Cultural Influences on Power: Australia vs. Singapore Comparison

This essay examines the influence of cultural factors on power dynamics within organizations, specifically comparing Australia and Singapore. The author explores how power manifests in different forms and its impact on change implementation. The essay discusses the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing positional power in change management, highlighting the potential for misuse and cultural sensitivities. Using Hofstede's cultural dimension analysis, the author contrasts the cultural norms of Australia and Singapore, focusing on power distance, individualism, and other relevant dimensions. The analysis reveals significant differences in how power is perceived and exercised in these two countries, with Singapore exhibiting a higher power distance and a more collectivist culture compared to Australia's more individualistic and egalitarian approach. The essay concludes that the effectiveness of power-based change strategies is highly dependent on the cultural context, with positional power being more readily accepted and effective in Singapore due to its cultural norms, while a more collaborative approach may be more suitable for Australia. The essay emphasizes that successful change management requires an understanding of cultural nuances and their impact on power dynamics.

Running head: CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
Cultural influences on power
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
The business scenario in the present age has become extremely competitive, and each and
every sector in the corporate service provider in the present market scenario has to compete with
multiple options to catch the attention of the consumer market. It has to be understood that the
competitive business environments that is predominating the economy, the business
organizations are needed to be one step ahead at all times. Hence, in order to thrive or survive in
the changing tides of the economy, the organizations have to go through a process of continual
change or transformation1.
However, it has to be mentioned that the importance of these re-orientation based change
programs is ultimate undoubtedly. Although any large-scale change program requires long term
and strategic sustainable effort from the different stakeholders associated with the corporate
business. In has to be mentioned that the effort from different stakeholders is often interlinked
with the power they can exert on the process. Organizational power and its utilization has a
direct link to the change implementation and it has to be mentioned that the acceptance and
manifestation of power depends on the national culture of the country2. This assignment will
attempt to discover the influence of power on the change programs, comparing the Australian
norms with that of Singapore. Firstly, the essay is going to discuss the different manners that
power manifestation influences the change implementation process followed by the advantages
and disadvantages of the same, secondly the essay is going to compare and contrast the national
cultures of Australia and Singapore taking the assistance of Hofstede cultural dimension
analysis, concluding with a final verdict of the argument. This essay will focus on a very novel
aspect of change resistance, the owner manifestation and the cultural influence on it, which will
1 Chory, Rebecca M., and Alan K. Goodboy. "Power, compliance, and resistance." The SAGE handbook of
communication and instruction (2010): 181-199
2 Gover, Laura, and Linda Duxbury. "Making Sense of Organizational Change: Is Hindsight Really
20/20?" Journal of Organizational Behavior 39, no. 1 (2018): 39-51.

2
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
discover new variables of the change resistance and how it can be overcome. This essay will not
take into account other confounding factors other than the national culture and its impact on
power manifestation in change processes.
Power can be described as one of the most basic and fundamental elements of human
civilization which has time and again, shaped and reshaped the human society. Power can be of
various kinds, be it political, social or physical, there is a significant impact of all kinds of power
dynamics on any kind of human dynamics. It has to be mentioned in this context that even in the
corporate scenarios, there are different types of power dynamics at play, and each of the power
manifestation impact profound effects on the decision making and business process management,
especially in case of people management and transactions3. On a more elaborative note, a
common misconception regarding the manifestation of power in organizational context is that
power is force for the different individual to get what they want. Rather, as mentioned by the
authors, regardless of the scenario being corporate or not, the power basically emanates from a
position or designation of authority, and this authorative power can both be a positive or negative
influence of the rest of the staff. It has to be mentioned in this context that the organizational
change is most frequently and subsequently influenced sector by the institutionalization of power
and its impact on the different stakeholder groups4.
There are different types of power and each of power manifestation techniques have been
categories into five bases of power. The very first kind of power is the coercive power, where the
authority makes use of some kind of threat for the rest of the staff to fall in line. The second base
of power is the reward- based power that utilizes the allocation of incentives or other rewards in
3 Lunenburg, Fred C. "Power and leadership: an influence process." International journal of management,
business, and administration 15, no. 1 (2012): 1-9
4 Thomas, Robyn, Leisa D. Sargent, and Cynthia Hardy. "Managing Organizational Change: Negotiating
Meaning and Power-resistance Relations." 22, no. 1 (2011): 22-41

3
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
order to motivate the employees in any of the responsibilities or tasks. The rewards can be of
various different types like increments, appraisals or promotions. The third category of power is
the referent power, this originates out of the interpersonal relationships that the employees
cultivate among each other and in certain cases with the hierarchy of the organization. The fourth
power is the expert power, which can be associated with any individual having grater knowledge
and understanding or expertise over any matter5. And lastly, the most important and relevant
power in the context of organizational change is the legitimate power which is the most exerted
kind of power in the corporate setting. The legitimate power can also be defined as the positional
power. As mentioned above in the essay, the impact of a particular designation or position is
extreme; and even in this case the positional power exerted by any individual in the hierarchy of
the organization, is one of the key driving force of the change implementation and management
process6.
In support of this school of thought, legitimate or the positional power is the most basic
power that has a significant impact on the successful implementation of the change process. This
power exertion can come from anywhere; according to the article, in case of any organizational
change, exertion of the legitimate power can come from CEOs, managerial hierarchy, change
managers, business process analysts and consultants, work and employee councils7. However, it
has to be mentioned that the impact of the power on the facilitation of the change depends
heavily on the organizational culture and the national tradition of the country. It has to be
mentioned that the execution of power in the organizational sector has both its advantages and
disadvantages, whereas, in the positive sense, the utilization of the positional power to facilitate
5 Pierro, Antonio, Bertram H. Raven, Clara Amato, and Jocelyn J. Bélanger. "Bases of social power, leadership
styles, and organizational commitment." International Journal of Psychology 48, no. 6 (2013): 1122-1134
6 Espedal, Bjarne. "Understanding How Balancing Autonomy and Power Might Occur in Leading
Organizational Change." European Management Journal 35, no. 2 (2017): 155-63
7 Beerli, Monique J. "Legitimating Organizational Change through the Power of Quantification: Intra-
Organizational Struggles and Data Deviations." International Peacekeeping 24, no. 5 (2017): 780-802

4
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
the different change management programs will help in propelling the entire process8. Along
with that, it has been mentioned by the authors as well, that the rightful and effective exertion of
the power in the organizational change procedures, the unwanted resistance to change
implementation and the issues of staff non-compliance can also be overcome as well. In this
case, the reward power can also be mentioned, as the incentive based power exertion can also be
beneficial for overcoming non-compliance. The positional power is the most cost effective and
abundantly taken route for the same purpose. However, there are certain cases where the misuse
of power can lead to complications and can further delay the process of change implementation.
On a more elaborative note, the stakeholders can misinterpret assertive and authorative use of the
positional power often as bossiness9. In many of the national cultures, the excessive use of the
positional power in any organizational context is also seen as a disrespectful and unappreciated
act. Whereas, in some cultural backgrounds, the exertion of power by the hierarchy is a very
common norm in the cultural context. Therefore, it has to be mentioned that the that the impact
of the national culture is extreme on the power distance of the different nation, and only through
the cultural dimension analysis, the impact of the national culture on the power distance of the
different nation10.
Hofstede analysis can be defined as the very basic cultural analysis tool that helps in the
understanding of the different cultural domains on the basis of the different national cultural
standards11. There are different dimensions that are utilized for the purpose if this cultural
8 Carter, Min Z., Achilles A. Armenakis, Hubert S. Feild, and Kevin W. Mossholder. "Transformational
leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational
change." Journal of Organizational Behavior 34, no. 7 (2013): 942-958
9 Mulki, Jay, Barbara Caemmerer, and Githa Heggde. "Leadership Style, Salesperson's Work Effort and Job
Performance: The Influence of Power Distance." The Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management 35, no.
1 (2015): 3
10 Gover, Laura, and Linda Duxbury. "Making Sense of Organizational Change: Is Hindsight Really
20/20?" Journal of Organizational Behavior 39, no. 1 (2018): 39-51
11 "Country Comparison - Hofstede Insights". 2018. Hofstede Insights. https://www.hofstede-
insights.com/country-comparison/australia,singapore/.

