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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of leadership styles on different organizational outcomes and value structure such as: overall business performance, working style, motivation and trust of employees, management efficiency and corporate culture in the context of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The authors perform a qualitative analysis and gather data by conducting conversational semi-structured interviews with 51 SME managers from different industries. Data were analyzed using a step-by-step approach following Creswell.

The study explores the effects of leadership styles on various organizational outcomes. Given the features of SMEs, it sheds light on the significance of leadership styles in changing work environment, increasing staff retention, and promoting the viability of SMEs. It also discusses the selection of leadership styles in accordance with Vietnamese culture.

This study has practical implications on human resource management in the context of SMEs. SME managers, training providers and support agencies may utilize the research outcomes to raise the awareness of SMEs leaders. Based on the research findings, appropriate training programs should be developed to assist managers in tackling major problems.

Although several previous studies have tried to investigate the influence of leadership styles on organizational outcomes, this is the first research to explore the topic in the context of SMEs and in conjunction with the Vietnamese culture.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that diversity management (DM) interventions, underpinned by principles of justice and fairness, create a powerful force that drives sustainable outcomes. Further, the authors argue that justice and fairness should be embedded at the core of DM.

A qualitative case study methodology was used to ascertain how four organizations approached critical issues regarding diversity. Justice and fairness principles were used as a framework to evaluate each organization’s DM interventions. Different approaches adopted by the case study organizations were compared using a cross-case analysis.

Justice and fairness principles provide a useful framework to evaluate DM interventions. The findings show that justice and fairness principles have an effect across the continuum of DM, including identifying dimensions of diversity, executing DM programs and realizing outcomes of DM.

The current study is limited to four case studies using qualitative methods.

The findings demonstrate the importance of integrating justice and fairness benchmarks when implementing DM programs.

The findings shed light on the link between DM and justice and fairness, an area lacking empirical studies. It also presents a new area for empirical enquiry—the application of social justice principles in evaluating organizational interventions in DM.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the changing cultural values that influence the perception of managers to leadership excellence in their organisations in Singapore.

Summated scales for the importance of excellent leader, personal qualities, managerial behaviours, organisational demands and environmental influences were developed using most of the items categorised by Selvarajah et al. (1995) and several other items rated highly in this study. A structural model was constructed to explain the relationship in excellence in leadership.

In all, 249 managers, from the three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Indians and Malays participated in this research. The findings suggest that ethnic differences are not strong determinants of managerial values in organisations in Singapore. However, gender is seen as a differentiating factor in the behavioural values of Singapore managers.

This study is purely an exploratory study and the size of the sample is not large enough to create purposeful causal relationships. Certainly the effect of ethnicity on the study should be explored further with a larger sample.

Singapore is a highly globalised country that attracts international investments. Statistics in Singapore clearly suggests that there is a sharp increase in women managers in employment. Therefore, understanding the changing behavioural values of managers of both sexes are important for a foreigner engaging with Singapore nationals.

This is the first study that looks at behavioural values of Singapore managers with regard to leadership excellence. The masculinity-femininity dimension is pronounced in the gender split.

Despite the abundance of literature on management it seems that the quality of management has not improved enough to prevent scandals which have occurred in recent years. It could be that either the results of these studies have not been put to use in practice or that the results were biased because of the rather one‐sided focus on US managers in much of the leadership literature. As national cultures signal different determinants of high performance, there is a need for leadership research into the effectiveness characteristics of managers in non‐US countries. This article aims to develop an empirically validated profile of high performing managers in The Netherlands using a leadership framework developed in Asia.

Based on a sample of 808 Dutch managers and using the cross‐cultural framework of Excellent Leadership by Selvarajah et al., the profile of an excellent Dutch manager was derived.

The paper reveals that this profile can be described by a four‐dimensional factor structure consisting of managerial behaviours, environmental influences, personal qualities and organisational demands.

The main limitation of the research is that the findings are based on reports from a single source; namely managers' perceptions. Hence, common‐method effects may have inflated the correlations.

The results of the research can serve as guidelines for developing an empirically validated profile of high performance managers (HPMs) in other Western countries. They also have practical implications in that organizations can use the HPM profile to tailor their management development programs, evaluation and coaching programs, and recruiting processes in order to improve the quality of their managers.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time a leadership framework developed in the Eastern world has been applied on Western managers, making this research one of the first of its kind. This is important because, as stated before, there is a strong need for research which extends the theoretical and practical basis of leadership theories from a solely Western focus to a more balanced Western‐Eastern focus. The results from this type of research can provide guidance for improving quality of management worldwide.

Malaysia is a multicultural country with a distinct mix of three major races; Chinese Indians, and Malays. This paper sets out to explore the contribution of the three main ethnic groups to leadership in Malaysia.

Summated scales for the importance of Excellent Leader (EL), Personal Qualities (PQ), Managerial Behaviours (MB), Organisational Demands (OD) and Environmental Influences (EI) were developed using most of the items categorised by Selvarajah et al. and several other items rated highly in the study. A structural model was constructed to explain the relationship in excellence in leadership.

From the three ethnic groups, 512 managers participated in the research. The findings suggest that Malaysian managers maintain distinctive leadership behaviour along ethnic lines and a Malaysian leadership identity is still in its infant stage.

