Ethical leadership across cultures: a comparative analysis of German and US perspectives

This paper examines beliefs about four aspects of ethical leadership –Character/Integrity, Altruism, Collective Motivation and Encouragement– in Germany and the United States using data from Project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) and a supplemental analysis. Within the context of a push toward convergence driven by the demands of globalization and the pull toward divergence underpinned by different cultural values and philosophies in the two countries, we focus on two questions: Do middle managers from the United States and Germany differ in their beliefs about ethical leadership? And, do individuals from these two countries attribute different characteristics to ethical leaders? Results provide evidence that while German and US middle managers, on average, differed in the degree of endorsement for each aspect, they each endorsed Character/Integrity, Collective Motivation and Encouragement as important for effective leadership and had a more neutral view of the importance of Altruism. The findings are reviewed within the social‐cultural context of each country.     

The Labour Market and Inequality

Newspoll reported in 2000 that by a margin of 70 to 28 per cent, Australians would prefer the gap between rich and poor to get smaller rather than have the nation's overall wealth grow as quickly as possible. This article examines the reasons for the increase in the dispersion of earnings, and changes in unemployment and workforce participation, which are central to this concern about inequality. The major finding is that the widening dispersion of earnings and changes in labour force status are principally due to changes in the structure of labour demand in favour of more skilled jobs. The article then considers what this changing job mix implies for policy directed to maintaining income inequality.     

Mood and persuasion: Evidence for the differential influence of positive and negative states

This article investigated how moods influence reactions to a persuasive communication. Subjects read a magazine article designed to induce a positive, neutral, or negative state, then read and evaluated a communication for which argument quality varied. As in previous research (Worth & Mackie, 1987), argument quality failed to differentially influence attitudes for positive subjects. In contrast, attitudes were more favorable following stronger arguments for neutral and negative subjects. These findings suggest that systematic processing is reduced by positive, but not by negative moods. Discussion focuses on the processes underlying observed relationships, and on selective processing of communications as a means of mood management.