5
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
analysis, for instance, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, long term
orientation, indulgence and masculinity. The hofstede comparison between Australia and
Singapore indicates at a massive difference between both the countries. For instance, Singapore
scores very low in the invidualism dimension, indicating that the societal struicture of this
country is exceptionally collectivist and co-operatively respomsible. Whereas, Australia scores
90 at this dimension indicating that the country has an individualistic nuclear pattern. The second
dimension is uncertainty avoidance, where Singapore scores as low as 8 when compared to 51 of
Australia. In case of long term orientation, Singapore has a much higher score than Australia
indicating the nation being a county with perseverance and sustained efforts being the key
structure of the society, where as the Australian society is not much perseverant or resilient. In
case of indulgence however, Australia scores higher than Singapore indicating an indulgent and
carefree society, where as Singapore has a very moderate or intermediate score indicating that
the citizens have better self control. The cultural dimensional analysis up until now indicates at
the fact that Australia is a much westernized and modern country with an individualistic,
indulgent take to life in general with hopes of short term success. Whereas Singapore can be
categorized as a nation that has much more traditional views in mind and practice perseverance,
control and collectivism in life in general12.
12 Brinkley, Cindy. "Organizational Inflection Points: The Strategic Application of Simulations at AT&T to
Power Organizational Change.(perspectives--counterpoints)." People & Strategy 34, no. 2 (2011): 6-7

6
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
("Country Comparison - Hofstede Insights". 2018. Hofstede Insights. https://www.hofstede-
insights.com/country-comparison/australia,singapore/)
The final and the most important factor in this cultural dimensional comparison is the power
distance between the both of the nation. In terms of power distance, Singapore scores as high as
74 whereas Australia’s score is quiet low at 36. It has to be mentioned in this context that
Singapore has a Confucian background in terms of societal structure and lifestyle. Singapore has
a syncretic approach to the concept of religion and culture, and this dominant approach structure
not just the socio-economic factors of the nation, but this dominant approach has significant
impact on the individual lifestyle of the different individuals as well. The most important and
fundamental principle of the Confucian society is the stability of the society based on a
hierarchical unequal relationship between the different socio-economic strata. In this society,
power is the most central and the division of power defines the alliance of different hierarchical
positions. The managers rely completely on their bosses and employees are accustomed to do

7
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
what they are being communicated but the managerial hierarchy. Hence, it can be stated that the
flow of power is linear and the higher authority dictates the terms has the absolute control13.
The scenario is very different in case of Australia, with a considerably lower score of 36 on
power distance dimension, the organizational hierarchy is only established for the purpose of
convenience, and the employees and the managerial hierarchy has a mutually respectful
collaborative relationship. The positional power is not exerted as frequently and the business
process management is carried out in harmony with managers relying on the employees
depending on the kind of expertise they have. Even the communicational modes are open,
informal, direct and participative, which represents a complete contrast to the Singapore
scenario14.
In terms of organizational change implementation, the use of positional power can result into
completely different outcomes for the both of the countries. It has to be mentioned in this context
that Australia is a more liberal and modernized country where the concept of power distance in
just for convenient operational management, the legitimate power is not a popular concept in the
nation. The society is accustomed to a much co-operative and liberal working culture and in any
kind of change implementation procedure, exertion of power distance will not bear fruitful
results. It has to be understood that the Australian organization culture is not accustomed to a
stark difference in the decision making abilities among the hierarchy, here communication is free
and participative with mutual and equal respect and rights for each employee.
Whereas, in case of Singapore, the traditional and cultural norms have significant impact on
the business dealings as well. The power distance among the different hierarchical designations
13 Daniels, Michael A, and Gary J Greguras. "Exploring the Nature of Power Distance." Journal of
Management 40, no. 5 (2014): 1202-229
14 Stainback, Kevin, and Kwon, Soyoung. "Female Leaders, Organizational Power, and Sex Segregation.
(Author Abstract)." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 639 (2012): 217-35

