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Contemporary business leaders require suitable leadership strategies, skills, capabilities, and competencies to lead individuals with culturally diverse backgrounds effectively. Local retail business executives have experienced complex leadership challenges leading international and intercultural teams when expanding business operations into global markets. The objective of this multiple case study was to explore leadership strategies local retail business leaders used to lead a global workforce. The target population included 3 local retail business leaders from Minnesota who had 6 to 8 years of global leadership experience. The composite conceptual framework that grounded this study was leadership and transformational leadership. Data were collected from semistructured, face-to-face interviews and organizational documents. Member checking was used to ensure trustworthiness of findings. The data analysis followed Yin’s 5-phase process: compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: cross-cultural awareness, cross-cultural challenges and competence, and cross-cultural leadership strategies. The findings from the study might contribute to positive social change by encouraging business leaders to explore business opportunities locally and globally, resulting in an understanding of cross-cultural differences, enhanced quality of cross-cultural work environments, increased job creation, and improved living standards for communities’ citizens.

According to the available literature, schools with a positive organisational culture are more effective and will probably achieve better results. This study investigates the way in which a positive school culture is formed. It focuses on the role of the leadership of the principal in developing an organisational culture of an independent school. This qualitative study scrutinises one specific school in a group of several independent schools in South Africa and compares the school culture of the original school (between 1971 and 1974) to the current school culture as manifested in the last four years (2009- 2012). Data was gathered through interviews with the founder of the school, interviews with current teachers and the current principal, document research of artefacts as well as observations made by visitors to the school in a professional capacity. The data recorded was analysed in terms of a "levels of culture" model proposed by Edgar Schein (1985) by looking at what “the school” said about itself, what “the school” and the principal did, and what things look like. Furthermore, a study was made of what is seen as acceptable behaviour and unacceptable behaviour followed by what is regarded as important and not important in the school. The answers to these questions were used to determine the assumptions that members of the school community hold about the nature of the school. The analysis of the school’s culture aimed to determine how this school’s past is living in the present and what role the leadership of the principal played in shaping the school’s culture. All of this was done to determine how school culture is formed, so that other schools can also use the methods identified in this study to identify their own school’s culture and find ways of changing it. The researcher concludes that the formation of a school culture can be controlled and manipulated towards a positive outcome and ways of doing this are identified. It is also found that the culture of the specific school in this study seems to have been well-defined and positive throughout its history and that the leadership of the principal plays a significant role in the success of the school. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / UPonly

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att belysa hur svenska ledare bemöter kulturella skillnader i Kina samt på vilket sätt de anpassar sig till en kinesisk arbetsplats. Vidare syftar studien till att identifiera eventuella utmaningar som kan uppkomma för svenska ledare på en kinesisk arbetsplats.    Metod: Forskningen tillämpar en kvalitativ metod som utgår ifrån en deduktiv forskingsanstas. Studien använder sig av en komparativ forskningsdesign och implementerar semistrukturerade intervjuer för att utforska kulturella skillnader som svenska ledare upplever i Kina.   Empiri och analys: I det empiriska avsnittet sammanförs en sammanfattning av de insamlade intervjusvaren som är indelade i tre huvudteman (kultur, ledarskap och kommunikation). Senare analyseras det empiriska materialet utifrån den teoretiska referensramen.   Slutsatser: Slutsatserna som kan dras utifrån analysen av det empiriska materialet är att svenska ledare upplever olika typer av problem i form av ledarskap, kommunikation och kulturella koder. För att kunna handskas med dessa kulturella skillnader anpassar sig svenska ledare till den kinesiska företagskulturen. Dessutom anpassar svenska ledare en del av sitt egna ledarskap på arbetsplatsen, i samband med att kinesiska medarbetare anpassar sig till det svenska ledarskapet. Det uppstår alltså en ömsesidig anpassning. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to highlight how Swedish leaders encounter cultural differences in China and how they adapt to the Chinese workplace. Moreover, the study aims to identify any challenges that may arise for a Swedish leader in a Chinese workplace.   Method: The research implements a qualitative method, based on a deductive research approach. The study uses a comparative research design and implements semi-structured interviews in order to study the cultural differences experienced by a Swedish leader in China.   Empirical findings and Analysis: The empirical part presents a summary of the collected interview data separated into three main themes (culture, leadership and communication). Thereafter, the empirical material is analyzed using the theoretical reference frame.   Conclusions: The conclusions that can be drawn from the analysis of the empirical material is that Swedish leaders experience different forms of complications regarding leadership, communication and cultural indications. To be able to deal with these cultural differences, Swedish leaders adapt to the Chinese corporate culture. In addition, Swedish leaders adopt a part of their own leadership in the workplace, in order for Chinese employees to adapt to the Swedish leadership. Therefore, a mutual adjustment from both sides appears.

