This presentation has shown that the western management theories of leadership and motivation in the form they have been developed and applied in the West may not or partially fit culturally in Africa. The similarities and differences among cultures suggest that it make sense to study and compare western management value assumptions with African cultural values, beliefs, perceptions and attitudes.

1. Cultural Dynamics in
African Management Practice
Leadership and Motivation
Osarumwense Iguisi, PhD
Executive Director
Osarumwense Iguisi, PhD
Euro-African Management Research Centre

2. Cultural Dynamics in
African Management Practice
Introduction
The importance of culture for effective management in Africa has
become increasingly obvious in recent years as many of the
expectations of African organizations and institutions created and
managed along lines of Western textbooks and models have failed to
achieve expected results of economic growth and sustainable
development. In most projections of economic development, SubSaharan African countries score poorly. Thus, while western type
organizations have no doubt, contributed somehow to the development
and progress of Africa, I am of the opinion that the economic
performances of these countries since decolonization have not been
able to meet up with expected economic development compared to the
economic achievements of other developing countries like Asia.

3. Africa’s Socioeconomic Problems in the
Streams of Management Discourse
Background
Modern Africa suffers from a number of unfortunate influences, such
as tribal warfare, despotism, starvation, AIDS and compounded with
economic decline. According to World Bank Development (2007)
Report, Africa figures as the poor relative in the world family of
nations and seems to be condemned to remain so for the
foreseeable future. In official statistical data, African countries nearly
always show up at the negative end. Among several reasons for this
dramatic situation, a lack of appropriate indigenous management takes
a prominent position. The noticeable lack of success of many African
organisations created and managed along lines of Western theories
and models can be attributed to this fact. Projects more or less
function so long as foreign experts manage them, but they flounder
after having been transferred to locals.

4. Africa’s Socioeconomic Problems in the
Streams of Management Discourse
Clearly, Africa is not the nearest in culture to the Western world, yet the
continent has been experiencing perhaps the fastest pace of
Westernisation this century of anywhere in the non-Western world. The
colonial era in most of Africa has been one of the shortest in world
history. Most countries of Africa below the Sahara were exposed to
Western colonial powers for less than a century before reverting to
independence in the second half of the twentieth century. Before the
colonialists came, Africa had functioning political, economic and
administrative infrastructures and ways of organising their world of work.
Neither the institutions nor the political borders imposed by the
colonisers have respected these infrastructures. However, unlike in
Europe and most part of Asia, the attempted Westernisation has
completely neglected the native cultural values and traditions and
transplanted ready-made Western management theories to African soil.
The results of these transformations, in most cases, have been failures.

5. Africa’s Socioeconomic Problems in the
Streams of Management Discourse
Because of the failure of westernised African managers to identify
and take advantage of the ‘growth-positive’ cultural value factors
of their society for effective management practice, the relevancy
of Western management theories and models utilised in training
managers in universities and business schools for managing
organisations in Africa comes into question. A basic assumption to
be made here is that suitable African management theories and
models can only be developed by Africans themselves, or at least
in close collaboration with African practitioners and western
suppliers of technology (Jackson 2004; Iguisi 2009).

6. Culture
6

7. What is Culture?
 Hofstede (2005, p. 9) defines culture as the collective programming
“software” of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one
social group or category of people from another. It includes the
society’s institutions, legal system, method of government, family
patterns, social conventions-all those activities interactions and
transactions, which define the particular flavour of a society.
 Iguisi (2009) defined culture as the pool of rules, beliefs, and values
by which individual or group members conceptually order the
objects and events in their lives in order to operate in a manner that
is acceptable to people identifying with them and people that are
negotiating with them in the course of their interaction.
Culture consists of the patterns of thinking that parents
transfer to their children, teachers to their students, friends to
their friends, leaders to their followers, and followers to their
leaders.
7

8. Sources of Our Culture
Levels of culture
National
Religion
Ethnic
Generation
Place of socialization
Family
Society
Values
Professional
Business
School
Practices
Organization
Workplace
8

9. The Manifestation of Culture
‘onion diagram’
Symbols
Heroes
Rituals
a
Pr
e
tic
c
s
Values
9

10. Values in Culture
The core of culture is formed by values. Values are broad
tendencies to prefer certain states of affairs over others. The
values and traditions of a culture are generally the best
instruments available for dealing with the degree of
uncertainties, ambiguities and anxieties experienced in the
workplace and the wider society. Values are learned in early
life and often unconscious and not discussable.
Values as Attributions of:

