Bella L. Galperin

Uncovering the relationship between workaholism and workplace destructive and constructive deviance: an exploratory study

Given the significant social and economic costs and/or benefits associated with workplace deviance, researchers have been interested in examining the antecedents of deviant behaviour. Similarly, as the incidence of workaholism has increased, there has been a need to further understand the positive and negative consequences of workaholism in an organizational context. This exploratory study examined the relationship of three workaholism components with measures of workplace destructive and constructive deviance. Data were collected from 142 male and female employees working in six companies in Brazil using anonymously completed questionnaires. The results suggest that the workaholism components were significantly related to two measures of deviance. This provides partial support for the hypothesized relationship. Future research directions and practical implications are discussed.

Culture and Ethics Management Whistle-blowing and Internal Reporting within a NAFTA Country Context

This article examines the relation of culture to the propensity for, and potential effectiveness of, both internal reporting and whistle-blowing as ethics management tools within a North American context. Samples from a total of 10 regions in the US, Canada and Mexico increased the accuracy and meaningfulness of the findings. Hofstedes cultural dimensions uncertainty avoidance and power distance had the most consistent and significant relationship to propensity for both whistle-blowing and internal reporting, while collectivism was not found to be significantly related to either ethics management tool. Managers who better understand the cultural links to ethics management are more likely to craft the most effective organizational ethics strategies. Researchers can gain from increased insight, allowing departure from assumptions to an empirically based examination of how cultural dimensions might influence ethics management instruments.

Human Resource Development in Service Firms Across Cultures

Due to the continued growth of the global services sector, it is essential that service firms have a greater understanding of the implementation of human resource development (HRD) in different cultures and how HRD relates to service quality. The purpose of this article is to develop a theoretical model that stresses the importance of HRD alignment with national and organizational culture in increasing perceptions of service quality. In this article, we present a model that integrates the role of national culture, organizational culture, and HRD into a conceptual framework and develops several propositions. This article suggests that the overall effectiveness in service quality will likely increase when HRD interventions are aligned with the national culture and organizational culture. HRD managers in service firms should understand the role of national culture and organizational culture when implementing HRD. Managers who fail to consider national values and their relationship with organizational culture will be less successful at implementing HRD.

Leadership in Tanzania

Tanzania is a developing country blessed with abundant natural resources. The economy continues to show positive growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) is on the rise. Despite the important role of Tanzania in the African economy, leadership is still understudied in the country. This chapter provides an overview of leadership in the Tanzanian context. A brief history of the country is first provided. We discuss the important role of the cultural practices, including respect for age and social status, on the leadership phenomenon, and the attributes of effective leadership in Tanzania. Finally, insiders’ and outsiders’ perspectives of leadership is provided.

Leadership in Kenya

Kenya has a diverse culture with various nationalities. Despite efforts to create a nation state, its political leadership thrives on tribal/ethnic groupings rather than nationhood. This chapter examines the historical context, culture, and leadership in Kenya within the wider context of Leadership Effectiveness in Africa and the Diaspora (LEAD) project. The results of qualitative studies on leadership effectiveness and motivation in Kenya are presented. Overall, the findings suggest that effective leaders are described as visionary, team leaders, results-oriented, influencers, and change agents. Results also suggest that servant leadership and the need to serve are considered important drivers for leaders’ motivations in Kenya; while more generally people are primarily motivated to achieve dreams and attain self-actualization. Finally, the perspectives from both insiders and outsiders reveal that more effort should be placed on the role of leadership effectiveness and motivation in organizations. Our findings can be used to create leadership and followership development training and education that can improve the socioeconomic development of the country.

Engaged Leadership: Experiences and Lessons from the LEAD Research Countries

This chapter addresses the concept of engaged leadership in the under-researched context of African countries. It provides insights on engaged leadership based on the findings from selected Leadership Effectiveness in Africa and the African Diaspora (LEAD) research countries in Africa. The chapter utilizes qualitative data collected from leaders in business and public sector organizations using the Delphi technique, focus groups, and interviews. The findings from the Delphi technique and focus groups show that leaders who are effective are those that are perceived to be engaging, while the results from the interviews show that both local and foreign leaders view current African leadership styles as less engaging and hence ineffective. This has implications for the practice of management in Africa and similar contexts. Leaders in both business and public organizations need to be engaged to be effective in their leadership roles. Organizations, as well as universities that are involved in leadership development, need to incorporate concepts of engaged leadership in their training curricula in order to develop and foster leadership engagement competencies which would positively impact performance.

Tanzania as an Emerging Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Prospects and Challenges

The examination of entrepreneurial ecosystems in a country can serve as a novel approach for appreciating the opportunities that may stimulate entrepreneurial activity and the challenges that impede economic prosperity. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Tanzania. We seek to better understand the success factors that contribute to the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as, the challenges that prevent further growth. We show that Tanzania has developed a sound policy over time to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The main challenge, however, is to translate these policies into initiatives and practices that can be easily implemented. While this challenge is significant, we believe that addressing the public-private conversational milieu lies at the heart of the actual transformation. Practical recommendations and future research directions are discussed.

Perceptions of Leadership Effectiveness among the African Diaspora in Canada and USA

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the applicability of leadership effectiveness factors developed in Africa to the African diaspora and compares/contrasts perceptions of effective leadership in Canada and the USA. Using quantitative data from the LEAD project, our findings suggest that the African diaspora fully relates to neither Western conceptualization nor African philosophies of leadership. The factors that achieved a good fit in both Canada and the US related to being a knowledgeable leader and effective communication skills. This paper contributes to managing a more diverse and inclusive workplace in the diaspora, and informing leadership theory and practice in Africa.

The New Frontier in the Birthplace of Mankind: Some Conclusions and Future Directions

This final chapter considers the future for the African continent and the importance of the Agenda 2063 that African countries have created to guide them over the next 50 years. The chapter reiterates the view that there is a bright future for Africa and discusses Africa’s own efforts, as well as the importance of its relationships with other countries. The chapter briefly reviews some of the results of the LEAD project and underscores the need to understand effective leadership in the African context, as well as the role of the African diaspora in improving leadership in Africa.

Leadership in the African Diaspora

The African diaspora refers to the communities throughout the world that are descended from the historic movement of peoples from Africa. More recently, there has been a greater interest in the African diaspora. In this chapter, the concept of diaspora is first discussed and a historical perspective of the African diaspora is then provided with a focus on the Americas— the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean. Unlike the USA and Canada, which has a minority population of people of African heritage, the majority of the Caribbean population is of African heritage. The findings of the Leadership Effectiveness in Africa and Diaspora (LEAD) qualitative studies in the USA, Canada, and the English-speaking Caribbean are summarized. Overall, the results suggest some convergence among the African diaspora in the emphasis on the community and the identification with Africa. Finally, the impact of the African diaspora on development in Africa is also highlighted.