The role of culture in today’s leaders
Posted by Swinburne University of Technology
Culture plays a big part in leadership and management styles according to research conducted by Swinburne University International Management Professor, Chris Selvarajah.
Collaborating with research institutes throughout Asia, Selvarajah surveyed managers from Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines to examine different leadership characteristics.
This survey formed part of the study Asian Perspectives in Excellence in Leadership (APEL), in which Selvarajah identified four general categories in which leaders could demonstrate excellence. These were personal qualities, managerial behaviour, organisational demands and environmental influences.
“I have looked at leadership styles, and the practices that have impacted on these leadership styles including cultural values and historical values. I’m looking at the reasons why people behave the way they do,” he said.
Up until now the leadership style in Asia has largely been seen to abide by Confucian social codes – that is values based on hierarchical relationships. However Selvarajah’s research has found that that there are significant differences between countries, and different subcultures within each country.
“In the past we have made very wide sweeping statements about Asian countries and their leadership styles; however we have not understood the cultural values and concepts within nations. We have gone in with a very universal understanding and applied that,” he said.
“Each country I have looked at has been different, and in each country the subculture influences have been very interesting.”
One of the notable themes in Selvarajah’s research is the influence of religion and philosophies on the value systems within each of the countries studied.
“Hindu and Buddhist philosophies, combined with Islam and Confucianism seem to have varying degrees of influence in Asian countries,” he said.
This is demonstrated by Selvarajah’s research in China, which found a significant difference between the styles of younger managers and older managers. The older generation of Chinese managers considered personal qualities, such as morality, good communication and trustworthiness to be of high importance, while managers with less than five years experience attached less importance to these qualities.
“This suggests that cultural, political and economic changes that China has endured have resulted in small but significant generational differences. People who grew up in the period before modernisation think very differently to the current lot,” he said.
Selvarajah hopes that his studies will allow people to gain a deeper understanding of cultural values within different Asian countries, which will ultimately allow for smoother business relationships.
“Deepening our cultural understanding provides a strong insight into how business and management operates within that part of the world.”
ENDS
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