Article Preview
TopThe Impact Of Context And Culture On Leadership
Weaknesses of each leadership style ultimately manifest when unique contextual variables arise. In Confucian settings such as China, Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong, resources and training for new leadership strategies are often not an issue (Wong, 1995), yet a centralized bureaucracy makes empowerment of subordinates problematic. Hierarchical power relationships prohibit followers from acting independently. In educational settings, teachers are reluctant to resolve issues without direct guidance from administrators (Sackney & Dibski, 1995; Wong, 1995), just as students are reluctant to act creatively without direct guidance from a teacher (Wang & Torrisi-Steele, 2015).
While each country has specific characteristics affecting the efficacy of leadership (e.g., economic access to resources), culture ultimately dictates the influence of various leadership strategies on organizational performance. Confucian countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan, for example, are driven by a common cultural ethos supporting five virtues: Ren, Yi, Li, Chih, and Shin (Northouse, 2011; Park & Chesla, 2007). The complexity of these virtues makes adaption of traditional leadership paradigms problematic. While some virtues seem congruent with individual leadership styles, others do not.