ISSN 0128-2603 © 2017 Global Academy of Training & Research (GATR) Enterprise. All rights reserved.
JourŶal of MaŶageŵeŶt aŶd MarketiŶg Reǀieǁ
Journal homepage: www.gatrenterprise.com/GATRJournals/index.html
J. Mgt. Mkt. Review 2 (3) 123 – 127 (2017)
Power Distance as A National Culture Observed in Organizational
Scope
Arief Noviarakhman Zagladi*
Pancasetia School of Economics, Jl. Ahmad Yani Km 5,5, 70248, Banjarmasin, Indonesia
ABSTRACT
Objective – Cultural factors have significant roles in creating behavior in an organization. This research claims that
national culture like power distance that is usually measured in a national scope actually can have a better result when it
is measured in the organizational scope. The goal of this research is to find out the level of power distance among private
lecturers in Banjarmasin, Indonesia, and compare it to Hofstede’s power distance for the whole country.
Methodology/Technique – This research uses explanatory research that tries to understand the degree of power distance
among private university lecturers in Banjarmasin. The populations used were all lecturers in private colleges in
Banjarmasin City. The samples used were 86 lecturers who have become a lecturer for at least 2 years. The analysis is
done through a descriptive quantitative method measuring the level of power distance among lecturers in Banjarmasin
and with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to understand which indicators that have the strongest influence in creating
power distance culture among lecturers in Banjarmasin.
Findings – The results of the research show that power distance culture is low among the lecturers in Banjarmasin City,
with indicator “The level of authority used by the leader” as the lowest factor. The result also finds that the indicator
“subordinates Exclusion in decision-making” as the strongest indicator to form power distance culture.
Novelty – This research conducted in the context of Indonesia using primary data.
Type of Paper: Empirical
Keywords: National culture; Organizational culture; Power distance; Hofstede; Banjarmasin City.
JEL Classification: M50, M54.
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1. Introduction
Organization can be translated as a group of people who interact with each other to achieve certain goals
(McShane & Glinow, 2008). A good understanding of how an organization works would help managers to
manage their organizations effectively.
Among many things that interact in an organization, there is one factor that is hard to ignore, that is cultural
factors. There have been a lot of researches showing that national culture has a strong influence on the
organization (Adair, Okumura, & Brett, 2001). Another opinion also confirms that national culture has an
important role in shaping organizational behavior (Aldhuwaihi, 2013). Yoon (1996) also asserts that despite
the fact that cultural values and social norms are essential for the society, its existence can also cause bias in
the perception of the principles applied to the organization.
*
Paper Info: Received: February 13, 2017
Accepted: July 10, 2017
*
Corresponding author:
E-mail: a_zagladi@yahoo.com
Affiliation: Pancasetia School of Economics, Indonesia