What do U.S. managers need to know about leading in the international arena?

As countries become more economically advanced, participative styles may well gain in importance. This does not mean that MNCs can use the same leadership styles in their various operations around the world. There must always be careful contingency application of leadership styles. That is, the style of leadership that is successful depends on the situation the leader faces.

Cultural differences do play an extremely important role in effective leadership, however, and must be carefully considered when leading people in different countries. For instance, in countries where there never was a private investment, most of the managers do not have the experience of leading a big organization, in addition, they may not help a MNC achieves its goals, because they are used to work for the government. In this case, the appropriate leadership style would be an autocratic.

When U.S managers are in Japan, if they want to have high achievement the leadership style that emphasized both task and human dimensions is the most effective. However, among low achieving groups, the leadership style that is most effective is the one which focuses highly on task and low on the human dimensions.