A comparison between Asian and Western leadership styles.

Running Head : LEADERSHIP STYLES

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COMPARISON BETWEEN ASIAN AND WESTERN LEADERSHIP STYLES

Abstract

Leadership styles in Asian companies is different from the styles employed in the West . Despite some similarities , the companies in Asia have leadership styles that promote family leadership at the expense of professional leadership . The differences that exist between these two are a result of differences in culture and levels of development . This will focus on the major differences and similarities in the way leadership is tackled in these

two regions

Introduction

Every administration has its form of influencing people towards attainment of its goals . It could be formal or informal as in business and friendship respectively . Leadership begins with families and extends to global level . Good leadership is the kind of visionary leadership that is geared towards achieving the goals already set out (Argyris 1976 . There exists differences in leadership styles because of varied reasons . Asia and the West are two global regions that have some distinct features that makes the leadership styles in these regions to vary

Asian countries are currently experiencing rapid economic growth , a trend which Mills (2005 ) perceives will be existent for a long time to come . At the center of this trend is the business leadership employed by managers and entrepreneurs in the various Asian companies . Mills (2005 observes that leadership in Asia is political and controlled by families . Though family leadership is also practised in the West , it is more common in Asia . Political affiliation is also present in Western leadership though not as rampant as in Asia . As such , the board members and the executives have more freedom in Asia as compared to their counterparts in America . In these American firms , the professional executives are recruited from within the existing managers when the serving managers retire or are replaced by the board (Bennis , 1989 Burns , 1978 . There are instances where firms hire executives from external sources , commonly in small firms . Many firms in America are in the latest development stages unlike their counterparts in Asia . The leadership in most of these firms have been passed down to professional leaders different from their initial family founders . It is anticipated that Asia will follow suit but this is highly unlikely due to the culture of political connections being necessary for a successful leader still being enforced

Directive style of leadership is more common in Asia than in America Here , the leader offers the directions to be followed by the members of the organization . In other western countries like Germany in Europe , a leader is incorporated in the workforce and they operate as a team (Greenleaf , 1977 . This participative leadership is also common in Asian countries like Japan but very unpopular in America . Instead , a new form of leadership where the followers are energized is being adopted by most companies especially those with autonomous divisions . The subordinate members of the organization are delegated responsibilities to undertake According to Warneka (2006 , this is slowly being adopted in Asia...