THE NEW EUROPEAN BUSINESS LEADER 269There is also the issue of the perceived value attached to degrees.
In some European countries a university degree in management is
much less prestigious than a degree in engineering or law. This sort of
perception will affect the attitude employees have toward their leader
and the credibility and trustworthiness of the latter in the business
community.
Furthermore, Europe is characterized by a variety of political systems
(parliamentary monarchies, presidential republics, and parliamentary
republics) that infl uence individual attitudes to power and authority. The
system of government at state level can be refl ected in internal power
and authority issues within organizations.
European nations also differ in the extent to which their populations
rely on the government in their daily lives. There are welfare states
where citizens can expect to benefi t from the redistribution of wealth,
and there are countries where citizens are expected to take care of their
own well - being. There are other countries that used to operate a form
of forced redistribution of wealth and whose citizens are now craving
opportunities for personal enrichment.
With the recent expansion of Europe to the East, we must also take
into account the ways in which its members experience different socio -
economic systems. A substantial part of the population of almost all of
the new members of the EU has lived under communism. While many
may not have liked the system, quite a few grew used to it or learned
to adapt to it and survive, and these people carry their previous experi-
ences into their new European organizational life.
There is also the question of graft and corruption. Different coun-
tries have different standards of what is permissible concerning the
interface of political and business leaders. The developments in countries
like Romania and Bulgaria are good cases in point.
Individual European countries have their own particular relation-
ships with neighboring nations and other parts of the world. The recent
war in Iraq demonstrated dramatically contrasting views on US policy
within Europe. Similarly there are differences in different countries ’
relationships with Russia, a country on which many European countries
rely for their natural resources. Different points of view have also been
expressed vis - à - vis the Georgia – Russia ‘ adventure. ’
Furthermore, European history is one of tension as well as co -
operation. The jokes that the British and French tell about each other ’ s
working style and social habits are an obvious example. A much more
serious issue is how other nations have worked through their response
to Germany ’ s Nazi past. The wounds of twentieth - century wars and
even remoter confl icts have not healed, and can still hurt on both con-
scious and unconscious levels.