An Analysis Of National Culture And Leadership Practices In Indonesia

Abstract

Managers around the world need ideas and support to meet many of the challenges of leading. Leadership requires actions and strategies as well as convictions and ideas. Leadership occurs in relation with followers. Leading Indonesian people is not the same as leading Westerners nor is it the same as leading other Asian people. A leadership strategy effective in one culture can be counter-productive in another. In this paper, the use findings of Hofstede’s and the GLOBE’s studies are used to identify important values of Indonesians, relating them to Indonesian culture and leadership style in an organization setting. Indonesians emphasis collective well being and show a strong humane orientation within their society. The culture is assertive, and pays attention to maintaining harmony. Effective leaders are expected to show compassion while using a more paternalistic than autocratic leadership style. It is advisable that expatriate managers need to avoid actions that are not suited to these values and expectations.