Good
–
Evil
 Clean
–
Dirty
 Beautiful –
Ugly
 Rational –
Irrational
 Natural –
Unnatural
 Normal –
Abnormal
 Logical –
Paradoxical
10

11. Operationalizing Some Culture Value Factors
1.
2.
3.
Ethnicity
Family orientations
Friendship
Ethnicity. The works of Martin (1992; 2001), Koot, (1997; 2002), Tennekes
(1995) led this study to argue that African managerial history is replete with
ethnic politics, whereby ethnic groupings tend to help each other rather than
those who do not belong. This ethnicity is defined as traditional (extrinsic) to
management and rooted in the employees’ cultures.
Family orientations. Family is conceptualised as one’s immediate family. In
Africa, it is assumed that a person’s family is often a factor that greatly
influences an employee’s attitude to work and consequently his motivational
state of mind in the workplace.
Friendship. Is conceptualised as intimate relationship between senior
management and one seeking to be employed or one already employed in the
organisation. Friendship is perceived as both a Western (intrinsic) and
traditional (extrinsic) factor.
11

12. Operationalizing Some Culture Value Factors
4.
5.
6.
Past experience
Formal education
Indigenous language
Past experience. In this cultural context, past experience is viewed as a
Western (intrinsic) and traditional (extrinsic) management requirement.
Formal education. Do African managers view formal education as important
in their attitudes to leadership, motivation, recruitment and promotion? Formal
education is a modern work value and a managerial requirement. It is intrinsic
to work and motivation in management.
Indigenous language. Iwuji (1992) stated that understanding the language
of an area facilitates one’s recruitment to work in that area. He also stated that
being able to speak the local language of the man at the top is an asset to
rapid promotion within the organisation in Africa, even when the candidate is
not from the manager’s own ethnic group or qualified for the new position.
12

13. Research Methods
Four Methods for Operationalizing Research Constructs
Words
Deeds
1 * projective tests
* questionnaires
* interviews (structured)
3
* content analysis
of speeches
* documents
* discussions
2 * experiments
* laboratory
* field experiments
4
* direct observation
* use of available
descriptive methods
(o-e interviews)
Provoked
Natural
Source: (Hofstede, 1980; expanded by Iguisi, 2008)
13

14. Demographic Data
Sample size
Managers
Non managers
Total:
Education: (>13 yrs)
Managers
Non managers
Age over 39
Managers
Non managers
Family size (>4)
Managers
Non managers
Dependents (>4)
Managers
Non managers
France
No. 51
Italy
GB
No. 105 No. 81
Netherlands
No. 146
Nigeria
No. 314
58 %
42 %
100 %
48 %
52 %
100 %
65 %
35 %
100 %
44 %
56 %
100 %
64 %
34 %
100 %
73 %
54 %
86 %
62 %
88 %
65 %
68 %
80 %
80 %
64 %
45 %
54 %
67 %
42 %
56 %
35 %
75 %
70 %
60 %
54 %
17 %
07 %
26 %
00 %
33 %
20 %
10 %
09 %
71 %
50 %
09 %
07 %
26 %
01 %
15 %
16 %
21 %
09 %
85 %
50 %

15. Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture
Hofstede’s versus Iguisi’s Scores
•Power Distance
•Individualism/Collectivism
•Uncertainty Avoidance
•Masculinity/Femininity

16. Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture
Scores:
Dimensions












Power Distance
Hofstede (2001)
Iguisi (2009)
Individualism
Hofstede (2001)
Iguisi
(2009)
Uncertainty Avoid
Hofstede (2001)
Iguisi (2009)
Masculinity
Hofstede (2001)
Iguisi
(2009)
France Italy Scotland (GB)* Netherlands Nigeria
50
70
68
62
35
69
71
48
76
46
89
58
80
86
57
75
62
35
34
53
43
27
70
33
66
27
38
65
14
(WAF)**
77
100
20
63
46
54
69
38
46
22
39
* (GB) = England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
** (WAF) = Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone
16

17. Dimensions of Cultures
This study compare the present scores with Hofstede’s IBM scores
with some Western countries that have great influence on
management education, training and practice in Africa.
Table :
Compared Iguisi’s scores for Nigeria with Hofstede’
for WAF, UK and USA
Country




PDI
IDV
MAS
UAI
Nigeria – Iguisi
Nigeria (WAF) - Hofstede
United Kingdom-Hofstede
USA - Hofstede
100
77
35
40
46
20
89
91
39
46
66
62
38
54
35
46
17

