The concept of leadership is often
confused with the concepts of administration and management. Leadership is all
about vision, energizing others to pursue it, and encouraging the heart.
Management is about getting the desired results and working efficiently to
produce the financial surplus that is needed. As for administration, it is the
part that takes care of rules and procedures, and insures that they are being
followed. It is very important to have a clear distinction between the three
terms in the world of business in order for us to better understand the characteristics
of each one of these inter-related terms.
Not every manager or administrator is
necessarily a leader and the opposite is quiet true. Effective leadership is
the force that charges people with the well to work towards a shared vision and
common goals; it is the glue that holds together any team and takes them from
point A to point B. The way leadership is carried however, differs from one
part of the world to the other. The clearest difference can be seen when we
compare the leadership concept and styles in the Eastern cultures to its rival
in the West. This article compares the
concept of leadership in the East to that in the West by clarifying how it is
viewed and carried in each of both cultures. This article also sheds the light
on certain factors that play a role in defining the face of leadership in the
different cultures and drawing the map to how it is implemented.
Cultural
Characteristics
In order for us to better understand the
differences between the eastern and western styles of leadership; we have to
take a look at the main characteristics that define each of the two cultures.
Before the concept of globalization as we know it today, and before the term
global village emerged, there were two distinct parts that defined the globe:
The East and The West. Both parts of the
world had and still have their own characteristics that make them unique and
different to one another. The east and the west follow different schools of
thoughts and different methodologies of life. The eastern culture is a
spiritual one; eastern people care for spiritualism, peaceful life, self
discipline, respect of one another, and the rewards awaiting them in the
afterlife. Religion is the main pillar around which the eastern culture is
centered. The reason of such a direction of a religious guided lifestyle can be
attributed to the fact that the east is the birthplace of most of the great
religious profits and leaders. Jesus Christ, Bhuddah, Ghandi, and Moses were
all born in the east and started their teachings from there just to name a few.
Eastern societies are more masculine oriented than feminine; males are the
predominant gender as they are known for being the bread winners and decision
makers. As for females, they are mainly preferred to be housewives that raise
the kids and take care of all house chores. However,
these views have recently changed as the east is slowly but surely joining the
melting pot of globalization and adopting new approaches that support equal
rights between males and females.
On
the other hand, the west is based on science and materialism; it is the home of
modern technology and all the new life-easing inventions. In general, western
people tend to focus more on day to day living and on means of luxury living
and less on spiritualism or religious living. In the west, both males and
females enjoy equal rights and both participate in the household income.
Western thought is more practical and realistic than emotional in contrast to
the case with the eastern culture. Nevertheless, the west has recently started
adopting parts from the eastern culture such as eastern medicine, and eastern
dishes.
Family Influence
In the eastern cultures, family has a
great influence on businesses and economy since a large number of eastern businesses
are family owned and run. A study under the title of: Family Business in the Middle East: An Exploratory Study of Retail
Management in Kuwait and Lebanon states that “approximately
98% of commercial activities in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and most of the other Gulf states, are family run”
(Welsh & Raven). There are several factors that contribute into orienting
businesses to be mostly family run; for example, in the Middle East (Syria,
Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and the Gulf countries), nomadic ties, tribal
ties, and religion, all play a role in defining the characteristics of leaders
and businesses while on the other hand leaders struggle trying to balance
between satisfying the cultural demands and keeping up with the latest
leadership styles in the rest of the world. Although tribal and nomadic lives
are not as common as they used to be in the past in those countries, their
effects and prints are still clearly marked
and can be easily spotted in the in the middle eastern culture. Family
run businesses in the Middle East are normally passed down through the
generations, the leadership style is mainly autocratic where the eldest family
member in charge is the main planner, decision maker, and has the final say in
all company and / or business related matters.
The situation is no different in the East
Asian countries; family is as important in those countries as it is in the
Middle East, and the influence of family also extends to businesses. Many of the
largest businesses in East Asia are family owned and run. A report that was
published by CNBC’s reporter Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani mentions the following:
“Asia’s surging
wealth is creating more millionaires and billionaires than any other region of
the world. Private bank Julius Baer forecasts that the wealth of the region’s
3.3 million high net worth individuals (HNWIs) will triple to nearly $15.81
trillion by 2015.
Strong economic growth, coupled with booming
stock and property markets, have helped some of Asia’s largest businesses
expand at a rapid pace. Given Asia’s culture of family businesses, many of the
region’s biggest companies are family enterprises, with brothers, sons and
daughters taking an active part. These families have shaped entire industries
in places such as Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.” (Naidu-Ghelani, 2011).
This
shows us how powerful family businesses and family ties can be in the eastern
cultures.
Although they exist to a certain degree,
Family-run businesses are not as common in the West and families have little to
no influence on businesses in general. Western businesses are mainly based on a
number of share holders with one or two share holders being the owners of most
of the company’s shares in many cases. It is estimated that “American CEOs average about thirty years
with their firms and own less than 4 percent of its shares.” (Mills, 2005). Leaders are developed from
within the same company or firm, however, very few firms bring CEOs or new
leaders from outside the existing firm body.
One of the main reasons than can be attributed to family businesses not
being very common in western cultures is the fact that family ties in the west
are not as strong as they are in the east. For example, in the east, sons and
daughters live with their families until they are married or they move to
different cities because of their work nature. In the west, children leave
their parents to live independently anywhere between the ages of 18 and 21. In
addition, eastern families have more children on average than westerners do and
that is also another reason into why businesses are more run and controlled by
families in the east than the west.
