Culture and Leadership
Dimensions of Culture Questionnaire
Instructions: Using the following scales, circle the number that most accurately reflects your response to each of the 18 statements. There are no right or wrong answers, so provide your immediate impressions. (The items on this questionnaire are adapted from the items used in the GLOBE studies to assess the dimensions of culture, but the GLOBE studies used five items to analyze each of the cultural dimensions.)
Uncertainty Avoidance
1. in this society, orderliness and consistency are stressed, even at the expense of experimentation and innovation.
Strongly Disagree Strongly agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. in this society, societal requirements and instructions are spelled out, so citizens know what they are expected to do
Strongly Disagree Strongly agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Power Distance
1. in this society, followers are expected to:
Question their leaders Obey their leaders
when in disagreement without question
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. in this society, power is
Shared throughout Concentrated
the society at the top
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Institution Collectivism
1. in this society, leaders encourage group loyalty even if individual goals suffer.
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. The economic system in this society is designed to maximize:
Individual interest collective interest
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
In-Group Collectivism
1. In this society, children take pride in the individual accomplishments of their parents
Strongly disagree strongly agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. In this society, parents take pride in the individual accomplishments of their children
Strongly disagree Strongly agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Gender Egalitarianism
1. In this society, girls are encouraged more than boys to attain a higher education
Strongly disagree strongly agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. In this society, who is more likely to serve in a position of high office?
Men women
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Assertiveness
1. In this society, people are generally:
Nonassertive assertive
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. In this society, people are generally
Tender Tough
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Future Orientation
1. In this society, the accepted norm is to:
Accept the status quo plan for the future
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. In this society, people place more emphasis on:
Solving current problems planning for the future
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Performance Orientation
1. In this society, students are encouraged to strive for continuously improved performance
Strongly disagree strongly agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. In this society, people are rewarded for an excellent performance.
Strongly disagree strongly agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Human Orientation
1. In this society, people are generally:
Not at all concerned very concerned
about others about others
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. In this society, people are generally:
Not at all sensitive very sensitive
to others towards others
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Culture and Leadership
About nine cultural dimensions have been concerning culture and leadership. The dimensions include power distance. I awarded the dimension score of 2 as people always question their leaders if they do not agree with some of their decisions. Similarly, power is shared throughout society. Another dimension is uncertainty avoidance. I awarded this dimension a score of 7 because consistency and orderliness are highly stressed in the community. Next is assertiveness. The dimension was awarded a score of 7 because people in the society are generally tough and assertive. Another dimension is gender egalitarianism. It is awarded a score of 2 because both boys and girls are encouraged to take higher education. In-group collectivism is another cultural dimension. It was awarded a score of 7 since children take pride in the performance of individual parents. The remaining dimensions include institutional collectivism, performance orientation, future orientation, and human orientation (Northouse, 2013). The scores were awarded 1, 7, 5, and 6, respectively. The dimensions demonstrate how ineffective and effective leadership can be differentiated in the world (Northouse, 2013). The cultural dimensions aim at grouping the believes and values of a society (Den Hartog & Dickson, 2012). These values promote a culture centered on equity and inclusiveness.
Some of the actions I will take to ensure that I am sensitive to the social dimensions include eliminating discriminatory practices and laws. Many practices are performed in organizations that discriminate against people of different cultures (DESA, 2019). The discriminatory practices within the organization will be identified and then amended or eliminated. The action will enhance equality in the organization. Second, I will try to transform the minds of the organization’s employees. Some employees always believe that their cultures are better and superior to others. For instance, the Caucasians always believe that their culture is superior to African Americans (Padilla, 2012). The action will be implemented by mentoring individuals who look down upon themselves. Also, it can be implemented by encouraging cultural equality. Finally, I will set inclusive social goals. The organizational goals will be those that include all employees despite their culture and color.
References
Den Hartog, D. N., & Dickson, M. W. (2012). Leadership and culture. In Day, D. V., Antonakis, J. (Eds.), The nature of leadership (2nd ed., p. 396). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
DESA, D. (2009). Creating an Inclusive Society: Practical strategies to promote social integration.
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE
Padilla, A. (2012). Leadership: Leaders, followers, environments. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
