For_Alma_Mater only
ag2443
culture_and_leadership.docxLeadership and cultural Differences in the workplace
7
Cultural Difference in the workplace
Introduction
The success of a particular leadership style in a given company can be measured by the extent to which that company has met its business goals. However, leadership is not a series of unilateral decisions. In fact, no leader can be successful unless he manages to motivate his subordinates to work and be part of the company’s vision and keep them task-oriented. Transformational leadership is exactly about this. According to Warrick (2011), “Transformational leadership describes a process by which leaders bring about significant positive changes in individuals, groups, teams, and organizations by using inspiration, vision, and the ability to motivate followers to transcend their self-interests for a collective purpose” (p.13). This style of leadership is particularly useful in the case of a multicultural work setting. This report discusses the role of the leader in overcoming cultural differences in the workplace. The report studies a case of a cultural difference that took place at Al Ghamdi’s Construction company in Jeddah, where my brother is currently working. The case was reported by my brother who witnessed the case in 2008. It serves as a good example of the role of leaders in a multicultural work setting. The case will be analyzed using the cross-cultural dimensions’ theory, with an emphasis on the leadership style used to handle the situation.
Theoretical part
A good leader has many characteristics. I think that clarity of vision, the ability to engage others, an awareness of the changes in the work environment and the ability to bring about changes are four essential qualities of leadership (Dalton, 1997). All these four characteristics are future-oriented and are necessary for the growth of the organization, because “Visionary leadership characteristics are defined as articulating a future view for the school and providing a strategic plan to achieve that view” (Dalton, 1997, p 3). By the first quality we mean the ability of leader to go into the heart of the problem and offer a clear vision for the solution. This is particularly important to inspire his fellows and work together towards achieving this vision. A good articulation of the vision implies the engagement of your co-workers and their viewpoints about the problem. Recognizing their ideas will motivate them to work. Third, an awareness of the different changes in the work environment and the whole industry will better equip the leader to understand the problem and take actions based on the past trends and similar situations. Finally, a good leader is someone who can bring his idea to life. It is goo to recognize the ideas of other and be aware of what going on, but more important is the ability to influence others and bring about change in the organization. These four characteristics are essential for any organization because they help align HR management and management, and therefore achieve the overall business goals.
The four leadership qualities mentioned above can help leaders have a clear idea of the workplace and cope with any surging problem. This is particularly important in multicultural work settings. People from different cultures have different conceptions of leadership styles (Murata, 2013). They bring with them their cultural values and beliefs about work, leadership and communication and expect everyone else to fit into them. The cultural differences very often result in misunderstanding, conflict and arguments. Proper communication can help ease the cultural tension within the workplace. By talking to each other, work colleagues can overcome cultural differences. However, it is the role of the leader to align his leadership style to human resource management. In other words, leaders of multicultural workplaces should find a way to make employees overcome personal and cultural interest for the sake of the overall business goals. A transformational business leadership will help the leader keep cultural conflicts under control. Because cultural differences can become very serious, leaders should use their transformational skills to bring significant change in his employees and to “to motivate followers to transcend their self-interests for a collective purpose (Warrick, 2011, p.13)
Saudi Arabia is a culturally diverse country. The oil industry, the premier source of revenue for the government, has opened the local economy to international markets. As a result, the workplace has become a melting pot where a wide range of cultures come together. Cultural differences cause a number of challenges for leaders, who have to understand and manage these differences in the workplace. Cross-cultural leaders need to develop some cultural intelligence in order to be able to handle multi-cultural work settings (Murata, 2013). Globalization and technological developments are bringing more diversity to the workplace than ever before. Since the success of the company is largely dependent on the leadership style, leaders face a growing pressure to handle the problems that arise from cultural differences. They have to adjust their leadership style to meet the changing circumstances at work.
