Topic 5 – Culture and Leadership

Learning Objectives
• Comprehend concepts of culture in management and organizations
• Critically discuss the link between organizational culture and leadership

5.1 Introduction
In the past, knowing a foreign culture and how to collaborate globally was crucial only for
country managers or employees engaged with overseas assignments. Today, leaders at all
levels in an organization must possess cultural intelligence. This is attributed to a number of
factors including increasing mobility, widespread technological progress and globalization. Let
us consider, for instance, ‘communication’. A hundred years ago, a letter sent from London to
Sidney had to travel for almost two months. Today, an electronic message arrives in less than a
second. This is called “time-space compression” (Harvey, 1989), a phenomenon where the
world becomes smaller (compressed) due to technological innovations in transportation and
communication. Similarly, automation, mobility and time/distance shrinking reinforce cultural
exchange. People, businesses, nations and economic blocks are closer; mutually interconnected
and interdependent – more than ever. As we explain in this topic, to be successful, every
leader should be prepared to work with people from different geographies and cultures.
Successful leadership and culture are inextricably linked.

For example, if you are like most managers, you are collaborating more and more with people
from other countries in your daily life at work. Your co-workers and employees may come from
different cultural backgrounds and be located in different countries/ time zones. You may be
outsourcing to an overseas vendor because they seem to offer the best service at the lowest
price. Customers from all over the world visit your webpage. You are negotiating with other
companies, either to buy raw materials or to sell. At the same time, you need to know your own
organisation’s and department’s culture so you can change and adapt in an environment which
is likely to be non-linear and ever changing. Therefore, preparation is important in terms of

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accepting and understanding diverse ways of thinking, as well as communicating in diversified
work environments. Also:
 Mergers, Acquisitions & Strategic Alliances are examples of organisational activity that
cross boundaries;
 Knowledge, creativity, innovation and other engines of sustainability of competitive
advantage come from people, and culturally we are different;
 Mobility: There are increasing international movements of labour making the
interaction of cultures almost inevitable in the workplace;
 Working patterns and structures of organization are changing - e.g. virtual working, flat
teams, knowledge sharing etc- cultural attitudes to these differ;
 Globalization: Need to consider ethical dilemmas, international investors, global
responsibility, sustainability, governance and representation.
Preparation, thus, requires a good understanding of culture, both a macro and micro levels.
This topic discusses culture and its effect on the leadership process. Prior to reading the main
analysis, you are advised to access our ebook’s chapter 10 (ebook 2 by Schedlitzki and Edwards,
2014) and read the section titled ‘What is Culture and Why is it Relevant for Leadership?’,
including ‘Vignette 10.1’.

5.2 Main Analysis

5.2.1 Levels of Culture
Prior to entering a discussion on Leadership and Organisational Cultural, it’s important to
explain and understand culture itself. At a basic level, culture is considered to be ‘the glue’ that
binds together a group of people (Martin and Meyerson, 1988). It is a shared set of values,
beliefs, attitudes and basic assumptions on reality and the group itself that has developed
through interaction and exposure to specific problems and challenges as well as successes.
These basic assumptions, values and beliefs are further manifest in the group’s artefacts such
as traditions, rituals, myths, jokes and stories (Schein, 2004, cited in our ebook 2). It is useful to

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think about culture in terms of five basic levels: national, regional, organizational, team, and
individual. Within each of these levels are tangible and intangible sublevels of culture.