18. Leadership

19. Leadership
Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a
group of individuals to achieve a common goal. It is a
collective or group process which is inherently value-based
(Iguisi, O, 2002).
Leadership Styles
Autocratic
A leader who centralizes authority, dictates work methods,
makes unilateral decisions, and limits employee participation
Paternalistic Leader acts as a ‘father figure’ makes decision but may
consult and believes in the need to support staff
Consultative
Participative
leader seeks input and hears the concerns and issues of
employees but makes the final decision him or herself
leader who involves employees in decision making, delegates
authority, encourages participation in deciding work methods
and goals, and uses feedback to coach employees

20. Table :
Leadership
Styles
Autocratic
Leadership Styles Across-Cultures
France
P A R
% % %
0
Italy
P A R
% % %
GB
P A
% %
35 76
5
28
66
10
35
Netherlands
P A R
% % %
Nigeria
P A R
% % %
52
0
7
31
60
R
%
12 71
Paternalistic
24
20
6
30
34
1
27
31
4
24
36
0
40
39
3
Consultative
49
20
6
48
32 11
52
25
6
58
39
0
35
15
18
Participative
27
16 12
17
6 22
11
9
38
18
9 29
18
14
19
P = Preferred
A = Actual
R = Rejected
20

21. Leadership Styles and Levels of Satisfaction
Table : Nigerian-African Managers + Professional Non-Manager s
Questions
Security of employment
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Challenging tasks
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Cooperation
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Clear job description
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Autocratic
Paternalistic
Consultative
Democratic
60 %
38 %
78 %
20 %
49 %
51 %
18 %
73%
33 %
65 %
30 %
70 %
69 %
28 %
63 %
37 %
70 %
30 %
75 %
25 %
20 %
80 %
58 %
42 %
80 %
20 %
35 %
65 %
50 %
50 %
68 %
31 %
21

22. Motivation

23. Motivation
•Motivation
– The intensity of a person’s desire to engage in an
activity.
•The Law of Individual Differences
– A psychological term representing the fact that people
differ in their personalities, abilities, self-concept, values,
and needs.
•Three main approaches to motivation
– Need-based approach
– Process-based approach
– Learning/reinforcement-based approach.

24. Motivation Theories in Needs Hierarchy
Western Management Theories
Nigerian Managers and Non-Managers
Ranked Order of Importance
High – Self Actualisation and Esteem Needs:
Challenge
Stress
Freedom
Variety and Adventure
Living area
1
2
3
4
5
Middle – Social needs:
Cooperation
Relationships with boss
Opport for helping others
Successful organisation
Serve your country
Contribution
Challenge
Security
Opport. for higher level jobs
Cooperation
1
2
3
4
5
Middle – Social needs
6
7
8
9
10
Low – Security and Physiological Needs:
Security
Earnings
Opport for higher level jobs
Physical conditions
Contribution
High – Self Actualisation and Esteem Needs:
11
12
13
14
15
Relationships with boss
Earnings
Serve your country
Freedom
Variety and Adventure
6
7
8
9
10
Low – Security and Physiological Needs:
Living area
Physical conditions
Opportunity for helping others
Successful organisation
Stress
11
12
13
14
15

25. Cultural Value Factors in Motivation
Across Cultures
Question:
Table :
"How important are the following cultural value motivation factors in your
work life at the present time?"
Rank Order of Importance Among Managers
France
Italy
Scotland - GB
Netherlands
Nigeria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1 family
2 work
3 friends
4 religion
5 wealth
6 community
7 leisure
Family
work
Friends
leisure
wealth
community
Religion
family
work
friends
leisure
wealth
religion
community
family
friends
work
leisure
wealth
community
religion
family
leisure
work
friends
wealth
community
religion
25

26. Table :
Family Size Across-Cultures
Question:
“Your family is considered to be you, your wife and children. How many are
you in your family?”
France
Italy
Scotland
Netherlands
Nigeria
no. %
no. %
no.
%
no.
%
no. %
No. of
People
1‑2
22
43.1%
39 37.2% 32
39.5%
85
59%
78
28%
3‑4
19
37.3%
53 50.5% 36
44.5%
58
41%
75
27%
5‑6
8
12 11.4% 10
12.3%
0
0%
116
42%
>6
2
3.9%
3
3.7%
0
0%
10
3%
51
100 %
81
100 %
143
100%
Total
Mean
2.61
15.7%
1
1.0%
105 100 %
2.53
2.63
3.21
279 100%
5.19
26

