Perception of Cultural Diversity and Leadership in Global Business Essay

Perception of Cultural Diversity and Leadership in Global Business Environment - Essay Example The desktop research based evidence is poor equipment for a modern manger of business. Our notions and assumption of other cultures gathered from easy armchair research may be the worst trap for a manager. However, the science of ethnography has given insights into patterns of behavior that are found in other cultures and a grounding in the ethnography of the social milieu in which a manager is going to apply the skills is a necessary preparation to function in the international context (Geertz, 1973). Captains of industry and business should undergo a process of empathetic inculterisation with the milieu of their functioning so that they will be in a position to interpret the raison d'etre of the reality in the alien culture. In the wake of globalization, with the increasing internationalization of business and the importance of the perception of cultural diversity for leaders, the academia has churned out a plethora of eminent studies in the field. A review of the literature releva nt to the present study is essential to gain a penetrating insight into the functional aspects of leadership in cultural diversity. Ever since Psychology became an independent branch of enquiry, motivation came under the microscope of scientists. However, the study of motivation in the cultural context is new, early theories form a good beginning. Alfred Adler postulated a theory of drive that motivates humans for action. He calls it striving for perfection (Adler 1926). This striving is expressed in a number of separate drives called the esteem drives. Though Adler's theories do not have the appeal of Freud's with it sex-centric formulations, or Jung's mythological dimensions, for studying motivation and leadership in business it serves as a solid foundation like that of Maslow's theories. . Adler's theory remained a matter of serious pursuit in scholarly circles in spite of its was less flamboyant than the sensational Freudian and Youngian assertions. Victor Frankl's (1963) finding in the dehumanizing conditions of the German concentration camp, which he experienced personally focuses on meaning as the prime source of motivation. Meaning is irrespective of environmental conditions. Frankl observed how people who had meaning endured better the worst atrocities inflicted on them. He puts his theory of human motivation in the borrowed phrase from Nietzsche, if you have a why you almost have a how. The therapy that he derived from his theory he called Logotherapy, which is providing meaning for one's existence. Perception of Diversity as a Management Tool A number of pivotal studies on cultural aspect of motivation and leadership in international business environment has unearthed the areas of trouble and has given a road map to success. Hofstede (1980) has done pioneering work in this area. He has based his theories on the factors that motivate western societies and applied them to international cultural contexts. He finds that loose societies or individualistic societies give lot more priorities to social recognition, self interest and egoism and gives more importance for personal achievement and expects some form of reward. While other cultures are happy to achieve success collectively as the members of the social group.For successful leadership performance, Hofested argues, the