Table 5.1: Levels of Culture

National Culture
The ‘National Culture’ level, for instance, can be viewed as the values held by a majority of the
population within the nation. These values are largely unconscious and developed throughout
one’s childhood. The values are pushed to a level of consciousness when in contrast to another
nation’s cultural values. A German business, for example, is likely to arrive at a business
meeting a few minutes prior to the commencement time; as opposed to a Ghanaian business-
man, where arriving late is acceptable and part of the culture (Herbert, 2009).
Regional Culture
All national cultures consist of regional subcultures that influence the characteristics of one
group from another in a nation state. Even language, pronunciation or accent can be a barrier
between a local manager in Devon, UK and a manager who grew up in Birmingham, UK. In the
US, the word “pop” refers to a soft drink in the Midwest, it is referred to as “soda” in the East
Coast, and a soft-drink is referred to as “Coke” in other regions of the United States (Mai Moua,
2017).
Organisational Culture
This is how organizations do things. This is a culture that makes an organization distinctive from
competitors and non-competitors. Organizational cultures are often referred to as “corporate
cultures” and reflect the beliefs, values, and assumptions of an organization. For example, the
culture of one school in a school district can be different than the culture of another school
located in the same district simply because of what the people in one school culture adhere and
react to.

Hall and Schneider, 1973

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Team Culture
This is the values, beliefs, and norms of culture that are present in team environments. Team
culture dictates the team’s operations and efficiency. Often, cultural norms in teams guide
members in their dress and appearance, their language, how they relate to one another, and
how they get along. For example, some teams are very serious, while others use humor in their
work life. Also, an IT department or team may be acting very differently from a marketing team,
which is located in the same building and in the same organization (Mai Moua, 2017).
Individual cultural differences relate to your preferences through your experiences that include
the influence of your family, your peers, school, media, co-workers, and so on. For example,
people from the same ethnic group, but different social classes, may have different perceptions
and customs. Also, members of one family may have different habits, customs, and traditions
from members of another family (Northouse, 2014).

These five levels of culture are important to think about, including that each of these cultures
can be expressed in subcultures or micro-cultures. Therefore, cultural awareness is important.
Each country has its unique institutional and cultural characteristics, which in turn, influence
organizational culture and as such influences the practices of the organizations, (England, 1983
cited in Thomas, 2008). More specifically, national culture is affected by various components, as
shown in Figure 5.1.
Figure 5.1: Factors Affecting National Culture

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Culture is frequently implicated as a cause of cross-national differences in ways that
organizational members respond to organizational characteristics. Managers, as we explain in
the following analysis, need to evaluate the extent to which national culture can interfere with
their company’s efforts to respond to strategic requirements, now and in the future’ (Schneider
and Barsoux, 2003).

5.2.2 Organisational culture

Let us start be defining what organizational culture is. According to Stacey (1993):
“The culture of any group of people is that set of beliefs, customs, practices and ways of thinking
that they have come to share with each other through being and working together. It is a set of
assumptions people simply accept without question as they interact with each other. At the
visible level, the culture of a group takes the form of ritual behaviour, symbols, myths, stories,
sounds and artefacts”.

Also, according to McLean and Marshall (1993), organizational culture is a collection of

traditions, values, policies, beliefs, and attitudes. All together, they constitute a context for
everything we do and think in an organization. Similarly, Harrison and Stokes (1992) suggest,
that culture impacts on most aspects of organizational life, including decisions-making, who
makes decisions, how rewards are distributed, who is promoted, how people are treated the
way organisations show adaptive behaviour.

One useful model for understanding organizational culture is the so called cultural web,
developed by Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes in 1992. The Cultural Web is a way of looking at
an organization's culture as it enables cultural assumptions and practices to be exposed. The
model identifies six interrelated elements that help to make up the pattern of the work
environment, that is, the bigger picture of the organistion’s culture: what is working, what isn't
working, and what needs to be changed.

