15

Universalism and Exceptionalism:
French Business Leadership

Philippe Castel
University of Burgundy–SPMS, Dijon, France

Marc Deneire
University Nancy 2, Nancy, France

Alexandre Kurc
University Nancy 2, Nancy, France

Marie-Françoise Lacassagne
University of Burgundy–SPMS, Dijon, France

Christopher A. Leeds
University Nancy 2, Nancy, France

Universalism and exceptionalism demonstrate the existence of two different management cultures operating within the sectors of industry chosen for this study. Research, including interviews, reveals that both the banking and food-processing sectors are characterized by some companies reflecting classical, commercial leadership/organizational practices whereas other companies follow alternative mutual (banking) and cooperative (food processing) styles. A media analysis highlights the fact that leaders are part of a system and operate within a set of constraints that they do not always control. Their role is to operate in the background rather than to get involved in their businesses on a regular basis.

Finally, a study of the social representations of exceptional leadership shows similarities with the definitions given by other countries in the GLOBE study. Traits such as “motivation,” “competition,” “competence,” “trust,” and “future orientation” all play a central role in the definition of leadership. However, it is personal relations that distinguish the good leader from the exceptional leader.

1.  GENERAL BACKGROUND

Let's adore working together and reject personal power (“Adore le travail collectif et déteste le pouvoir personnel”). (Philippe Dupon, Chairman of a Bank, Le Point, August 6, 1999)

To get people to perform to the extremes and have the motivation to do so without me having to tell them. (Pierre Bilger, chief executive, major French-British company, about his greatest challenge; The Sunday Telegraph, June 13, 1999, p. 37)

Culture-Generalizable and Culture-Specific Features

The GLOBE project aims to enhance existing knowledge of culture-generalizable and culture-specific aspects of leadership and follower responses to leaders. Processes by which cultural influences are transmitted at two other levels of analysis, societal and organizational, are also important. For the purposes of the project, GLOBE defines leadership as follows: “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute towards the effectiveness and success of the organizations to which they belong” (House, Wright, & Aditya, 1997).

This section highlights the historical, social, political, and economic features that are relevant to industry and also the key elements of the context in which French leaders operate.

Ongoing GLOBE research confirms the belief that the notion of leadership, and the social status of leaders varies considerably across countries. For example, in contrast to many parts of Northern Europe, leaders are romanticized, glorified, and allowed considerable influence in Arab countries, the United States, Germany, Russia, and France. A marked number of public symbols such as statues, buildings, and streets named in recognition of leaders can be found in France (House, Hanges, & Ruiz-Quintanilla, 1997).

Culture-specific in this study refers not only to leadership traits or styles, where applicable, but also to practices, customs, and norms that influence the nature and profile of French leadership in France. The state and the family play an important role in the French economy, in business, and in management.

Culture-specific features are both the strength of the intellectual tradition in leadership, and the particular nature of industrial relations for many years between many employers and trade unions, especially the combination of two strongly opposed tendencies, namely modernist and antimodernist forces in political and economic life.

The French appreciate two kinds of leaders, the strong charismatic type and the consensus builder or coalition former, as reflected in De Gaulle and Mitterand respectively (House, Hanges, & Ruiz-Quintonilla, 1997). The quotations by Dupont and Bilger, cited at the start of this chapter, are directly relevant to the French mentality. French managers and employees generally dislike being closely supervised. Ideally the French endorse the kind of leader who combines two qualities, a strong dynamic direction and consensual team building. However considerable regional variations exist in France which consequently requires leaders to have the ability to adapt to local conditions (see the Appendix for more detailed information).

Political and Economic Background

Most countries, in varying degrees, possess contrasting features and values, as is the case with France. These features are displayed in geography, history, and culture. Jack (1999) argues that any generalization about France is doomed to contradiction. In France, paradox remains a key feature, depicted through polarities and the interplay between opposing tendencies. Examples are unity–diversity, centralization–regionalism, authority–freedom, dependence– independence, control– autonomy, and in business especially, structured (formal) versus organic (informal) practices.

