Abstract
As our world continues to “flatten” with growing globalization, managers are increasingly required to adapt to different cultures. It has been argued by many authors that failure to make such adaptations can lead to negative consequences (Hofstede, 1980a; 2001; Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005; House & Aditya, 1997). Statistics suggest that 70% of international ventures fail (Yan & Luo, 2001), often due to cultural misunderstandings (Livermore, 2011). It is not surprising, therefore, that interest in cross-cultural management research continues to grow (Dickson, Den Hartog & Mitchelson, 2003). It has been argued that a significant barrier to adopting Western management practices in Asia is “face” (Abdullah, 1996; Hofstede, 2001). While significant work has been carried out in this area, it has tended to focus more on the impact of face on societal interactions overall (Earley, 1997; Goffman, 1972; Holtgraves, 1997), on negotiations (Ting-Toomey, 1999), and less on specific management behaviour. Given the importance of face in Asia (Abdullah, 2001; Hofstede, 2001), it is important for Westerners to understand how to adapt their behaviour appropriately to manage and lead others effectively. While recent empirical research on face in Asia exists, notably in China (Kwang, 2006; Leung & Chan, 2003), the concept appears to be under-researched in Southeast Asia and Malaysia in particular.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abdullah, A. (1996). GoingGlocal: Cultural Dimensions in Malaysian Management. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Institute of Management.
Abdullah, A. (2001). Influence of ethnic values at the Malaysian workplace. In A. Abdullah, & A.H.M. Low (Eds.), Understanding the Malaysian Workforce, Revised Edition (pp. 1–24). Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Institute of Management.
Abdullah, A., & Gallagher, E.L. (1995). Managing with cultural differences. Malaysian Management Review, 30(2), 1–18.
Abdullah, A., & Ong, E.E. (2001). Counselling on the job. In A. Abdullah, & A.H.M. Low (Eds.), Understanding the Malaysian Workforce, Revised Edition (pp. 112–125). Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Institute of Management.
Bass, B.M. (2008). The Bass Handbook of Leadership; Theory, Research & Managerial Applications, 4th edition. New York: Free Press.
Bennis, W. (2008). Introduction. In R.E. Riggio, I. Chaleff, & J. Lipman-Blumen (Eds.), The Art of Followership; How Great Followers Create Great Leaders and Organisations. (pp. xxiii-xxviii). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Bossidy, L., Charan, R., & Burck, C. (2002). Execution, The Discipline of Getting Things Done. London: Random House Business Books.
Bryman, A. (2008). Social Research Methods, 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bryman, A. (2011). Research methods in the study of leadership. In A. Bryman, D. Collinson, K. Grint, & B. Jackson (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Leadership (pp. 15–28). London: Sage.
Cardon, P.W., & Scott, J.C. (2003). Chinese business face: Communication behaviors and teaching approaches. Business Communication Quarterly, 66(4), 9–22.
Chaleff, I. (2009). The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders, 3rd edition. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Chatterjee, D. (2010). Leading consciously. In L. Liu (Ed.), Conversations on Leadership: Wisdom from Global Gurus (pp. 235–253). Singapore: John Wiley & Sons (Asia).
Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make The Leap And Others Don’t. New York: Harper Collins.
Department of Statistics Malaysia (2006, 2012). Population and Vital Statistics, August 2012, p10. Retrieved from http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/index.php?option= com_content&view= article&id= 1748%3Afree-download-monthly-statistical-bulletin-malaysia-august-2012.
Dickson, M.W., Den Hartog, D.N., & Mitchelson, J.K. (2003). Research on leadership in a cross-cultural context: Making progress, and raising new questions. The Leadership Quarterly, 14(6),729–768.
Drucker, P. (1994). The new superpower: The overseas Chinese. In The Wall Street Journal (Dec 20):17; cited in Thomas, D. & Inkson, K., (2003). Cultural Intelligence: People Skills for Global Business (p. 129). San Francisco, CA: Behrett Koehler.
Earley, C.P. (1997). Face, Harmony & Social Structures. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress.
Edelmann, R.J. (1987). The PsychologyofEmbarrassment. Chichester: Wiley.
Fernandez, J.A., & Underwood, L. (2006). China CEO. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons.
Gallo, F.T. (2008). Business Leadership in China: How to Blend Best Western Practices with Chinese Wisdom. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons (Asia).
Goddard, G. (1997). Cultural values and “cultural scripts” of Malay (Bahasa Melayu). Journal of Pragmatics, 27, 183–201.
