There has been the substantial amount of research which has illustrated what is expected of leaders, what leaders may and may not caay out, and status and influence bestowed on leaders differ considerably as the result of cultural forces in countries or regions in which leaders function.
For example, Americans, Arabs, Asians, English, Eastern Europeans, French, Germans, Latin Americans, and Russians tend to glorify concept of leadership and assume it reasonable to explain leadership in context of both political and organizational arenas. People of Netherlands and Scandinavia often have distinctly different views of leadership.
Let the following statements taken from interviews with managers from different countries:
Americans appreciate two types of leaders. They look for empowerment from leaders who grant autonomy and delegate authority to subordinates. They respect bold, forceful, confident, and risk-taking leader, as personified by John Wayne.
The Dutch place stress on egalitarianism and are skeptical about value of leadership. Terms like leader and manager carry stigma. If father is employed as manager, Dutch children will not admit it to their schoolmates.
Arabs worship their leaders--as long as they are in power
Iranians look for power and strength in their leaders.
Malaysians expect their leaders to behave in manner which is humble, modest, and dignified.
French appreciate two types of leaders. De Gaulle and Mitterand are examples. De Gaulle is example of strong charismatic leader. Mitterand is example of consensus and coalition builder, and effective negotiator.
1. Describe are there leader behaviors, attributes, and organizational practices which are universally accepted and effective across cultures?
2. Describe are there leader behaviors, attributes, and organizational practices which are accepted and effective in only some cultures?
3. How do attributes of societal and organizational cultures affect types of leader behaviors and organizational practices which are accepted and effective?
4. Describe what is the effect of violating cultural norms related to leadership and organizational practices?