Research on leadership and culture and organisational culture has revealed five broadbased themes to differentiate one culture from another. Although one can expect to find variations within societal cultural groups, there are modal group characteristics that extensive global research has identified.

• Temporality encapsulates the manner in which time is viewed and used, eg. goal-directed/unfocussed approaches to deadlines, punctuality/tardiness, methodical planning/ skeletal outlining, simultaneous/ linear approaches to task completion, and whether there is a tendency for long-term or short-term orientations
• The group/ interpersonal/environmental interaction category refers to the extremes of environmental mastery/fatalism beliefs, individualistic/in-group loyalties and direct or indirect communication style preferences
• Risk seeking/avoidance includes risk appetite in the business environment for newness and uncertainty, and degree of openness to learning how to relate to others cross-culturally and in unfamiliar settings
• Assertiveness/modesty incorporates the degree to which a society or organisation expects individuals to set the bar high and accomplish stringent goals, promote their own achievements and incentivizes them for individual achievement
• Performance/people orientation refers to the extent to which employee concerns are subjugated to performance considerations, or the reverse.

Whilst presented as polarities, it is more realistic to interpret these cultural dimensions as varying on a continuum. One may deduce from these five dimensions that culture can influence; time management, how managers organise and delegate work, how company leaders take decisions, how managers communicate with and discipline their reportees, beliefs about role accountability, management of diversity, impressions formed of individuals, and ultimately productivity and performance. Although this list is not exhaustive, it gives an idea of the scope of cultural behavioural programming, which cannot be ignored in the work environment.

Achieving Organisational Cultural Alignment

Organisational leaders need to be sensitive to cultural diversity and how employee behaviour is affected by underlying cultural values, assumptions and beliefs. This is the first step towards integrating different approaches and behaviour into a coherent set of outcomes in support of company values and performance prerequisites. Their reportees would benefit from assistance in stepping outside their own cultural precepts, to reflect on how they impact on their ability to function well in their employing organisations. Successful alignment of their cultural values, beliefs and behaviour with that of the organisation reduces dissonance and contributes positively to business success.