A broad contrast exists between the values of authority and freedom, whether understood politically or economically. Since the Middle Ages and the Counter-Reformation, centralized government and industry, submission to hierarchy, lack of autonomy, and a strong civil service have remained French features (Bass, 1990). However, this style clashes with the values of freedom and fraternity, originally expressed in the ideals of the French Revolution. The terms right and left depict these opposing forces, first used politically in 1789 to describe seating arrangements.

Much of the French history of the 19th century, from 1815 onward, mirrored the tension between reaction and authoritarianism on the one hand, and progress and democracy on the other. France continued to maintain two contrasting traditions: first, the aura of elitist aristocratic values, elegance, and grandeur, associated with pre-1789 France, and second, the continuation of egalitarian and radical values associated with the French Revolution.

From 1789 to 1958, France experienced a series of different political systems and new constitutions. Under the Third Republic, the interwar period, and the Fourth Republic (1946–1958) governments were frequently of short duration as a result of the existence of numerous political parties, with opposition parties being able to combine to outvote governments. The constitution of the Fifth Republic (1958) weakened parliament and increased the power of the government. This led to greater political stability and fewer political parties. From 1815 to the present, despite political upheaval, France experienced remarkable stability and continuity in terms of both state governance and stable, effective administrative, legal, and educational structures.

In the economic field, the Catholic Church was, traditionally, reluctant to support commercialism and entrepreneurialism—achieving and profit making implied greed and selfishness. Consequently, the Huguenots (French Calvinists) formed the key business communities, from the Protestant Reformation until the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). Most Huguenots then, in an attempt to escape persecution, left France. Both in the past, and still today, an important proportion of the political and economic leaders are Protestant in origin.

Various factors delayed industrial modernization: first, the size and key position of the peasantry, owners of small holdings, and agriculture in the economy; second, the antientrepreneurial spirit; and third, the reluctance of the monied class to finance industrial projects, preferring to invest in land, gold, and state bonds. Firms, starved of capital for expansion, tended to remain small or medium-size operations. Industrial progress and socioeconomic development were particularly noticeable at certain periods, such as 1840–1960 and during the 1960s under President De Gaulle.

French Universalism

Myth makers from the time of Clovis, the first King of the Franks, in the eighth century, romantically conceive France in a spiritual sense as the perfect land favored by God. Its borders formed a hexagon, equated with harmony and balance, with the country situated equidistant between the North Pole and the Equator. After initial conflict, the Franks adopted the language of the local people, and Clovis converted to Christianity. As early as the eighth century, the Franks saw themselves as the heirs and custodians of the Greco-Roman classical world. They adopted the idea of Roman Universalism. Lipiansky (1989) observes that throughout their history the French have tended to link their national idea, not with French civilization alone, but with civilization itself. This implies a collection of rules, customs and usages that define civilized behavior. To some extent, France, throughout the early modern period, epitomized values that were associated with the West, namely rationalism, logic, structure, and order, which was reflected in the French approach to education, administration, science, and the arts.

A perennial idea persists that many endeavors are intended to benefit not just the French but the world, exemplified by the key principles stemming from the French Revolution, notably liberty, equality, and fraternity (brotherhood). The historian Jules Michelet (1798–1874) in The Universal History portrays France's destiny as the pilot ship of humanity. In a television broadcast during the presidential elections (1998), President Chirac echoed this sentiment, reminding listeners that France was the lighthouse (phare) that led the way for all people.

Industrial Relations

The French generally adopt an ambivalent attitude toward authority and employers (Vachette, 1984). Employees, when in need of help, tend to rely on the state or their employer, and respect authority. However, as employers often make decisions with inadequate dialogue with their employees, the latter may eventually challenge authority. Dates of major important political confrontations between the state and the public after the French Revolution, notably through widespread demonstrations in Paris, include 1830, 1848, 1871, 1934, 1958, 1968, 1985 and 1995–19966.

Trade unions, legalized in 1884, were for many years ignored by both the state and an important number of employers. An important section of the union movement developed revolutionary ideas. Of the main industrial countries, only France had as its major labor organization a procommunist union (the CGT), which rejected the idea of bargaining within the “pro-bourgeois” established political framework (Hewlett, 1998). However, violent confrontation between workers and employers were rare, except at moments of major demonstrations. After the student and trade union demonstrations of 1968, Antoine Ribaud, head of a major food-processing company, earned the derision of many fellow leaders when he called upon them publicly to adopt a more social management style toward unions (Jack, 1999).

The dislike of direct, face-to-face relations is visible in many aspects of French economic life. Shop floor workers, for example, reluctant to form teams spontaneously, preferred to cooperate through formal rules established centrally. In the long term, management–union relations considerably improved from the late 1970s, reflected in a change from autocratic to cooperative relationships in many companies (Goetschy, 1998). Today, although French trade union membership continues to be one of the lowest in Europe, approximately 10% of the workforce in France, trade unions remain a formidable force, in both politics and industry. Food processing and banking have been sectors relatively untouched by industrial unrest. To an extent this is due to the influence of decentralized management and cooperative or mutualist ideas in parts of these sectors.

Intellectual and Elitist Traditions

French intellectuals have always occupied a special position in French society. Alexis de Tocqueville, French aristocrat and author of Democracy in America, exercised much influence in French politics. He noted that, in the Ancien Régime, French intellectuals displayed a more abstract mind-set than their English counterparts. Whereas the British followed the pragmatic and reformist route in political and social matters, French intellectuals preferred more general and abstract plans for reform. Dynamism in French leadership, especially in business, has been tempered, historically, by the existence of a strong intellectual tradition. Top managers are not required to have tremendous charisma or persuasive skills, even if they possess them, or to be visionary (Barsoux & Lawrence, 1997). The mantle of power and authority, associated with their role or ascribed status, guarantees acquiescence from subordinates.

Prestigious higher education is not associated with universities, with the possible exception of the Sorbonne in Paris. Young people aspiring to reach the top in politics, the civil service, or business aim to enter one of the top state-controlled specialist or professional schools, called Grandes Ecoles. Over 170 exist, which cater to the technical, administrative, and business needs of both the State and private industry. Distinguished Grande Ecoles include the civil service training school (l'Education Nationale d'Administration). Normally, students follow 2 years of preparatory courses after the Baccalaureate (high school diploma) before taking a competitive entrance exam. Emphasis is placed at these institutions on mathematical prowess (the main admissions requirement) and logical, abstract thinking.

Products of the very best Grandes Ecoles circulate in their careers between the civil service, government, and business. Consequently a powerful elite and old-boy network developed (Barsoux & Lawrence, 1997). The most notable informal club is that of the Enarques, graduates of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (commonly called ENA). Major personalities in business move generally in the same circles as leaders, on both the political and social scene, forming altogether a select elite.

Family and State Tradition in Business

Family capitalism remains important in France. The continued paternalism in part of French business is reflected in the number of words connected to management derived from the Latin word Pater. Examples are le patron (employer, company chief, or boss), le patronat (top management), and le grand patronat (top business leaders). According to Marseille (1997), France maintained its economic position worldwide due to the dynamism of families, compensating for the defection of the elites. In 1992, 25 out of the 100 leading companies were family controlled. Other scholars have pointed to the importance of family-owned businesses in France (Allouche & Amann, 1997; Barsoux & Lawrence, 1990). The bourgeoisie saw success as based on increasing their wealth and the reputation of their families. They believed their basic duty was to pass on property to their children and to protect family businesses from outside control (Barsoux & Lawrence, 1990).

Altman (1993) places France in a Southern European group for business purposes, metaphorically described as family. At work actors tend to re-create “familial” relationships, which entail conflict resolution based on loyalty, protection, succession, and the exercise of authority.

