Hierarchy and Leadership

The difference in leadership was identified by ten out of twelve of the interviewees. The differences in leadership between home and host country is discussed as below.

Difference between hierarchies

Four of the interviewees explained the hierarchical differences between the host and home country. The host country is hierarchical as there is an unequal relationship between the one who holds the power and those who do not have power. Therefore, a boss is expected to behave in a dominating way in order to exhibit the power. People are expected to follow the orders of the bosses, without questioning their intention and not by thinking whether the order given is right or wrong. People are not expected to think on their own or question their bosses, even if the decision can be wrong at times in the host work environment.

Whereas, in the home country there is equality in terms of hierarchy between the bosses and their subordinates. Therefore, the subordinates have freedom to do their own thinking which also means that the orders of the superiors can be challenged. The hierarchical difference between the host and home country was explained as below by an interviewee;

In India the biggest difference is that the boss is the real boss. So everybody listen to what the boss says. (Inter-03)

A second interviewee also shared the difference between the home and host country leadership, as below:

For example, the boss is more present in the person's life, boss is involved. Boss is actually asking you pretty often how are you doing, how is your project going. In Finland, it's very opposite. So you've been given a certain task and if

the boss asks you every day, this is interpreted as a signal of distrust, incompetence, that why are you asking this every week. Do you think I'm not

competent to do this work? (Inter-05)

In the host country the boss is more of a paternalistic father, who is even involved in the personal life of the subordinates. The bosses are expected to care about their subordinates by showing care about their personal life, which may not be the same in the home country. In the home country the boss and subordinate relationship is more of a transactional thing. The intervention of a boss in the tasks of a subordinate is seen as the lack of trust or questioning of competence.

One of the biggest difference pointed out by the interviewees, is that the hierarchy in the society is reflected in the corporate culture. Whereas, in the home country the management style is more task oriented which was described as below;

In India I have seen in particular with the more junior people that as the Indian society and even corporate culture is more hierarchical in India. The Finnish

management way like, we say, okay, here is your assignment, here are the targets, the timeline, just do it. (Inter-14)

The third interviewee also pointed out the difference in the leadership between host and home country as below;

I think there is more hierarchy in Indian companies. There is the bosses, really the boss, whereas in Finland, we are sort of more equal in a way that you can

go straight up to your boss and there is no problem. (Inter-17)

The equality between the boss and subordinate is also due to the culture of the home country, where the society is more equally distributed. There is no big difference between the different members of the society. Whereas in the host country society is not equal which is also reflected in the work environment.

Therefore, it can be said that society plays a major role in constructing the hierarchy in the work environments of the host and home countries.

Leadership difference (Small & big countries compared)

In a smaller country like home country, the dependencies towards others may be less when compared with the bigger countries. Moreover, in smaller countries as there is less resources or people, one has to be capable of doing everything. Also, the independent attitude in taking decisions is crucial in a small country.

Whereas, in bigger countries, always there are more people who are ready to do things as instructed by their superiors. The leadership difference in a small and big country was compared by an interviewee, as commented;

I would expect that it is coming from the small country where you are from small villages that you really must be able to do everything if there is no advice

coming from abroad or from other places. But in a big country, they can always rely that their boss will come and tell them what to do (Inter-03)

The leaders do not have same power

Two of the interviewees compared the power of leaders in the host and home country. The capacity of the managers to take decisions is unequal in both home and host countries and was commented on, as follows;

The local project manager in India, he had very little authority to say and to do things in the project. On the contrary, here in Finland when we, as a project team and a project manager, we took care of -- we decided what to purchase.

(Inter-08)

In the home country due to flat hierarchy the decision making can be done even by a young person. Also there is no interference of other people in the decision making and there exists independence for people in decision making process.

Whereas, in the host country, the managers do not have the same independence unlike their home country counterparts. Therefore, the host managers are always expected to consult with their superiors before taking decisions. Even though there may be a boss who could be assumed as the key decision maker in certain host organizations, the real decision maker may be someone else which was said as below;

The bosses maybe have a bigger role there and certain people in the organization has a, let's say, bigger influence than other people. (Inter-09) The same leadership behavior all over Asia

The leadership behavior in the host country and the other Asian counties are assumed to be similar according to an interviewee who said as below;

In Asia all in all, I would say, the behavior is more or less the same. Not on -- maybe on grassroots level, but in business mind especially in Asia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, you have also have this authority level. So you see up to people that are of higher rank and you follow their decision. (Inter-08) Even though several differences exist in Asian countries in terms of culture, religion etc., the concept of authority is quite similar. The respect for seniority is common across all the Asian countries which means the people who hold the power are respected and followed by the people under them or the ones who are lower in the power.

