<p>Background: Different cultures meet to a greater extent than before as a result of the increasing globalisation. Therefore, international leaders have to count on greater differences in behaviour of their employees within organisations than they have experience from. It can consequently be difficult in an international environment to understand what motivate individuals of a different culture. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this report is to make greater understanding for how national cultures influence leaders methods to motivate their employees in an international environment in Spain where two different cultures confront. </p><p>Performance: The study has been made by 14 qualitative interviews with Spanish and Swedish leaders in Spain. Earlier researches have been used to be able to investigate the culture's influence on the motivation process. </p><p>Result: The cultural factor that especially affects the leaders motivation process is if the employees focus on the individual or the group when they act and work within an organisation. The international Spanish and Swedish leaders in Spain are using similar design of the motivation methods. It is possible that a mixture of the both cultures occurs within international companies where it is impossible to classify something that is specific for the Swedish manner to act or for the Spanish. Instead, the integration of the different cultures may create an international manner to think and act, even if the local culture in some ways has to be adopted.</p>

Background: Different cultures meet to a greater extent than before as a result of the increasing globalisation. Therefore, international leaders have to count on greater differences in behaviour of their employees within organisations than they have experience from. It can consequently be difficult in an international environment to understand what motivate individuals of a different culture. Purpose: The purpose of this report is to make greater understanding for how national cultures influence leaders methods to motivate their employees in an international environment in Spain where two different cultures confront. Performance: The study has been made by 14 qualitative interviews with Spanish and Swedish leaders in Spain. Earlier researches have been used to be able to investigate the culture's influence on the motivation process. Result: The cultural factor that especially affects the leaders motivation process is if the employees focus on the individual or the group when they act and work within an organisation. The international Spanish and Swedish leaders in Spain are using similar design of the motivation methods. It is possible that a mixture of the both cultures occurs within international companies where it is impossible to classify something that is specific for the Swedish manner to act or for the Spanish. Instead, the integration of the different cultures may create an international manner to think and act, even if the local culture in some ways has to be adopted.

Title: How to find a great international leader – The case of Swedish Managers working in Singapore Level: Second Cycle: 15 Credit: Master Thesis in Business Administration Author: Charlotte Tham Supervisor: Maria Malama  Examiner: Akmal Hyder Date: June 2011 Aim: I’m interested in finding a way to make successful international recruitments. To do so I have worked with three research questions: What distinguish an international leader from a domestic leader? How do you recruit a successful international leader? Which personal qualities make an international leader successful?  Method: I have used a personal test (Hogan Personality Inventory) to find which personal qualities the manager has. Approx. 10 subordinates to each of the managers have answered a survey, in order to find how successful they find the managers to be. The five managers have also been interviewed twice. The first time to hear their opinion of the international leadership. The second time to follow up the result from the personal test and the survey.    Result &amp; Conclusions: The four main results of the study are: Handling cultural differences makes the international leader special. Following a structured procedure is essential when recruiting a successful international leader. Qualities to look for are high interpersonal skills, strong sense of self, high flexibility, and strong interest in learning new things. Leaders with strong task-orientation and love for details de-motivate their subordinates.   Suggestions for future research: The study could be done on a larger sample, to get a better statistical material. It could also be done on other nationalities, or on women to see how these factors affect the result.  Contribution of the thesis: The study shows that criteria like, high interpersonal skills and flexibility have to be searched for and a structured procedure has to be followed, when recruiting international leaders. The study can help multi-national companies make better recruitments and therefore save money and time.