Malaysia is a country with three distinct ethnic population groups and is yet to forge a single Malaysian identity. The findings are important for managers on foreign assignment in Malaysia and for others who engage with Malaysia.

Most literature discusses Malaysian culture from a national perspective. The paper contextualises leadership of an Asian Tiger economy, which has since independence in 1957 politically developed the nation within three Asian national cultural frameworks.

In 1996, there were about six hundred and fifty overseas‐trained medical doctors who had immigrated to New Zealand but were unable to practice their profession even though the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) had assessed their medical qualifications as equivalent to similar qualifications in New Zea land. These immigrants were subjected to structural discriminator practices of the medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) by which qualified medical doctors from non BASIC (Britain, Australia, South Africa, Ireland and Canada) countries were not allowed to register as medical practitioners in New Zealand. The privilege conferred on the MCNZ by the 1968 Medical Practitioners Act allows it to be selective in re cognising medical qualifications. As a consequence of this discriminatory practice many of the foreign trained doctors were unemployed while others worked as process workers, taxi drivers, petrol pump dispensers and pizza deliverymen in the period covered in this article (Selvarajah, 1997). This article provides a case history between 1995 and 2000 on the concerns and conditions of a group of foreign‐trained medical professionals (doctors and specialists) whose application to settle in New Zealand was processed by the New Zealand government prior to June 1995.

This seminal research investigates the adaptation experiences of elderly dependent Chinese immigrants who have come to New Zealand under the Family Reunion Category between 1994 and 1998. The study involved a group‐administered questionnaire to measure the various aspects of the adaptation experiences of 105 elderly dependent Chinese from China aged 50 years and over. The data set was subjected to ANOVA, Kruskal‐Wallis and Factor Analysis to analyse and establish relationships between variables. The results confirmed that there were five main factors that influence the living conditions of the elderly dependent Chinese immigrants in New Zealand. These were, in order of severity, communication in the English language, medical care, transportation, cost of living and interestingly relationships with other family members. The study also confirmed that age, length of time in New Zealand, and the need to stay in New Zealand permanently influenced the adaptability of the elderly Chinese immigrants in New Zealand.

This study examines the adjustment process and the adaptability of the Chinese migrant spouses’ in Auckland, New Zealand. A total of 97 spouses participated in a survey from a random sample of 200. The results suggest that both anticipatory and in‐country experiences are relevant to adjustment. The results of the study, specifically suggest that the adjustment process experienced by the Chinese spouses in the New Zealand environment is based on a number of factors such as (1) the amount of information and knowledge of New Zealand they have prior to arrival in New Zealand, (2) the backgrounds of the spouses, (3) their experiences prior to and on arrival in New Zealand, and (4) their ability to cope in the new environment.

This paper explores the leadership profile of managers in China and in so doing identifies demographics factors that shape perceptions of what makes an excellent Chinese leader.

Summated scales for the importance of Excellent Leader (EL), Personal Qualities (PQ), Managerial Behaviour (MB), Organisational Demands (OD) and Environmental Influences (EI) were developed using most of the items categorised by Selvarajah et al. and several other items rated highly in this study. A structural model was constructed to explain the relationship in excellence in leadership.

The structural model confirmed that managerial behaviour was the most important construct determining leadership in China and that even with the changes in the political and social systems in the last 60 years, the Chinese belief in Confucianism is highly valued.

China is undergoing dramatic changes and understanding China within a changing cultural context is important to international participants entering the country.

This paper contextualises leadership within societal‐cultural change

The paper seeks to explore educational objectives and attitudes to assessment methods between Chinese and New Zealand European students.

A conceptual framework developed from the literature and feedback from the pilot study, explains the impact of factors on curriculum development in this study. This conceptual framework was designed to give preliminary insights into the subject area and form the basis of the research. Curriculum development and teaching style are seen as the product of cultural impact. The cultural impact is made up of factor inputs from demands made on the educational system. The prime data collection method was a self‐completion questionnaire. The population group was postgraduate management students at the Albany Campus of Massey University in New Zealand.

The responses from 110 postgraduate students in management studies at the Albany Campus of Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand, suggest that there is a relationship between culture and education. The study shows that the two student groups have different educational objectives and prefer different assessment methods.

Since this research is exploratory in nature and is restricted by sample size, the analysis of the research data was restricted to univariate analysis. In developing teaching styles and assessment methods at tertiary educational institutions where there are students from other cultural backgrounds, it is necessary to understand the reasons why these students enrol in various courses. To develop assessment methods without taking into consideration the learning styles of a changing student population will limit the extent to which expected knowledge transfer takes place.

This study shows that postgraduate students in management studies from different cultural backgrounds, ethnicities and nationalities may respond to educational styles differently. To force students into an existing mould is problematic and does not serve well in a globalisation process that is now imposed on all nations.

The quality of postgraduate management courses rests in part on the diversity of the student population, which in turn enriches the educational contribution of students generally. It is left to the teaching staff and the tertiary institutions to decide how to harness this variation. Educational paradigm shifts in technologies, methods and perceptions are needed if changes in education styles are to take place. Re‐allocation of resources to postgraduate education, in line with a dynamic and changing environment, is equally important.