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The six elements are:
1. Stories – The past events and people talked about inside and outside the company. Who
and what the company chooses to immortalize says a great deal about what it values, and
perceives as great behavior. What stories do people currently tell about your organization?
What reputation is communicated amongst your customers and other stakeholders?
2. Rituals and Routines – The daily behavior and actions of people that signal acceptable
behavior. This determines what is expected to happen in given situations, and what is
valued by management. What do customers expect when they walk in? What do employees
expect?
3. Symbols – The visual representations of the company including logos, how plush the
offices are, and the formal or informal dress codes. Is company-specific jargon or language

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 used? How well known and usable by all is this? What image is associated with your
organization, looking at this from the separate viewpoints of clients and staff?
4. Organizational Structure – This includes both the structure defined by the organization
chart, and the unwritten lines of power and influence that indicate whose contributions are
most valued. Is the structure flat or hierarchical? Formal or informal? Organic or
mechanistic? Where are the formal lines of authority? Are there informal lines?
5. Control Systems – The ways that the organization is controlled. These include financial
systems, quality systems, and rewards (including the way they are measured and distributed
within the organization.) What process or procedure has the strongest controls? Weakest
controls? Is the company generally loosely or tightly controlled? Do employees get
rewarded for good work or penalized for poor work?
6. Power Structures – The pockets of real power in the company. This may involve one or
two key senior executives, a whole group of executives, or even a department. The key is
that these people have the greatest amount of influence on decisions, operations, and
strategic direction. Who has the real power in the organization? What do these people
believe and champion within the organization? Who makes or influences decisions?
(Johnson, 1992)

By looking at each element separately, and asking questions for each element, a leader may
build up a picture of what is influencing the organisation’s corporate culture, its current status,
and plan change.

Another model, moreover, is the ‘four diversity cultures’ by Tromenaars and Hampden-Turner,
1997) that led to the following types (and orientations):
 Incubator (Fulfilment) [Egalitarian/Person]
 Family (Power) [Hierarchical/Person]
 Guided Missile (Project) [Egalitarian/Task]
 Eiffel Tower (Role) [Hierarchical/Task]

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Trompenaar’s model of culture is based on two axes: on the horizontal axis, is an assessment of
whether a culture is person oriented or task oriented; on the vertical axis, is assessment of
whether a culture is hierarchical, or egalitarian (equal; equal rights or opportunities). Both of
these dimensions are very common measures and can often be easily determined.

Figure 5.2: Trompenaars' model of national culture differences

The model is useful for identifying tensions between organisations which may have different
dominant cultures. Sometimes corporate culture overrides national culture; sometimes it’s
supporting. At this point, you are encouraged to watch Dr Fons Trompenaar’s discussing
Corporate Culture to understand in more depth the four cultures model. To do so, please copy
and paste the following URL in your browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS1K_rl8PrQ

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Video 5.1: Dr Fons Trompenaars on Corporate Culture

Formative Task
After watching the video, identify and discuss some of the cultural factors and models that
seem relevant to your organization. You will then be able to use this analysis in your
summative report.

Furthermore, from the many research studies on the dimensions of culture, it seems that the
most popular and most referenced is Hofstede’s Five Dimensions (1980/2001). Based on the
analysis of findings obtained from 100.000 responders in more than 50 countries (Northouse,
2015, p. 339), Geert Hofstede is considered as one of the most significant contributors to the
discussion of culture in organisations. Prior to reading the remaining of the topic, please access
chapter 10 in our ebook 2 (by Schedlitzki and Edwards, 2014) and read ‘Table 10.3 – Hofstede’s
Cultural Dimensions’.

Hofstede initially identified four dimensions in 1980 and then added fifth dimension in 1988.
The five major dimensions on which culture differs are ‘Power Distance’, ‘Uncertainty
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Avoidance’, ‘Individualism/ Collectivism’, ‘Masculinity/ Femininity’, and ‘Long-term-short-term
Orientation’:

Table 5.2: Hofstede’s Five Dimensions of Culture

1. Power Distance: this dimension refers to the degree that members of a group expect
and agree that power should be shared unequally. Power distance is used to categorise
levels of inequality, attitudes towards sharing of power and status and the willingness of
subordinates to disagree with superiors. Therefore, management style is indeed
important. It creates levels between people on power, authority, prestige, and material
possessions. High power distance countries include France, Spain, Hong Kong and Iran.
Low power distance countries include Germany, Italy, Australia, USA and GB.