8
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
have a controlling role in both decision making, planning and execution. As per the hofstede
analysis, the society is dependent on the linear flow of power; whereas, the employees turn to
managers for orders, the managers rely on directorial hierarchy for orders. Hence it can safely be
stated that the society harmoniously dependent on the power distance, and hence in case of
organizational change implementation as well, exertion of positional power will elicit fruitful
results15.
On a concluding note, it can be stated that change is the most constant process in the
corporate sector and in order for successful implementation of change, the exertion of power is
the most common route taken by the organisational hierarchy. However, it has to be mentioned
that with the globalization and technological revolution at its peak, the corporate scenario has
also changed significantly. In the more developed nations, the power distance is fast becoming
obsolete, and the establishment of co-operative and collaborative multidisciplinary practice has
become one of the greatest driving factors of change. Transformational and motivational
leadership is gaining popularity, so that the employees can also see the vision behind the need for
change and cooperative involuntarily, rather than being forced into it. Australia and its
organizational culture bear a conspicuous proof of this revolutionary change in the power
dynamics. On the other hand, in the still developing nations like Singapore, the deep routed
cultural values, beliefs are the most relevant restrictions to a more liberal organizational culture,
and the most fundamental resistance agent is the power distance. Here the execution of positional
power is a cultural norm, and the concept of transformational organizational leadership and
equity is a taboo. However, with collective effort from all the stakeholders involved, the
organization culture of this Confucian country can also be hoped to become more liberal.
15 Thomas, and Hardy. "Reframing Resistance to Organizational Change." Scandinavian Journal of
Management 27, no. 3 (2011): 322-31

9
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER

10
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
Reference list:
"Country Comparison - Hofstede Insights". 2018. Hofstede Insights. https://www.hofstede-
insights.com/country-comparison/australia,singapore/.
Beerli, Monique J. "Legitimating Organizational Change through the Power of Quantification:
Intra-Organizational Struggles and Data Deviations." International Peacekeeping 24, no. 5
(2017): 780-802.
Brinkley, Cindy. "Organizational Inflection Points: The Strategic Application of Simulations at
AT&T to Power Organizational Change.(perspectives--counterpoints)." People & Strategy 34,
no. 2 (2011): 6-7.
Carter, Min Z., Achilles A. Armenakis, Hubert S. Feild, and Kevin W. Mossholder.
"Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous
incremental organizational change." Journal of Organizational Behavior 34, no. 7 (2013): 942-
958.
Chory, Rebecca M., and Alan K. Goodboy. "Power, compliance, and resistance." The SAGE
handbook of communication and instruction (2010): 181-199.
Daniels, Michael A, and Gary J Greguras. "Exploring the Nature of Power Distance." Journal of
Management 40, no. 5 (2014): 1202-229.
Espedal, Bjarne. "Understanding How Balancing Autonomy and Power Might Occur in Leading
Organizational Change." European Management Journal 35, no. 2 (2017): 155-63.
Gover, Laura, and Linda Duxbury. "Making Sense of Organizational Change: Is Hindsight
Really 20/20?" Journal of Organizational Behavior 39, no. 1 (2018): 39-51.

11
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON POWER
Hill, N. Sharon, Myeong-Gu Seo, Jae Hyeung Kang, and M. Susan Taylor. "Building employee
commitment to change across organizational levels: The influence of hierarchical distance and
direct managers' transformational leadership." Organization Science 23, no. 3 (2012): 758-777.
Jones, Gareth R., and Gareth R. Jones. "Organizational theory, design, and change." (2010).
Lunenburg, Fred C. "Power and leadership: an influence process." International journal of
management, business, and administration 15, no. 1 (2012): 1-9.
Mulki, Jay, Barbara Caemmerer, and Githa Heggde. "Leadership Style, Salesperson's Work
Effort and Job Performance: The Influence of Power Distance." The Journal of Personal Selling
& Sales Management 35, no. 1 (2015): 3
Pierro, Antonio, Bertram H. Raven, Clara Amato, and Jocelyn J. Bélanger. "Bases of social
power, leadership styles, and organizational commitment." International Journal of
Psychology 48, no. 6 (2013): 1122-1134.
Stainback, Kevin, and Kwon, Soyoung. "Female Leaders, Organizational Power, and Sex
Segregation.(Author Abstract)." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science 639 (2012): 217-35.
Thomas, and Hardy. "Reframing Resistance to Organizational Change." Scandinavian Journal of
Management 27, no. 3 (2011): 322-31.
Thomas, Robyn, Leisa D. Sargent, and Cynthia Hardy. "Managing Organizational Change:
Negotiating Meaning and Power-resistance Relations." 22, no. 1 (2011): 22-41.