The effect of modern culture on managerial behavior in Egypt - Research Proposal Example

Running Head: Research Proposal Research Proposal [Institute’s Research Proposal Introduction The organizational culture of a specific organization is most definitely under influence of the overall (general) culture of the geographical location in which the company is operating. Thus, for example, the organizational culture of an organization in Egypt is under influence of the cultural norms and “modus operandi” of the Egyptian culture (Sanders, 2008) itself. A dictionary definition of culture is, “the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thought, speech, action, and artifacts and depends on man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations” (Robbins, 1994).

Though this is a general definition, we can see some important aspects that translate to organizational behavior (Deal and Kennedy, 1982). Behavior in any culture of an organization, a nation, or a family is educated to its members so that the patterns of behavior, thought, speech, action, etc. are developed and restricted to what the overall society considers as acceptable. In specific, the proposal will discuss some of the aspects related to abovementioned terms in context of modern Egyptian culture (Reidy, 2010) that will be part of the major research.

Literature Review The study of Egyptian culture and its impact in terms of knowledge, values, and manners that are shared by the Egyptian society (Bari, 2004) on managerial behavior and functions is very vital to define the positive and negative impact that it has on an organization and how it can contribute to the success or failure of the organization itself. The Egyptian organizations are centralized and hierarchical in structure and culture, also known as a ‘hydraulic’ society. “The organizational structures of the Egyptian executive authorities (Mehrez, 2008) demonstrate the mechanistic organizational structure, rigid and relying on authority and a well defined hierarchy to facilitate coordination, as opposed to the organic structure that is flexible, adaptive and achieve coordination through participatory communication” (Robbins, 1994).

As experts have indicated, “the organization indicates a centralized decision authority, a high horizontal differentiation among levels of authority, rigid hierarchical relationships, and a high degree of formalization of communication channels” (Barnard, 1938). Authoritarian patterns of behavior are bred, sustained, and perpetuated by paternalistic family structures, religious and educational institutions, and the political system in general” (Tumas, 1989). These characteristics give birth to a few managerial dilemmas including the disruption of communication, the neglect in accountability (Lane, 2005), less efficiency, a lack of cohesive hierarchical passage of commands, the inadequacy in performing tasks, execution, maintenance and management issue, which all eventually lead to the failure of an organization.

In addition, the research will utilize the Behavior Management Theory by Mary Parker Follett and her stance on the workers needs that will be helpful in better understanding of how the managers should behave towards workers to enhance their performance and productivity. The use of a more organic structure might increase the worker’s performances, by establishing a work environment that cater to the human side of the organization, and give the workers and managers a better professional relationship.

This exchange can lead to an easy transfer of information and better troubleshooting of issues; rather than the rigid mismanagement, that ensures the following of protocol, but is sketchy about the effectiveness of the protocol (Barnard, 1938). Mary Follett, saw the employees in an organization as complex combinations of attitudes, beliefs and needs (Mele, 2006). She further built a rational bridge between political democracy and a cooperative spirit in the workplace. A foolproof way of solidifying employee participation and efforts towards projects is to allow them to contribute to the organization.

Through participating employees can understand the value of executing, managing, and implementing a task effectively, because the success of the task will directly relate to their personal endeavors. This can also help in employees being more attentive and supportive towards the roles and decisions of their manager too, because they will learn the issues and stakes while participating in the organizational tasks. The theory points out how this and more such tactics can help in achieving success of an organization.

In conclusion, the proposal has discussed different aspects of the effect of modern Egyptian culture in terms of knowledge, values, and manners that will be part of major research. In addition, the final paper will be very effective in understanding Egyptian culture in detail, and from an organizational perspective. . References Bari, Z. (2004). Modern Egypt. Shipra Publications. Barnard, C. (1938). The function of the Executive. Harvard University Press. Deal, T.E. and A.A. Kennedy (1982). Corporate Culture.

London: Addison-Wesley Co. Lane, E. W. (2005). Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. Cosimo. Mehrez, S. (2008). Egypt’s Culture Wars. London: Routledge. Mele, D., IESE Business School- University of Navarra. (2006). Ethics in Management: Exploring the contributions of Mary Parker Follett Spain: Chair of Economics and Ethics. Reidy, R. J. (2010). Eternal Egypt. iUniverse. Robbins, S. P. (1994). Essentials of organizational behavior. London: Prentice-Hall International. Sanders, P. (2008).

Creating Medieval Cairo. Cairo Press. Tumas, A. H. (1989). “Institutionalized Obstacles to Development: The Case of Egypt”. World Development. Volume 16, issue 10, pp. 1185-1198.