2. Uncertainty avoidance: this dimension refers to the extent to which a society, groups
and organisations rely on established social norms, rituals and procedures to avoid
uncertainty. It is also the extent to which individuals feel threatened by uncertain, novel
situations. High uncertainty avoidance countries include France, Spain, Germany and Latin
America. Low to medium uncertainty avoidance includes Netherlands, Scandinavian
countries, GB, Ireland, USA, Canada and Australia.

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3. Individualism vs collectivism: this has to do with how value is ascribed to individual vs
group effort and achievement – with different ways of structuring work and rewarding
people.

4. Masculinity versus femininity: This dimension measures the degree of continuum of

‘masculine’ characteristics of assertiveness and competitiveness, and ‘feminine’ traits
(caring, quality of life). High masculinity societies include the USA, Italy, Germany, Japan,
and GB. Low masculinity includes the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries.

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 5. Long-term/short-term work orientation: This dimension includes countries that scored
highly on Confucian work dynamism demonstrated concern along a time continuum –
past and future; concern for tradition and for future generations.

Source: Hofstede, G. (2011) ‘Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context’, Online
Readings in Psychology and Culture (2) 1.

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But culture, is not always what we can see. For instance, other than the more concrete
behavioural, attitudinal consequences of culture, Schein (2004) developed a model recognizing
the unconscious elements of a culture and its constantly evolving nature as the membership of
cultures change and sub-cultures may be formed. The components presented below are also
known as aspects and indicators of culture:

Table 5.3: Aspects and indicators of culture

 Artefacts
 Language
 Behaviour Patterns & Norms of Behaviour
 Heroes
 Symbols
 Beliefs, Values and Attitudes
 Basic Assumptions
 History
Source: Schein, 2004

More specifically, the organizational culture exists at two distinct levels, visible and hidden. The
visible aspect of the organization is reflected in artifacts, symbols and visible behavior of
employees. One way of answering this question is to imagine a country's culture as an iceberg
floating in the ocean.

As shown in Table 5.2, in the tip of the iceberg, above the waterline, cultural manifestations can
be perceived with your senses. Visible differences include:

• How people converse;

• How they treat visitors;
• How much eye contact and touching they feel comfortable with;
• How they dress.

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Figure 5.3: Perceivable and Invisible Elements of Culture

Source: Author’s own design.

But most manifestations of a national culture lie “below the waterline.” These elements are
invisible and derive from people’s philosophies, values, convictions, and attitudes.
Subtle differences include:

 Attitudes about the role that work should play in a person’s life;
 Assumptions about how individuals fit into society;
 Beliefs about how men and women should behave;
 Preferences regarding how leaders and followers interact.

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At this point, let us take into consideration the example of ‘Global Collaboration’ in relation to
leadership and culture. The ability to collaborate across cultures and geographies is vital for
leaders today. But global interactions pose new challenges. Shein focused his work on
leadership on how leaders may – through their consistent engagement with artefacts at the
most superficial level of a culture – change behaviours and attitudes over time. Every leader
should understand that culture consists of levels and sub-levels. When managers prepare to
collaborating across cultures, they will be able to deal with the following challenges more
effectively:

 Cultural misunderstandings. When people from different nations interact,

opportunities for confusion based on culture grow;
 Lack of trust. Mutual trust is crucial for successful collaboration. However, when cultural
lines are crossed, collaborators may have difficulty finding common ground;
 Mishandled negotiations. Effective negotiation is difficult to master, even between
colleagues of the same nationality. When you factor in cultural differences in
negotiation style and approach, it is easy to see why so many global negotiations fail;
 Language barriers. When people from different countries collaborate, they may have
varying levels of proficiency in the common business language. If non-native speakers of
the language feel ashamed of their limited ability, they may withdraw from the
conversation. Language differences often cause misunderstandings and frustration;
 Physical distance. Sheer physical distance can present scheduling challenges when
you’re collaborating with people from other countries;
 Team alignment. Leading a global team toward a common goal can be especially
demanding. Members of different cultures may have difficulty identifying as part of the
team and aligning behind agreed-upon goals and responsibilities.

