Cross-Cultural Leadership and Diversity (ch.13)

Cross-Cultural Research on Behavior Differences

- Cross-cultural research studies differences in leadership behavior patterns among countries - Scores on behavior questionnaires are analyzed to determine whether behavior is used more in one culture or country than another - Methodological problems such as confounding and lack of equivalence can complicate quantitative comparison of scale means - Smaller number of studies attempt to identify qualitative differences in the way a specific type of behavior is enacted in each country - Differences in behavior were found in how managers communicate directions and feedback to subordinates across cultures - Leaders need to recognize problems caused by cultural differences, as cultural differences among members can cause problems that need to be resolved quickly

The six value dimensions (how cultural values are related to leader behavior)

(1) power distance - refers to the extent to which individuals in a culture accept and expect unequal distribution of power and authority (high: Mexico, India). (2) uncertainty avoidance - refers to the extent to which individuals in a culture are uncomfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty. (high = Japan, low=US). (3) individualism versus collectivism - the extent to which a culture values collective action and cooperation towards common goals. (4) gender egalitarianism - the extent to which a culture values gender equality and promotes equal opportunities for men and women. Cultures that score high on this dimension tend to value gender equality, while cultures that score low tend to have more traditional gender roles and expectations (high Norway. Low=Saudi Arabia). (5) performance orientation - refers to the extent to which individuals in a culture value performance and achievement (high: Germany, US. Low: Spain). (6) humane orientation - the extent to which individuals in a culture value kindness, empathy, and caring for others. (e.g., high: Norway, Sweden. Low: Russia).

Cross-Cultural Research on Effects of Leader Behavior

- Cross-cultural studies also examine differences in the relationship of leadership behavior to outcomes such as subordinate satisfaction and performance. Examples: -Supportive behavior was related to leadership effectiveness and subordinate satisfaction in the US but not in Jordan or Saudi Arabia - Directive leadership was related to organizational commitment in Mexico and Taiwan but not in the US, South Korea, or Japan - Contingent rewards were related to subordinate organizational commitment in the US, Mexico, and Japan but not in Korea or Taiwa

Org programs to Manage Diversity and Promote Inclusion

- Diversity training programs aim to increase tolerance, understanding, and appreciation in the workplace. - The objectives of diversity training are to create awareness of diversity problems, stereotypes, and intolerance, as well as to educate employees about real cultural or demographic differences and how to respond to them in the workplace. - Diversity training programs can vary depending on the program and may include aspects such as ethnic background, religion, national culture, age differences, employee sex, sexual orientation, and physical disabilities. - A problem with some diversity training programs is their emphasis on placing blame for discrimination rather than increasing self-awareness and mutual understanding. - Structural mechanisms such as appraisal criteria that include diversity issues, task forces or advisory committees, measures for systematic monitoring of progress, and hotlines or other special mechanisms can be helpful. - Efforts to change attitudes are more likely to be successful when diversity training is directed at people who have not already formed strong prejudices, and the organization has a culture that supports appreciation for diversity.

Theories of Male Advantage

- In the 20th century, gender-based discrimination was supported by beliefs that men were more qualified than women for leadership roles. - These beliefs were based on assumptions about traits and skills needed for leadership, inherent differences between men and women, and role expectations. - There is no empirical support for the belief that men are more qualified to be leaders. - Antidiscrimination laws in the US are based on the premise that men and women are equally qualified for leadership. - Gender stereotypes have been slowly changing, but the belief that men are more qualified to be leaders still persists in some segments of the population and in countries where it is supported by cultural values

Why is Cross-cultural Research important?

- Increasing globalization of organizations makes it more important to learn about effective leadership in different cultures. - Leaders are increasingly confronted with the need to influence people from other cultures, and successful influence requires a good understanding of these cultures. - Leaders must also be able to understand how people from different cultures view them and interpret their actions. - To understand these issues, it is essential to determine if a leadership theory is valid in cultures that differ from the one in which it was developed. Some aspects of a leadership theory may be relevant for all cultures, but other aspects may apply only to a particular type of culture.