In Britain and the United States, government and industry traditionally tend to be viewed as two separate areas. Dyson (1983) argues that in France the influence of Roman law and threats from home and abroad, oriented attention toward the state as key actor, with emphasis on values of unity and solidarity. Policies and reforms instituted by Louis XIII, Louis XIV, and their ministers (Richelieu, Mazarin, and Colbert) and by Napoleon Bonaparte, made France the first fully-operative administrative state. The active involvement of the state in economic life (dirigisme) was considered both the cause and the effect of the weakness of the private industrial sector.

The state, since industrialization, played an important role in industrial affairs, both as patron and as a model for the business community (Szarka, 1992). As the state has tended to be the principal shareholder in many major companies, the key corporate relationship remains that with the government. The state occasionally rescues important organizations, including banks, that experience serious financial difficulties. The situation has changed in some respects since the mid-1990s, with the state gradually playing a lower profile in industry.

Leading company chairpersons originate from three chief sources, the most important being former higher civil servants. One study found that 15 of the chairpersons of France's top 25 companies (excluding banks and insurance companies) came from this source and a further eight from the second category, founders or inheritors of family firms (Bauer, 1990). In the third and smallest were the “company men,” people who had worked their way up in the firms they now headed. The key feature of each of these three groups has been described respectively as intelligence, inheritance, and competence (Barsoux & Lawrence, 1990).

Top civil servants, who wish to ultimately go into business, are appointed as heads of major private companies or public-sector enterprises by the system known as “parachuting” (parachutage). According to one estimate, about a third of the top managers in the 200 leading companies come from the grands corps in the civil service (Jack, 1999). Working for the state has historically been regarded as noble.

Many company regulations and procedures stem directly from laws. The French word cadre (manager) dates from a 1936 law that accords a legally recognized rank to managers along with appropriate status and privileges (Leeds, 1994). In France, cadre is the equivalent of a middle (and sometimes upper) managerial position. These ranks are attained only in sectors such as banking, through succeeding in further examinations and interviews as well as possessing a good record. Demonstrated ability does however, still remain the main criterion for promotion to top management.

2.  LEADERSHIP IN FRANCE

A large number of persons in senior and top management belong to the political, economic, and social elite. Top managers or leaders have been described as politicized and intellectualized (Jack, 1998).

Leadership Styles

Lebel (1985) identifies six leadership styles: narcissistic, autocratic, paternalist, technical (machine like), consultative, and participative/democratic. In practice, these styles are not mutually exclusive. Most businesses can be characterized by a number of styles operating simultaneously, depending on individual personalities, circumstances, and the level of the hierarchy. According to Lebel, the narcissistic style remains largely confined to parts of the nationalized and public sectors. Three broad leadership styles are evident within French private organizations. The first approximates the classical, Taylorian model, the second reflects paternalism, and the third the participative, consensual style. Weber (1986) combines the first two styles in one model, described as traditional, authoritarian, protectionist, and paternalist. His second model fits within the participative style.

Features of the first model include hierarchy, centralization, bureaucracy, and autocratic quasi-military leadership. Moyet (1989) describes business leaders as akin to army commanders. Managers tend to work in isolation, punctuated by formal meetings (Barsoux & Lawrence, 1997). In a large company, such a person combines the functions of chairperson and managing director, responsibilities that are often separated in large American and British companies. Although, the head is subject to control by the board and by the shareholders, members of the board rarely challenge her or his proposals at meetings. Precision and exactitude pervades the environment, authority being based on status, law, or regulation, and technical competence. The organizational chart corresponds to how people interact and communicate (Graves, 1973). French chief executives do not have to follow long processes of consultation with colleagues or others at various levels of the hierarchy. In this style, managers tend to communicate downward impersonally by written instructions (formal authority).

