Leadership Styles and Decision-making in Finnish and Swedish Organizations

Globalization and other forces are challenging the European leadership models and practices. It can be seen that albeit what’s a very efficient leadership style for one country may be an extremely ineffective style for another - people aren’t always aware that cultural differences exist at all. Finland and Sweden are neighbouring countries which have a long common history behind them. This paper introduces how substantially the management cultures and leadership styles really differ in these countries. Cultural values have an influence on leadership practices and institutional arrangements. Many aspects of leadership are affected by cultural differences, and in this paper the differences in leadership styles between Finland and Sweden are presented, concentrating in management and decision making which vary culture by culture.