Impact of Power Distance: Comparison Among Multi National Companies

Running Head: IMPACT OF POWER DISTANCE

Impact of Power Distance:
Comparison among Multi-National Companies
Febian
Western Kentucky University

GRST597
Nevil C. Speer, PhD, MBA
May 8, 2009
Table of content I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. 3 II. Impact of power distance toward facework strategies………………………………..7 a) The correlation between power distance and Organizational changes…………..10 b) The correlation between power distance and injustice…………………………. 11 c) The correlation between power distance and individualism/collectivism……….13 d) The correlation between power distance and self-management…………………16 III. Impact of power distance toward decision making………………………………….16 a) Face-to-face participative decision-making……………………………………..19 b) Collective participative decision-making………………………………….…….20 c) Paternalistic participative decision-making……………………………………..22 d) Pseudo participative decision-making…………………………………………...23 IV. Impact of power distance toward effective leadership……………………………....24 V. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...27 VI. References…………………………………………………………………………...30

Introduction Imagine a convenient 21st century office place with a high salary, a cozy chair and working desk, the latest office computer with all high technology systems. Everything you could ask for except nice subordinates who are willing to co-operate with you and a boss who is willing to treat you equally because you do not know and understand how to deal with the culture beyond this situation. I believe that this situation would probably happen to many employees in the world. This is the situation for Brianna Loftus who works for a multinational company Tetra Pack, who just got promoted but has to move to another country whose culture is totally different from hers. A

References: Adler, N. J. (1997). International dimensions of organizational behavior (3rd ed,). Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing. Cangemi, J. (2007) Characteristic of effective leadership. Professional Counseling Diplomate, 34-35. Fry, E. (1991). Subtlety and the art of Japanese management. Business Credit, 93, 26-28. Furnham, A. (1993). Just world beliefs in twelve societies. Journal of Social Psycology, 133, 317-329. George, M. J. (2000). Emotional and leadership: The role of emotional intelligence. Human Realtions, 53, 1027-1055. Gray, R. J. (1999). Organizational climate and project success. International Journal of Project Management, 19, 103-109. Gudykunst, W. B., & Ting-Toomey, S. (1988). Culture and effective communication. American Behavioral Scientist, 31, 348-400. Hofstede, G (1980a). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Hofstede, G (1980b). Motivation, leadership, and organization: Do American theories apply abroad? AMACOM, a division of American Management Associations. 42-63. Hofstede, G (1983). The cultural relativity of organizational practice and theories. Journal of International Business Studies, 75-89. Hofstede, G (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Heller, F. A., Pusic, E., Strauss, G. & Wilpert, B. (1998). Organizational participation: Myth and reality. New York: Oxford University Press. Heuer, M., Cummings, J. L., & Hutabarat, W. (1999). Cultural stability or change amomg managers in Indonesia. Journal of International Business Studies, 30, 599-610. Hyman, J., & Mason, B. (1995). Managing employee involvement and participation. London: Sage. Iwao, S. & Triandis, H. C. (1993). Validity of auto and hetero stereotypes among Japanese and American student. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psycology, 24, 428-444. Kanungo, R. N. & Mendonca, M. (1994). Organizational behavior. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt. Kirkman, B., L., & Shapiro, D. L., (1997). The impact of cultural values on employee resistance to terms: Toward a model of globalized self-managing work team effectiveness. Academy of Management Review, 22, 730-757. Lansbury, R. D. & Davis, E. M. (1992). Employee participation: Some Australian cases. International Labor Review, 131, 231-248. Matsumoto, D. (1991). Cultural influences on the facial expressions of emotion. Southern Communication Journal, 56, 128-137. Matsumoto, Y. (1989). Cultural influences on the perception of emotion. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 56, 92-105. Merritt, A. C., & Helmreich, R. L. (1996). Human factors on the flight deck. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psycology, 27, 5-24. Merkin, R. S. (2006). Power distance and facework strategies. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 35, 139-160. Oetzel, J., Ting-Toomey, S., Matsumoto, T., Yokochi, Y., Pan, X., Takai, J., & Wilcox, R. (2001). Face and facework in conflict: A cross-cultural comparison of China, Germany, Japan, and the United states. Communication Monographs, 68, 235-258. Roseman, I. J., Dhawan, N., Retteck, S., & Naidu, R. K. (1995). Cultural differences and cross-cultural similarities in appraisals and emotion responses. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psycology, 26, 23-48. Sagie, A., and Aycan, Z. (2003) A cross-cultural analysis of participative decision-making in organizations. Human Relations, 56, 453-473. Sagie, A., & Koslowsky, M. (2000). Participation and empowerment in organization: Modeling, effectiveness, and application. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Silversthorne, C. (2004) The impact of organizational culture and person-organization fit on organizational commitment and job satisfaction in Taiwan. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 25, 592-598. Summers, D. C. S. (2009). Quality management: Creating and sustaining organizational effectiveness. (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Sull, D (1999). Why good companies go bad. Harvard Business Review, 77, 42-51. Triandis, H. (1994). Culture and social behavior. New York: McGraw Hill. Vittel, S. J., Nwachukwu, S. L., & Barnes, J. H. (1993). The effects of cultural on ethical decision-making: An application of Hofstede’s typology. Journal of Business Ethics, 12, 753-760.