Chapter 11
MOTIVATING AND LEADING
LECTURE OUTLINE
General Outline
Opening Profile: The EU Business Leader— Myth or Reality?
Motivating
Cross-Cultural Research on Motivation
Leading
The Global Leader’s Role and Environment
Under the Lens: Interview: Yoshiaki Fujimori: Lixil Builds a New Style of Japanese
Multinational
Women in Global Leadership Roles
Management in Action: Leadership in a Digital World
Cross-Cultural Research on Leadership
Contingency Leadership: The Culture Variable
The GLOBE Project
Earlier Leadership Research
Conclusion
Chapter Learning Objectives
11-1. To understand the complexity and the variables involved in cross-cultural
motivation and leadership.
11-2. To learn how to use the research on cultural dimensions as tools to
understand how to motivate people in different cultural contexts.
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Opening Profile: The EU Business Leader—Myth or Reality and Chapter Learning Goals
(see slides 11-4 & 11-5)?
The European Union now comprises a 28-nation unified market of over 400 million people. In
2015, economic problems continue to cause strife and changing attitudes toward Greece. In
addition, attitudes clashed regarding rescuing and accommodating the mounting numbers of
I. Chapter Learning Goals (see slide 11-7)
Motivation—and therefore appropriate leadership style—is affected by many powerful
variables (societal, cultural, and political). The objective in this chapter is to consider
motivation and leadership in the context of diverse cultural milieus. We need to know what, if
any, differences there are in the societal factors that elicit and maintain behaviors that lead to
high employee productivity and job satisfaction. Are effective motivational and leadership
techniques universal or culturally based?
A. Cross-Cultural Research on Motivation (see slides 11-8 & 11–9)
1. Motivation is very much a function of the context of a person’s work and personal life.
2. Based on Hofstede’s work on the cultural dimensions of individualism, we can make
some generalized assumptions about cross-cultural motivation.
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the traditional division of work and roles; in a more feminine culture, the
boundaries could be looser, motivating people through more flexible roles and
work networks.
B. The Meaning of Work (MOW) see slide 11-10)
1. For most people, the basic meaning of work is tied to economic necessity (money for
food, housing, and so forth) for the individual and for society. However, the additional
connotations of work are more subjective, especially about what work provides other
than money—achievement, honor, social contacts, or so on. Another way to view
work, though, is through its relationship to the rest of a person’s life.
2. Studies on the meaning of work were carried out by George England and a group of
researchers called the Meaning of Work (MOW) International Research Team. This
a. Of importance to managers (as an aid to understanding culture-based differences in
motivation) are the specific reasons for valuing work.
b. The MOW research team provided some excellent insights into this question when it
asked people in eight countries to what extent they regarded work as satisfying six
different functions. The six functions were as follows:
• Provides a needed income,
• Is interesting and satisfying,
3. In the Middle East, religion plays a major role in all aspects of life, including
work. The Islamic work ethic (see slide 11-11) is a commitment toward
fulfillment, and so business motives are held in the highest regard. The origin
of the Islamic work ethic is in the Muslim holy book, the Qur’an, and the
words of the Prophet Mohammed: “On the day of judgment, the honest
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C. The Needs Hierarchy in the International Context (see slides 11-12 & 11-13)
1. People’s opinions of how best to satisfy their needs vary across cultures. One clear
of satisfaction of those needs derived from their jobs.
2. Many companies that have started operations in other countries have experienced
differences in the apparent needs of the local employees and how they expect work
to be recognized. Mazda of Japan experienced this problem in its Michigan plant.
3. When considering the cross-cultural applicability of Maslow’s theory, it is not the
needs that are in question as much as the ordering of those needs in the hierarchy.
The hierarchy reflects the Western culture where Maslow conducted his study. It is
4. Clearly, there is a need for more cross-cultural research on motivation, but one can
draw the tentative conclusion that managers around the world are motivated more by
Comparative Management in Focus: Motivation in Mexico (see slides 11-14 & 11-15)
To understand the cultural milieu in Mexico, we can draw on research that concludes that Latin
American societies, including Mexico, rank high on power distance (the acknowledgment of
Teaching Tip: Most Japanese companies, and some American companies, use group rallies at
the beginning of the workday to stimulate and motivate employees to identify with the
mission of the company. Ask your students if they feel this is “corny,” or do they feel it can
have a positive motivating effect? Would it motivate you personally?
