and leaders. This is not necessarily unique to the African continent, but remains deeply embedded in the Third World workforces of the African businesses, where the majority of employees still live according to the traditional African values.
From the above, it is evident that the African manager needs to understand the African value system before they can lead effectively.
4. An Approach to Integrate Business and Social Culture Culture and leadership are two sides of the same coin, in that leaders first start the process of culture creation when they create groups and organisations, i.e. what the leader does is copied and adopted by his/ her followers – thereby establishing culture. After cultures exist, they would determine the criteria for leadership and thus determine who will or will not be a leader. If elements of a culture become dysfunctional, it is the unique function of leadership to perceive the functional/dysfunctional elements of the existing culture and to manage cultural change in such a way that the group can survive in a changing environment. The reality for leaders is that if they do not become conscious of the cultures in which they are embedded, those cultures will take over and manage them. Cultural understanding is desirable for all of us, but it is essential to leaders if they are to lead (Schein, 2010). There is often confusion amongst leaders about what culture really is; this stems mainly from the fact that culture is viewed as a single concept and not a concept that is established and maintained at different levels. The levels of culture range from the tangible things you can see and feel, to the deeply embedded sub- conscious basic assumptions, referred to by Schein as the essence of culture. In between the conscious and subconscious are various established beliefs, values, norms, and rules of behaviour that members of a culture use as a way of describing or portraying themselves and others.
4.1 Understanding the levels of culture In order to study, understand/interpret and to change culture we need to understand the
levels of culture as described by Schein in the 4th edition of his book Organisational Culture and Leadership. These levels are described as follows and I quote from Schein:
• Artifacts:
“At the surface is the level of artifacts, which includes all the phenomena that you would see, hear, and feel when you encounter a new group with an unfamiliar culture. Artifacts include the visible products of the group, such as the architecture of its physical environment; its language; its technology and products; its artistic creations; its style, as embodied in clothing, manners of address, and emotional displays; its myths and stories told about the organisation; its published lists of values; and its observable rituals and ceremonies. Among these artifacts is the “climate” of the group.” (Schein, 2010). Artifacts are easy to observe, but very difficult to analyse and interpret.
• Espoused Beliefs and Values: The best way to explain espoused beliefs and values is through an example - if a business’s market share drops, but turnover remains similar to the past, it could be that they are not visible enough for new users of their product. The Sales and Marketing Manager relates it to the fact that they have not marketed their product aggressively enough and adopts the following resolution, “We must increase advertising”, because advertising always increases sales. The group, never having experienced this situation before, will hear that assertion as a statement of that manager’s beliefs and values: “The Manager believes that when one is in trouble it is a good thing to increase advertising.”
What the leader proposes is new and cannot have any status other than a value to be questioned, debated, challenged, and tested. “If the manager convinces the group to act on his/her belief, the solution works, and the group has a shared perception of that success, then the perceived value that “advertising is good” gradually becomes transformed: first into a shared value or belief and ultimately into a shared assumption (if actions based on it continue to be successful).
January 2012 | Management Today 91
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