Source: The Economic, Economist Intelligence Unit (2012) ‘Competing Across Cultures’. The Economist,
Online at https://www.jku.at/zsp/content/e273302/e273317/Competing_across_borders_ger.pdf
accessed 17-01-2016.
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Schein’s (1999) three levels of organisational culture is “[a] pattern of shared basic assumptions
– invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of
external adaptation and internal integration – that has worked well enough to be considered
valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel
in relation to those problems” (Schein, 1992, p. 17). Schein proposes that the structure of
organizational culture could best be thought of as consisting of different layers, varying from
the shallowest (Level 1) to the deepest (Level 3):

Level 1 – is called ‘Artefacts’: it involves constructed physical and social environment; space;
layout; technological output; written and spoken language; overt behaviour of group members;
Level 2 – is called Espoused Values: it includes values and beliefs incorporated within solutions
(appropriate way of addressing problem area);
Level 3 – Basic underlying assumptions – unconsciously held learned responses; implicit
assumptions that guide behaviour and shape group members’ perceptions.

When a manager understands the deeper values and beliefs held by people from a different
country (those appearing below the waterline), (s)he can more easily predict how to behave in
various situations. At this point, you are advised to access our ebook’s chapter 10 (ebook 2 by
Schedlitzki and Edwards, 2014) and read ‘Table 10.1 - Schein on Key Leadership Roles’, including
its relevant analysis and ‘Vignette 10.2’.

To continue, a more critical approach on culture and management was offered by writers such
as Alvensson (2011), Ladkin (2010) and Smircich and Morgan, (1982). Alvesson (2011), for
example questioned the leader-centric approach taken by Schein and suggested that the
cultural context within which a leader is working is far more complex, shifting and outside that
leader’s control. He also stressed that followers’ views, values and behaviours “are hardly ever
only or mainly formed by their boss but by societal, industrial, occupational, generational
cultures, by the material work situation, by group interactions etc.” (Alvesson, 2011: 154).
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In 1986, Gareth Morgan argued that an organization is basically a human nature operation, so
he stressed the need to build organizations around people rather than techniques. In the
‘Images of Organization’, Morgan identifies eight metaphors while trying to uveal the
organisation:
1. The machine view which dominates modern management thinking and which is typical
of bureaucracies.
2. The organismic view which emphasises growth, adaptation and environmental relations.
3. Organisations as information processors that can learn (brain metaphor).
4. Organisations as cultures based on values, norms, beliefs, rituals and so on.
5. In political organisations interests, conflict and power issues predominate.
6. Some organisations are psychic prisons in which people are trapped by their mindsets.
7. Organisations can adapt and change, and
8. Some organisations are instruments of domination with the emphasis on exploitation
andimposing your will on others.
Morgan’s book is based on the premise that almost all our thinking about organizations is based
on one or more of eight basic metaphors. Basically, Morgan’s work explores ways of
understanding business organizations by imagining and understanding them through multiple
theories instead of one.

Smircich and Morgan (1982) suggested that followers look instinctively to their leader for active
sense-making of the here and now as well as the future and the past. This is often done
subconsciously, simply, by looking at the leader’s every move, actions, conversations and so on
as a symbolic manifestation of the underlying basic assumptions and values of the leader. The
following table summarises some of the key distinctions between the work of Schein and
critical management studies.

Table 5.4: The Role of Leaders

Schein: Leaders as Cultural Change Agents Smircich and Morgan, (1982).
 Leaders as engineers of strong  Leaders as co-creators of
organizational cultures. organizational cultures through
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  Leaders embed and reinforce through symbolic activities.
practice and procedures of the existing  Leaders are influenced by an existing
culture. culture and influence the culture
 Leaders challenge and change the through social interactions with
culture through vision, practices and followers.
procedures.
Source: Schedlitzki, D. and Edwards, G. (2014) Studying Leadership: Traditional and Critical
Approaches. Sage

Formative Task
Think about your own organizational experiences and managers you have known. How does your
experience relate to the different views on the role of leaders in culture management expressed
in Table 5.2?

