Reference no: EM13555

1- Leadership is defined as the process of having dominance on group activities in order to realize the objectives. To perform the leadership task, managers try to have influence the people under their supervision and motivate and direct them to achieve the organizational objectives. Creating motivation in staff in a way that they do their activity and work in the organization with enthusiasm and reach the goals is important. This problem with transnational managers who have to create motivation in the individuals with different cultures is more significant. Type's of the behaviours which results in success of the leader depends on the definition of success and is conditions. There are considerable numbers of different leadership styles in different countries and various cultures.

2- Within the leadership context, cultural differences shape the beliefs, attitudes, prefences, opinions, and behaviours of those who lead and those who make the decision to follow or not. Cultural values tend to give rise to implicit theories of leadership. For illustartion; they might reflect what is expected of leaders in terms of their proactiveness versus reactiveness ; their orientation toward vision, change, risk, direction; and the use of inducements (eg. Rewards, role modelling, punishment, position, rationality) to move others to action.

3- Japanese managers typically outline general objectives, make vague group assignments and usually let subordinates use their own approaches to achieve overall objectives. Asian scholars explain the Japanese as placing strong emphasis on group harmony and collective responsibility. An emphasis by managers on equality of all group members also supports group harmony, which is usually considered more important than making money or overall productivity. Charisma is important for top level managers in Japan who represent a symbol of respected authority

4- In Japanese organizations, individualized negative feedback is generally withheld or done with much subtlety to maintain main group harmony and face saving. Japanese managers describe"by the window people" who are slowly shunted toward increasingly menial tasks if they continue to perform poorly. The Japanese stood out in their low of contingent punishment behaviour- the lowest of all samples and the lowest of all leader behaviours in Japan

5- Many organizations regard knowledge management as key source of competitive advantage by sharing industry wide knowledge with a network of competitors and suppliers.The network provides more diversity of knowledge than is available within a single firm. Toyota,for illustartion, has developed coordinating principles to effectively create and manage network level knowledge sharing with its suppliers and competitors.In doing so,Toyota resolved three major dilemma for knowledge sharing; motivate members to participate and openly share knowledge,prevent members from free riding,that is gaining but not contributing and effectively transfer various kinds of knowledge. (understanding leaders) Toyota focus on developing people striving for continues improvements couldn't be more different from the traditional principles under which most Western companies operate.Toyota actually avoids trying specific rewards to specific metrics,fearing that people will focus narrowly on what is measured and ignored other parts of the job. The company is concerned about the thinking behind the groups plans for achieving the objectives as it is about whether the results are achieved. This is not to say that Toyota never uses metrics and rewards.It has both. The metrics must be understood and owned by the people must be supported by a leader. Toyata's culture is unique and that is the basis of the company success, yet shu ha ri approach is as deeply embedded in Western culture as it is in Japanese culture. (the Toyota way leaders online books)

6- As the rest of the automotive world is quickly learning, Okuda isn't your typical, self-effacing Toyota man. For one thing, he's not one of the Toyotas, the clan that founded and ran the company almost nonstop for decades. In January, Okuda set off a furore in London by suggesting that Britain's reluctance to join the European Monetary Union might prompt Toyota to consider looking elsewhere in Europe. That's not an idle threat. Toyota is figuring out where on the Continent it will build a $1.6 billion plant. Toyota started cutting costs before Okuda took command, but he is not letting up. Since 1995, the company has wrung nearly $2.5 billion in costs from the system, mostly by figuring ways to use fewer parts and stripping waste out of production. This is an astounding feat, considering how frugal Toyota was to begin with: To save on lighting bills, for example, it has long been policy to cut the power to company dormitories during working hours. And Toyota is now supplementing its stock of U.S.-made Camry's with Japan-made models, thanks to the cheaper yen. ''If they start importing, there's no way we can beat them,'' says Ross H. Roberts, general manager of the Ford Div. of Ford Motor Co. In Asia, the company will sell sturdy, simply designed cars to withstand the rigors of local roads. To boost Asian output by 30%, to 600,000 units, by 1998, Okuda wants a low-cost network of regional supply lines and assembly hubs. Okuda has won the deep respect of many insiders. He spends a third of his time at Toyota City, often chatting it up with the company's 10,000-plus engineers about their latest work. He makes a special point of meeting with the younger engineers, who appreciate how well Okuda, an accountant by training, can grasp the technical details. Toyota's 5,000 Japanese dealers love him for his recent moves to boost advertising spending by 30% and to get their advice on marketing. Toyota also became more globalized under Okuda's presidency, with the company establishing new manufacturing plants in Russia and elsewhere.

7- In Japan it is the consensus builder. In Germany today it is the coalition builder.

Innovation is driving BMW to focus on promoting self leadership as they strive to become more organic and thus competitive in fast paced markets. BMW has developed a range of quality function deployment,cross-functional teams,statistical process control,as well as risk analysis and process optimization. Leadership is highly valued at BMW,although the firm doesn't publicly display its mission, vision or values.Instead, its key message of enjoyment, quality and high performance seems to apply to employees as much as to products. BMW's Associate and Leadership Model, driven by Chairman Milberg, forms the cornerstone of the leadership process,both in setting out requirements and providing direction.This model, designed to support team and process-oriented cooperation is a long term leadership strategy aimed at creating a culture of "We at BMW".Personal responsibility,self reliance and approaching change as a form of opportunity are encouraged.Leadership is benchmarked internally via employee surveys and through a feedback process involving subordinates.

8- The Japanese system of leadership is based on participative methods and group responsibilities. Western managers operating in Japan have to understand the worker?s expectations for leadership and the group processes. The Japanese decision-making involves and empowers employees without encouraging confrontations. When a group achieves their objectives together they are rewarded for their common achievement. Japanese companies rarely award individuals apart from a group, and promotion privileges of an individual should enhance group harmony.