Consequences of Power Distance Orientation in Organisations

Abstract

The cultural milieu has a profound influence on employee behaviour in the organisations. In an increasingly diverse workplace and in a more globalised business world, managers, to be effective, need to appreciate behavioural implications of cultural values that employees, organisations, and societies hold. One of the most cited frameworks to understand behaviour of people across the national cultures was proposed by Hofstede (2001). In this paper, we take a look at the behavioural implications in the organisations of power distance (status differences), which is one of the five cultural dimensions in Hofstede's framework. Specifically. we explore the impact of power distance orientation on employee participation, nature of job descriptions, organisational communication and decision-making, discipline and control, deference to senior employees, management development, and organisational structuring and adaptation. We conclude that: (1) employees in a high power distance context are unwilling to participate in decisions and are content with their managers making decisions and giving them instructions, which they follow passively. (2) jobs are narrowly and tightly specified, giving the employees limited discretion. (3) communication takes place vertical downwards, with no or little horizontal communication. Overall communication is anemic. A large communication gap exists between superiors and their subordinates because it is hard for the subordinates to air their views. (4) power distance gives managers unlimited power and control over subordinates. Employees, in turn, have an unquestioning, submissive attitude. (5) older and senior employees get respect from junior employees not because of former's competence but because of age and long tenure in the organisation. (6) in a high power distance culture, decisions are made by a few at the top autocratically Further, because of little resistance from lower level employees, decisions are made and implemented faster in a high power distance organisation. However, because of lack of input from lower level employees as well as poor communication and information sharing, quality of decisions is poorer in a high power distance organisation. (7) high power distance organisations are prone to unethical behaviour. This is because top managers have not to justify or defend their decisions to lower level employees or to the larger organisation. Unethical behaviour gets covered up or goes undetected. And (8), in a high power distance organisation, managers tend to micromanage and even minor decisions go to the top. Thus, higher level managers are inundated with routine decisions.