Many social workers believe that concepts such as empowerment and participatory decision making are universally applicable across cultures. However, a failure to recognize the diversity that can occur across cultural groups may result in organizations choosing poor fitting empowerment strategies. In this qualitative study, the author explored how participatory decision making and empowerment are perceived among South African staff, where higher levels of power distance exist. Results of the study highlight perceptions of and barriers to participatory decision making and potential strategies that social workers might use to empower staff to participate in decision making in a culturally competent manner.
AluttoJ.A.BelascoJ.A. (1972) ‘A Typology for Participation in Organizational Decision Making’, Administrative Science Quarterly17: 117–25.
2.
AshcraftK.L.KedrowiczA. (2002) ‘Self-Direction or Social Support? Nonprofit Empowerment and the Tacit Employment Contract of Organizational Communication Studies’, Communication Monographs69: 88–110.
3.
BarneyR. (2010) ‘Diffusion Attributes as Antecedents of Organizational Commitment among PEPFAR Staff in South Africa’, Doctoral Dissertation, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.
4.
BasabeN.RosR. (2005) ‘Cultural Dimensions and Social Behavior Correlates: Individualism-Collectivism and Power Distance’, Revue Internationale de Psychologie Social18: 189–225.
5.
BrinsfieldC.T.EdwardsM.S.GreenbergJ. (2009) ‘Voice and Silence in Organizations: Historical Review and Current Conceptualizations’, in GreenbergJ.EdwardsM.S. (eds) Voice and Silence in Organizations, pp. 3–33. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.
6.
BrocknerJ.AckermanG.GreenbergJ.GelfandM.J.FrancescoA.M.ChenZ.X.LeungfK.BierbrauergG.GomezhC.KirkmaniB.L.ShapirojD. (2001) ‘Culture and Procedural Justice: The Influence of Power Distance on Reactions to Voice’, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology37: 300–15.
7.
BryantA.CharmazK. (2007) The SAGE Handbook of Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
8.
CreswellJ.W. (2012) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design (3rd ed.). Thousand Oakes, CA: SAGE.
9.
Donnelly-RoarkP. (1998) ‘Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Overview’, IK Notes1. Available online at: http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/iknt1.pdf (accessed 4 October 2007).
10.
FockH.HuiM.K.AuK.BondM.H. (2013) ‘Moderation Effects of Power Distance on the Relationship between Types of Empowerment and Employee Satisfaction’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology44: 281–98.
11.
GillA.FitzgeraldS.BhutaniS.MandH.SharmaS. (2010) ‘The Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Employee Desire for Empowerment’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality and Management22: 263–73.
12.
GlaserB.G.StraussA.L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Quantitative Research. Chicago, IL: Aldine.
13.
GoolaupS.IsmayilovT. (2011) ‘The Influence of Power Distance on Leadership Behaviors and Styles’, Masters Thesis, UMEA Universitet, Umeå.
14.
HofstedeG. (1980) Culture’s Consequences. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
15.
HofstedeG. (1984) ‘The Cultural Relativity of Quality of Life Concept’, The Academy of Management Review9: 389–98.
16.
HofstedeG. (1993) ‘Cultural Constraints in Management Theories’, The Academy of Management Executive7: 81–94.
17.
HofstedeG. (2001) Cultures Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations across Nations, 2nd edn.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
18.
HuangX.Van de VliertE.Van der VegtG. (2005) ‘Breaking the Silence Culture: Stimulation of Participation and Employee Opinion Withholding Cross-Nationally’, Management and Organization Review1: 459–82.
19.
JalaliR. (2013) ‘Financing Empowerment? How Foreign Aid to Southern NGOs and Social Movements Undermine Grass-Roots Mobilization’, Sociology Compass7: 55–73.
20.
KennedyT.J.LingardL.A. (2006) ‘Making Sense of Grounded Theory in Medical Education’, Medical Education40: 101–8.
21.
KolbS.M. (2012) ‘Grounded theory and the constant comparative method: Valid research strategies for educators’, Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies3: 83–86.
22.
LeeC.PillutlaM.LawK.S. (2000) ‘Power-Distance, Gender and Organizational Justice’, Journal of Management26: 685–704.
23.
MidgleyJ. (1981) Professional Imperialism: Social Work in the Third World. London: Heinemann.
24.
PetersonM.F.SmithP.B.AkandeA.AyestaranS.BochnerS.CallanV.ChoN.G.JesuinoJ.C.D’AmorimM.FrancoisP.-H.HofmannK.KoopmanP.L.LeungK.LimT.K.MortazaviS.MuneneJ.RadfordM.RopoA.SavageG.SetiadiB.SinhaT.N.SorenR. (1995) ‘Role Conflict, Ambiguity, and Overload: A 21 Nation Study’, The Academy of Management Journal38: 429–52.
25.
RobertC.ProbstT.M.MartocchioJ.J.DrasgowF.LawlerJ.J. (2000) ‘Empowerment and Continuous Improvement in the United States, Mexico, Poland and India: Fit on the Basis of the Dimensions of Power Distance and Individualism’, Journal of Applied Psychology85: 643–58.
26.
SagieA.ZeynepA. (2003) ‘A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Participative Decision-Making in Organizations’, Human Relations56: 453–73.
27.
SmithA.HumeE.C. (2005) ‘Linking Culture and Ethics: A Comparison of Accountants Ethical Belief Systems in the Individualism/Collectivism and Power Distance Contexts’, Journal of Business Ethics62: 209–20.
28.
SpeerP.W.ZippayA. (2005) ‘Participatory Decision-Making among Community Coalitions’, Administration in Social Work29(3): 61–77.
29.
TriandisH.C. (2001) ‘Individualism and Collectivism’, in MatsumotoD. (ed.) The Handbook of Culture and Psychology, pp. 35–50. New York: Oxford University Press.
30.
TsangK.T.YanM.C.SheraW. (2000) ‘Negotiating Multiple Agendas in Social Work: The Case of the China-Canada Collaborative Project’, Canadian Social Work2: 147–61.
31.
Van Der WeshuizenD.PachecoG.WebberD.J. (2012) ‘Culture, Participative Decision Making and Job Satisfaction’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management23: 2661–79.
