Relationships Differentiation: Cross-ethnic Comparisons in the Malaysian Workplace

Summary According to leader–member exchange (LMX) theory, leaders develop different quality relationships with followers in their team (termed LMX differentiation). An important theoretical question concerns how different LMX relationships within a team affect followers' work outcomes. This paper provides a critical review of the concept of LMX differentiation. We propose that the LMX differentiation process leads to patterns of LMX relationships that can be captured by 3 properties (central tendency, variation, and relative position). We describe a taxonomy illustrating the different ways these properties have been conceptualized and measured. We identify 2 approaches to LMX differentiation as being a “perspective of the team” (that are shared perceptions amongst team members) or a “perspective of the follower” (subjective perceptions unique to each follower). These perspectives lead to different types of measures that predict different outcomes at the individual and team levels. We describe theoretical models employed to explain the effects of LMX differentiation (justice, social comparison, and social identity theories). Generally, the lower the within‐team variation in LMX or the more a team member's LMX is higher than the mean team LMX, the better are the work outcomes, but many moderators condition these effects. Finally, we identify some key areas for future research.

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“…LMX differentiation (categorization of a team member's descriptions of LMX in team: e.g., Bakar, Halim, Mustaffa, & Mohamad, )…”

Section: Lmx Differentiation: Definition Properties and Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leader–member exchange (LMX) differentiation and work outcomes: Conceptual clarification and critical review

et al. 2017

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“…Lustig and Koester (2010) have indicated that a communicator needs to identify the rules of a given situation to achieve appropriate communication. In addition to the criterion of appropriateness and effectiveness, motivation, knowledge, and skills are the most common components of intercultural competence although scholars do not always label their models precisely with these terms (Spitzberg & Changnon, 2009;Bakar, Halim, Mustaffa, & Mohamad, 2016).…”

Section: Conceptualizing Intercultural Competencementioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Intercultural Competence Among Students in Malaysian Campuses

Dalib¹,

Harun²,

Yusof³

et al. 2019

JKMJC

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Much has been written about intercultural competence in the academic literature, yet our present knowledge of the subject matter was vastly drawn from the most prominent views of the Western scholars. Accordingly, many calls have been made to reconsider the predominantly defined concept in different cultural contexts, particularly in the Southeast Asia region such as Malaysia. Therefore, this study aims to explore how the local undergraduate students of various ethnicities reflect on their everyday experience within the context of Malaysian campuses. In this study, the pyramid model of intercultural competence developed by Deardorff in 2006 is used to examine the students' experiences with their foreign friends and their sensemaking of intercultural competence. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with selected undergraduate students from three universities in the Northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The research identified two important themes: establishing connection and developing communicative skills. The findings contribute into reconsideration of Deardorff's model. While the model emphasizes more on psychological factors, the findings indicate that language proficiency is viewed as an important factor in the process of interaction between local students and their foreign counterparts. The implication of this study highlights the idea that students' ability to develop language and communication skills will allow them to be more intercultural competent. This study adds Malaysian perspective to the current understanding of intercultural competence.

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“…Our findings contribute towards the substantial body of research on superior-subordinate relationship (i.e. Bakar et al, 2016;Oetzel, McDermott, Torres & Sanchez, 2012). Our approach in examining Malaysian employees has contributed towards greater knowledge on cultural differences in the aspect of superior-subordinate relationship.…”

Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The researchers have argued that by not conforming to these norms, the leader-member communication openness is tied to dyadic relational differentiations. As posited by Bakar et al (2016), Being a multi-ethnic society, communication at the workplace in Malaysia is manifested "throughout the entire spectrum of mind, emotion, morality, goodness and practicality in judgments" during the interaction (p. 80).…”

Section: Esteemed and Powerfulmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, a leader is expected to show wisdom, demonstrate compassion and honest communication with their subordinates, which are related to the concept of openness. A study by Bakar et al (2016) has revealed that communication openness is linked to relationship differentiation between leaders and members in Malaysian workplace. For example, Malaysian employees expect the elements of trust and politeness in their communication with superiors (Bakar, Halim & Walters, 2014).…”

Section: Esteemed and Powerfulmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Examining Malaysian Leader Characteristics in a Manager-Subordinate Relationship

Halim¹,

Azizan²

2017

JKMJC

Self Cite

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The paper discusses the findings of the first stage of data collection from a study on the characteristics of leaders in manager-subordinate relationship in Malaysian organizations. The findings are based on in-depth interviews conducted with focus groups involving Malaysian employees, which focused on employee perspectives on key qualities that leaders possess to uphold and maintain superior-subordinate relationship. The adoption of qualitative approach in this phase of data collection process is crucial in deriving leadership behaviors that are essential in the workplace. The identification of these behaviors could help us generate items for the final phase of our data collection process. The research takes into consideration the argument posed by Bass (2008), which has contended that methodological and substantive issues are likely to broaden through the combination of multiple research approaches such as qualitative interview and focus group discussion. The inclusion of eastern perspectives in a western model would bring a holistic description of a communication model. The interviews were conducted with the hope of identifying the themes of leader-characteristics which would help strengthen the relationships between a manager and his or her employees. This would facilitate further understanding of leader characteristics in superior-subordinate relationship. Eight themes emerged from the interviews. Consequently, this paper furthers theoretical contributions to the research on LMX, and expands the literature on superior-subordinate relationship in the workplace. The paper also highlights the limitations of the study for future research. Keywords: Leader characteristic, superior-subordinate relationship, leader-member agreement, leader-member differentiation, dialogue communication INTRODUCTIONAs a method of communication, dialogue plays an essential role in enhancing organizational effectiveness, transforming organizational participations and influencing relationship development among members of the organization. A research by Cogliser, Schrieshein, Scandura and Gardner (2009) has demonstrated that mutual understanding of superiorsubordinate relationships is crucial as it has relational consequences, which would eventually affect follower outcomes. Despite the encouraging findings, the model has not incorporated cultural elements, and this should be taken into consideration to understanding the relational alignment or "congruence", assessing what we value, thus, maintaining cross cultural relationships (Hofstede, 2001). Demonstrating the effect of cultural conditions is a necessary next step in augmenting our understanding on leader-member agreement and its effects on relationships.

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Relationships Differentiation: Cross-ethnic Comparisons in the Malaysian Workplace

Cited by 12 publications

References 62 publications

Leader–member exchange (LMX) differentiation and work outcomes: Conceptual clarification and critical review

Leader–member exchange (LMX) differentiation and work outcomes: Conceptual clarification and critical review

Exploring Intercultural Competence Among Students in Malaysian Campuses

Examining Malaysian Leader Characteristics in a Manager-Subordinate Relationship

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