The Influence of the European Culture - Research Paper Example

?The influence of the European culture in management leadership style of European managers working in Asian countries focusing on its power on the local employees [Student’s Name] [Course] [College] [Tutor] [Date of Submission] Background The proper functioning of organizations, among other institutions is dependent on the how those charged with the responsibility of overseeing the running of day to day operations do their work. The directions as well as guidelines given have a significant impact on whether the institutions will survive or die out. According to Kotter, (1990), the level of success is pegged on the leadership and management approaches adopted. He argues that leadership has to do with adapting to changes while management is concerned with managing complexities. The approach used in leadership and management therefore determines the outcome of the various decisions made. However, all these are influenced by factors such as the immediate as well as external environment, the structure of the organisation or institution, business culture and the relationships which exist between the management and the subordinates (Marcus et al, 2003). Management and leadership are inherently dependent on each other although leadership is a component of management and success in any decision made is influenced by the balance between the two elements (Hofstede, 1991). Management styles are influenced by the leadership styles employed in the running of business entities. There are four fundamental leadership styles although there are several others which are based on the particular management approaches used. These include democratic, laissez faire, autocratic and participative leadership styles. Democratic, laissez faire and participative management leadership styles involve staff while autocratic style is purely based on the management making decisions for the business or company (Marcus et al, 2003). Literature review Theimann and April ( n.d) point out that the cannon of knowledge in the field of management and leadership theory and practice has been espoused from Western capitalists principles mainly of American and European dissent. The spread of leadership styles has been brought about by globalization, international trade, the increase in multinational corporations; international outsourcing practices have become more widespread. Asia in specific India has been receptive to the European leadership styles compared to other parts of Asia and African countries. According to Ralston et al (1993), the increase in international affairs has led to the convergence and divergence debate where organizations take strategic positions in different ways. The authors point out that convergence thesis is where economic ideology is the main driver of cultural values for example exposure to European business leads to the adoption of European culture. Thus culture is treated as something accidental that does not have any prior planning for it to take place. On the other hand, Hosfede, (1980, 1991), Adler (2002) point out that a divergence perspective recognizes a country and its cultural differences, they emphasize that culture plays a big role in influencing the way management is conducted. Ward et al (1999) and Ralston et al (1993), indicate that when two cultures meets and equally exchange ideas and values, that is cross –divergence, this type of divergence recognizes the importance of national culture and economic ideology and the synergy between the two ““when an individual incorporates both national culture and economic ideology influences synergistically to form a unique value system that is different from the value set supported by either national culture or economic ideology” (Ralston et al, 1997: 183). According to the Centre fro Comparative Management Studies (2011) the relationship between culture and leadership styles and agrees with the notion that culture has a small but significant impact on the leadership styles of an individual , other factors that affect an individuals leadership styles are the personality characteristics of the leader and his followers, age skills and expertise, gender, needs and expectation of the organization and followers and the type of organizational structure that one works in (Centre fro Comparative Management Studies, 2011). Some of the effects that culture plays on an individual ways of leadership and management are ; it plays the context that behaviors and style are determined ,affects the nature of relationship between the leaders and their followers, it dictates how leaders are accepted in a given society, affects the attitude and norms of a leader, it determines and shapes the agreed upon leadership prototype among others influences it has on leadership. The technological advancements in the European countries have greatly influenced the approach taken in their management and leadership styles. The European culture advocates for a balanced life between work and private life. In addition, the culture gives the importance of consultation and appreciation of stability while deciding on the actions to be undertaken (Telaghan, et al, 2010). The way of doing things has also made the management style to be somehow rigid. For instance, the consultation approach limits the flexibility with which a manger for example, is required to decide for an urgent case. The culture demands adoption of best practice which calls for responsiveness to clients, efficiency in discharging duties with inclusion of innovation and observation of quality standards. This fosters appreciation of the importance of diversified cultural differences. In some regions like Philippines and Hog Kong, the leadership styles are highly diversified, depending on the dominant culture in a specific region. In China and India, family businesses are headed by the head of the family while in France it is the military general that heads a business or an organization (Centre for Comparative Management Studies, 2011). Currently, in German the coalition leader is the most common term used. According to the Management Research Group, a study involving almost 4000 individuals in leadership management positions was conducted, some of the countries that were analyzed included Denmark, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden and UK (Teleghani, et al, 2010). Some of the key factors that were common among the leaders in this region was they focused a lot on their technical expertise and orientation towards in-depth analyses and detail, competitiveness in terms to what extend they will push to achieve specific results and they are kin towards setting standards for excellence for themselves and the organization (Teleghani, et al, 2010). Aim of Study The main aim of the study is to evaluate and investigate the impact of culture on European leader working in Asian countries. Research Question How do the European leadership styles differ from those in Asian Markets? How does culture influence an individual’s leadership and management styles? Are there any factors that influence the manner in which these leaders are perceived by their followers in Asian Countries? What impact does a different leadership and management style have on the organizational performance? What conditions should be put in place to ensure that the culture difference in relation to the management styles n Europe and Asia are blended fort he best practices? Research Objectives Find out how the European leadership and management styles differ from that of the Asian continent Find out what conditions make it favorable to exercise ones leadership culture in a setting with