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absenteeism and a turnover rate, especially in the maquiladoras. This high turnover and
absenteeism are costly to employers, thereby offsetting the advantage of relatively low labor cost
per hour. “Family reasons” (taking care of sick relatives or elderly parents) are the most common
reasons given for absenteeism and for failing to return to work.
The following are some general guidelines on Mexican culture to guide “foreign” managers in
Mexico:
• Family and friends are first priority.
• Mexicans work to live, not the other way around.
Most managers in Mexico find that the management style that works best there is authoritative
and paternal. In fact, paternalism is expected; the manager is regarded as the “el patron”,
(pronounced pah-trone) or father figure, whose role it is to take care of the workers as an
extended family. Employees expect managers to be the authority; they are the “elite”—power
rests with the owner or manager and other prominent community leaders. For the most part, if
not told to do it, the workers won’t do it; nor will they question the boss or make any decisions
for the boss. Nevertheless, employees perceive the manager as a person, not as a concept or a
function, and success often depends on the ability of a foreign manager to adopt a personalized
as well as daily/monthly attendance bonuses, works well.
.
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Although self-managed teams require individual risk taking of leaders to spearhead team
initiatives, those behaviors contrast with the behavioral norms of the paternalistic and
hierarchical tradition of managers and employees in the workplace. The business culture in
Mexico is attributable to prevailing conditions in Mexico’s economy of low levels of education,
training, and technical skills. A group of Mexican executives who were surveyed gave some
suggestions for implementing work teams but cautioned that the process of implementation will
take a long time. This list is from their list of suggestions:
• Foster a culture of individual responsibility among team members.
• Anticipate the impact of changes in power distributions.
Research shows that little conclusive information is available to answer a manager’s direct
question of exactly how to motivate in any particular culture. Western firms entering markets in
Eastern Europe invariably run into difficulties in motivating their local staffs. Those workers
have been accustomed to working under entirely different circumstances and usually do not trust
foreign managers. Exhibit 11-2 (see slide 11-16) compares conflicting motivational techniques in
Western-Russian joint ventures
.
Under the Lens: Managing in Russia – Motivation and Leadership Challenges (see slide 11-17)
In 2015, the business and economic climate in Russia was under pressure because of falling
oil prices and Western sanctions following the conflict in the Ukraine. Many companies are
holding back on investment or withdrawing. Long term, there are opportunities in Russia
reprisals, and there must be involvement by the managers. Constructive feedback must be given
and a reward system set up. It is important for Western leaders in Russia to realize that it is
informal networks and institutions that drive business and decision making in Russia.
The role culture plays in the motivational process is seen in Exhibit 11-3 (see slide 11-18).
D. Reward Systems (see slide 11-19)
1. Incentives and rewards are an integral part of motivation in a corporation. Recognizing
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social status, 3) job content, 4) career, and 5) professional. The relative emphasis on
these aspects varies from country to country. Employees in collectivist cultures such as
Japan, Korea, and Taiwan would not respond well to the typical U.S. merit-based
reward system to motivate employees, because that would go against the traditional
value system and would disrupt the harmony and corporate culture.
II. Leading
The task of helping employees realize their highest potential in the workplace is the essence
A. The Global Leader’s Role and Environment (see slide 11-20)
1. The critical factors necessary for successful leadership abroad have come to be known
as “Global Mindset”. Exhibit 11-4 shows some of the typical actions and attitudes of a
global mindset.
Under the Lens: Interview: Yoshiaki Fujimori: Lixil Builds a New Style of Japanese
Multinational
(see slide 11-22)
Lixil is one of the world’s largest makers of building products, has made an unprecedented
attempt to forge a Japanese multinational out of a declining industry, and defied predictions of a
disastrous clash of cultures. Lixil is an internationalized Japanese company and not yet truly
global. The Germans are still German, the Japanese are still Japanese, the Americans are still
American. The original companies were Tostem, which made building materials; Inax, a
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4. The global leader tries to maximize leadership effectiveness by (see slide 11-23) juggling
several important, and sometimes conflicting, roles as:
• a representative of the parent firm,
5. The leader’s role comprises the interaction of two sets of variables—the content and
the context of leadership. The content of leadership comprises the attributes of the
leader and the decisions to be made; the context of leadership comprises all those
variables related to the particular situation. The increased number of variables
(political, economic, and cultural) in the context of the managerial job abroad
requires astute leadership. .
