Cross-Cultural Leadership in UAE Cooperation - Research Paper Example

Cross Cultural Leadership in UAE Cooperation Name of Student Institution Date Abstract This research paper explores how leaders in United Arab Emirates (UAE) handle leadership a cross cultural context. Individuals across different cultures perceive differently how leaders should interact with their followers, delegate tasks and make decisions. Literature on leadership and cross cultural competence encourages leaders to be sensitive to the situation and often consider employees’ characteristics when exercising authority and power on them. The researcher used in-depth qualitative interviews with ten individuals who work as leaders in different organizations in UAE to handle the issue of cross cultural leadership in the study. The study mainly focused on exploring how leaders handle cross cultural differences and their impact to leadership approaches. Results indicate that leaders adjust and control their behaviour and communication styles to successfully manage employees from different cultures. Generally, the participants believe that through flexible leadership approach, leaders can easily adjust behavioural and communication style to their followers. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Methodology 4 3.0 Literature review 5 3.1 Perceived cultural differences in leadership 5 3.2 Cross cultural leadership competencies 7 4.0 Results 8 5.0 Discussion 10 6.0 Conclusion 12 References 13 Appendix A: Interview Questions 15 1.0 Introduction There is continuous growth in contact between different cultures as people live and work in different nations and geographical boundaries. In the context of international work environment, people encounter various ways of doing business, working and leading (Konig, 2009). Working effectively with individuals from different cultures requires leaders to be able to understand cross cultural differences to motivate, support and lead others. The perceptions and expectations of a leader in terms of how to interact with employees, delegate tasks, and make decisions differ between cultures (AbdelHakim, 2008). Literature on leadership suggests that cross cultural leaders need to be sensitive to the circumstances and consider employee characteristics in their approach to leadership (Konig, 2009). This research paper investigates how leaders in Dubai, United Arabs Emirates (UAE) adapt their leadership approach to employees from different cultural backgrounds. The paper will examine the literature relating to intercultural leadership in tying to achieve this purpose. 2.0 Methodology This research uses process-oriented interpretative approach to cross cultural communication, that often uses qualitative method of research, since is assumes that people are active agents who interpret the social setting as they attempt to influence it. This study is not meant to describe cross cultural differences, but to how people respond to these differences and how they deal with them as leaders in the UAE. To address the subject under study, qualitative research method was used in the study. Qualitative research normally focuses on an inductive approach to the existing relationship between research and theory. It is commonly applied where the research is designed to comprehensively describe a particular subject (Cassell & Symon, 2004). Since this research was aimed at exploring and describing the experiences leaders encounter in managing employees in cross cultural context, the preferred method of research was qualitative. Information was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were open for changes concerning how the questions were asked and in which order. 3.0 Literature review Leadership has over time been defined in terms of behaviour, traits, interactional patterns, influence and role relationships (Yukl, 2006). Nevertheless, most leadership definitions are based on the assumption that it is a process that involves one person exerting intentional influence over others so as structure, guide, and facilitate activities and relationships in an organization or group (Yukl, 2006). The definition of leadership adopted in this study is the ability of a person to motivate, influence, and support others to work towards a common purpose for the effectiveness and success of their organization (House, Javidan, Hanges & Dorfman, 2002). 3.1 Perceived cultural differences in leadership Many cultural differences in leadership behaviour according to Klein and Radnell (2009) are related to value and dimensions of culture. Researchers in the field of cross cultural management believe that individuals’ perception of authority is likely to vary across culture (French, 2007). Authority, an aspect of power distance cultural dimension, influences organizational structure, interpersonal relationships and leadership (Yukl, 2006). Power is a cultural dimension influences leadership in different cultures. Power in high power distance cultures is viewed as part of society and leaders consider their followers as minorities. In such cultures, employees are often told what to do and leaders use formal rules and hierarchy to exercise authority over others. However, in low power distance cultures, hierarchy is not emphasized, there are pragmatic superior-employee relations, employees are consulted and power positions are not significant (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005). The manner in which human nature is perceived also affects the notion of leadership in across cultures (Al-Waqfi & Forstenlechner, 2010). In some cultures individuals are perceived to be irresponsible who can not work without supervision. In other cultures, people are perceived to be responsible and trustworthy hence they do not need to be supervised to work (Klein & Radnell, 2009). According to AbdelHakim (2008), how the perception of human nature influences the level of flexibility exercised in leadership behaviour. Depending on how a leader sees his followers, he will trust them differently. Thus, the society can either be a high trust society or a low trust society (Cerimagic, 2010). A high trust society is organizes its work environment on a basis of high flexibility and group-orientation and there is high level of delegation. By contrast, a low trust society isolates its workers based on a range of bureaucratic rules. Normally, employees consider their workplaces to be more satisfying when their leaders treat them like individuals who are trustful to contribute to the common purpose (AbdelHakim, 2008). 