A comparative analysis of multicultural perspectives on leadership competencies and organizational capabilities required for competitiveness in the 1990's

摘要

This thesis considers three main arguments.-First,that managersfromdifferent cultural orientations tend to look at competitive, organizationaland leadership challenges differently due to their cultural orientation or"mapping". Second, that even though it appears that, managers,, fromvarious cultures may have different cultural maps, it is-possible to find a"muld cultural common ground" concerning the organizational capabilitiesand leadership competencies perceived as critical for competitiveness in the90's. And third, that a perceived challenge facing senior managers in the90's is managing the tensions and processps of transformation and changeresulting from attempts to develop a shared meaning of the company'svision, balanced by an operating culture that encourages substantialdifferences in perspectives.The introduction provides a rationale for the importance of the topic andexplores this researcher's interest in the subject. It also provides thefoundation for definitions and operating terms for a number of the wordsor phrases that are used throughout the text.,The' review, of the literature examines both the general breadth of thisresearcher's reading program that served as preparation for the study, aswell as a look at the works that served as important foundations for thefocal points of this research. It also explains how the literature influencedthe research methods. The thesis arguments provide the main questions that are examined in theresearch and includes the backgrounds and premises for selecting thesearguments. The value and benefits of the research are also examined here.The research methodologies chapter details in depth the processes used toconduct the research, provides the linkages between the methods and theliterature and explores the use of analytical tools and frameworks in thestudy of managerial perceptions.The results chapter presents the main findings of the research and explainshow these findings support the thesis arguments. A subsequent discussionof these results, their linkage to the literature and an explanation of theirmeaning is discussed in the next chapter.Finally, the main lessons of the research, the value of the methodologies,the implications of the research for practicing managers and researchersand suggestions for additional research are explored in the conclusions.While the statistical procedures'are explained in great depth, many of theactual data tables and detailed findings, as well as the questionnaire usedmay be found in the appendices.