The Leader and the Job:
• Leadership experience and technical knowledge
• Cultural adaptability
The Job Context:
• Level of authority granted to leader
• Physical location and local resource availability
6. Women in Global Leadership Roles
Women in leadership positions around the world encounter specific sets of
variables, it is useful to gain some insight into their particular sets of
circumstances and challenges
Under the Lens: Women in Business Leadership (see slide 11-24)
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of headlines beginning, “The first woman to…”
The president of the European Commission promised high-profile roles to women. But the
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7. Global Team Leadership
Global teams have become common means of organizing management projects around
8. The Role of Technology in Leadership
Individual managers are realizing that the Internet is changing their leadership styles
and interactions with employees, as well as their strategic leadership of their
Management in Action: Leadership in a Digital World (see slide 11-25)
Leadership in an e-business means that “There’s no place to hide. (The Internet) forces you have
to be on your toes every second.”
Three differences seem to be most evident:
• First, the speeds at which decisions are made.
• Second, leaders in e-business must be highly flexible.
• Third, leaders must create a vision of the future and focus on that vision.
B. Chapter Learning Goals and Cross-Cultural Research on Leadership (see slides 11-26 &
11-27)
1. Numerous leadership theories variously focus on individual traits, leader behavior,
interaction patterns, role relationships, follower perceptions, influence over followers,
influence on task goals, and influence on organizational culture.
C. Culturally Contingent Beliefs Regarding Effective Leadership Style (see slide 11-28)
1. Modern leadership theory recognizes that no single leadership style works well in all
situations. A considerable amount of research, directly or indirectly, supports the notion
of cultural contingency in leadership.
2. The GLOBE Project
a. The GLOBE Project sought to understand the impact of cultural variables on
leadership and organizational practices. Using data from 18,000 managers in 62
3. Universal Impediments to Leadership Effectiveness and Culturally Contingent
Endorsement of Leader Attributes (see 11-32 &11-33)
a. Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions provide a good starting point to study leader-
subordinate expectations and relationships. For instance, employees in countries that
rank high on power distance are more likely to prefer an autocratic leadership style
that a subordinate’s culture is usually a more powerful variable than other factors in
the environment. Research that supports this conclusion includes a study conducted
in Saudi Arabia that found participative leadership to be more effective with
American workers than with Asian and African employees, and a study in a U.S.
plant that found that participative leadership resulted in greater satisfaction and
subordinate relationship, but to the important task of running the whole company,
division, or unit for which the manager is responsible. When that is a global
responsibility, it is vital to adapt one’s leadership style to the local context on many
levels.
Conclusion (see slides 11-37 & 11-38)
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Internet Resources
Chapter Discussion Questions
11-1. What have you learned from the research on work centrality and the relative
importance of work dimensions to people around the world?
Learning Objective: 1; AACSB: Analytic skills
The higher the mean work centrality score, the more motivated and committed people
would be to work. Results showed the following national rankings in terms of centrality of
11-2. What are the implications for motivation of Hofstede’s research findings on
the dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and
masculinity?
Learning Objective: 2; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
Hofstede’s groundbreaking research has major implications for management in a
cross-cultural setting. Essentially he is telling us that management does not
11-3. Explain what is meant by the need to design culturally appropriate reward
systems. Give some examples.
Learning Objective: 2; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
Differences in motivational patterns across cultures means that reward systems must also
be culturally specific. In the United States, for example, rewards are generally based on
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11-4. Develop a cultural profile which might be applicable to many workers in
Mexico and discuss the management style you would use.
Learning Objective: 3; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
Mexico is a “being culture” meaning that Mexicans are not primarily focused on
work and career. This stereotype, of course, doesn’t apply to all Mexicans. There
are significant differences between Mexicans living in the north and south, and
autocratic methods.
