Chapter 14: International and Culturally Diverse Aspects of Leadership
Applying a Motivational Theory Across Cultural Groups
A practical way of understanding how cultural factors influence leadership is to
illustrate how motivation theory might be applied to different cultural groups. Expectancy
theory, which provides specific guidelines to leaders and managers, can be used to
illustrate cross-cultural motivation. Doing so will illustrate the principle that some aspects
of motivation theory apply across cultures, whereas other aspects must be modified. Two
aspects of expectancy theory are especially important for understanding cross-cultural
differences in motivation: perception of individual control over the environment, and
appropriateness of rewards.
Environmental Control. As analyzed by Nancy J. Adler, expectancy theories
depend on the extent to which workers believe they have control over the outcome of
their efforts, and how much faith they have in leaders to deliver rewards.1 The
assumption that workers believe they have control over their own fate may be culturally
dependent. In countries where individualism dominates, employees may believe more
strongly that they can influence performance and outcomes. In collectivist societies, such
as Taiwan and Japan, the ties between the individual and the organization have a moral
component. In the United States and similar cultures, many people believe that “where
there is a will, there is a way.”
Adler argues that the reasons that people in individualistic societies become
committed to organizations are quite different from those of people in collectivist
societies. An employee in an individualistic culture (such as the United States, Canada, or
Germany) is more likely to ask, “What’s in it for me?” before responding to a
motivational thrust. Employees with collectivistic values commit themselves to the
organization more because of ties with managers and coworkers than because of intrinsic
job factors or individual incentives.
Despite the cultural generalization, the leader must be alert to individual and
subcultural differences. Many Japanese workers are becoming less loyal to their
employers and thus more self-centered and eager for individual recognition. Workers
from rural areas in the United States are much more collectivist than their counterparts
from large cities. One of the many reasons Saturn Motors located its plant in Tennessee is
the presence of a more harmonious and loyal work force.
Appropriateness of Rewards. Expectancy theories are universal because the
motivator must search for rewards that have valence for individual employees. Leaders
themselves must analyze the type and level of rewards that have the highest valence for
individuals. The appropriateness of rewards is most strongly tied to individual
differences, yet cultural differences are also important. The challenge is to find which
rewards are effective in the particular culture.
A study was conducted in a cotton mill in the Russian Republic of the former Soviet
Union. One aspect of the study offered intrinsic rewards in the form of American goods
to ninety-nine weavers from different shifts. Praise and recognition were also used as
rewards. Receiving the goods as well as recognition and praise were contingent upon
increases in the amount of top-grade fabric they produced. The rewards resulted in
increased production. Another motivational technique, employee participation,
contributed to performance decline.2 The study relates to valence because many people
believe that participation in decision making is a reward for virtually all workers. But
among these Russian weavers, participative management was perceived to have negative
valence. Perhaps participating in decision making was too foreign to their work culture to
be acceptable.
Many American managers have mistakenly assumed that a reward with a high
valence among American workers will also have a high valence among workers from
other cultures. In one situation, raising the salary of a particular group of Mexican
workers motivated them to work fewer rather than more hours. A spokesperson for the
Mexican workers said, “We can now make enough money to live and enjoy life in less
time than previously. Now, we do not have to work so many hours.”3
1. Our analysis of expectancy theory across cultures is based on Nancy J. Adler,
International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 2nd ed. (Mason, Ohio: SouthWestern College Publishing, 1991), pp. 157-160.
2.
Dianne H. B. Welsh, Fred Luthans, and Steven M. Somner, “Managing Russian
Factory Workers: The Impact of U.S. –Based Behavioral and Participative
Techniques,” Academy of Management Journal, February 1993, pp. 58-79.
3.
1
Adler, International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, p. 159.
Our analysis of expectancy theory across cultures is based on Nancy J. Adler,
International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 2nd ed. (Mason,
Ohio: South-Western College Publishing, 1991), pp. 157-160.
2
Dianne H. B. Welsh, Fred Luthans, and Steven M. Somner, “Managing Russian
Factory Workers: The Impact of U.S. –Based Behavioral and Participative
Techniques,” Academy of Management Journal, February 1993, pp. 58-79.
3