The second model combines features of traditional French practices such as personalism and paternalism. A closer, more personal nature of superior–subordinate relationship, it softens the hierarchy. The group is considered more of a family than an instrument. Managers concern themselves with the work and personal problems of their staff. Two overlapping forms of family capitalism can be distinguished in this model. The first concerns family-controlled firms, which include some very large companies, for example, Michelin, de Wendel, Schneider, Peugeot, l'Oréal, Pinault, and Dassault. The second applies to firms that create a familial, paternalist or “social concern” atmosphere, still particularly important in many small, some medium-size, and a few large French firms. Sainsaulieu (1997) observes that French bosses may conceive their business as a large family, feeling a personal responsibility for the welfare of employees, which extends to families and dependents.

The third style of leadership clearly has numerous variants, depending on various mixes of directiveness and participation in decision making. Weber (1986) describes his second leadership model as one where a progressive employer is more open to the international economy, accepts trade unions, and combines authoritarian direction with more democratic, participative practices. Hastings (1993) stresses that opposites may exist simultaneously within organizations; examples of this are hierarchy and non-hierarchy, participative decision making, and strong direction. Employees become effective networkers within a collective individualist system. As Brilman (1998) argues, French companies are gradually moving from a Taylorian conception of work toward a post-Taylorian system, reflected by a more horizontal, participative structure with the clientele.

The head is obliged to be a competent administrator in order to cope effectively with the immense volume of regular mail from the government concerning laws, regulations, and other matters. It is he or she, personally, who must make the decisions as to which legislative measures must be respected, resisted, or circumvented for various practical reasons.

French employees dislike being closely supervised and expect a degree of autonomy, even if the organizational chart does not reflect this in theory (D'Iribarne, 1989). The most effective management in such an environment is likely to be of a subtle nature, the head expected to be discreet and unobtrusive. Barsoux and Lawrence (1990) argue that the findings of one survey reflect the need of leaders and managers to communicate instructions in a manner most likely to elicit the cooperation of subordinates. In other words, the latter must feel that leaders have confidence in their ability to carry out their tasks in the way they think is best without being closely supervised.

Although the head of a large company has a board and even a personal group of advisers, he or she may discuss thorny problems with a colleague, friend, or associate from another company or government. Pressures and constraints can sometimes be handled more effectively when resort is made to external council and support. Close cooperation may occur between a group of companies and also between companies and the state. Leading managers of large companies often work closely together, a feature of the camaraderie based on the network maintained between former members of the top Grandes Ecoles.

3.  FOOD PROCESSING AND BANKING—CONTRASTING FEATURES OF TWO SECTORS

Basically three main categories of banks exist. The first category comprises the private or AFB Banks, so-called as they belong to the French Association of Banks, which can undertake all types of banking or credit operations. Although AFB banks started as independent banks, many were nationalized for a time from 1946 or 1982, each becoming independent at various times afterward. The second category covers a special group of mutual and cooperative banks. Since the end of 1999, an important state-controlled savings bank has been in this category along with Crédit Foncier. The third category, the state sector, consists of a few banks, such as the Hervé Bank, which have not been denationalized and the Post Office. The latter acts as a minimum universal bank, serving the needs, notably, of modest households.

French private banks belong to a category of multifunctional banks, universal in form, that operate broadly in a similar manner worldwide as commercial entities. The same point applies to private enterprises in food processing. However, organizations with special structures and practices, governed by particular laws and regulations coexist with traditional, private enterprises in both banking and food processing. Many small and some medium-size businesses in food processing are cooperatives. Cooperative and mutual banks vary in size from small to large. Although cooperatives and mutuals are by no means unique to France, they play an important role in the French economy.

Various influences contributed to the origin of cooperatives and mutual organizations. First, during the 19th century humanitarian and radical thinkers looked to alternatives as a means of modifying negative aspects of capitalism. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, for example, advocated a federal structure that diversified power, the state providing aid or owning the infrastructure. Second, the state supported the mutualist movement and in the 1890s, the state helped to create mutual banks, partly inspired by developments in German banking (Thiveaud, 1977). Third, a strand in French thinking idealizes smallness. France traditionally served as the refuge for small operations, exemplified by the wide variety of small, regionally or locally based banks. In addition, a large number of small craft or artisanal enterprises and cooperatives (strong in areas such as agriculture, construction, and distribution) exist. Private banks did not want such organizations as clients around the early 1900s. Instead, the early mutual and cooperative banks were able to serve the needs of these special sections of the population.