different leadership and cultural beliefs Evaluate the relation ship between managers/leader and their subordinates in Asian countries in relation to the way they relate to foreign leaders Find out the positive and negative effect of European leadership styles on the performance of the organistion, the relationship between the management and the employees and on the leaders themselves Give recommendations of the best approached of ensuring that there is synergy between European leader and the Asian market situations. Research Design This research shall incorporate qualitative research methodology, qualitative research method has its roots in Social Sciences ,it main concern is to understand why people behave in certain manner , it determines attitude, fears, knowledge belief and many other in coming up with an outcome in relation to a given study. In this case, the use of qualitative research will assist give an in-depth analysis and understanding of the influence of culture on the manner in which European leaders practice their expertise in Asian markets. Apart from investigating on what, where and how European leaders’ leadership and management styles impacts on the followers in Asia, it will also investigate on how and why certain scenarios exist (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). Qualitative research will be the best approach to sue because it enables the researcher to give rich explanations of the mentioned phenomenon, it will create evolving theories thus coming up with a stronger hypothesis and defense. Carrying out a qualitative research is less time consuming because it is simple and strong to the point. The type of data to be collected for the research will include different opinion on how culture influences leadership styles, the type of leadership styles in Europe and Asia, the duration that one take to adopt to adopt in a foreign market and start excising his leadership styles, the challenges faced by foreign leaders and managers, the history of inclusion of European leaders in the Asian markets, the positive impacts that come along with European leadership styles, the Asian culture on leadership styles, the negative effects of this kind of leadership, the perception of subordinates under such leadership among other relevant data. There are a number of data collection methods that will be used, when carrying out the research, one of the main data collection methods will be the analysis of documents and materials, various literatures will be reviewed to find out what previous researches in the same field found out. From the analysis, a more concrete and diverse reflection will be used to answer the research questions. N addition to the literature, reviewing a number of case studies will be conducted. Focus group discussions is yet another method that will be used for collecting data, focus group discussions entails bring together a small number of subjects to discuss a given topic. Such discussions are usually open minded and the details recorded on a tape. Some of the participants to be sued in the focus group discussion will be European management leaders based in Europe and in Asia, Asian management leaders based in Asian ad Europe, subordinates under European leaders in Asia, company directors, colleagues to the leaders among others. In depth interviews will also be conducted, in depth interviews are almost similar to focus group discussions; however the subjects are interviews individually ideally in the place of work or office. Using interviews in the research will not necessarily have a predetermined questions but a guideline to follow, this will give the interviewee and interviewer a relaxed atmosphere leading to a high level of accuracy in the information give. Lastly, direct and indirect observation will be used, when collecting the data, a few observations will be mage in organizations that have such leaders and after the observation and analysis drawn to assist in coming up with answers. When collecting the information, analyzing it and coming up with the report, reliability and validity of the process will be respected. To ensure that there will be reliability, examination of trustworthiness is crucial,( Seale , 1999), he states that “trustworthiness of a research report lies at the heart of issues conventionally discussed as validity and reliability” (Seale ,1999 ,p. 266). Usual cannons of social science will be used to redefine key concepts in order to fit the realities of the research. The preparation and use of creative insight will guarantee an analytical rigorous, explicitly and mental replacability. As a professional researcher, putting in use the knowledge I have gained and practicing integrity will lead to a reliable and valid outcomes. Last but not least, the use of triangulation in which multiple observers, methods and data sources and theories will overcome the intrinsic bias that may result from single observer, theories or methods and data sources (Patton, 2002). When conducting the research, there are likely challenges and limitations that will come up, some of them are language barrier, given that the two continents do not use the same language, carrying out interviews may prove challenging. This challenge may result to over expenditure in recruiting translators and any other aides to make the research a success. Time constraints due to canceled appointment and unpredictable weather patterns may be yet another challenge, it is understandable that most people in leadership positions rarely find time to participate in such matters and setting a workable appointment may prove hard. To go about this challenge ,I will make ensure that I have a diary in place to put down all my activities in a synchronized manner, in addition, making follow ups with designated individual to meet will be top priority to ensure that time is well managed. IT is expected that the research shall be a success and reflect on the real situation on the ground in relation to the data collected and its analysis. References Adler, N.J. (2002), International Dimensions of Organisational Behavior, 4th Edition, Thomson Learning: South Western. Centre for Comparative Management Studies .Ways in which culture can Influence Leadership Styles and Behaviours Accessed on 21/02/2011 from http://alangutterman.typepad.com/ccms/2011/02/ways-in-while-culture-can-influence-leadership-styles-and-behaviors.html Creswell, J. W. & Miller, D. L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into Practice, 39(3), 124-131. Denzin, Norman K. & Lincoln, Yvonna S. (Eds.). (2005). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Hofstede, G. (1991), Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind, London: McGraw- Hill. Kotter J., ‘What Leaders Really Do’, Harvard Business Review, (May – June 1990) Marcus W. Dickson, Deanne N. Den Hartog, Jacqueline K. Mitchelson (2003), "Research on leadership in a cross-cultural context: Making progress, and raising new questions". Patton MQ (2002) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. Sage Publications. USA. Ralston, D.A., Gustafson, D.J., Cheung, F.M. & Terpstra R.H. (1993), ‘Differences in Managerial Values: A Study of US, Hong Kong and PRC Managers’, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 249-275. Ralston D.A., Holt D.H., Terpstra R.H. & Kai-Cheng Y. (1997), ‘The Impact of National Culture and Economic Ideology on Managerial Work Values: A Study of the US, Russia, Japan, and China’, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 177-207. Telaghani, G., Salmani ,D and Taatian, A. Survey of Leadership Styles in different Culture. “Iranina Journal of Management Studies .Vol 3.No. 3 Jan 2010” Read More