Management of the mixed-cultural work group

Abstract

Survey data were obtained from 84 New Zealand Pakeha (white) male managers to explore how cultural composition of the work group affected the relationship between leader behavior and leader effectiveness. Factor analysis identified five leadership factors composed of items from American leadership scales and items from interviews with New Zealand employees. Organizationally rated performance evaluations were obtained for each manager along with self-rated evaluations of effectiveness. The managers also rated their level of satisfaction, relations with subordinates, relations among subordinates, and relations with their own boss. Results indicated that three of the leadership factors were significantly correlated with managerial effectiveness for first-level managers and the two remaining factors were significantly correlated with effectiveness at middle-level management. Due to unique socioeconomic conditions in New Zealand, the work groups showed wide variations in cultural (ethnic) composition, ranging from homogeneous up to a mix of five diverse, often antagonistic, ethnic populations. Yet at both levels of management the degree of cultural heterogeneity within the work group did not affect the relationship between the group leader's behavior and the leader's effectiveness. Cultural heterogeneity of the work group was also unrelated to the leader's overall satisfaction, including satisfaction with pay, promotion, and supervision. Leader—member relations, relations among work group members, and the relation between the leader and the leader's own supervisor were also unrelated to cultural heterogeneity of the work group. Similar results were obtained for a very small sample of Polynesian male managers and for a sample of Pakeha (white) female managers. Because organizational level produced major differences in the effectiveness of the leadership factors, it was concluded that the tasks of the work groups determined the effectiveness of the leader's behavior while the cultural background of group members may have influenced the difficulty of implementing the necessary leadership behavior.