Cross Cultural

CROSS CULTURAL LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENT MODULE CODE: MOD003348 2014/15 ACADEMIC YEAR 3rd SEMESTER Word Count: 2,963 (Body Of Essay) 483 (others-References, Cover, Content Page) CONTENT PAGE Page Executive Summary .………………………………………………………………………………3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………….4 Factors to be considered on the Type and Skills of the Manager ……………………………4 Cultural Issues to be Considered on Style of Leadership …………………………………….8 Factors to be considered in considering a local or an existing Manager ……………………13 References and Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….16 Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………N/A Executive Summary Our Company, Keepwell plc has been successful domestically over the years and the need to expand the market beyond the shores of United Kingdom has become paramount. The aim of the report is the proposed new sites and how to achieve successful strategic expansion into international Market. An in-depth study of the people and the countries of South and North Americans were carried to have an overview of their culture and to relate it with the report. The report evaluates the factors to be put into consideration in recruiting or appointing a local manager or current managers respectively in which the best manager that can do the job and integrate both local responsiveness and global integration was concluded as ideal. The skills and experience and cultural issues as relate to style of leadership were considered. Articles, Journals, Books, websites search engines, personal interviews, text were researched for theories, decisions and recommendations. INTRODUCTION In view of The Board of Directors decision and on request by the Managing Director for a report on the expansion of the domestic success of the company’s product into International Market specifically North and South American countries, evaluating and prioritising certain factors that affects workforce and leadership must be critically considered to determine the success of this strategic decision and its implementation. These Factors include but not limited to: The Experience, skills and competence of the Managers A manager plans directs, controls, organises people to achieve a common goal in an efficient, effective and peaceable process while Leaders influence, establish direction, motivate and inspire followers to achieve effective goal accomplishment and change. Both could be different in construct, in scope and in direction but they still overlap because both involve influencing a group of individual towards goal attainment. The manager that keepwell decides to appoint must not only be a manger but also be able to demonstrate a high level of leadership skills, traits, styles and competence to make the expansion a success, these include: TRAITS This are inborn characteristics or qualities that make one a great leader and manager. It involves personality characteristics. Intelligence This is the ability for the manager to reason and possess verbal and perceptual ability Intelligence traits links with acquired skills, Intelligence contribute to a leader acquisition problem solving skill and social judgement skill. The IQ of the managers should not differ too much with the potential employees IQ to avoid communication gap. This is required at mid-level. Self Confidence The new managers must be charismatic and be self assured of their skills and competence. Self Esteem is desirable. This is highly required. Sociable The managers should be friendly and approachable. They must be outgoing, tactful and diplomatic for business development. Highly required. Integrity The individual must be high in integrity, honest for proper Accountability to the head office and all stakeholders, just to make fair decisions in organisational conflicts Determination The managers employed must be determined managers to make a success of the new sites, they should have personal initiative, persistence and drive as rigorous growth would be needed. This is highly required but not at the same rate of the first 3 traits. Surgency This is about the new managers bringing about change and new innovations, this might be needed and middle level as there are existing product in place. Emotional Stability High level of energy and Tolerance must be demonstrated by the managers, The managers should always stay Calm Agreeable: This is the tendency to be accepting , conforming and nurturing which is not needed low level RATING THE ABOVE IN A SCORE OF FIVE 1=Strong Low Level 2= Low Level 3=Neutral 4= High Level 5=Strong High Level Traits Score Intelligence 4 Self Confidence 5 Sociable 5 Integrity 4.5 Determination 4 Surgency 4 Emotional Stability 4.5 Agreeable 3.5 SKILLS This is the ability to carry out an activity well through acquired Knowledge or practice. These skills are developed or learned. These include possessing a high level of Conceptual, Interpersonal and Technical skills. Conceptual Skill: Is the highest level of skills these Manager would have to posses as they are assumed not be middle managers but geographic managers that have to report directly to the chief executive of the parent company in another country. These managers must be creative and intelligent, must be able to work with concept and ideas. Very important at the top