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Chapter 13 - Leadership Across Cultures
3. Is there any relationship between company size and European managers’ attitude
toward participative leadership styles?
Answer: Company size tended to influence the degree of participative-autocratic
seem more participative and more supportive of internal control.
4. Using the GLOBE study results and other supporting data, determine what Japanese
managers believe about their subordinates. How are these beliefs similar to those of
U.S. and European managers? How are these beliefs different?
Answer: In general, the GLOBE study indicates that Japanese leaders use
Charismatic/Value-Based leadership and Team-Oriented leadership.
Charismatic/Value-Based leadership captures the ability of leaders to inspire,
5. A U.S. firm is going to be opening a subsidiary in Japan within the next six months.
What type of leadership style does research show to be most effective for leading
high-achieving Japanese? Low-achieving Japanese? How are these results likely to
affect the way that U.S. expatriates should lead their Japanese employees?
Answer: In the high achieving groups, the leadership style that emphasized both
task and human dimensions was the most effective throughout the entire study,
while the leadership style that involved neither task nor people was consistently
6. What do U.S. managers need to know about leading in the international arena?
Identify and describe three important guidelines that can be of practical
value.
Answer: As countries become more economically advanced, participative styles
may well gain in importance. This does not mean that MNCs can use the same
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Chapter 13 - Leadership Across Cultures
that is successful depends on the situation the leader faces.
7. Is effective leadership behavior universal, or does it vary from culture to culture?
Explain.
Answer: Some of the fundamentals of leadership are universal, as indicated by the
discussions in the textbook. Cultural differences do play an extremely important
8. What is authentic leadership? What is ethically responsible leadership?
Answer: Authentic leaders are defined by an all-encompassing package which
includes elements such as traits, styles, behaviors, and credits. Authentic leaders are
expected to lead by example, and, therefore, their processes and behaviors should
Internet Exercise: Taking a Closer Look
Suggestion for Using the Exercise
1. Ask your students to contrast what they learned about GE and CEO Jeffery Immelt
with a similar investigation of the German conglomerate Siemans and CEO Peter
Löscher. The Siemans 2009 annual report is available at:
{http://www.siemens.com/annual/09/en/index.htm}.
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Chapter 13 - Leadership Across Cultures
In The International Spotlight: Germany
Questions & Suggested Answers
1. What are some of the current issues facing Germany? What is the climate for doing
business in Germany today?
Answer: Germany has been changing at a rapid rate since the Berlin wall came
crumbling down, unifying East and West Germany. Unfortunately, one side effect
associated with this reunification has been the financial burden of rebuilding East
goods and machinery. Germany's current challenge is to solidify its role as a leader
within the European Union and put to rest fears of a dominant economic giant
running roughshod over its neighbors and potentially the rest of the world.
2. Are the leadership styles used by the German managers really much different from
those used by the Americans?
Answer: The Germans in the case and in general are known to use a more autocratic
style than is common in the United States. In other words, this is not just a
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3. Do you think the German managers are really more Theory X-oriented than their
U.S. counterparts? Why or why not?
Answer: The German managers probably are more Theory X-oriented than their
American counterparts. As noted above, the culture supports this type of leadership
4. Are the German managers who have come to the United States likely to be having
the same types of problems?
Answer: German managers are going to find that a strict Theory X-orientation may
be viewed by many Americans as overly pushy or aggressive. In terms of the
profile of leadership styles, these managers are too System 1-oriented.
They will have to start moving more toward a System 3 (participative) or 4
5. Using the GLOBE study as a guide, what are some leadership attributes you would
expect from the Germans? How does this affect the way German subordinates view
U.S. leaders?
Answer: Out of the six broad categories of the GLOBE study, the leadership
attributes of the Germans are positively associated with Team-Oriented, Humane-
Oriented, and Self-Protective attributes. Team-Oriented leadership places emphasis
on effective team building and implementation of a common goal among team
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Chapter 13 - Leadership Across Cultures
You Be the International Consultant: An Offer from Down Under
Questions & Suggested Answers
1. Will the leadership style used in the U.S. be successful in Australia, or will the
Australians respond better to another?
Answer: The leadership style used in the U.S. is not unlike that already used in
Australia. The biggest concern for Gandriff Corporation is that Australia is far more
2. If the retailer goes into Europe, in which country will it have the least problem
using its U.S.-based leadership style? Why?
Answer: European managers in general use a participative leadership style, but of
all countries, Great Britain resembles the U.S. the most. Employees there are
accustomed to the democratic approach, having information shared with them, and
working under participative leaders. Many of the norms and values of the British
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3. If the company goes into Europe, what changes might it have to make in
accommodating its leadership approach to the local environment? Use Germany as
an example.
Answer: German leaders prefer a more work-centered, authoritarian approach to
style some and use teamwork and low level decision-making less than they have in
the U.S.
International Management in Action: Global Teams
Summary
1. International leaders focus increasingly on developing global teams that are capable
of overcoming cultural barriers and working together in an efficient, harmonious
manner.
There are four phases in the process of developing effective global teams:
1. Team members come together with their own expectations, culture, and values.
Management implements specific steps to create the environment for this
metamorphosis:
1. Group objectives are identified and communicated to members.
2. Team is chosen for necessary skills; personnel must reinforce and complement
7. Lines of communication are spelled out.
8. Members are continually praised and rewarded for innovative ideas and actions.
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