.....multinational organization determines to integrate its leaders. Which of the leaders will experience the greatest challenges to their power, influence, and authority: the Eastern leaders coming into Western offices or the Western leaders coming into Eastern offices? Why?This question is problematic because it has several underlying assumptions that need to be addressed. First, there is no indication of where the multinational organization is based, which would impact its core organizational culture and vision. Second, the question assumes homogeneity among people considered "Eastern" and "Western." These are value-laden as well as outmoded binaries. Moreover, an Eastern person can be Indian or Chinese, or Korean, or any number of other Asian cultures with completely different attitudes and practices regarding power, influence, authority, and leadership styles.

For example, Indian leaders and American leaders both tend to be "hard drivers," but one is technically "Eastern" and one is "Western," according to this binary (Bersin, 2012). The "Western" person could be from an "Eastern" background and thus have a blend of leadership and communication styles. Within a cohort of Indian leaders, there are diverse ethnic groups and gender factors that might impact power, influence and authority. Likewise, an American will have different leadership styles and attitudes towards power, influence, and authority versus someone...

For example, Froese, Kim & Eng (2016) found that "implementing a common corporate language and making their organizations more multicultural" helped all leaders -- both inpatriates and expatriates (p. 283). Lisak & Erez (2015) found that "cultural intelligence, global identity and openness to cultural diversity" were far more important qualities for leadership integration than whether the person was "Eastern" or "Western," (p. 3).
References

Bersin, J. (2012). How Does Leadership Vary Across the Globe? Forbes. 31 Oct, 2012. Retrieved online: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2012/10/31/are-expat-programs-dead/#35d85da31e07

Froese, F.J., Kim, K. & Eng, A. (2016). Language, Cultural Intelligence, and Inpatriate Turnover Intentions: Leveraging Values in Multinational Corporations through Inpatriates. Management International Review 56(2): 283-301.

Lisak, A. & Erez, M. (2015). Leadership emergence in multicultural teams: The power of global characteristics. Journal of World Business 50(1):…