This paper explores the ideas of culture and leadership as a unified phenomenon and a means to face challenges caused by implementing new ways of working in knowledge intensive organizations. By creating a supportive culture and trusting in employees, managers can give decisive authority to employees, which will increase motivation, and enable managers to focus on strategy and vision. The research was conducted as a case study at one of the larger Nordic banks. The findings suggest that a cultural perspective on leadership can be used to increase motivation, and help understand the challenges of complex organizations. / Den här uppsatsen utforskar idéer kring kultur och ledarskap som ett gemensamt fenomen och som ett verktyg för att bemöta utmaningar som uppstår då nya sätt att arbeta implementeras i kunskapsintensiva organisationer. Genom att skapa en stödjande kultur och genom att lita på de anställda kan chefer beslutande ansvar till de anställda, vilket kommer öka motivationen bland de anställda samt ge cheferna mer tid till att fokusera på att utveckla strategi och vision. Forskningen utfördes som en case-studie på en av de större nordiska bankerna. Slutsatserna i den här uppsatsen pekar mot att kulturellt ledarskap kan användas som ett verktyg för att öka motivation, och för att förstå och bemöta the utmaningar som uppstår i komplexa organisationer.

<p>In theory, the phrase "mergers and acquisitions" (abbreviated M&A) refers to buying, selling and combining different companies in order to gain improved financial performance, create a global presence, and face the global competitive market. Nevertheless, many researches have underlined the high rate of failure among M&A, and the difficulty to achieve expected results and synergies. Among the reasons of failure, many analysts have pointed out the determinant influence of the cultural aspect in the success or the failure of a cross-border merger. However, the cultural issue in M&A is often neglected and too less stressed.</p><p>In order to have a better understanding of the cultural aspect in the merger and acquisition process, and point out its influence on the merger process as well as the corporate culture, we first present a theoretical part introducing the cross-border merger and acquisition concept with the perspective of the national culture, and the role that leaders could play in order to limit the negative impact of culture and the clashes on cross-border M&A. Therefore, a part including three cases of "cultural failure" in the merger process illustrates the concepts explained in the theoretical part. Those well-known cases are: DaimlerChrysler, UpJohn & Pharmacia, and Volvo – Renault. The cases show how the cultural issue had been underestimated and had implied cultural clashes and extra-costs for the companies involved.</p><p>After concluding our findings, we end the thesis with a prospective part based on the possible evolution of the merger and acquisition market. Indeed, we believe that our research topic will gain importance in the future, and the influence of culture on M&A deals may increase.</p>

In theory, the phrase "mergers and acquisitions" (abbreviated M&amp;A) refers to buying, selling and combining different companies in order to gain improved financial performance, create a global presence, and face the global competitive market. Nevertheless, many researches have underlined the high rate of failure among M&amp;A, and the difficulty to achieve expected results and synergies. Among the reasons of failure, many analysts have pointed out the determinant influence of the cultural aspect in the success or the failure of a cross-border merger. However, the cultural issue in M&amp;A is often neglected and too less stressed. In order to have a better understanding of the cultural aspect in the merger and acquisition process, and point out its influence on the merger process as well as the corporate culture, we first present a theoretical part introducing the cross-border merger and acquisition concept with the perspective of the national culture, and the role that leaders could play in order to limit the negative impact of culture and the clashes on cross-border M&amp;A. Therefore, a part including three cases of "cultural failure" in the merger process illustrates the concepts explained in the theoretical part. Those well-known cases are: DaimlerChrysler, UpJohn &amp; Pharmacia, and Volvo – Renault. The cases show how the cultural issue had been underestimated and had implied cultural clashes and extra-costs for the companies involved. After concluding our findings, we end the thesis with a prospective part based on the possible evolution of the merger and acquisition market. Indeed, we believe that our research topic will gain importance in the future, and the influence of culture on M&amp;A deals may increase.