Types of Cross-Cultural Studies

- Much of the cross-cultural research involves leader behavior, skills, and traits. - The most common approach has been to explain cross-cultural differences in leadership in terms of differences in cultural values (e.g., Hofstede) - Cross-cultural studies examine leadership behavior, skills, and traits in different countries - Other studies analyze cross-cultural differences in actual leadership behavior and its effects on outcomes such as subordinate satisfaction, motivation, and performance - Few studies investigate how cultural values and leadership practices change over time

Limitations of Research on Gender Differences

- Research on gender differences in leadership has serious limitations in interpretation of results. - A major problem is the lack of a clear definition of gender and inconsistent conceptions of gender characteristics across studies. - Gender is often correlated with other variables that affect leader behavior, and most studies do not control for the differential effects of organizational variables on men and women leaders (e.g., level, function, time in position, type of organization), - Differential role expectations can influence the measurement of leader behavior, skills, or performance for men and women in the same type of leadership position. - The type of data analysis and reporting of results can also perpetuate exaggerated stereotypes about men and women. - The utility of meta-analyses for interpreting research on gender differences is limited when the results in the published literature are not representative.

Sex-Based Discrimination

- There is widespread discrimination against women in high-level leadership positions - This is known as the "glass ceiling" - Only a small number of nations have a female head of state and the number of women in top executive positions in large business organizations is very small - The "glass cliff" refers to the tendency of women to be appointed to risky and precarious leadership positions - This is due to the belief that women are better equipped to handle crises and turn around failing companies - Studies have shown that the glass cliff is pervasive in both business and political organizations

Findings in Research on Gender Differences

- Studies on gender and leadership behavior have inconsistent results. - Some reviewers conclude that there are no significant gender differences in leadership behavior or skills, while others find differences in some behaviors or skills in certain situations. - Women tend to use slightly more participative and transformational leadership behavior than men, particularly in individualized consideration, which includes supportive behavior and efforts to develop subordinates' skills and confidence. - Results for transactional leadership are mixed and difficult to interpret. - Gender is unlikely to be a useful predictor of leadership effectiveness for most leadership positions because they require both strong task and interpersonal skills. - Research on the relationships between gender composition on corporate boards and key organizational outcomes is mixed, with some studies finding positive effects, while others find no or negative effects. - The presence of women on boards bestows more legitimacy on firms in countries with greater gender parity, and the representation of women on the board is positively related to accounting measures of firm performance, especially in countries with strong shareholder protections. - Greater representation of women directors on corporate boards enhances ethical and social aspects of firm behavior, potentially due to gender differences in communal tendencies, ethical orientation, empathy, and caring, but more research is needed to understand the nature of these relationships.

What is the link between cross‐ cultural leadership and diversity in the workplace?

- The link between cross-cultural leadership and diversity in the workplace is that effective cross-cultural leadership can help organizational leverage the benefits of diversity while minimizing the challengers. - Leaders skilled in cross-cultural leadership can create an inclusive environment where everyone feels values and respected, regardless of their cultural background. This can lead to improved communication, collaboration, and innovation in the workplace. - It is crucial for leaders to develop cross-cultural competencies and be able to navigate cultural differences to lead diverse teams effectively.

Evaluation of Cross-Cultural Research

- The research on cultural values finds important differences that are relevant for beliefs about effective leadership and actual behavior of leaders. - However, limitations in cross-cultural research on leadership have been pointed out, including conceptual and methodological weaknesses. - Different taxonomies of cultural value dimensions proposed by scholars have limitations, and researchers seek a more comprehensive way to describe cultural dimensions. - Measuring specific aspects of leadership behavior is essential to understanding the joint influence of cultural and organizational values on leadership behavior. - Convenience samples from only a few countries were used in much of the early research, and the assumption that cultural values identified for a nation apply to all types of organizations in that country overlooks the importance of organizational and individual differences. - Too much reliance on survey questionnaires is another limitation in many cross-cultural studies. - Many studies fail to include information that could help explain the reason for cross-cultural differences in leadership. - Many research questions need to be examined more closely in the future. Examples: - How does actual behavior of leaders differ across cultural value clusters and for different countries? How are leader values and behaviors jointly influenced by personality (and developmental experiences), company culture, and national culture?