3.2 Cross cultural leadership competencies Leaders in the UAE face the challenge of organizing employees from different cultural backgrounds and managing their expectations on how they would like to be lead. Besides operating exclusively within their own cultural setting, leaders must be able to function effectively is a range of foreign cultural situations (Molinsky, 2007). Cross cultural competencies for leadership can be categorized into three dimensions: cognitive, affective and behavioural. In other words, leaders must understand other cultures, exhibit cross cultural sensitivity, and possess skills to manage cross cultural situations (House et al., 2002). It is agreeable that leaders working in cross cultural contexts need to be comfortable with different attitudes, values and behavioural practices and most importantly being in a position to adapt these differences in psychological, physical and communication environments (Forstenlechner & Al-Nakeeb, 2010). Additionally, must have knowledge of important elements of their culture and how they can use them to influence work relationships with people from other cultures (Yasin & Yavas, 2007). According to Molinsky (2007), flexibility in behaviour and thinking, ability to withstand uncertainty, openness, and empathy are leadership characteristics that influences successful cross cultural leadership. The level of cross cultural competencies possessed by leaders determines the type and quality of behaviour displayed in a particular cross cultural interaction (Konig, 2009). Barhem, Younies and Smith (2011) note that significance of the ability of a leader to match both verbal and non-verbal styles of communication across cultures. Having cross cultural competence increases the possibility that a leader will practice culturally appropriate behaviours when exercising leadership. Self-monitoring is also important for leaders when dealing with different attributes and values of culture. This is the ability to observe and control behaviours consciously. This ability varies greatly among individuals (Smith, Achoui, & Harb, 2007). Individuals who are referred to as high self-monitors can change their behaviours and attitudes to march any environment they operate. Those known as low self-monitors are considered to be less attentive to indications in situations and their behaviours are consistent with their own feelings and beliefs (AbdelHakim, 2008). According to Barhen et al. (2011), high self-monitoring is the characteristic of individuals who can effectively manage people across culture because they can make the right impressions of people from other cultures. 4.0 Results Many leaders interviewed indicated that environment of work in Dubai is highly hierarchical. Differences in status are evident and individuals are required to play particular roles that match their positions in the hierarchy. Employees in UAE, have much respect for titles and authority. The interviewees agreed that there is a hug gap between superiors and employees, as well as between employees. This is so especially where employees have different status based on the position the hold and the role they play in the organization. All the leaders interviewed noted that employees’ expectations of their leaders differ. Employees expect their leaders to be experts in everything which may not be the case. When delegating tasks, employees expect their leaders to check and control them as they do the work, as noted some interviewees. As such leaders spend more time supervising employees and making sure they perform the delegated tasks as expected. Several interviewees indicated that there are differences in the attitudes towards employees in UAE and the treatment that receive from their leaders. According to the interviewees, some leaders are not interested in investing in employees and making sure they develop their abilities. As such, employees constantly change companies, an indication that they are constantly searching for something better. However, some interviewees view the situation differently. One noted that individuals in UAE are more task-oriented and work much more, meaning they would make sure the work is done before the leave. Another one postulated that employees in UAE are more loyal, especially if treated well by their leaders. All the participants in the study agreed that there is need to adjust behaviour and the way to communicate when working with employees across cultures. It could be the same message, yet it would be important to communicate it differently to people from different cultural orientations. For lower-level employees, leaders may be expected to be clearer when communicating to them to ensure that they understand what they are told and to avoid misunderstanding. When criticizing employees, the interviewees noted that it should be communicated in a way that makes employees to feel that they need to improve and not that they have done major mistakes. The interviewees felt that it is important for leaders to try and restrain and control what they communicate and how the communicate it. To them, leaders cannot simply express themselves without considering the person they are talking to. The interviewees recognized the importance of being flexible and sensitive to the situation at hand when working with employees across cultures. One interviewee asserted that as a leader, one would experience different employee expectations. As such, it may not be right to simply follow your own direction and imposing conditions on employees, in stared of handling different situations differently. Another interviewee also expressed similar concerns. According to him, a leader needs to be flexible in how he or she deals with different situations and people. To be a successful leader across cultural context, a leader must be able to adjust the leadership style as the situation changes. A leader must appreciate that there are many various was of achieving the same goal. One of the interviewee indicated that being flexible means being able identify and select from personal traits and experiences to match a given situation in leadership. Successful cross cultural leadership according to the interviewees also involves having the ability to understand followers and see things fro their perspectives, in stead of always seeing things from individual perspective. 