I. Motivation and leadership are factors in the successful implementation of desired strategy. But while many of the basic principles are universal, much of the actual content and process is culture-contingent - a function of an individual's needs, value systems, and environmental context.
2. One problem in using content theories, such as those created by Maslow and Herzberg, for cross-cultural research is the assumption of their universal application. Because they were developed in the United States, even the concepts, such as achievement or esteem, may have different meanings in other societies, resulting in a noncom parable basis of research.
3. Implicit in motivating an employee is an understanding of which of the employee's needs arc satisfied by work. Studies on the “meaning of work” indicate considerable cross-cultural differences.
4. Other studies on cross-cultural motivation support Herzberg's two-factor theory. They also indicate, as do studies using Maslow's theory, support for the greater importance of intrinsic factors to motivation, at least on the managerial level. One problem with Herzberg's theory is that it does not account for all relevant cultural variables.
5. A reexamination of motivation relative to Hofstede's dimensions of power distance,
uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity provides another perspective on the cultural contexts that can influence motivational structures.
6. Incentives and reward systems must be designed to reflect the motivational structure and relative cultural emphasis on five categories of rewards: financial, social status, job content, career, and professional.
7. Effective leadership is crucial to the ability of a company to achieve its goals. The challenge is to decide what is effective leadership in different international or mixed-culture situations.
8. The perception of what makes a good leader - both traits and behaviors - varies a great deal from one society to another.
9. Contingency theory is applicable to cross- cultural leadership situations because of the vast number of cultural and national variables that can affect the dynamics of the leadership context. These include leader - subordinate and group relations, which are affected by cultural expectations, values, needs, attitudes, perceptions of risk, and loci of control.
10. Joint ventures with other countries present a common but complex situation in which leaders must work together to anticipate and address cross-cultural problems.
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