THE CORRELATION BETWEEN CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP

A literature review on the connections between cultural dimensions and leadership is provided, and insights into the importance of this research in management training and practice. This research also focuses on various aspects of diverse cultures so as ascertain that it’s nearly impossibility to import a leadership style from one culture and implement it in another culture without interfering with it at all since any given leadership style has peculiar meanings attached to the cultural setting where it is practised. A good understanding of culture is thus a key factor that must be taken into consideration when choosing a leadership approach to be effected in an organization. Introduction Culture is a major contributor to an individual's perception of other people and the world as a whole.

Several studies have revealed that persons from dissimilar cultural backgrounds perceive things in different fashions. This research will, hence, not study all the theories that have been used in defining culture but mainly focuses on how culture influences leadership. • The uniqueness of individuals is a major setback. Despite people having a good number of common factors, variability in different aspects of culture contribute to high complexities in cultural diversities. Distinctive factors such as language, religion, habits, history and values are considered as factors differentiating the cultural identity of individuals within a cultural dimension. Methodology. This research is thus based on qualitative data, that is, data that can’t be expressed numerically but can only be described theoretically. Literature review. Since this research is projected at studying and analysing how culture influences leadership, the literature review commences by providing the definition of culture.

1 Defining culture. The term culture is ubiquitous among humans. These generalizations are inflexible and also not easily subjected to change even if there is an opposing evidence (Ponterotto and Pedersen, 1993). Leaders encounter challenges in dealing with their followers’ prejudices besides their own. The prejudices may be directed towards the leader or even the future of the leader. Leaders also encounter followers who have diverse cultural backgrounds and also having prejudices among themselves. 2 Cultural dimensions. Hofstede analysed five parameters in assessing the organizational cultures in place; long-term orientation, uncertainty avoidance, femininity and masculinity, collectivism and individualism, and power distance (Hofstede, 2001). The following table is a representation of the five dimensions for selected Asian and Western countries providing their exemplification. Table 1: Cultural dimensions of selected countries (Extracted from the Hofstede centre) 4.

3 Culture and leadership Without deeper insights into the role of culture in leadership and other rudiments of group life, there exists no hope of creation of a better world. Social life has to be maintained much more determinedly to avoid creation of a man eat man society. 4 How leaders deal the culture of their follower. ( Weick’s vision) Leadership skills are defined by one’s ability to figure out the reality for others. Leadership is although not solely dependent on the ability of the leader to alter the vision of his followers, but depends also on the processes of socio-relations that should meet specific demands of the leadership frameworks and people’s beliefs (Barzanò, 2008). As a matter of fact, dissimilar cultures need dissimilar leadership styles which are dependent on specific definite cultural physiognomies.

The process of constructing a meaning for a particular situation may possess very many diverse meanings or counter certainties, hence culture is a major player in meaning construction. (Olivetta, 2012). Also as noted by Gupta & Ferguson (1997), a state is legitimised depending on how strong its population claims of representing a particular unique national identity. It thus becomes easy to deduce the significance of legitimizing power and with culture playing a major role in the process. For instance, the Mao Zedong power’s legitimacy in China, conducted by the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966), involved sweeping changes in the Chinese Communist Party. Its major intention was to remove (while initiating no succession) the old cultural features of the Chinese society. The attributes consist of: risk-taking, sensitivity, sincerity, enthusiasm, humility, ambition and compassion.

In the future, GLOBE will seek to study whether strict adherence to the leadership theories by leaders who have culturally endorsed these theories leads to more efficient and effective leadership as opposed to those who don’t work as per the cultural expectations. GLOBE will also continue with their examination of how motivational, compassionate and visionary aspects are interpreted at different levels of cultures. A question relating to the same would be when and how some of these specific behavioural attributes will manifest themselves in a particular culture. Findings. S. ), leaders tend to demonstrate flexibilities on how a goal is achieved. Opportunistic leaders are more of individualistic and are known to be ambitious risk takers. However, it is advised that the leader should frequently check in with team members to help in ensuring that they are updated on changed plans.

b.  These leaders develop new skills to cope with organizational changes. The leader is mandated to implement orders from above to the lower levels employees. This type of leadership when overused can turn to issuance of fiery directives by the higher leaders to the lower level employees or worst the leaders may refuse to compromise as they command the subordinates. The “Kiss up/kick down” leaders are dutiful and diligent The passive-aggressive leader. Leaders of this type are widely accepted in Countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Different aspects of culture impact on leadership in peculiar fashions. From the researched works, it is crystal clear that leadership is large dependent on culture and that the two are actually interrelated. This research was thus a success.