Today’s business environment is more global than ever. The multinational
and cross-cultural business activities have increased tremendously over
the last decades, a trend that is about to continue. “Global Village” is a
term often used in this context. Due to the fact that people’s consume and
buying preferences increasingly converge throughout the globe (manifested
by the worldwide success of brands such as Apple, BMW, Coca Cola but also the entertainment industry – Holly-/Bollywood, Pop music etc.),one might get the impression that differentiation in regard to cultural differences becomes less important. The question is to what extent and in which areas this mindset is valid in business life. Is it reasonable to assume that successful leadership styles can be universally applied, no matter in which country and cultural setting the leader fulfills his/her job?
The objective of this paper is to discuss, depict and elaborate on the question of appropriate leadership styles in the three different countries: USA,Germany and India. The aim is to examine – based on an analysis of the
cultural differences – if and how leadership styles need to be adapted in
order to be successful in each of the three countries.
Structuring
List of abbreviations
List of figures
List of tables
1. Introduction
1.1 Problem definition and relevance of the topic
1.2 Scope of work and methodology
2. Definition of culture and leadership styles
3. Convergence vs. divergence theory
4. Reference model for deriving appropriate leadership styles
5. Globe Study
5.1 Research objectives
5.2 Methodology and major findings for Germany, USA and India
6. Summary and Conclusion
Bibliography