What role have leaders taken?

5.2.3 Approaches to Studying National/Societal Culture and Leadership

Prior to reading this section, you are advised to access our ebook 2 (by Schedlitzki and Edwards,
2014) and read the section titled ‘Approaches to Studying National/Societal Culture and
Leadership’. In addition, you are advised to read the GLOBE Project, all the way to the chapter’s
10 summary. As explained in our ebook, an important development in the literature in regard
to culture and leadership emerged out of a ten-year research program called ‘Global Leadership
and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness’ (GLOBE). The GLOBE project investigated how
cultural values are related to organizational practices, conceptions of leadership, the economic
competitiveness of societies, and the human condition of its members across 62 Societies
(House et al, 2004). 170 investigators conducted qualitative interviews with 17,000 managers
worldwide in the fields of financial services, food processing, and telecommunications. GLOBE
researchers identified nine cultural dimensions s presented in the table below:

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Table 5.5: GLOBE’s Nine Cultural Dimensions
Performance Orientation Uncertainty Avoidance Humane Orientation
Institutional Collectivism In-Group Collectivism Assertiveness
Gender Egalitarianism Future Orientation Power Distance
Source: House, R.J., Hanges, P.J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P.W. and Gupta, V. (2004) ‘Culture,
Leadership and Organisations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies’. SAGE

As shown in Table 5.5, many of the elements used in the GLOBE Study are similar to Hofstede’s
(1980) cross-cultural work we discussed earlier. It looks at the existence of measurable culture
dimensions that distinguish one country’s/society’s culture from another. In addition, it shares
Hofstede’s assumptions on culture as ‘the collective programming of the mind which
distinguishes the members of one group or category from another’ (1991: 5) and that national
culture is the earliest and most determinable cultural identity affecting individuals’ behaviours.

Food for thought…

After reading the ‘Approaches to Studying National/Societal Culture and Leadership’ section in our
ebook 2, and by taking into consideration the time/space compression we discussed earlier (especially
the mobility phenomenon), think whether and how the following scenario applies to your or members
of your workplace:

Hofstedian approach to cultural research assumes stable membership of a specific culture. Yet,
individuals nowadays often do not stay in the country and culture they have grown up in but move on
to study, work and live in other cultures throughout their lives. This challenges the assumption that an
individual belongs to a single culture. Instead, we need to see cultural membership as multiple and
changing over time. An individual can hence belong to different cultural groups at any point in time
and any of these cultural groups may be more or less important over time (ebook 2, Critical box 10.1).

5.3 Additional Considerations

As discussed earlier, culture is a shared system of meaning, ideas, and thoughts that guides a
group’s perceptions and understanding of the world and that shapes group member’s
behavior. Think, for instance, the members of a religion, members of a particular ethnic group
or social class, employees of an organization, or people living in a particular country. All these
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are large groups with often a shared culture. But there are smaller groups too. As we explain in
table 5.1, People in IT may see things differently from those in Marketing. Members of one
family may have different habits, customs, and traditions from members of another
family. Therefore, in this section we highlight the importance of ‘Trust’ and ‘Cultural
Intelligence’ for understanding cultural differences and responding appropriately in new
settings.

5.3.1 Cultural intelligence

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is the natural evolution from the now well-established notions of
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Good leaders need all three if they
are to lead effectively. As a manager, building your cultural intelligence (CQ) can help you
understand the profound differences that distinguish national cultures. Cultural intelligence is
the ability to:

 Assess the ways people from diverse cultural backgrounds commonly interact;
 Determine how the ways in which people from diverse cultural backgrounds interact
differ from the ways in which people interact in your home country;
 Successfully manage an unsettling or unfamiliar situation encountered in a foreign
country.