Identifying Causes and Reducing Discrimination

- The types of confounding and biases described earlier are one likely cause of the differences. - If significant gender differences remain after these biases are removed, then a possible explanation involves biological differences created by evolutionary processes that occurred over thousands of years in primitive times - differential treatment during childhood causes men and women to have different values, traits, skills, and ways of dealing with situations - Although not mutually exclusive, these explanations lead to different implications for the selection and training of leaders and the elimination of unfair discrimination. Unfortunately, most studies on gender differences in leadership provide little information about the reasons for any differences that are found. - Equally important to understanding the reasons for any real gender differences is the need to find ways to eliminate unfair discrimination. - Female candidates are likely to be rated as less qualified than male candidates for many types of leadership positions unless accurate information about each person's skill and experience is collected and used in the selection decision - If possible, selection and promotion decisions should be made by people who understand how to avoid bias resulting from stereotypes and implicit assumptions.

Natural culture changes

- The values and traditions in a national culture can change over time, just as they do in an organizational culture. Cultural values are influenced by many types of changes (e.g., economic, political, social and technological). - countries in which socialism being replaced by capitalism and an emphasis on entrepeunirship are likely to se a shift toward stronger individualism and performance-orientation values - countries in which a democratic system replaces an autocratic political system are likely to become more accepting of participative leadership and empowerment in orgs - countries in which is stronger gender differentiation is gradually replaced by gender equality can be expected to become more accepting of leadership practices that reflect traditional feminine attributes (e.g., nurturing, developing, building cooperative relationships)

Theory of Feminine Advantage

- There is a controversy surrounding claims that women possess values and skills necessary for effective leadership in modern organizations. - The "feminine advantage" theory claims that women possess values such as compassion, nurturing, and sharing, and are more concerned with consensus building and inclusiveness. - They are also believed to have more empathy and be more sensitive to feelings and the quality of relationships. - The claims of the feminine advantage theory appear to be based on weak assumptions and exaggerated gender stereotypes. - A study on the female leadership advantage in team settings found that female leadership was more positively related to cohesion for more functionally diverse and larger teams, and it was positively related to participative communication and cooperative learning for larger and geographically dispersed teams.

Providing Equal Opportunity

- To make full use of the talent represented by the diverse members of the organization, it is essential to eliminate constraints that prevent qualified people from selection for critical positions. Many things can be done to facilitate equal opportunity and promote employee inclusion - The assessments used for selection and promotion decisions will be more accurate if the raters who make them are trained or otherwise helped to reduce biases caused by racial, ethnic, or gender role stereotypes - One method for reducing this type of bias is a "structured free recall" intervention. The raters are asked to recall examples of both positive and negative behaviors by a candidate before rating the person's qualifications for a position. - Mentorship programs that provide sound advice, encouragement, and assistance facilitate the advancement of women and minorities - Leadership development programs should provide equal opportunities for people who want to learn relevant skills and gain valuable experience. - Affirmative action programs can be helpful if well‐designed and implemented - The programs are likely to be less controversial and more successful if the members of an organization clearly understand the need for them and ways are found to encourage affirmative action without imposing reverse discrimination.