management. Interpersonal The managers should be socially skilled and persuasive as to achieve Keepwell organisational goals. This skill has to do with the ability to work with people (Katz, 1995), team spirit trustworthy. Important at all levels of management. Technical Skills The managers should be specifically proficient and competent in the manufacturing of nutritional Supplement. They must know the benefits and side effects, if any, of keepwell products. This skill is very important at the middle and lower management. Political Skills: This would be quite relevant in a cross functional teams, it is the ability to inspire and influence others to carry out tasks. Motivational Skills The leader must be able to determine at what level does he/she reward or reprimand his employee as to increase efficiency in the workforce. COMPETENCIES Problem solving skill This is the ability for the managers to solve new and exceptional ill defined problems. Social Judgment skills: Ability for the managers to Understand business, political and cultural environments worldwide and specifically America and Brazil Ability to Learn the perspectives, tastes, trends and technologies of the North Americans and South Americans cultures Need to relate to people from other cultures from a position of equality rather than cultural superiority Knowledge Knowledge of wider cultural issues. Knowledge as defined by Nonaka and Takeuchi is the justified true belief that increases organization capacity for effective action. The potential managers must have knowledge of the business, product, people etc. EXPERIENCE The skills and Knowledge of the managers must have been shaped by their career experience, these experience are acquired through challenging work assignment, on hands and on the job training, daily duties etc. The potential manager should be experienced managers as they are expected to bring in their previous work knowledge, skills and experience to new geographical location and entity. ATTRIBUTES Ability to manage Diversity North and South Americans are made up of different tribes, people and cultures, these people will be part of the work force and also the organisation ecosystem, therefore, the site managers should be able to manage the diverse workforce and its environs. Gateway to different market places The managers should have the ability to respect individual differences, understand different values, beliefs and traditions of the North and South Americans and tolerate. CONCLUSION All identified skills, competence are of utmost importance to success of the expansion, therefore the HRM must put all these into consideration during recruitment, selection and interviews. RECOMMENDATION The manager/leaders recruited should possess most if not all of these competencies to be able lead in another cultural setting or cross cultural setting The cultural Issues as relate to Leadership Style CULTURE ‘Culture is a fuzzy set of basic assumptions and values, orientation to life, beliefs, policies, procedures and behavioral conventions that are shared by group of people, that influence(but do not determine) each member’s behavior and his/her interpretations of the meaning of other people’s behavior.’ (Oatey, 2008) Culture is the way of life of certain people in geographic environment, region or country. LEADERSHIP One of the definition of Leadership in relation to culture is the ability to step outside the culture and start an evolutionary change process that are more adaptive’’ Schein (1992) STYLE OF LEADERSHIP Leadership Style is the behaviour pattern of a person who attempts to influence others. It basically involves task and people behaviour. These potential keepwell managers must be able to manage effectively, functional teams, cross functional teams and virtual teams that are in their branch or country. Different Types of Leadership styles could be adapted by the new managers but they should be able to adopt the one that best fit the culture of the new market and its people. A leader should be put in a situation or position that matches its style or the situation could also be manipulated, if possible to suit the leadership style. The Leadership Styles include: Team oriented, charismatic/value based relationship, self protective, humane oriented and autonomous leadership behavior/style. It can further be classified into Supportive, Delegative, Coaching and Directive styles, Autocratic, Democratic and Achievement Oriented style. Charismatic/value based leadership style: is the ability to inspire, motivate and expects high performance based on strong core values. Can otherwise known as Achievement Oriented Style. Team Oriented Leadership: Style: involves being collaborative and building a common purpose among members. Diplomatic and must be transformational. Participative leadership: This is non autocratic, otherwise known as democratic style of leadership, it involves others in making and implementing decisions. Humane Oriented: can otherwise be known as supportive leadership style, it includes modesty and sensitivity to other people. Supportive or Directive leadership Style: This is useful within an organization and adapting to different situation Autonomous Leadership style: this is when a leader is independent, individualistic, unique and directive. Self Protective leadership style tends to be self centered, conflict