Cooperatives and mutuals operate primarily for their members. When these organizations operate commercially, profits can be made under certain conditions, which preclude speculative activities. Surpluses should directly benefit members or be applied to financing necessary expenses incurred for the long-term benefit of the organization. Cooperatives and mutuals are both financed by the issue of “social shares” (parts sociales). Each social share bought by a member has a fixed value. Remuneration, based on the profit or surplus made, amounts to an annual rate of interest, called a dividend. The amount the member receives depends on the quantity of social shares possessed. Each member has only one vote at the annual general meeting (AGM), irrespective of the number of social shares owned.

In medium- to large-scale organizations, financed by share capital, the number of votes that major shareholders have at the AGM correspond to the number of shares each personally owns. Consequently, the influence of the small shareholder is minimal. Shares are often bought and sold for speculative purposes. This aspect of capitalism is not present in cooperative organizations, which are associated with a more democratic ethos. In both cooperatives (food processing) and cooperative/mutual banks, members vote for volunteers to serve on the administrative committee. The latter elect the head of the organization, who can in fact be removed by democratic means should this be necessary.

Mutual and cooperative banks share one advantage in the market economy. They are not funded by share capital. Consequently they may take over a commercial bank or another organization, financed by shares. However, they are protected from the influence of market and globalist pressures themselves in that they cannot be taken over by another organization, hence losing identity and independence.

Within French commercial banks, directive rather than participative decision making prevails within a high power distance environment, approximating civil service or military practices. However, the number of hierarchical levels within branches, regional and divisional centers, and Paris headquarters, resemble the structure in mutualist and cooperative banks. In general, the latter possess considerable autonomy at regional and branch levels. A federal structure links together all the centers and outlets of such banks.

Despite the existence of hierarchies and titles such as general director for bankers holding responsible positions, their importance tends to be less emphasized in cooperative banks as compared to commercial ones. In a small branch, the director will tend to see employees as collaborators rather than as subordinates. At the next level, the senior manager is likely to interpret his or her role as consensual, acting as a coordinator of the various banking centers under his or her responsibility.

Historically, the food-processing sector and mutual and cooperative banks have remained comparatively independent of state intervention. Important food-processing companies were never nationalized and, as a rule, did not require state subsidies. In food processing, particularly in cooperatives and within mutual and cooperative banks, employees have good opportunities for promotion based on their own merits and experience. In contrast, commercial banks have always retained close relations with the state, owing to their importance to industry, a significant and “politically sensitive” area of the economy. Consequently, state intervention has been more significant, particularly during the periods when the major private banks were nationalized. The fact that the state occasionally provides the head of a major bank through the system of parachuting (explained earlier) reduces the prospects of bank employees reaching top-management positions.

For cooperative and mutual banks, group members, such as associations, mutual organizations, and cooperative enterprises, still remain the most important customers. As the latter are run on democratic principles and by law have aims other than profit making, this influences the ethos of the particular banks that serve them, with such banks aiming not to make excessive profits, also referred to as surplus. The corporate or business customers of the private banks are primarily other commercial organizations where the prime motives remain the same, maximizing profits.

In terms of turnover or added value, food processing came first or second, after textiles, based on French industries in the 19th century. From the 1960s, France generally experienced rapid economic growth. She became the first exporter, ahead of the United States, in food-processed products, especially in cereals and wine. Frozen milk products, biscuits, sugar, and meats were also important. Marseille (1997) describes this sector as the new lifeblood of the French economy. Food processing is often the leading sector of French industry in terms of exports.

Mutual banking plays a key role in financing agricultural modernization. Improved technology, mergers and restructuring contribute to the growth of agriculture. In the 1980s, family capital dominated food processing. Indirectly, the state plays an important role by protecting and encouraging the modernization of agriculture, which contributed to the sustained efficiency and dynamism of the food-processing sector.