Host managers put them on top

The host country leadership style is more hierarchical in nature and assumes that boss is superior to the subordinates. Due to the distance in hierarchy the host

country managers put themselves above others and this was seen as a challenge by an interviewee who explained, as below;

The managers who are easily -- they put them on the top, but they are not solving the problems of their employees or helping (Inter-11) Host country corporate culture

The corporate culture of the host country was compared with the home country corporate culture, as below:

We don't want to be bossy. We want to more have a buddy culture. So we are more buddies than you would be my boss. But in India I've been told and I've understood that in a way when people can position themselves somewhere in

the hierarchy, then they feel safe. (Inter-14)

In the home country due to the flat hierarchical structure, bosses consider their subordinates as equals. Therefore, subordinates are more comfortable in asking questions with their superiors. On the other hand, due to high hierarchy in the host country, in the corporate environment the subordinates are not able to be independent and they are also not expected to raise questions, instead expected to follow the instructions.

Knowing the social structure or hierarchy

The knowledge about the social structure in the host country was mentioned as important in the host country by an interviewee, as below;

In India, everybody has their place. In Finland, we are more teams and low structures in the companies, but in India, everybody knows their place.

(Inter-19)

The host country environment is society bound, where social class is prevalent.

The social class of an individual is highly influential in creating the opportunities in the host environment. People in the host environment are aware of their own class and this is also reflected in the work place.

Being a strong leader in the host country

Two of the interviewees emphasized the importance of being a strong leader in the host country and compared the situation with the home country. In the host country environment being a strong leader is crucial and this was explained by an interviewee as follows:

I think in India you must be a little bit maybe stronger leader than in Finland because in Finland, for example, in small companies you can be really equal like

all the employees and everybody and even the leader can be on the same. But I think in India you should be maybe little bit like more stronger, (Inter-22) The employees are treated equally as a colleague in the home country whereas, in the host country the subordinates are not treated as equal. Therefore, it is expected that the leaders should be strong in their communication in order to maintain the distance with the subordinates.

Change in the hierarchy over the years

Even though most of the interviewees pointed out the differences of hierarchy in the host country, one interviewee contradicted by saying that over the period of years the hierarchy in the host country has changed.

In the '90s, late '90s, you could see Indian hierarchical organizational management style or whatever, the owners or directors or MDs, they were really, really high up and all the people were really bowing and kneeing for them. […] Two weeks ago when I was in India, I could notice a change in that behavior on general level because India has really taken off now for the 15,

10-15 years, so you could really notice a big change there (Inter-08)

The host country has evolved and changed in terms of economy, social development, culture etc. Also generations of people have been changing over the years, which also leads to change of things amongst the people. Additionally, after globalization more and more international interaction has been happening.

Therefore, it can be said the attitude of the people have also changed dramatically over the period of years.

Respecting elders

In the home country the gap between the elders and the younger ones are minimal. Whereas, in the host country due to hierarchy the gap is wider between leader and their subordinates. For instance, the following was said by the interviewee as follows;

For instance, how do you speak to your elder colleague? Here in Finland you can challenge him and say that I think you are little bit off the map here and that you can even say that little bit like brutally. I think you don't understand what's happening here. I think you're completely wrong. But you don't say that

in India to an elder guy, for instance, if he is a supervisor. (Inter-12)

The respect for the elders is cultural and comes from paternalistic attitude of host country people and this is reflected in the work places as well. In the home country even though there may be paternalism, it may not be exhibited in the same way like the host country.

4.3.1.3 Time

The notion of time is one of the differences that was identified by the interviewees. Nine out of twelve interviewees pointed out the issues related to time.

Different interpretation of time

Time has different interpretation by different people. For instance, in the host country, if someone says two minutes they can mean a completely different time.

