The GLOBE Project Essay

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Leadership structures and styles tend to differ across cultures. This aspect is evident in The GLOBE Project (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Project), which Robert J. House first established in 1993. His main objective was to analyze the striking differences in values, characteristics, and norms of organizational leaders from diverse societies. As such, the GLOBE researchers came up with different categorizations of countries based on their cultural practices and norms. Javidan et al. (2016) further mention thatThe GLOBE researchers developed a 7-point scale from the country clusters to assist in ranking the countries based on 21 different leadership scales.

Additionally, the research yielded six main leadership styles: participative, performance-driven, self-protective, autonomous, humane, and team-driven (GLOBE Project). A performance-driven leader chases after innovation by pushing others to develop new visions and objectives. Secondly, a participative leader collaborates with others and appreciates everyone’s contribution. Thirdly, a self-protective leader vigorously guards their reputation and the team members. Moreover, autonomous leaders exhibit independence when making decisions, while humane leaders show support for others in the organization. Lastly, team-driven leaders believe that working together in teams is essential in improving the organization.

The GLOBE project’s country clustering was one of the major challenges. This grouping can be used to explain cultural differences and reveal significant information about societal variations. Clustering can be advantageous from a practical one as well. A study by Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG), for instance, found that multinational corporations or specific teams comprised of individuals from nations or regions belonging to the same cluster of cultures and having comparable cultural traits can function more efficiently. One of the main GLOBE clusters is Latin America which encompasses Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Bolivia, and Guatemala. Based on the leadership styles, the Latin America cluster reveals performance-driven and autonomous leaders on a larger scale. The GLOBE researchers further confirm that Latin American leaders score the highest in self-protective, meaning they value security and safety. On participation, the score is moderate. Based on the analysis of the Latin American GLOBE cluster, it is evident that the effectiveness of leaders is highly based on beliefs, norms, and societal values. 

References

GLOBE Project. (n.d.). Www.globeproject.com. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from http://globe.bus.sfu.ca/

Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., de Luque, M. S., & House, R. J. (2016). In the Eye of the Beholder: Cross Cultural Lessons in Leadership from Project GLOBE. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(1), 67–90. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2006.19873410