Structurally a few large firms, a large number of efficient small and medium-size firms, plus small craft businesses characterize the food-processing sector. Small businesses dominate milk, though a few large companies control most of the production. Cooperatives form an important element, comprising 129 out of 489 businesses in milk (Limouzin, 1992). Some large organizations tend to be decentralized and sometimes partially cooperative in form. In the 1980s, families provided the bulk of the capital in this sector.

Food-processing organizations operate in an environment in which cooperation is, to a large extent, the normal procedure. The suppliers of raw materials to this sector, many farmers, suppliers, or intermediaries, are to an important extent organized in some form of cooperative.

Considerable restructuring has taken place in banking since 1996. Mergers have taken place between banks in different or the same categories, aiming to create larger organizations able to compete effectively at home and abroad. Some banks in the mutual/cooperative category gained substantial control over, or bought a small portion of shares in private banks. The result is that the strength and influence of the mutual banks has increased in the economy, compared to the private banks. The state sector of banking has reduced much in size. Mutual and cooperative banks presently control over 50% of the market in French banking.

Both banking and insurance remain simultaneously distinct and intertwined areas of finance. Mutual and private insurance organizations also operate. However, from the start of the 1980s banks began selling insurance products through the creation or purchase of insurance subsidiaries. The tendency has been for equivalents to match up—increased links between mutual insurance organizations and equivalents in banking—followed by the same trend in relation to private insurance companies and private banks. Additionally, the Post Office now also sells life insurance.

Given the diversity and variety of organizations in banking, and to an extent in food processing, the type of leader needed is one who adapts his or her style pragmatically to the work environment. This implies knowing the art of balancing the need to lead and to make changes, and also of adapting to the values of particular organizational cultures. This point becomes all the more relevant given the fact that the two types of organizations in both sectors, the private and the cooperative, no longer necessarily completely exist in pure form. A few of the large food-processing companies now have some branches or subsidiaries structured cooperatively. Some banks in the second category (cooperative or mutual) now possess small or substantial shareholdings in private banks. In addition, both sectors undergo constant evolution and restructuring, requiring flexible, decisive, and visionary leadership.

The banking sector has been, since late 1998, in the process of continuing evolution and restructuring, likely to extend soon to European and global levels as many of the banks look for partners, alliances, or mergers abroad.

4.  SUMMARY OF INTERVIEWS

Ten senior managers from the two sectors took part in the interviews, as well as 35 middle managers who completed questionnaires. The age of interviewees ranges from 35 to 52 years old, with an average age of 42 years. The majority of respondents were men, but a minority of 20% were women. Interviews were also conducted with managers from other sectors. The purpose of these additional interviews was to gather further information to that relating to outstanding leaders, competent managers, and the profile of the opposite of an outstanding leader (see Table 15.1). Such supplementary information has been included in the appropriate sections of this chapter. Information from two focus groups (one from each sector) has been incorporated into this section.

TABLE 15.1
Features of Leaders and Managers as Seen by Middle Managers

Outstanding Leader	Competent Manager	Opposite of Outstanding Leader
• Visionary, can anticipate the future and take a long-term view	• Motivates a team and develops team spirit	• Too individualistic
• Ability not to make her or himself indispensable and	• Is ready to listen to the views of others	• Incompetent; does not know his or her job, product or market
who is valued through the success of colleagues
• Possesses charisma, rigor, and dynamism	• Has technical skills that are indispensable to a team	• Lacks charisma and consideration for others
• Good at relationships, team building, and achieving success	• Diplomatic and rigorous	• Overambitious, authoritarian, and stubborn
• Has empathy, is a good listener and communicates	• A communicator and organizer; ability to make the right decision	• Makes her or himself indispensable and allows no autonomy to his or her team
• Possesses special financial skills related to markets		• Lacks charisma
• Ability to get the maximum support of colleagues in pursuit of achieving objectives set by the leader

Banking

The general impression gained from the interviews with senior managers in banking was that teamwork pervaded the work environment. Leader attributes included the ability to train colleagues to work in a group or to provide a guiding vision, outlining the direction in which the organization should go and the special technical banking skills required. Outstanding leaders, whether in business or politics, were shrewd and adapted to their professional milieu.