5.0 Discussion The interviewees noted various differences related to leading employees from different cultural backgrounds. Most noticeable difference expressed by the interviewees is a clear difference in status within organizational context. Employees in UAE tend to show great respect and even fear to individuals in high positions of power. Arab countries are thought to be high power distance societies (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005). Thus, a leader in this culture need to be authoritarian and employees tend to keep the distance between them and their leaders large. The majority of interviewees also argued that employees in UAE are used to taking personal responsibility for works delegated to them and working independently. In this case, the view of human nature is negative and individuals are not to be self-directed and responsible. The interviewees reported to adjust their communication styles and behaviour when interacting with culturally different employees. These results are similar to previous research findings on cross cultural leadership (Molinsky, 2007; French, 2007). The interviewees encountered change in their approach to leadership in the cross cultural work environment of UAE. This is explained by the contingency approaches to leadership which explains that leaders are forced to adapt to the social environment in which they work (Yukl, 2006). The interviewees are experienced the need apply a more directive style of leadership when working with employees from different cultures in UAE. In UAE, leaders recognize the need to concentrate more on task and not on relations and they consequently adjust their style of leadership to be instructive and commanding depending on the situation. Communication in cross cultural is likely to be unsuccessful as there is a high risk of failing (Barhen et al., 2011). The meaning of communication may be misunderstood when people sharing messages do not have a common frame of reference. To avoid this problem, the interviewees tried to tailor their communication styles to particular situations. The leaders often use a precise and clear communication style when communicating with employees to avoid any misunderstanding of intended meanings. Many respondents insisted on the need to approach employees across cultures as individuals. Culturally different employees are considered to have different needs and capabilities which leaders have to consider when applying their leadership approach. The focus on individuality in the leader-employee relationship is related to the dyad-tradition theories of leadership (Yukl, 2006). Many interviewees explained that they changed their approach to leadership to accommodate the needs, capabilities and the cultural background of employees. They noted that employees needed more supervision and control which they provided. Some interviewees saw the need to communicate more clearly and pursue more specific delegation exercise to low level employees. This is a situational approach to leadership, according to Smith et al. (2007), where right leadership styles are used on employees depending on their level of maturity in regard to work. 6.0 Conclusion The research has explored how leaders in UAE apply leadership in cross cultural work context. The findings show that leaders in cross cultural contexts adjust and control the way they communicate and behave according the situation. Also, the findings indicate that flexible leadership is required in managing culturally diverse employees in UAE. Leaders are often prepared to change their behavioural and communication style when interacting with employees across cultures. The issue of individuality is also emphasized in stead of cultural belonging. Generally, participating in cross cultural leadership is a difficult task. Differences between employees and their leaders in terms of habits, attitudes and experiences are likely to cause communication challenge between the two. Thus, behavioural and communicative flexibility should be adopted by leaders when leading in a cross cultural context. References AbdelHakim, M. (2008). Leading Culturally Diversie teams in the United Arab Emirates (Doctoral dissertation, British University in Dubai). Al-Waqfi , M., & Forstenlechner, I. (2010). Stereotyping of citizens in an expatriate-dominated labour market. Employee Relations 32(4), 364–381. Barhem, B., Younies, H., & Smith, P.C. (2011). Ranking the future global manager characteristics and knowledge requirements according to UAE business managers’ opinions. Education, Business and Society. Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues 4(3), 229–247 Cassell, C., & Symon, G. (eds.) (2004). Essential guide to qualitative methods in organizaitonal research. London: Sage Publications. Cerimagic, S. (2010). Influence of culture on project practices. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues 3(4), 277–288. Forstenlechner, I., & Al-Nakeeb, A. (2010). Employees’ attitudes towards diversity in a non-western context. Employee Relations 32(1), 42–55. French, R. (2007) Cross-cultural management in work organisations. London: Chartered institute of personnel and development. Hofstede, G. and Hofstede, G.J. (2005) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill. House, R., Javidan, M., Hanges, P., & Dorfman P. (2002). Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: an introduction to project GLOBE. Journal of World Business, (37): 3-10. Klein, A., & Radnell, E. (2009). The impact of the Arab national culture on the perception of ideal organizational culture in the United Arab Emirates. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues 2(1), 44–56. Konig, J. (2009). Moving experience: dialogues between personal cultural positions. Culture and Psychology 15(1), 97–119. Molinsky, A. (2007). Cross-cultural code-switching: the psychological challenges of adapting behavior in foreign cultural interactions, Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 622-640. Smith, P.B., Achoui, M., & Harb, C. (2007). Unity and diversity in arab managerial styles. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 7(3), 275–289. Yasin, MY., & Yavas, U. (2007). An analysis of E-business practices in the Arab culture: current inhibitors and future strategies. Cross Cultural Management 14(1), 68–73. Yukl, G.A. (2006) Leadership in Organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Appendix A: Interview Questions Organization information: 1. Date of establishment: 2. Location of the organization: 3. Size: 4. Approximate number of non-nationalities: Personal information: 1. Title/position: 2. Nationality: Interview questions: 1. Do cultural differences affect leadership in the organization? How? 2. Does the type of cross cultural leadership create opportunities or problems to the organization? 3. What are these opportunities or problems? 4. Do these opportunities and problems affect employee performance in the organization? Give an example. 5. Do you think leadership has a role in managing the opportunities and problems? 6. What is this role? Illustrate. 7. Based on the illustration, propose a way leader can follow to help improve the situation. 8. What is an appropriate leadership style to use in the cross cultural context? Explain. 9. Are there important leadership characteristics that should be applied in the cross cultural environments? 10. In you perception, how can leadership make employees working in a cross cultural environment more effective? Read More