Explanations for the Glass Ceiling and Glass Cliff

- Traditional beliefs about leadership required masculine attributes such as being confident, task-oriented, competitive, objective, decisive, and assertive. - Effective leadership requires strong interpersonal skills, traditionally viewed as feminine (e.g., supporting, developing, empowering), which are now more important than before. - Gender stereotypes and role expectations for men and women have been a significant reason for sex-based discrimination in leadership selection. - Lack of opportunities, exclusion from informal networks, higher standards of performance, difficulty in gaining access to leadership positions, and competing family demands are some of the possible reasons for the glass ceiling. - Studies have found that women have limited access to social and informal networks, are less likely to ask for promotion, and need more of the required skills than men to advance to executive positions. - Factors such as organizations facing crises, inherent risks of leadership assignments, and high levels of pressure and scrutiny from stakeholders and media contribute to female leaders being pushed toward the glass cliff. - The career trajectory of women who "fall off" the glass cliff may be severely hampered, which may also partly account for the glass ceiling

Cross‐ cultural leadership and diversity

Cross-cultural leadership refers to the ability to lead people from different cultural backgrounds effectively. It involves understanding and respecting cultural differences, adapting leadership styles to different cultural contects, and building relationships with people from diverse backgrounds. Diversity in the workplace refers to the presence of people from different backgrounds, including but no t limited to race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation. Diversity can bring unique perspectives and ideas to the workplace, but it can also lead to challenges if not managed properly.

Cultural Influences on Leadership Behavior

Cultural values and traditions can influence the attitudes and behavior of managers in a number of different ways (internalized and those reflected in social norms): - Most managers will conform to social norms about acceptable behavior, even if they have not internalized the norms - One reason is that deviation from social norms may result in diminished respect and increased social pressure from other members of the organization - Another reason for conformity with social norms is that the use of socially unacceptable forms of behavior is likely to undermine a leader's effectiveness - Strong values in the organizational culture may or may not be consistent with the dominant cultural values, especially if an organization is a subsidiary of a foreign‐owned company. - Leadership behavior is influenced by different situational variables besides national culture: 1. The type of organization (e.g., profit versus nonprofit, public corporation versus private ownership) 2. The type of industry (e.g., retailing, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications) 3. Characteristics of the managerial position (e.g., level and function of the manager, position power, and authority) - The values and traditions in a national culture can change over time, just as they do in an organizational culture (e.g., gender equality). Cultural values and beliefs about the determinants of effective leadership are likely to change in consistent ways.

Guidelines for Managing Diversity and Promoting Inclusion (Recommended individual action by leaders)

Encourage Tolerance and Appreciation - Set an example in your own behavior of appreciation for diversity. - Encourage respect for individual differences. - Promote understanding of different values, beliefs, and traditions. - Explain the benefits of diversity for the team or organization. - Encourage and support others who promote tolerance of diversity. Discourage Intolerance and Discrimination - Discourage the use of stereotypes to describe people. - Identify biased beliefs and role expectations for women or minorities. - Challenge people who make prejudiced comments. - Speak out to protest against unfair treatment based on prejudice. - Take disciplinary action to stop harassment of women or minorities.

The GLOBE Project

The GLOBE project is a cross-cultural study of leadership in 60 different countries representing all major regions of the world - The project aimed to develop an empirically-based theory on the relationship between national culture, organizational processes, and leadership. - One research question was the extent to which effective leadership is similar or different across cultures. - The research identified similarities and differences in beliefs about the importance of various traits and skills for effective leadership. - The researchers identified nine value dimensions and measured both actual and ideal cultural values. - Differences in ideal values among countries were smaller than for actual values. - The next section of the chapter describes several value dimensions and their likely relationship to leadership beliefs, behavior, and development

Cross-cultural research; methodological difficulties

The amount of cross-cultural research is increasing, but the methodological difficulties in conducting this type of research are substantial. Equivalence of meaning is not assured in many studies, the sampling procedures are inadequate, controls for contaminating factors are absent, explanatory variables are not included, and interpretation of results is questionable. Faster progress may require greater use of large- scale research projects such as GLOBE.

