Effect of Geographical Diversities in Management Leadership with Special Reference to India

Effective top management leadership is the pillar of success in any organization. This is a widely shared view since the inception of industrial age. Though it is still valid in the current era, with the advancement of technology and workforce quality, leadership approaches are getting more sophisticated with every passing day. In today’s business context, success is no more associated with stereotyped leadership approaches. It is associated with the contingent approaches of leadership which are flexible and adaptive with varied socio-cultural aspects in different demographic regions. In this article, we focus on investigating how demographic factors influence the success or failure of top management leadership in the Indian context. In the course of our research, we considered seven different factors (availability of raw material, market demand for finished goods, proper utilization of equipment, manpower utilization, salaries and wages, uninterrupted availability of energy and fuel, and investment in technology) as key factors for the success of any manufacturing unit. Our findings indicate that, among these seven factors, only two (utilization of equipment and manpower utilization) are associated with the demographic aspects of a business operation. Even after handling five factors successfully, if the senior leadership fails to address the social, cultural and political issues of a certain demography, it leads to ineffective utilization of manpower. In addition to this, the leader’s inability in realizing the level of education, knowledge, and intelligence of the workforce of a specific demographic region can lead to inefficient machine utilization. These elucidations guided us to conclude our research by pointing out demographic factors as key considerations in the recruitment, selection, and placement process of top management leadership positions in any manufacturing unit across the country.