LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

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Cultural factor affecting leadership

A Colombian salesperson is highly influenced by the society where he/ she lives, and based on the Hofstede analysis, the Colombian people have a lower individualism, which means that the people is very collectivist, and for this reason loyalty and long term commitment are very important values for strong relations. Analyzing power distance, it is a little bit high and it means that the society is hierarchy oriented, exist an inequality in terms of power and in terms of wealth.

Relating these two factors high collectivism and high power distance, is possible to conclude that leadership characteristics in a Colombian sales person could be hampered by the high power distance factor; because she/he accept to obey orders from their superior and do exactly what their boss says to do, it means they have a strong dependence on them. This is way it is more like a “trickle down” process and is very difficult to be viceverza, based on the hierarchy pattern of this society, and also is important to highlight the high uncertainty avoidance Colombian people have, because they attached to rules, and they don’t like to take risks, in this case for example do things different from what was assigned.

Organizational Commitment

The Colombian sales personnel tend to follow rules give from their superior because they think, that in that way their job will be more “secure” in the organization, and thus they can continue working there. Is very important to highlight that due to the economical environment Colombia has (unemployment 14,6%) [1], the employees are more willing to keep working there, even if they don’t really want it. Talking about affective commitment, as Colombian society is very collectivistic the employees tend to be more loyal with their group, in this case the organization so they will accept the beliefs and values it has.

Leadership Behaviour

A Colombian sales personnel know which is their position and their roles on the pyramid, because is root on their culture the existence of a hierarchy order, thus the person limits their work on what she/he must do in the position that is located, based on the instructions made from their leaders ,on what and how the tasks need to be done. On the other hand, the leader likes to give orders, in a respectful way, and that generates a good work climate, because the subordinates are expecting that role from him/her.

Role Stress

Colombian sales personnel have low role ambiguity because they accept to receive orders from their superiors due to the fact that this society has a high power distance; and this at the end causes that employees have enough information of what they need to do. At the same time Colombian sales personnel have low role conflict because they know very well their position and from whom they need to receive orders.

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[1] http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:M8im0vxOv_4J:www.dane.gov.co/+tasa+de+desempleo+colombia+2008&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk