethinking leadership: A new look at old leadership questions. Edward Elgar Publishing. Reflection: Should leaders offer rewards for Ethical Behaviour? This entry looks at rewards for ethical behaviour in the business setting. As part of my wider reading for this course, I read about the New Zealand Business Ethics Award that has been issued since 1999 and which is now named The Excellence in Governance Awards. Given that ethics is one of the pillars of corporate governance, I have also found out that there are several corporate governance awards in the region. For example, the Governance Institute of Australia awards businesses that exhibit good governance cultures. These awards for ethical behaviour conflicted with my point of view of ethics since individuals and businesses should not be rewarded for behaving as they should. To explain this belief, it is essential to describe the environment in which I grew up and how that environment had an impact on my view of ethics. I was raised in a conservative society in Saudi Arabia where religion plays a critical role in daily life. I was therefore conditioned to look at different issues in life from a religious point of view. It is notable that both Islam and Christianity have a view on ethics that is based on absolutes. This means that certain actions are known to be immoral regardless of the situation or circumstances in which the actions take place. For example, I consider taking a bribe to be unethical regardless of the situation in which the bribe is offered or received. Similarly, job discrimination is unethical regardless of the setting in which it takes place. Therefore, I have always held the belief that rewarding a person for not taking a bribe is pointless as this amounts to rewarding a person for doing what everyone else in society should do. The course has been instrumental in expanding my understanding of ethics and the different ways it is applied. First, ethics refers to the moral guidelines that regulate the behaviour or conduct of an individual. Business ethics is an extension of ethics with the emphasis being on resolving moral dilemmas that arise in business settings. According to Ladkin (2010), ethics can be applied in leadership in a number of ways. Situational ethics is an approach that argues that morality depends on the situation. An example that is provided by Ladkin (2010) relates to child labour which can be viewed as ethical in countries where child labour is the only way a family can earn enough to live. The same case applies in business settings where leaders can use different approaches in applying ethics. The second approach to ethics is cultural relativism. Here, individuals should not judge other cultures because they do not have the authority to decide what is right for that culture. It is evident that cultural relativism is related to the situational approach as they both clash with the idea of ethical absolutes. Ethical standards can also be applied on the basis of rules, values, and professional standards. These approaches contrast with cultural relativism and the situational approach because they dictate what is right and wrong and expect everyone to share the same view. I have found that I have always relied on the rule-based approach where I use my religion and culture to determine what is right or wrong regardless of the situation. This course has convinced me that I need to be flexible in my approach especially if I am to be a good leader. According to Ladkin (2010), modern society is a melting pot of many different cultures and moral values which complicate decision making. It is essential for organisations to come up with a single standard for ethical behaviour, educate members on the adopted policies, and indicate the consequences unethical behaviour. It, therefore, makes sense for organisations to offer rewards to ensure that workers abandon their individual ethical approaches and subscribe to the ethical code selected by the organisation. For example, a profit-sharing program can be used to encourage ethical behaviour and discourage practices like insider trading and corruption (Pavlo, 2014). This course has changed my view on rewarding ethical behaviour. According to Ladkin (2010), leadership is synonymous with being in a position to influence others. The nature of ethics is that different individuals will take different approaches to determining what is right and wrong. This situation is complicated by the fact that modern society is increasingly interconnected with firms seeking talent from across the world. I have learned that organisations and governments have to draft ethical codes to encourage ethical behaviour. I have also come to accept that incentives and rewards play a pivotal role in this process. Importantly, organisations should also punish those who go against the organisational policy on ethics. References Ladkin, D. (2010). Rethinking leadership: A new look at old leadership questions. Edward Elgar Publishing. Mitchell, C. V., Schaeffer, P. M., & Nelson, K. A. (2005). Rewarding Ethical Behaviour. Talent Strategy Partners. Retrieved 20 October 2016 http://www.tsphr.com/pdfs/rewarding_ethic_behavior.pdf Pavlo, W. (2014). Making people behave more ethically, an MBA’s view. Forbes. Retrieved 20 October 2016 http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2014/01/16/making-people-behave-more-ethically-an-mbas-view/#7acede7d431f Conclusion The course has expanded my understanding of leadership by reinforcing some of my positions and changing some of my prior assumptions. First, I have learned that leadership is a social construct that is influenced by religion, culture, and perceptions. This partly explains why women in both Saudi Arabia and New Zealand face inequality in areas like access to opportunities and leadership. Secondly, my view on charismatic leadership has changed as it has been found to lead to impractical expectations in followers. The third lesson concerns the importance of cross-cultural communication when adopting the relational approach to leadership. Finally, the course has allowed me to accept that people apply ethical values in different ways. The modern interconnected world means that organisations have to develop ethical codes. Rewards play a pivotal in this environment as it convinces people to conform with the organisational code of ethics. Read More