Geert Hofstede is most widely recognized in the development of literature on cultural variation and the dimension-based approach to assessing and classifying cultures. Hofstede defines culture as mental programming (or mental software) and sources of one’s mental programs lie within the social environments (Hofstede, 1980, 1986, 2005:3). Collective programming of the mind distinguishes one group of people from another. He constructed a conceptual map of 40 national cultures and drew distinctions between them using an IBM research. He used five dimensions including power distance, individualist versus collective ethics, gender roles, uncertainty avoidance and long-term versus short-term orientations. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1998:24) suggested culture as a “normal distribution”. Within each culture there is a wide spread of norms, values, and assumptions. This spread does have a pattern around an average. They developed further dimensions that allow the emergence of patterns within and between cultures. Some of their dimensions include universal versus particular, individualism versus communitarianism, affective versus neutral, specific versus diffuse, status, and concept of time, and how we relate to nature.

While the theories above are widely used to promote training to bridge the culture gap, it also created skepticism that describing groups and nationalities in essentialist terms of contrasting belies and values as a form of “generalization” and  “static”. (Collard, 2007; Humphrey, 2002). These researchers view cultures as dynamic, ever-changing, multi-layered and complex (Collard, 2007; Gullestrup, 2003/2004; Tardiff, 2002; Collard and Wang, 2005). They argue that all cultures are constantly subjected to pressure for change from both internal and external factors. Behaviors are interaction-oriented rather than culture based. Change should be emphasized, not stability. Adaptation and choice should be emphasized rather than cultural determinism. This creates capacity to change one’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviors in various circumstances of different cultures.

Similar argument was made from the perspective of culturally complex individuals (Friedman and Antal, 2005:73) who belong to several cultural entities (e.g. country, school, corporate, sports club, gender) at a single poing in time or over the course of a lifetime. Each culture to which an individual belongs or has belonged influences the individual’s perception of behavioral norms.

Organizational Culture

On top of national culture, organizational culture also plays a significant role to influence the behaviors of global leaders.

Hofstede (2005:282) defines organizational culture consequently to national culture – the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one organization from another. He suggests that the difference between national and organizational culture is that the former was acquired during the first ten years of our lives and they contain most of our basic values. The later was acquired when we enter a work organization as adults, with our values firmly in place, and they contain mainly of the organization’s practices which are more superficial (Hofstede 2005:284).

Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner suggests organizational culture is shaped not only by technologies and markets, but by the cultural preferences of leaders and employees (1998:161). Differences between national cultures help determine the type of corporate culture.

According to Bhaskaran and Gligorovska (2009, Cross Cultural Management Vol. 16, No. 1: 50), discourses on national culture and organizational culture in extant studies suggest that the difference between the two concepts is primarily the unit of analysis or the study context. For example, Hofstede (2001) invokes risk-taking orientation as capturing national culture, whereas Chatman (1991) invokes risk-taking orientation as capturing organizational culture.

Friedman and Antal quoted (management learning 2005: 71) from Adler (2002) and Lee et al. (2000) that corporate cultures are shaped to a large extent by the national and regional culture in which they operate, influencing the management style, structures, and processes. In some multinational corporations the organizational culture and the management style are dominated by the values and behavioral norms of the country of origin. In others the subsidiaries establish their own cultures in consonance with the local culture or create a mix of cultural influences (Friedman and Antal : 72; Davison and Ward, 1999; Schneider and Barsoux, 1997).

In summary, organizational culture can be influenced by the leaders, the culture of country of origin, and the culture of country of operation.

There are different perspectives to effectiveness of global leaders in multicultural contexts.  As the world is getting more flat and individuals more complex, there is be less distinction among cultures and executives are becoming international. Therefore, this topic will be an on-going effort.  

The questions remain as: is it about adapting to different cultures or is it about reflecting and learning from individual’s perspective? Is it the effectiveness of executives in response to different circumstances or is it appropriate style in each culture? While the questions can generate continuous debate on how to be effective in multicultural contexts,  national culture and organizational culture will remain as influencers to global leaders.

Bhaskaran S. and Gligorovska E. ’Influence of national culture on trans-national alliance relationships’, Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2009 pp 44-61
Collard J. ‘Constructing theory for leadership in intercultural contexts’, Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 45 No. 6 2007, pp 740 – 755,
Conte V. A. and Novello D. ‘Assessing leadership in a Chinese company: a case study’, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 27, No. 10, 2008
Friedman V. J. and Antal A. B. ‘Negotiation reality: A theory of action approach to intercultural competencies’, Management Learning 2005; 36;69, Online at http://mlq.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/36/1/69
Hampden-Turner C. and Trompenaars F., ‘Riding The Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business’, 1997, America: McGraw-Hill.
Hofstede G. and Hofstede G. J. ‘Cultures and Organizations – Software of the Mind’, 2005, McGraw-Hill