It can be more than two minutes and can even be twenty minutes. The time committed may not be realistic when compared with the home country people where the time is committed more in a realistic sense. This was commented as below by an interviewee;

When I say two minutes, it's usually 120 seconds. But when Indians say two minutes, it can be anything, so you know (Inter-12)

Uncertainty of time

In the host country people are quite punctual and things happen according to the time committed. Moreover, the home country people perceive time as a resource therefore, people follow the time as committed. Whereas, in the host country people do not perceive time as the resource. This means people are more relaxed towards time. Due to the relaxed attitude of the host people towards time, there is state of uncertainty that exists. The uncertainty of time was highlighted by an interviewee, as follows;

We are in Finland, quite punctual people, whereas Indians are necessarily not.

So something that must happen tomorrow might not happen tomorrow, in India. So I think there is a certain element of uncertainty. (Inter-17) The manner how time is perceived by the host country people may be considered as uncertain by the home country interviewees. Whereas, the host country people may consider it normal, as they may be aware if it is tomorrow it may not be so.

Therefore, there is a certain informal understanding between the host country people about the perception of time in their own country. Whereas, the home

country people may not be aware of this informal understanding and they might consider it as uncertainty in time.

Time schedule

Three of the interviewees pointed out the differences following the time schedule between the home and host country people. Following a schedule or planning a schedule in the host country, can be difficult in the host country compared to home. The following words reflect the difference in time schedule from the words of an interviewee;

In Finland you can make your agenda for today and you're visiting -- the trips schedule for the day, and you can book in. If you need to have 10 meetings in

any city in Finland, you can do it over 10 hours. In India you can do one meeting in the morning and one meeting in the afternoon. (Inter-07) In the home country meetings are planned ahead of time and people act accordingly. Whereas, in the host country time is viewed leniently, also people may not schedule their time as it is done by the home country people. The schedule or timing of the host country partner may not be predictable as he or she can be delayed for several reasons such as family, traffic, geographical location, accidents etc.

Keeping the deadline

Two of the interviewees pointed out the host country attitude towards keeping to a schedule. In home country according to the interviewees, when people commit time or schedule, things are going to be done and the task will be completed at that time. Whereas, in the host country time is not kept the same. For instance, one of the interviewee explained as below;

The biggest problem with Indians is that you don't get the real answer when you want to know is this phase done after two weeks as of now. Then they always say yes. But when these two weeks comes, then it is not ready.

(Inter-03)

The second interviewee also pointed out about the difference in keeping deadline;

The Finnish people are very -- time bounded. Yeah, and they are like, okay, have this deadline, it must be on that day. And Indians maybe, they don’t feel unless

there is -- it has been highlighted that this is really the deadline, no, yeah.

(Inter-17)

Consumption of time

Two of the interviewees pointed out about the difference in consumption of time by the host country environment. In the host country, people tend to have detailed communication, which consumes plenty of time. People discuss things in detail and take lot of time which demotivates the people from the home country.

In the home country the discussions may not happen in a time consuming manner as people may not be communicating in detailed way. The consumption of time was explained by the following interviewee as follows;

When I come to Finland and then I start maybe fixing meetings with these Finns like two weeks before and then I learn that their calendar is about three months

ahead. So the IST, Indian Standard Time, Indian stretchable times kicks in.

And I'm like, how come is everybody so busy? They only have meetings. Even these people don't have any spontaneity. (Inter-14)

The host country people plan their schedules in advance which mean that the time is taken seriously in order to save the time. Whereas, in the host country things may not be well planned, therefore, there will be less orderliness in terms of following the time.

Unfamiliarity in knowing home and host country working style

Two interviewees highlighted the lack of familiarity on foreign work style or culture as the reason for delaying the task among the host country employees.

For instance, it was pointed out by an interviewee that host country employees are not familiar with the western style of working. The western style of working may be a contrast to the host country of working. Therefore, they are not familiar how to do work tasks other than the way they are used to. Therefore, the host country employees have to made familiar with the working style of the home country organization. Moreover, it is also important to explain why things have to be done on time and the employees have to be closely monitored when the task is given. In this background the following quotes have been pointed out by an interviewee;

Then in India, it's, let's say, the industrial tradition working in a western-style company is not very long. So in the beginning, you have to monitor that the person you gave a task really understood it, and you have to check and monitor

it on daily basis that it goes forward. (Inter-12)

The lack of familiarity about the host country style and generalization about the host country employees can be a challenge and has to be done cautiously. The familiarity between the host and home country working style is highly important

In document Managing across cultures with cultural intelligence quotient (CQ) : study of Finnish business leaders experience in India (sivua 160-168)