inducing and position conscious.. CULTURAL ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED Culture in the Environment South and North American are regions with diversity in cultures, South Americans’ culture is made up indigenous native culture, African as a result of slave trade and European through colonisation and modern culture as a result of modernisation but are basically latin. South American is made up of 12 countries, which Brazil our interest of location is one, is a country rich in culture as, it is made up of different tourist centre like the amazon river, love of dance and majority don’t speak English. North American Regions are more action driven than policy driven. Brazil is in the Latin America cluster, while America and Keepwell country of origin are under Anglo cluster. Culture in the Organisation The dimensions of culture in the environment, region or organisation are best described using the Hofstede and Globe studies (in detail) theory. THE LINK BETWEEN THE DIMENSION OF CULTURAL ISSUES AND THE LEADERSHIP SYTLE THAT CAN BE ADAPTED Power Distance This is the extent at which members of a group believe that power should not be shared equally. North Americans and Great Britain in the Anglo cluster are low in power distance and Brazil in the Latin American cluster is known to be high. Therefore an autocratic leadership style would not be suitable for the branches in North Americans. Individualism A culture that believes in just the well being of himself, family and friends without considering others require a different leadership style. The people of North Americans are highly individualised people with low context cultures like we in the UK but in South Americans specifically Brazil is low. The leadership style best suit for Brazilians is the charismatic/value based leader, Autonomous oriented, self protective and moderately humane, people oriented manager. Americans don’t need a self protecting leadership style, they believe in performance therefore need charismatic/value based, team oriented participative style from the managers. Hofstede Theory/Globe studies Anglo Cluster Latin America British(Home Country) America(North) Brazil(south American) Power Distance Low Low High Individualism High High Low In group Collectivism Low Low High Institutional Collectivism High High Low Uncertainty Avoidance Low Low Low Future Orientation High High Low Performance Orientation High High Low Gender Egalitarianism High High The Cluster with Leadership style Hofstede Theory/Globe studies Leadership Style Leadership Style British(Home Country) America(North) Brazil(south American) Individualism Least Self protective Least Self protective High Self Protective Style In group Collectivism High Team Oriented Style High Team Oriented Style High Team Oriented Style Institutional Collectivism Moderate Participative Style Uncertainty Avoidance Future Orientation Not autocratic Not autocratic Performance Orientation High Charismatic/value based High Charismatic/value based High Charismatic/value based Humane Orientation Considerate of others Not autocratic Considerate of others Not autocratic Moderately humane Oriented Style Gender Egalitarianism High autonomous High autonomous Least Autonomous style Uncertainty Avoidance This refers to the degree to which societies feel threatened by ambiguous situations and the extent to which they try to avoid uncertain situations. (Brewster, et al. 2011) Britain and the North Americans specifically U.S.A exhibit low uncertainty avoidance as they are risk takers and encourage flexibility and views diversity and so does Brazil. Performance Orientation: This is the extent a society encourages or rewards member for improved performance and excellence. South Americans (Brazil) are low in performance orientation while North American and UK are high therefore the managers appointed for Brazil might not put special consideration to this but in North American this style would be required for their success. A charismatic/value based leadership style should be exhibited by the managers in America Future Orientation This refer to society that emphasize on the culture of planning, investing for the future. Latin America cluster (Brazil) scores low in this but Americans and Keepwell HQ must recognize this, the mangers here should put future benefits in place for the employees like pensions etc. A charismatic/ team oriented leadership style would also be required for both regions. Participative leadership style would also be required in brazil as to involve employees for their further and the organization future. Gender Egalitarianism This culture dimension promotes equality in gender. North American promotes this kind of culture, thereby the workforce and leadership will have constitutes a balance number of both gender. The component of the leadership and followers has a great impact on the leadership that will be exhibited. A participative leadership, charismatic leadership would be quite suitable for both clusters. In-group Collectivism This is the extent people are devoted to their organisation and families. Brazilians are good at it but not Americans. A humane oriented supportive leadership should demonstrated in Brazil Other Cultural Issues including the cultural web are the Language, Learned beliefs, values, Rules, Norms, Symbols, Traditions and