Guidelines for Global Leadership

The research on cross-cultural leadership provides insights into how leadership values and practice vary across cultures, as well as how culture impacts the effectiveness of different types of leadership. The focus of global leadership involves applying these insights to meet the practical challenges facing leaders who operate in the global arena. In an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, finding and developing leaders who can effectively work across cultural and geographic boundaries is essential Three global leadership essentials that are necessary to effectively manage in our increasingly global world: • Understand your global employees. (understand national culture, employee work preferences, and factors that engage and motivate employees.) • Understand the layers of complexity in your organization. (must understand different aspects of the situation, which layers of complexity arise from the org itself ans others from the regions within which the org operated). • Understand yourself. (cultural agility and a global mindset are key among the personality traits/characteristics to succeed in the global arena).

Summary of Leader Gender Research

There is little reason to believe that either women or men make superior managers, or that women and men are different types of managers. Instead, there are likely to be excellent, average, and poor managerial performers within each sex. Success in today's highly competitive marketplace calls for organizations to make best use of the talent available to them. To do this, they need to identify, develop, encourage, and promote the most effective managers, regardless of sex. More systematic and comprehensive research is needed to determine the extent of any gender differences in leadership and the reasons for them. It is essential to examine how organizational and cultural factors influence the perceptions and behaviors that shape gender identity.

Summary

With the rapid pace of globalization and economic development, cross- cultural leadership has become an important topic for research. Some leader attributes are considered important for effective leadership in all cultures that have been studied, but other attributes vary in importance from one culture to another. Cultural values and beliefs are likely to influence actual leader behavior, especially when they are also consistent with core values for the organization. The amount of cross-cultural research is increasing, but the methodological difficulties in conducting this type of research are substantial. Equivalence of meaning is not assured in many studies, the sampling procedures are inadequate, controls for contaminating factors are absent, explanatory variables are not included, and interpretation of results is questionable. Faster progress may require greater use of large- scale research projects such as GLOBE. Global leadership involves applying knowledge of cultural values and practices to address the practical challenges facing leaders who work with people from diverse cultures and across geographic boundaries. Beyond the basic knowledge, skills, and abilities required of domestic leaders, global leaders must have the capacity to lead globally dispersed teams that span cultures, geographies, and time zones. To do so requires three global leadership essentials: understanding your global talent; understanding the layers of complexity in your organization; and understanding yourself. Sex-based discrimination in the selection and promotion of leaders continues to be a serious problem in large organizations. There are several different reasons for such discrimination, but more research is needed to understand the causes and find ways to deal with them. Many studies have examined gender-based differences in leadership behavior and effectiveness, but the findings are weak and inconsistent. Future studies need to control for effects of likely contaminating variables, report the magnitude of any significant differences that are found, and measure processes that provide insight into the reasons for the differences. An important responsibility for leaders in this new century is the management of diversity, which can take many forms. Leaders play an essential role in helping to bring about equal opportunity and elimination of unfair discrimination in selection and promotion decisions. Leaders can do many things to encourage tolerance, promote appreciation of diversity, and foster employee inclusion in organizations. All leaders in the organization should share the responsibility for improving diversity, ensuring equal opportunity, and promoting employee inclusion. Leadership at the national level is also important in the continuing efforts to eliminate unfair discrimination and enhance inclusion for all minorities and ethnic groups.

Managing Diversity and Inclusion

• Diversity can take many forms such as differences in race, age, gender, education, physical appearance, etc. • Diversity in the workforce is increasing in the United States and Europe. • More women are entering traditionally male jobs, the number of older workers is increasing, and there is more diversity with regard to ethnic, religious, racial, and other types of employee differences. • Diversity and inclusion offer potential benefits and costs for a group or organization. • A greater variety of perspectives can increase creativity and utilizing a diverse workforce would increase the amount of available talent for filling important jobs. • Diversity can also result in more distrust and conflict, lower satisfaction, and higher turnover. • Managing diversity is an important but a difficult responsibility of leaders in the twenty-first century. • The desired outcome of efforts to manage and value diversity is employee inclusion, where all employees feel they can openly express who they are and how they differ from others.