The case studied in this report relates to cross-cultural differences in the workplace. It is a real case that took place in 2008 Al Ghamdi’s Construction company. The emphasis in this case is more on the way the problem represents a challenge for leadership than on nature of the conflict. It should be read in the context of leadership styles and its effectiveness in overcoming cultural barriers. The cultural dimension of the case is highlighted and the leader’s response is included. Through the response of the leader, the report seeks to show the importance of adopting a transformational leadership style to deal with cultural problem.
Practical Part
Case Description
Case Analysis
Cross cultural dimensions theory is theory of cultural communication which highlights “the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived from factor analysis” (Murata, 2013, p.240). Viewed from this prism, the aforementioned case where the cultural values of the two participants played a role in determining their behavior. Hari and Naief are tremendously affected by their respective cultures, but they are unaware that each of them expects the other to behave in the same ways. They fail to realize that their communication methods are totally different. In the Indian culture (and in many Asian cultures) subordinates are not supposed to criticize their managers. It is regarded as highly unethical. Hari was acting from his cultural principles when corrected the mistake of Naief, without letting him know. The problem is that Naief blamed the Indian team leader for being technically unsupportive. He considered that as an attempt from Hari not to share his knowledge with him. Naief wanted to discuss technical problems with Hari and to get the necessary support from him. He reported the case to the senior manager of the company and accused Hari of being unsupportive and even ego-centered. What Naief failed to see is the cultural gap between them. The whole thing was due to lack of communication between them. If they were communicating effectively, Hari would have been assured that it is fine to talk directly to his manager about the programming mistake. Naief should have understood that his Indian co-worker needed time to adjust to this new type of managing style. Neither of them was able to understand the cultural differences. There were times when Hari was talking indirectly about the programming mistake. Naief should have learnt that this Hari’s way of bringing the mistakes to his attention. On the other hand, prior to his arrival to KSA, Hari should have made some efforts to learn cross-cultural communication. Cross -cultural trainings would be helpful to avoid such misunderstanding from happening.
Leader’s Response
Leaders must adopt a flexible leadership style to be able to atone for these cultural differences. To ensure the business goals are being achieved, manager should be flexible with their leadership type to be able to deal with cultural differences and the ensuing clashes. When the case was reported to Mr. Harbi, the general manager of the company, he immediately understood what was at stake. Mr. Harbi had been working in cross-cultural settings all his life, and he knew what was needed. He adopted a task-oriented leadership style to encourage collaboration between the different agents in the program. In so doing, he made Naief realize that Hari was focusing on getting the job done. As the task-oriented style allows no room for suggestions and discussions, the manager succeeded to make both workers focus on the task being done, forgetting any misunderstanding that might arise in the process. The result was a more coordinated work group.
Conclusion
Cultural diversity has become a necessity at work. Globalization is bringing more people from different cultures to work together. Equipped with their cultural expectations about work, workers expect their colleagues to behave in the same way. This kind of expectation brings a lot of misunderstanding between them. Leaders have to learn how to adjust their style to be able to handle such cases. Encouraging direct communication is an effective way of boosting understanding. The aforementioned case is but one example of cross-cultural problems that arise in the workplace. Since we cannot stop cultural diversity in the workplace, leaders have to develop strong leadership skills to meet these problems.
References:
Dalton, R. W. (1997). Analysis of elementary principal leadership characteristics: Perceptions of elementary principals and superintendents (Order No. 9732864). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (304347821). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304347821?accountid=142908
Deng, L., & Gibson, P. (2009). Mapping and modeling the capacities that underlie effective cross- cultural leadership. Cross Cultural Management, 16(4), 347-366. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13527600911000339
Murata, F. M. (2013). “Cross-cultural leadership for global construction projects”. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Management, Procurement and Law, 166(5), 240. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1494357877?accountid=142908
Warrick, D. D. (2011). The urgent need for skilled transformational leaders: Integrating transformational leadership and organization development. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 8(5), 11-26. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/909486088?accountid=142908
Yan, J., & James G (Jerry) Hunt. (2005). A cross cultural perspective on perceived leadership effectiveness. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management: CCM, 5(1), 49-66. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/221204922?accountid=142908