Working Practice CONCLUSION In essence every manager must be a leader and demonstrate all the above styles but that might not always be the case. North Americans have the same culture with Keepwell and therefore we might not face much challenges with penetrating into the market and the organization structure but there are differences with the South Americans which potential managers should be able to adopt and adapt to. Should Local managers be used at each site or relocating an existing manager from the UK The Typology outlined by Perlmutter (1969) is the best approach to determine if a local manager should be appointed or a current Keepwell manager from the Headquarter should be relocated to the new site to lead. Perlmutter (1996) outlined 3 approaches to managing subsidiaries/ branches abroad the home country which are in the Ethnocentric, Polycentric and the geocentric approach with the fourth approach in 1979 by Heenan and Perlmutter, the Regiocentric approach. Ethnocentric Approach: is home country oriented whereby a current keepwell should be appointed. This approach would allow keepwell to maximise its control over these branches and give room for integration and Keepwell culture is easily continued. . However this is at a great risk of sacrificing Local responsiveness. It results in centralised system, ordering staff from HQ without taking into consideration culture environment and feelings of the staff. An ethnocentric orientation is the assumption that all markets are alike and can lead to Ethnocentrism and Prejudice. Ethnocentrism is the tendency for the current keepwell manager to place his/her beliefs, attitudes, ethnic, culture above that of others. It involves failure for local manager to recognise the unique perspectives of the Brazilians or the Americans. This can occur vice versa, if a local American manager is appointed, he might not value the working practice or culture of Keepwell headquarter. Prejudice – “fixed attitude, belief, or emotion held by an individual about another individual or group that is based on faulty or unsubstantiated data” (Northouse, 2013) Table 5 Factors Local Manager Current Manager Expatriated World Manager Working Practice Low High High Cultural Awareness High Low High Employee relation High Low High Local Responsiveness High Low High Integration Medium Low High Managing Diversity Medium Low High Global Orientation Low Low High Cost of Expatriating. Low High Investment High Professional/Technical Competence Low High High Family Situation Effect Low High High Polycentric: this is a host country approach where a local manager should be appointed for the new site in their respective countries. It is adaptative strategy. This approach allows for more local responsiveness, keepwell will be able to respond to local conditions easily. Local opportunities would be easily explored. High autonomy will be enjoyed by the managers and quicker decisions would be made. But Integration will suffer. Geocentric: this approach is world oriented approach. Keepwell will not need to look at the local nor the current manager but the best man in the world who can do the job. This fulfils integration and bonding of worldwide culture. It will help keepwell to gain competitive advantage, takes into consideration local responsiveness. This approach will enable the best manager to thoroughly understand its markets and consciously take advantage of similarities in world markets. Regiocentric: this approach were later added in 1979 by Heenan and Perlmutter. This takes into consideration the local responsiveness as well. At this point a regiocentric approach would not be advisable as South and North American are made up of different tribes, culture, language and genders. A regional manager might find it difficult to relate with the workforce considering these differences. Researchers like Caligiuri and Stroh (1995:495) established that the best approach is Geocentric. The Kind of Management Approach depend on the priority of the under listed factors to keepwell. Local Responsiveness: Would the personnel chosen be able tailor the product of Keepwell to the needs and preferences of North and South Americans consumers Working Practice The work pace policies and norms of these two regions might be different from keepwell’s due to macro environmental influence. Power Display The current power display within the organisation, are we operating a high hierarchy or flat structure or cross functional structure and do we want to extent these to the new site? Integration: Is keepwell looking at global integration and gain competitive advantage in the world market? Cost Cost of repatriation, recruitment and selection must all be put into consideration. Recommendation I will recommend a Geocentric management approach, where the best managers should be appointed for each new site because of local responsiveness, National Differences, global integration and competitive advantage. It could be local, current or from any part of the world but should be knowledgeable and can balance these factors.. REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Brewester, C. Sparrow, P. Vernon, G. and Houldsworth, E. Eds., (2011). International Human Resource Management. London. CIPD Northouse P.G. ed., (2013) Leadership: Theory and Practice. 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