Goddard, C. (2002). Overcoming terminological ethnocentrism. IIAS Newsletter 27, March, 28.
Goffman, E. (1972). On face-work: An analysis of ritual elements in social interaction. In E. Goffman (Ed.), Interaction Ritual (pp. 5–46). The Penguin Press: Allen Lane, Harmondsworth.
Hall, E.T. (1960). The silent language of overseas business. Harvard Business Review, 38(3), 87–95.
Hamzah-Sendut (1991). Managing in a multicultural society — The Malaysian experience. Malaysian Management Review, 26(1), 61–69.
Hawker S, (2006). Little Oxford Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ho, D.Y.F. (1976). On the concept of face. American Journal of Sociology, 81(4), 867–884.
Hofstede, G. (1980a). Motivation, leadership, and organisation: Do American theories apply abroad? Organisational Dynamics, Summer, 42–63.
Hofstede, G. (1980b). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences; Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organisations Across Nations. London: Sage.
Hofstede, G., & Hofstede, G.J. (2005). Cultures and Organisation: Software of the Mind. Second edition. New York: McGraw Hill.
Holtgraves, T. (1997). Styles of language use: Individual and cultural variability in conversation indirectness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 624–637.
House, R.J., & Aditya, N.R. (1997). The social scientific study of leadership: Quo vadis? Journal of Management, 23(3), 409–74.
Humphreys, J. (2007). Adapting the congruent temperament model with culturally specific work motivation elements. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 14(3), 202–216.
Jogulu, U.D. (2010). Culturally-linked leadership styles. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31(8), 705–719.
Kennedy, J., & Mansor, N. (2000). Malaysian culture and the leadership of organizations: A GLOBE study. Malaysian Management Review, 2000, 44–53.
King, N. (2004a). Using interviews in qualitative research. In C. Cassell, & G. Symon (Eds.), Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research (pp. 11–22). London: Sage
King, N. (2004b). Using templates in the thematic analysis of text. In C. Cassell, & G. Symon (Eds,), Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research (pp. 256–270). London: Sage.
Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2003). Encouraging the Heart: A Leaders’ Guide to Rewarding and Recognising others. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Kwang, K.H. (2006). Moral face and social face: Contingent self-esteem in Confucian society. International Journal of Psychology, 41(4), 276–281.
Leung, T.K.P, & Chan, R.Y.K. (2003). Face, favour and positioning — a Chinese power game. European Journal of Marketing, 37(11/12), 1575–1598.
Livermore, D. (2011). The Cultural Intelligence Difference: Master the One Skill you can’t do without in Today’s Global Economy. New York: AMACOM.
Nana, E., Jackson, B., & Burch, G. (2010). Attributing leadership personality and effectiveness from the leader’s face: An exploratory study. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31(8), 720–742.
Raduan, C.R., Suppiah, W.R.R.V, Uli, J., & Othman, J. (2007). A face concern approach to conflict management — A Malaysian perspective. Journal of Social Sciences, 2(4), 121–126.
Selvarajah, C., & Meyer, D. (2008). One nation, three cultures: Exploring dimensions that relate to leadership in Malaysia. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 29(8), 693–712.
Sinha, J.P.B. (2008). Culture and Organisational Behaviour. New Delhi: Sage.
Swift, M.G. (1965). Malay Peasant Society in Jelebu. London: Athlone Press.
Thomas, D., & Inkson, K (2003). Cultural Intelligence; People Skills for Global Business. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating Across Cultures. New York: The Guilford Press.
Tranfield, D., & Starkey, K. (1998). The nature, social organisation and promotion of management research: Towards policy. British Journal of Management, 9, 341–353.
Yan, A., & Luo, Y. (2001). International Joint Ventures: Theory and Practice. Armonk, New York: ME Sharpe.
Yu, D. (2009). Confucius from the Heart: Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World. Oxford: MacMillan.
Zawawi, D. (2008). Cultural dimensions among Malaysian employees. International Journal of Economics and Management, 2(2), 409–426.
Zikmund, W.G. (2003). Business Research Methods, 7th edition. Ohio: South Western.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2013 Brian T. O’Donoghue
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
O’Donoghue, B.T. (2013). Face’s Consequences: The Impact of “Face” on Leadership, Management and Follower Behaviour in Malaysia. In: Rajasekar, J., Beh, LS. (eds) Culture and Gender in Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137311573_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137311573_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-45695-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-31157-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)