Strengthen your CQ to collaborate more effectively with people from other countries. Given the
number of cross-border teams, overseas visits, and global employers many corporate managers
are likely to experience in their careers, having high CQ is an inherent advantage.

5.3.2 Trust
Trust plays a key role in every aspect of cultural interaction. Whether building employee staff
culture, negotiating with a vendor from another country, selling products to an overseas
market, or participating in a geographically dispersed team, there must be trust. In the context
of such interactions, trust can be defined as confidence in a person’s integrity, competence,
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reliability, and benevolence. When you trust others with whom you’re collaborating, you
believe they:

• Will be honest;
• Will do what they say they’ll do;
• Have the collaboration’s best interests at heart;
• Possess the skills needed to achieve mutually important goals;
• Genuinely care about others’ well-being.

When participants trust one another, they cooperate and can surmount difficulties that arise
during cultural interchange. It enables participants to bring their unique experiences and
perspectives to the effort. This diversity of contributions in turn spurs creativity, decision
making, and productivity. At this point, you are required to watch the TEDx video appearing on
Wilkinson’s culture. Then, continue with the week’s main formative task (Case-Study Lenovo -
IBM):
Video 5.2: Wilkinson’s Culture

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDFqEGI4QJ4

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VLE – Individual Formative Task – Case Study – Lenovo - IBM
At this point, you are required to access the VLE and read the Case Study titled ‘Lenovo – IBM: Bridging
Cultures, Languages, and Time-Zones’.

In no more than 8oo words, consider the following questions:

– What are the main drivers behind this merger? (200 words)

– What impact does international cultural difference have on the case? Can you find
examples of it being a barrier or an enabler of success? (200 words)

– Does the culture of the organisation itself play a part? If so, how? (200 words)

– Which theory or model (e.g. Hofestede) is still helpful in a globalizing world? (200 words)

Please submit by the end of week 5. Tutor feedback will be offered within a week.

References
Alvesson, M. (2011) Leadership and organizational culture. In A. Bryman, D. Collinson, K. Grint,
B. Jackson and M. Uhl-Bien (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Leadership. London: Sage, 151–164.

Brooks, I. (2006), Organisational Behaviour, FT Prentice-Hall, Harlow, Essex

Hall, D.T. and Schneider, B. (1973) ‘Organisational Climates and Careers: The work lives of
priests’. New York: Academic Press.

Herbert, J. (2009), “Chinese Investments in Africa: A Labour Perspective”, African Labour

Research Network, pp.333-365.

Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values.

Beverly Hills CA: Sage Publications .

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Hofstede, G. and Bond, M.H. (1988) ‘The Confucius Connection: From Cultural Roots to
Economic Growth’, Organizational Dynamics16(4): 5–21.

Hofstede, G. (2011) ‘Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context’, Online

Readings in Psychology and Culture (2) 1.

House, R.J., Hanges, P.J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P.W. and Gupta, V. (2004) ‘Culture, Leadership
and Organisations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies’. SAGE

House, R.J., Hanges, P.J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P.W. and Gupta, V. (2007) ‘Culture and
Leadership Across the World: The GLOBE Book of In-Depth Studies of 25 Societies’. SAGE.

Johnson, G., Whittington, R. and Scholes, K. (2005/2011) ‘Fundamentals of Strategy’ (2 nd

Edition), FT Press.

The Economic, Economist Intelligence Unit (2012) ‘Competing Across Cultures’. The Economist,
Online at
https://www.jku.at/zsp/content/e273302/e273317/Competing_across_borders_ger.pdf,
accessed 17-01-2016.

Schein, E.H. (1992). Organizational Culture and Leadership (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schedlitzki, D. and Edwards, G. (2014) Studying Leadership: Traditional and Critical Approaches.
Sage.

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