Cross-Cultural Leadership and Training

Devin Pauly

Outline• Objectives• Introduction• Importance of CCT• Hofstede’s Dimensions• GLOBE• Purpose of CCT• Three-Step Model• CCT Delivery Strategies• CCT Support• Best Practices• Conclusion

Cross-Cultural Leadership and Training (CCT)

• Cross-Culture: Interacting with and/or comparing two or more cultures, and understanding their values, beliefs, and norms.

• The workforce is becoming more diverse.• In addition, national and international

competition is increasing.

Importance of CCT

• CCT has boomed in the last 10 years.• Executive failure rates can range from 30%-50%.• Failures can cost upwards of $500,000 (Trinadas,

1994).• 69% of surveyed organizations offered cultural

training, up 10% in one year and 50% in twenty years.

• Only 20% of expatriates rate training as good.

Cross-Cultural Study

• Haire, Ghiselli, & Porter (1966)– 3,641 managers; 14 countries– 28% of questionnaire variance was a result of

country differences– Found universal characteristics among managers

G. Hofstede’s Dimensions

• Power Distance• Uncertainty Avoidance• Long-term-Short-term Orientation• Individualism-Collectivism• Masculinity-Femininity

The United States

Power Distance

Individualism Masculinity Uncertainty Avoidance

Long-term Orientation

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10

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Global Leadership & Organizational Behavior Effectiveness

• Robert House (1991)• Quantitative methodology

– Responses of 17,000 managers; 950 organizations; 62 cultures• 9 cultural dimensions – 7 derived from Hofstede• For each of the nine dimensions, items were developed at

both the societal and organizational level • 2 measures were used for all 9 dimensions:

– Items phrased in terms of the society or organization as they are– Items phrased to evaluate what practices should be enacted in

the society or organization

9 Dimensions of GLOBE

• Uncertainty Avoidance: Extent to which a society, organization, or group relies on established norms, rituals, and procedures to avoid uncertainty

• Power Distance: Degree to which members of group expect & agree that power should be shared unequally

• Institutional Collectivism: Degree to which organization or society encourages institutional or societal collective action

GLOBE Dimensions

• In-Group Collectivism: Degree to which people express pride, loyalty, & cohesiveness in their organizations or families

• Gender Egalitarianism: Degree to which an organization or society minimizes gender role differences and promotes gender equality

• Assertiveness: Degree to which people in a culture are determined, assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their social relationships

GLOBE Dimensions

• Future Orientation: Extent to which people engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification

• Performance Orientation: Extent to which and organization or society encourages and rewards group members for improved performance and excellence

• Humane Orientation: Degree to which a culture encourages and rewards people for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others

Clusters of Culture

Global Leadership Behaviors

• Charismatic/value-based leadership• Team-oriented leadership• Participative leadership• Human oriented leadership• Autonomous leadership• Self-protective leadership

Universal Leadership Attrubutes

Universal Leadership Attrubutes

GLOBE Conclusions

• Strengths

• Criticisms

• Applications

Limitations

• Magnitude of the effect of cultural influences unknown

• The influence of cultural forces on local conceptions of leadership, the social status of leaders, and the amount of influence granted to leaders

• Processes by which cultural entities affect member psychological states and behavior not clear

• Convenience sampling• Valid information in interviews, self-report measures,

etc.

Purpose of CCT

• CCT focuses on attitudinal changes rather than the acquisition of information.

• Successful CCT requires the development of three important skills:– Self-maintenance skills– Interpersonal skills– Cognitive skills

CCT Delivery Strategies

• CCT can be divided into seven categories:– Didactic– Attribution– Culture Awareness– Experiential– Cognitive-Behavior Modification– Interaction– Language

CCT Support• CCT has a positive relationship with adjustability (Selmer, 2001).

• Cross-cultural adjustability has a positive relationship with performance and a negative relationship with early return rates (Caligiuri et al., 2001).

• Black and Mendenhall (1990) performed a meta-analysis on intercultural training.

• A positive relationship existed between all of the CCT studies that measured cognitive perception and cognitive skill development.

• In addition, a meta-analys conducted by Morris and Robie (2001) showed that cross-cultural training is effective in enhancing expatriates’ performance.

Best Practices of CCT

• Design: – Adjust the length and content of training based upon

the unique features of the assignment.– Should the CCT be culture-general or culture-specific.– CCT should be offered to accompanying family

members.– HR should play a large role in planning and

implementation of CCT intervention.– Scenario and skill based training should be used.

Continued

• Delivery:– Use multiple delivery strategies.– Tailor delivery strategy to training goals.– Provide online real-time support materials.– Keep international staff members up to date with

periodic meetings at organization headquarters.– Provide expatriate with personalized coaches.– Offer CCT before departure, immediately after

arrival, or both.

Continued

• Evaluation:– Evaluate the program each time it is implemented.– Establish success criteria.– Evaluate whether learning from CCT is transferred

to the job.– Use numerous criteria to evaluate performance.– Conduct surveys to assess training and overall

assignment satisfaction.– Assess whether CCT yields positive outcomes.

Conclusion

• What questions do you have?