Research has shown that major cultural differences exist between Western and Asian cultures and this essay seeks to show that adapting a leadership style preferred by that culture will attract the greatest number of followers. This essay will also demonstrate that the key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs are consistent amongst Western and Asian entrepreneurs. Firstly culture will be defined using the four dimensions as detailed by Geert Hofstede. These will be illustrated using a comparison of Asian and Western cultures. Secondly, a discussion of leadership and the way it is affected by culture will be presented. To support this view, a comparison between Chinese and US leadership styles is used. The case study of Lenovo and …show more content…

444). Upcoming leaders will have had greater exposure to Western societal influences and this may well be result in leadership styles similar to those of Western managers.

Thus leadership is influenced by culture however as the Chinese economy continues to move towards capitalism, the work values of managers may also change and the new generation is more likely to use leadership styles similar to those used in the West. This can be seen in the case of the Lenovo Acquisition of IBM. When Yang Yuanqing, the chairman on Lenovo Group Ltd. made the decision to by IBM PC Co., he became the first Chinese executive to lead the takeover of an iconic Western business. IBM is a global company that is based around bureaucracy and respect for individuality. Contrastingly, Lenovo is a local Chinese company which is built upon a respect for authority, obedience and discipline. The corporate culture of Lenovo is typical of many Chinese companies which are lead by people who have grown up in a communist state and a culture that is built upon a strict and hard-working work ethic. For example, one evening when Yang was growing up, he accompanied the rest of the family on a rare outing to a movie theatre, but when the house lights came up at the end, they discovered that his seat was empty. In mid-movie, he had raced