27. Table :
Number of Persons Dependent on Salary
Across-Cultures
Question: “How many people are regularly dependent on your salary for their support including you?”
France
no. %
Italy
no. %
1‑2
30 58.8%
3‑4
13 25.5%
5‑6
7 13.7%
7
6.7% 10 12.3%
2
>6
1
4
3.9%
2
No. of
People
Total
Mean
2.0%
Scotland
no.
%
Netherlands
no.
%
Nigeria
no. %
70 67.3% 44 54.4%
84 61%
27 10%
23 22.1% 27 33.3%
51 37%
28
10%
1%
108
39%
2%
117
41%
0
0.0%
51 100 %
105 100 % 81 100 %
143 100%
2.29
2.10
3.13
2.37
280 100%
7.31
27

28. Conclusions

29. Conclusions
This study cast serious doubts on the validity of the dominant
Western universal perspectives in management practice
“Leadership and Motivation” in African organizations. It has been
shown that both perspectives – modern and traditional values –
suggest that elements of African cultural values pose serious
challenges to African managers’ ability to adopt practices that can
improve the effectiveness of management in their organizations
and societies.
The debate today is whether cultural values can become the
foundational myth of modern and effective management in Africa.
Or on the other hand whether modern management theory is only
possible once the African cultural values are no longer as
important to westernized African managers and elites as it is
construed in most organisational settings in Africa
29

30. Conclusions (Cont)
It is argued, based on the empirical evidence of this research
results, that the generally accepted Western (most especially
USA) leadership and motivation theories like Maslow, Herzberg,
Vroom, Likert may not or partially apply in African cultures
"Western" models, such as "participative management", may not
be very appropriate for managing indigenous organizations in
Africa, but the problem is that there are hardly any alternative role
models available yet of the African manager of the future, who
would proudly retain the inheritance of his/her cultural values but
at the same time is able to function in an effective organization on
a competitive market. If one follows the news, this problem seems
to exist in politics as much as in industry.
30

31. Conclusions (cont)
 However, in developing theories and building models of management
in Africa, it is unlikely to pay Africa to throw away all that the West
has to offer. Rather, the process of appropriate management
development should be to reflect on the cultures and assumptions of
Western management theories, compare Western assumptions about
social and cultural values with African cultural value concepts. Before
the coming of colonial administration, the old African villages and
towns had effective public administrative mechanism, which the
village and town heads, chiefs and kings administered.
 This study introduces fresh perspective and methodology into the
study of management in Africa and therefore invite academics,
management and organizational developers, researchers, and
anthropologists to rethink the premise of their cultural values,
management discourse and research concepts.
31

32. THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THIS PRESENTATION
Comments To:
Osarumwense Iguisi, PhD
Chair, Cross-Cultural Management
Euro-African Management Research Centre
57 Great Cullings
Romford, UK
RM7 0YJ
Tel: +447981990263
Emails:
e-amac@cuci.nl
iguisi@culturecount.eu
iguisi2001@yahoo.com
32

33. Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture
Implications

34. Socialization Emphasis and Some Consequences for the:
Family
School
Workplace

35. Power Distance
“The extent to which less powerful members of institutions and
organizations within a country expect and accept that power is
distributed unequally”. In high power distance cultures, people are
expected to display respect for those of higher status. It also refers to
the extent to which power, prestige, and wealth are distributed within a
culture. Cultures with high power distance have power and influence
concentrated in the hands of a few rather than distributed throughout
the population.
35

36. Socialization Emphasis According to
Power Distance Societies
Small Power Distance
In the family
Large Power Distance
Student-centered education (initiative)
Learning represents impersonal “truth”
Teacher-centered education (order)
Learning represents personal “wisdom” from
teacher (guru)
Age is a resource of status
Management by Objectives may work
At the workplace
Parents teach children obedience
Older people are both respected and feared
Young is beautiful
At school
Children encouraged to have a will of their own
Parents treated as equals
Older people are neither respected nor feared
Management by Objectives may work
Subordinates expects to be consulted
Subordinates expect to be told what to do
Other leadership training packages may work
Existing leadership training packages are
largely irrelevant
Corruption frequent; scandals are covered up
Corruption rare; scandals end political careers
36

37. Individualism versus Collectivism
Individualism
Individualism refers to how people define themselves and their
relationships with others. In an individualist culture, the interest of the
individual prevails over the interests of the group. Ties between
individuals are loose. People look after themselves and their
immediate families. Individualist cultures are loosely integrated.
Collectivism
Collectivism refers to a society where relationships between people in
a society are expected to stress ‘be thy brother’s keeper”. People are
born into collectivities or in-groups, which may be their extended
family (including grandparents, uncles, and aunts and so on), their
tribe, or their village. Everybody is supposed to look after the interest
of his or her in-group and to have no other opinion and beliefs than
the opinions and beliefs of their in-group. The in-group or collective is,
also, expected to protect its members - individuals.
37

38. Socialization Emphasis According to
Collectivist versus Individualist Societies
Collectivist
In the family
Individualist
People are born into extended families or
other ingroups which continue to protect them
in exchange for loyalty
Identity is based on social network to which one
belongs
Children learn to think in terms of ‘we’
Everyone grows up to look after
him/herself and his/her immediate
(nuclear) family only
Identity is based in the individual
Purpose of education is learning how to do
Purpose of education is learning
how to learn
Diplomas increase economic worth
and/or self respect
At school
Diplomas provide entry to higher status
At the workplace
High-context communication
Relationship employer-employee is perceived
in moral terms, like a family link
Hiring and promotion decisions take
employees’ in-group into account
Management is management of groups
Relationships prevails over task
Bad performance no socially acceptable reason
for dismissal
Children learn to think in terms of ‘I’
Low-context communication
Relations employer-employee is a
contract supposed to be based on
mutual advantage
Hiring and promotion decisions are
supposed to be based on skills and
rules only
Management is management of
individuals
Task prevails over relationship
Bad performance socially accepted
for dismissal
38

39. Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty Avoidance is not the same as risk avoidance; it deals with a
society's tolerance for ambiguity. It indicates to what extent a culture
programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in
unstructured situations. Unstructured situations are novel, unknown,
surprising, and different from usual. Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to
minimize the possibility of such situations by strict behavioral codes,
laws and rules, disapproval of deviant opinions, and a belief in absolute
Truth; 'there can only be one Truth and we have it'.
Cultures strong in uncertainty avoidance are active, aggressive,
emotional, compulsive, security seeking, and intolerant; cultures weak in
uncertainty avoidance are contemplative, less aggressive, unemotional,
relaxed, accepting of personal risks, and relatively tolerant.
39

40. Socialization Emphasis According to
Uncertainty Avoidance Societies
Weak Uncertainty Avoidance
In the family
At school
At the workplace
Strong Uncertainty Avoidance
What is different, is ridiculous or curious
Ease, indolence, low stress
Aggression and emotions not shown
What is different, is dangerous
Higher anxiety and stress
Showing aggression and emotions
Student comfortable with
* Unstructured learning situations
* Vague objectives
* Broad assignments
* No timetables
Teachers may say “I don’t know”
Students comfortable with
* Structured learning situations
* Precise objectives
* Detailed assignments
* Strict timetables
Teachers supposed to have all the
answers
Dislike of rules-written or unwritten
Less formalization and standardization
At the workplace
Acceptance of risks, familiar and unfamiliar
Showing of emotion by managers is taboo
Emotional need for rules-written
or unwritten
More formalization and
standardization
Acceptance of familiar risks,
avoidance of unfamiliar risks
Shouting and table-pounding
represent acceptable manager
behaviour
40

41. Masculinity versus Femininity
Masculinity
Sharply differentiated social sex roles: masculine roles implies
achievement, assertiveness, sympathy for the strong, and material
success
Femininity
Overlapping social sex roles; both imply warm relationships,
modesty, care for the week, and quality of life
41

42. Socialization Emphasis According to
Masculinity versus Femininity Societies
Feminine Societies
In the family
At school
At the workplace
Stress on relationships
Solidarity
Resolution of conflicts by compromise
and negotiations
Masculine Societies
Stress on achievement
Competition
Resolution of conflicts by
fighting it out
Average student is norm
Best students are norm
System rewards students’ social adaptation
System rewards students’
academic performance
Students’ failure at school is relatively minor
Students’ failure at school is
accident
disaster- may lead to suicide
Assertiveness ridiculed
Undersell yourself
Stress on life quality
Resolution of conflicts by compromise
and negotiation
Motivation by quality of
interpersonal relationships
Assertiveness appreciated
Oversell yourself
Stress on careers
Resolution of conflicts
by fighting them out
Motivation by opportunity for
advancement
42