A Study on Mentoring: A Relational Cultural Perspective

Abstract

This conceptual paper explores the traditional roles (Kram, 1980) & the relational roles of mentors (Ragins, 2010) in the Indian context. We argue that although there may be component of universality in the mentoring roles & behaviours, some of the behaviors of mentors are attuned with unique Indian dimensions due to the socio-cultural context. We look at the mentor roles to explore whether there is any influence of unique cultural and social context of India using Hofstede (1980) cultural framework. In addition we have used Nurturant Task Leader model developed by Sinha (1990) to explore several possible roles of mentor. The Nurturant – Task Leader Model is a leadership model which has been designed as a culturally contingent model sensitive to Indian cultural norms. In a nutshell, the paper highlights the importance of recognizing culture-specific manifestations for mentorship in Indian environment.