Global Vision on Leadership: East Vs. West

     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”.