Due to the changing demographics of South African organisations after the 1994 elections and the subsequent sub-cultural diversification, the working environment is becoming the primary place where the different South African sub-cultural groups, with their different value systems, are in interaction with each other. The consequent lifting of sanctions exposed South African organisations to globalisation and international competition. This forced managers to improve organisational processes and operations, not only to protect their own domestic markets, but also to become internationally competitive. At the same time, they had to adhere to newly created labour legislation, which dramatically changed the face of the South African labour market. The complex combination of several sub-cultures in the South African work environment can adversely affect organisational effectiveness if not properly understood and managed by effective transformational leaders. The concept of cultural values was used to explore the differences, as well as the similarities, between the various sub-cultural groups in the South African environment. This study examined cultural differences and similarities between 477 junior and middle managers in the financial services sector, who belonged to the four South African sub-cultural groups (Black, Coloured, White, and Indian), and between South African male and female managers. It also investigated whether cultural values change indiscriminately during the acculturation process, or whether certain cultural values, labelled peripheral values, change easier or before other cultural values, labelled core values. Due to the importance of transformational leadership in the work environment, this study also explored the differences and similarities of South African managers on Bass and Avolio’s Full Range Model of Leadership. (Avolio&Bass, 1999; Bass, 1985, 1997). A moderate social constructionist theory was used as a framework for this study, to analyse and describe quantitative results obtained with the various measuring instruments. Firstly, it was found that although there were statistically significant differences between most of the cultural value dimensions of the various sub-cultural groups, not all of these differences were practically significant. Results indicated that these groups could often be clustered together on specific cultural value dimensions, sometimes consisting of a Black, White, and Coloured cluster, sometimes as a Black, Coloured, and Indian cluster, and so forth. Secondly, independent variables other than sub-cultural group, gender, and age also showed practically significant relationships with some of the cultural value dimensions. Thirdly, the results indicated that the cultural values are very stable, even in the dynamic and multi-cultural South African environment, and as such, no core or peripheral values could be identified. Finally, the results also indicated that the transformational-transactional leadership model is cross-culturally endorsed within the South African financial services sector. It pointed out that irrespective of gender, junior or middle management level, age, educational level, number of years full-time work experience, number of years as manager, or having been exposed to formal Western management training, all managers evaluated themselves as more transformational than transactional. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

What constitutes the best leadership is a topic of much debate, with differing opinions on various types of leadership styles and success factors among leaders and countries. Over time, we have observed both informal and formal leaders who have taken on the role of leading a group of people through both difficult and easy situations, which has led to attempts to understand what truly is the best leadership and what characteristics such a person possesses. Leading a group of employees can look different depending on the country one works in, given the different cultures that characterize each country. But what does leadership look like within a group that exists in two different countries? How does leadership appear within an organization that operates in a cross-cultural environment? To be able to motivate your employees, it is required that you as a leader have the same goals within your own role, that you pay attention to the individual in order to then develop the group you are responsible for in the best possible way. This study provides an insight into how to work with different leadership models and by using the identified key factors that are fundamental to being the best leader in the workplace, to be able to develop oneself and help others to develop to achieve a good working environment where everyone thrives, finds engagement, trust, understanding, and where communication functions well. The study also demonstrates an understanding of the cultures that exist within organizations, which allows for connecting them and extracting the most important aspects from each culture. This leads to the inclusion of all individuals and the development of autonomy. The study's results partly support what previous research has claimed about leadership. It is possible to see that many of the characteristics between the countries are found both in theory and in the results, such as communication styles, organizational structure, and decision-making. Seven key factors have been identified for each country that are required for successful leadership, where the majority of these are directly related to developmental leadership, which are role models, personal care, inspiration and motivation, demands and rewards, and control. In addition to these, balance, transparency, and competence are identified, which are not directly related to developmental leadership, with the latter two being unique to each country. The study also suggests that there are challenges to leading an organization within a cross-cultural environment, but there is feasibility and the possibility to adapt one's leadership to the prevailing situation by taking into account what is required from the leader. The results can be valuable for companies and organizations striving to improve their leadership and create a positive work environment for their employees as well as for companies operating within different cultures. / Vilket som är det bästa ledarskapet finns det många olika åsikter om, där synen på olika typer av ledarskapsstilar och framgångsfaktorer skiljer sig mellan ledare och länder. Genom tiden har vi kunnat följa både informella och formella ledare som tagit sig an rollen att leda en grupp människor genom både svåra och lätta situationer, vilket har lett till att försöka förstå sig på vad som egentligen är det bästa ledarskapet, och vilka egenskaper en sådan person innehar. Att leda en grupp medarbetare kan se olika ut beroende på vilket land man arbetar inom, givet de olika kulturerna som präglar länderna var för sig. Men hur ser det egentligen ut med ledarskapet som verkar i en grupp som finns i två olika länder? Hur ser ledarskapet ut inom en organisation som arbetar inom en tvärkulturell miljö? För att kunna motivera sina medarbetare krävs det att du som ledare själv har samma mål inom din egen roll, att du ser till individen för att sedan kunna utveckla den grupp du ansvarar över på bästa möjliga sätt. Genom denna studie ges en inblick i hur man kan arbeta med de olika ledarskapsmodellerna och genom att ta hjälp av de identifierade nyckelfaktorerna som ligger till grund för att vara den bästa ledaren på arbetsplatsen, för att kunna utveckla sig själv och hjälpa andra att utvecklas till att nå en bra arbetsmiljö där alla trivs, finner engagemang, tillit, förståelse och där kommunikationen fungerar på ett bra sätt. Studien visar också på förståelsen av de kulturer som existerar inom organisationer, vilket möjliggör att koppla samman dem och dra ut det viktigaste från varje kultur. Detta leder till att alla individer kan involveras och att autonomi kan utvecklas.  Studiens resultat visar delvis på vad tidigare forskning har påstått om ledarskap. Det går att se att många av karaktärsdragen mellan länderna återfinns både i teorin och resultatet, exempelvis kommunikationsstilar, organisationsstruktur och beslutsfattande. Det har identifierats 7 nyckelfaktorer för respektive land som krävs för ett framgångsrikt ledarskap där majoriteten av dessa är direkt relaterade till det utvecklande ledarskapet, vilka är föredöme, personlig omtanke, inspiration och motivation, +krav och belöning och +kontroll. Utöver dessa identifieras balans, transparens och kompetens som inte är direkt relaterade till det utvecklande ledarskapet där de två sistnämnda är unika för respektive land. Studien menar även att det finns hinder att leda en organisation inom en tvärkulturell miljö, men där det finns överkomlighet och möjlighet till att kunna anpassa sitt ledarskap till rådande situation genom att ta till beaktning vad det är som krävs utifrån ledaren. Resultaten kan vara värdefulla för företag och organisationer som strävar efter att förbättra sitt ledarskap och skapa en positiv arbetsmiljö för sina anställda samt för företag som verkar inom olika kulturer.