11-5. Describe the variables of content and context in the leadership situation. What
additional variables are involved in cross-cultural leadership? What are the
major elements of a “global mind–set?”
Learning Objective: 5; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
Content comprises the attributes of the leader and the decisions to be made,
whereas context comprises all those variables of a particular situation. Other
11-6. Explain the theory of contingency leadership and discuss the role of culture in
that theory.
Learning Objective: 5; AACSB: Analytic skils
The contingency leadership model recognizes that no single leadership style works well in
11-7. How can we use Hofstede’s four dimensions—power distance, uncertainty
avoidance, individualism, and masculinity—to gain insight into leader–
subordinate relationships around the world? Give some specific examples.
Learning Objective: 4; AACSB: Analytic skills
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Some of Hofstede’s major conclusions are that employees in countries that rank high on
power distance are more likely to prefer an autocratic leadership style and some
collectivist culture.
11-8. Describe the autocratic versus democratic leadership dimension. Discuss the
cultural contingency in this dimension and give some examples of research
findings indicating differences among countries.
Learning Objective: 5; AACSB: Analytic skills
Research demonstrates that effects of participative leadership can vary even in one location
when employees are from different cultural backgrounds. It would appear that autocratic
11-9. Discuss how you would develop a profile of an effective leader from the
research results of the GLOBE project. Give an example.
Learning Objective: 4; AACSB: Analytic skills
The GLOBE Project found that certain leadership traits were universally positive such as
being trustworthy, encouraging, being a skilled administrator and communicator, and being
11-10.Can there be an effective EU leader? Is this a realistic prospect? Discuss the
factors involved with this concept. What role has the financial crisis in the
Eurozone played in this concept?
Learning Objective: 5; AACSB: Dynamics of the global economy
It is doubtful at this time that one style of leader can be effective in all 27 countries of the
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Application Exercises
11-11. Using the material on motivation in this chapter, design a suitable organizational
reward system for the workers in your company’s plant in Mexico.
Learning Objective: 2; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
With the narrative content, exhibits, and management focus segments, students should
11-12. Choose a country and do some research (and conduct interviews if possible) to
create a cultural profile. Focus on factors affecting behavior in the workplace.
Integrate any findings regarding motivation or work attitudes and behaviors.
Decide on the type of approach to motivation you would take and the kinds of
incentive and reward systems you would set up as manager of a subsidiary in that
country. Use the theories on motivation discussed in this chapter to infer
motivational structures relative to that society. Then decide what type of leadership
style and process you would use. What major contingencies did you take into
account?
Learning Objective: 2; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
11-13. Try to interview several people from a specific ethnic subculture in a company or in
your college regarding values, needs, expectations in the workplace, and so on.
Sketch a motivational profile of this subculture and present it to your class for
discussion.
Learning Objective: 1; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
With the increasing diversity of the country, and the good international student
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Experiential Exercises
Meet with another student, preferably one whom you know well. Talk with that person and
draw up a list of leadership skills you perceive him or her to possess. Then consider your
re– search and readings regarding cross–cultural leadership. Name two countries where you
think the student would be an effective leader and two where you think there would be
conflict. Discuss those areas of conflict. Then reverse the procedure to find out more about
yourself. Share with the class if you wish.
Students should use the information in the chapter to identify certain behaviors and traits of the
End-of-Chapter Case Study: Interview: Carlo D’Asaro Biondo, Google’s Europe Strategy
Chief in Charm Offensive
11-14. What is the history of Google’s clashes with European authorities and people? Give
some examples. What cultural factors have been involved in these clashes?
Learning Objective: 1; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
Google did not offer help to European industries as the digital world put increasing
11-15. What is Biondo’s overall strategy when he says, “I can make the cake bigger for
everybody”?
Learning Objective: 5; AACSB: Analytic skills
Biondo’s overall strategy is to understand Googles’ partners and develop better relation-
11-16. What has happened since the writing of this case? How is Biondo doing?
Learning Objective: 5; AACSB: Dynamics of the global economy.
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Students can do Internet research and update Google’s situation.
Web Exercise
The text states it is important to understand how the variable of societal culture fits into the