In recent years the important of leadership in the organization has become an area of
interest. Leadership has been noted to impact corporate culture, employee commitment
and response and the overall performance of the organization. Given the fact that
leadership is such an important part of organizational development and discourse,
effective methods for developing effective leadership in the organization are needed.
Without definitive methods for leadership development, organizations will not be able
to optimize the outcomes of leadership in the organization. Thus, there is a clear
impetus to delineate what works best in the context of leadership development.
This study used concurrent qualitative and quantitative research to understand better the
effect of cross-cultural influences on the leadership development programmes and
leadership practices development in a study population consisting of managers and
supervisors in the Kuwaiti banking industry. Although Kuwaiti organisations employ
many international employees and operate foreign subsidiaries, they have not created
leadership development programmes to improve cross-cultural leadership skills for
managers. As a result, Kuwaiti managers often rely on traditional transactional methods
and an authoritarian style of leadership that may be less effective with employees from
different nations and cultural backgrounds.
The qualitative phase of the research collected data from Kuwaiti bank managers
through interviews while the quantitative phase of the research collected data with
survey instrument. The quantitative phase of the study also tested the validity of a
conceptual model and hypotheses using structural equation modelling and regression
analysis. The research was guided by distributed leadership theory, which considers
leadership as a series of interactions between leader and follower with the follower
sometimes adopting an informal role as temporary leader. The theory also considers the
context in which the leader operates as a critical factor for motivating leadership
practise.
The testing and validation of the theoretical model in the study led to the acceptance of
a new 'Effective Cross Cultural Leadership' (ECL) model. This model describes the
relationship between the exogenous or independent variables of cultural differences,
training and development in traditional Kuwaiti leadership, cross cultural leadership
development programmes and international leadership practises with the endogenous or
dependent variables of leadership development programmes and leadership practises
development. The testing of the hypotheses of the study showed a statistically
significant relationship between the four independent variables and the two dependent
variables with exception of the relationship between the independent variable of
international leadership practises and the dependant variable of leadership programmes
development. The quantitative findings also indicated that demographic variables do not
have a moderating effect on the model.
The qualitative findings of the study determined that cultural differences between
employees and managers influence the managers' leadership behaviours and their
understanding of the type of leadership development programmes to improve their
cross-cultural leadership skills. Managers with greater experience or knowledge of
foreign cultures adopt more flexible leadership practises when leading international
teams. The qualitative findings also determined that front office managers are more
willing to use participative leadership styles in leadership practises, while back office
managers rely on authoritarian leadership styles focusing on tasks in their leadership
practises, indicating that the context influences leadership styles and practise.
The findings of the study including the development and validation of the Effective
Cross-Cultural Leadership (ECL) model contribute to the theoretical and practical
knowledge of cross-cultural leadership in Kuwait that can be extended to other Middle
Eastern nations. In addition, the study finding extends cross-cultural theory by
indicating that international influences both internal and external to the organisation
affect leadership styles despite national norms and preferences. These findings implied
that Kuwaiti organisations experience significant pressure to adopt some international
leadership practises and styles to accommodate the expectations and needs of the many
international workers employed in Kuwait. The practical implication of these findings
showed that Kuwaiti managers would benefit from leadership training emphasising that
no standard or correct approach to leadership exists and that it can be acceptable for
leaders to use participative styles when warranted by the situation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/4886 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Malallah, Ammar A. |
| Contributors | Cornelius, Nelarine, Wallace, James |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, School of Management |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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