Using scenarios to evaluate how local employees perceive culturally inappropriate behaviour by expatriate managers.

• Main Authors: Ong, Zhi Yi., Tan, Charlotte Jia Le., Tan, Sze Lang.
• Other Authors: Jeffrey Cameron Kennedy
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Management::Personnel management
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/15061
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study employed the concept of attribution and forbearance to examine the effect of nationality of managers on Singaporean (local) employees’ perception of the leader-member exchange. It was hypothesized that local employees practise forbearance when expatriate managers display culturally inappropriate behaviours as they attribute these actions to contrasting workplace norms. Conversely, employees are less likely to tolerate the same behaviours from local managers. They are thus likely to perceive expatriate managers having better leader-member relationship than local managers. The behaviour of giving low level of instructions was adopted as the culturally inappropriate behaviour. Scenario-testing was carried out through questionnaires administered to local working adults, using the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) scale to measure the quality of leader-member relationship of the managers described. Analyses of results revealed that nationality of managers has a statistically significant effect on local employees’ perception of quality of leader-member exchange. Contrary to our hypothesis, local managers were more positively rated than the expatriates. Gender was also found to have a significant relationship with the quality of leader-member relationship. Also, provision of low level of instructions was found to be more acceptable than expected. Hence, findings point at the caveat of using Asian countries as a proxy to the cultural appropriateness of managerial behaviours. They highlight the importance of instilling cultural awareness in the workforce as results suggest that respondents and consequently, local employees, might not be aware of the workplace norms in other cultures.