Cultural Influences on Leadership and Human Resource Management in Africa

Abstract

A central argument in Chapter 10 is that leaders crystalize the compelling vision of members of their societies and organizations and invite them to buy into the vision and use it to guide their actions. Leaders also help followers to interpret the frequently fuzzy signals from their environments and maintain faith and courage that societal and organizational goals will be attained as long as they work hard enough. This understanding must be juxtaposed with the re-current theme in this book — that is, no human action is context-free and culture has a determined influence on the decisions and behaviour of people in every context. This implies that cultural variables also impact leadership, governance as well as the management, creation and delivery of economic value. Thus, in order for a leader to lead effectively, he or she must comprehend the nature of the society in which the leadership role is to be performed (Udogu, 2008).