International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 5 Activities Page 1
CHAPTER 5
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN A MULTICULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER ACTIVITIES
DEVELOPING YOUR INTERNATIONAL CAREER – Thick as a BRIC: Leadership Mindsets
in the New Economic Powerhouses
Purpose and Instructions
Your instructor may ask you to complete this assignment in a group (ideally 4-6) or
individually. Either way, the basic task will be to research and compare basic
country/cultural approaches to leadership in and outside of class. In particular, please
consider the following items (that may be augmented by your instructor):
1) Determine the key features about the (dominant) business leadership approaches
used in the four BRIC countries and your home country.
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3) How does each prototypical style stack up on the six leader/behavior dimensions
identified by the GLOBE study (see Exhibit 6.3 and references).
Your instructor may ask each group or individual to make a presentation about findings to
class (roughly 10 minutes long). This could be followed by a discussion about common as
well as unique leadership themes in the BRIC countries as well as the role of cultural
Research Tips
To get started with your research, you may want to consult the websites below for
background information and profiles about BRIC countries. These websites should help you
refine your research efforts and act as a gateway to articles, reports, and other websites
about leadership issues and management practices in your assigned country:
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bibliography at the end of this book for example studies. Below also is the link to the home
page of the GLOBE research group. There, you will find many resources that could be of
help with this project. Plus, we have provided a reference to get your research started on
GLOBE as well. You will also be able to easily find more GLOBE and other resources in your
library or via electronic resources your university provides:
International Organizational Behavior 2e Chapter 5 Activities Page 4
MAKING THE CASE FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING – Can South Korean
Companies Loosen Up Their Leadership?
Many Western companies want leaders who encourage ideas, innovation, and speedy
decision-making. But leadership in Asia conjures up words like order, paternalism, and
These massive firms and the hierarchical and closed leadership style they employ seem
ideally suited for Korean culture. From them flowed a traditional approach to leadership
based on Confucian values that emphasize family, seniority, and loyalty. This is supported
by South Korea’s standing on some of the value dimensions we discussed in earlier
chapters. For example, South Korea scores very high on uncertainty avoidance. South
This authoritarian nature allows South Korean firms to move decisively and quickly. Yet it
also stifles creativity and creates problems. At each level of management, subordinates
were often prohibited from questioning their superiors, much less were allowed to
communicate with other executives further up the line. Eventually, some experts felt this
approach stunted growth, putting many Korea companies in danger of falling behind
evaded prison time by paying massive fines (over $1 billion alone for Mr. Chung Mong-koo,
Chairman of Hyundai, convicted of bribery and embezzlement). The paternalistic and
So, what are Korean firms to do in today’s environment? In late 2010, the Wall Street
Journal raised key questions for the country. The special report, called The Miracle is Over:
Assignment Questions
1) Do you think a new approach to leadership is necessary in the new South Korea?
Or, should they stick to their traditional approach that brought them where they
are. Note that Mr. Lee Kun-Hee of Samsung (see above) has been brought back
2) Not all Korean firms, however, have stuck with a more traditional leadership
approach. Others are starting to use non-traditional approaches. What sort of
options might firms like LG and SK Telecom have at their disposal?
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5) How might LG and SK telecom work to overcome the resistance to new styles
should they choose to use these (investigate these firms a bit)?