Text in German, summaries in German and English / In dieser Forschungsarbeit wird die dienende und interkulturelle Leiterschaft aus schriftlichen Quellen ausgearbeitet, um zu überprüfen, ob die dienende Leiterschaft in einem interkulturellen Kontext, in dem Leiterschaft stattfindet, anwendbar ist. Aus dieser erarbeiteten Lage und dem Versuch ihrer Implementierung wird dann auf mögliche Spannungen hingewiesen, die in der Anwendung der dienenden Leiterschaft im interkulturellen Kontext vorkommen können. In einer Fallstudie wird die Geschichte der MBG Volendam unter dem Aspekt „Leiterschaft und interkulturelle missionarische Arbeit“ dargestellt. In dieser Fallstudie wird weiter aufgezeigt, wie dienende Leiterschaft in der Gemeinde und ihrer missionarischen Tätigkeit implementiert wurde. Diese Umsetzung der dienenden Leiterschaft in Gemeinde- und interkulturellen Kontext wird dann anhand ausgewählter Interviews überprüft. Anhand dieser Darstellung aus Literatur und der Fallstudie und ihrer Auswertung werden umsetzbare Richtlinien für die Anwendung der dienenden Leiterschaft im interkulturellen Kontext aufgeführt. Diese Forschungsarbeit will einen Beitrag zur Einsetzung der dienenden Leiterschaft im interkulturellen Kontext leisten. Gleichzeitig zeigt sie auf, wie dieses im christlichen Gemeindekontext und in ihrer interkulturellen Mission funktioniert hat. / This research defines a servant and intercultural leadership. Written materials has been gathered, studied and compared, so that they prove their mutual compatibility. From this developed position and their comparison, some possible tensions have been appointed that occur in a cross-cultural context which may be implicated in a servant and intercultural leadership. In the case study, the history of the MBG Volendam is displayed under the aspects of leadership and cross-cultural missionary work. This case study shows how the servant leadership was implemented in a church and its missionary activity. Finally, this implementation of a servant leadership in church and in an intercultural context was evaluated. Based on this research in literature, the case study and its evaluation, some guidelines have been listed for the application of a servant leadership in an intercultural context. This research aims to contribute to establish a servant leadership in an intercultural context. At the same time it shows how this has worked in the context of a Christian community and their intercultural mission. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Theological ethics (Christian leadership))