Cultural Influence
According to the Merriam – Webster
dictionary, one of the definitions for the word Culture is: “The customary beliefs, social forms, and
material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the
characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life}
shared by people in a place or time” (Merriam-Webster,
2012). Culture plays a role in defining the thought direction of leaders
in different countries and different parts of the world. In addition, it also
affects the way subordinates regard their leaders and deal with them. For
example, in the eastern cultures in general leaders are regarded as a higher
authority; subordinates follow the directions of their leaders and they rarely
have a say in the decision being made. Nevertheless, we can find varied
approaches and views of leadership in the different eastern cultures.
Leadership styles in the east can be described as compatible with one of
Douglas McGregor’s Theories X and Y that were proposed in his 1960 book “The Human Side Of Enterprise”. Theory X
can be summarized as the following:
“1. Workers have little ambition, try to
avoid responsibility and prefer to follow directions from their leaders.
2. Above all, the primary
need of employees is their job security.
3. Managers must exercise
control and enforce threats of punishment to persuade people to attain
organizational
objectives.” (Workman, 2008)
As for
theory Y, it can be summarized as the following:
“1. Effort in work is as natural as work and
play.
2. People will apply
self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organizational objectives,
without external control or the threat of punishment.
3. Commitment to objectives
is a function of rewards associated with their achievement.
4. People usually accept and often seek responsibility.
5. The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and
creativity in solving organizational problems is widely, not narrowly,
distributed in the population.
6. In industry the
intellectual potential of the average person is only partly utilized.”
(Chapman,
1995-2010)
As
we can see, both theories X and Y are different from one another. Theory X can
be related to the leadership style in the Middle Eastern culture in general; it
is mainly an autocratic leadership style where leaders are the sole decision
makers who do not give much trust to their subordinates and believe that the
only way to derive efficient results from them is by showing them authority.
Assigning punishments and / or salary deductions are also a common treat that
goes with this authoritarian style of leadership; it is believed that the
workers will be more careful and give their best at work when they know that a
punishment may be assigned if they fail to do so.
Theory Y style of leadership is popular in
the south Asian cultures such as Korea, Japan, and China. Leaders in these
cultures regard their subordinates as trustworthy workers who are dedicated to
their jobs and tasks. They focus more on rewards for achievers than punishments
for underachievers. Workers in the south Asian cultures are not intimidated by
their leaders as is the case in the Middle Eastern culture. The western culture has a different impact on
leaders and leadership styles; the most predominant leadership style in Western
Europe and the Americas is participative leadership. The concept of team work
takes a profound effect and decisions are the outcome of the input of the team
as a whole rather than just the sole decision of the leader only. Western
leaders inspire a shared vision and work with their teams to reach the desired goals.
Gender Influence
Globally, and regardless of any given part
of the world or any culture, males are viewed as, and expected to be the most
predominant leaders in any given field of business or industry. Since the
beginning of humanity as we know it, man has always been the head of family,
tribe, group, etc. Be it the days of cavemen, or the age of the rise of
industry, most of the achievements and leadership roles have always been
centered on male figures. In short, our world is simply male oriented. Having
that said, the role of females as leaders have slowly - but surely - evolved
around the world and in different countries and cultures. Females are now in
charge of businesses, industries, and even governments and countries in certain
cases. In spite of this fact, there is still a noticeable level of difference
in views and opinions over the role of females as leaders between the eastern
and the western cultures. The ratio of acceptance of females as leaders varies
from one eastern culture to another as well. For example, Middle Eastern
countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and the UAE have a higher level of
acceptance for women leaders than East Asian countries such as Korea, Japan,
and China. In addition, certain European cultures still prefer males as the
predominant leaders as is the case in Germany.
The table below was published in a research under the title of “Women Leadership Development in the Middle
East: Generating Local Knowledge” by INSEAD. It compares how males and
females accept females as leaders in different countries from different
cultures.
(Marmenout)
One of the main reasons behind viewing
leadership positions as more male oriented than female oriented, is the softer
and more emotional nature of females compared to the more dominant and
assertive nature of males. In a paper under the title of Leadership and Gender: Let Me Count the Ways, Sharon Buckmaster
mentions: “Women are cast as more
communal, sympathetic, and nurturing. Men are seen as assertive, dominant and
forceful or what is often referred to in the gender literature as agentic.”
(Buckmaster, 2004)
Although females are more accepted as
leaders in western countries such as Sweden, the UK, and the US, the figure
above shows us that males still rank higher than females when it comes to
holding leadership positions. The role of females as leaders has gone a long
way during the past few decades as more and more females are taking on
different leadership responsibilities and proving to be up to the challenge in
most cases.
Leadership:
A Global Vision
Leadership has become more of a global
concept than just a term. What is interesting about this concept is that it
takes a different meaning and forms in different parts of the world. Family
ties, culture, and gender are a few of the most important factors that decide
the main characteristics of leadership in any given part of the world. Although
the concept of leadership is evolving and taking a more global shape that is
adopted by different cultures, we can still see some major differences between
leaders and leadership in the Eastern and Western cultures. I believe that as
time progresses, those differences will narrow down as the world is becoming
one melted pot of cultures, civilizations, and schools of thought that are all
seeking moving towards the better. A unified global vision of what leadership
is all about is not far from reach. What the world needs is an open view of the
different aspects and characteristics of leadership methods from the different
cultures around the world. I believe that once we manage to learn from one
another and adopt the best of each of the different leadership styles around
the world, we’ll be able to reach an almost perfect system of leadership and
have ideal leaders that can transform visions into reality. After all, we must
remember what Socrates once said: “The
perfect human being is all human beings put together”.