Senior managers saw the primary role of a competent manager as leading a team, encouraging all members to respect the group dynamic. Incompetent or weak managers preoccupied themselves excessively with administrative and task-focused activities, not vital to the business. They were individualists, egoists, or hypocrites.

For middle managers in banking, the outstanding leader possessed charisma and conviction. He or she allowed time to listen to the views of others and acted as the “motor” or dynamizer, who integrated others into working for targets or aims such as increased market share. Skills included good anticipation of future developments in financial markets and the willingness to take risks.

Middle managers emphasized the need for a competent manager to be fully technically skilled in his or her area. Such managers trained others to work in a team for common aims, and were respected by their personnel as their knowledge was vital to group success.

The opposite of an outstanding leader was a person who possessed neither charisma nor real technical competence, even if professionally qualified. Such a leader evaded his or her responsibilities, could not properly train a team, and tended to be dictatorial. He or she appeared as someone on the sidelines, undynamic and unenthusiastic.

Food Processing

“He is at the same time an actor, communicator, visionary, a patriarch who is charismatic and inventive”; and “He is a visionary, communicator, a consensus-builder, someone remarkable, but after all a humanist who speaks with conviction and has faith in others.”

Two senior managers in the same company, food processing, had the following to say about what makes an outstanding leader:

In food processing, senior managers associated outstanding leaders with qualities such as charisma, dynamism, innovation, vision, and the ability to communicate. As an effective orator, he or she was expected to speak clearly, simply, and effectively in public.

One respondent equated the outstanding leader with the “captain of a ship” or as the patriarchal or father-like figure, who incarnated all the best qualities of the organization. Another stressed the need for a leader to foster solidarity and commitment at all levels of an organization. His particular consensual style included availability at all times (“open door” policy), which facilitated contact with employees and rapid problem solving.

The competent manager was associated with the role of tactician, who found the means of implementing the general goals or targets to be achieved of the leader and senior management.

The opposite of an outstanding leader was seen as a person preoccupied with administrative and task-based activities and as having a nonhumanist orientation that was counterproductive to the interests of the organization.

Based on a focus group and one interview, the image of the significant leader seen by middle managers from two companies (one of which was a cooperative) emerged as a person who reached the top by his or her own efforts, surmounting all obstacles. Such leaders shared common qualities such as courage, honesty, intelligence, sincerity, loyalty, frankness, and cunning.

The power of the leader lay in her or his ability to adapt to people and situations, combined with the capacity to integrate and coordinate the work of employees in the furtherance of group objectives. In the smaller organizations, notably the collectives, employees readily cooperated. Leaders knew that the organization operated on the basis that the team, rather than the individual leader, held the power.

The opposite of an outstanding manager was associated with various profiles. Examples cited were: (a) the person who gained his or her job through connections (“parachuting”) and evaded his or her responsibilities; (b) someone who gained a senior post just after graduating from a business school; (c) someone who inherited his or her father's business; (d) the demagogue.

Middle managers from both banking and food processing cited various examples of outstanding leaders in France and elsewhere, including Mother Theresa. The French leader most highlighted was Bernard Tapie, reputed for incarnating the entrepreneurial spirit.

Semantic Analysis of Interviews

An analysis was carried out, based on the interviews, using a technique developed by Benzecri (1976). This organizes data in contingency tables (or cross-tabulation) called “factorial analysis of multiple correspondences.” The objective of this method is to produce a statistical study and representation of word distribution after extracting the roots (or lexemes) of the words in a given corpus.

ALCESTE, the program used for this study, was created by Reinert (1993) and based on Benzecri's technique. The program first breaks down the utterances into predicates of equal length using punctuation. These subject-predicate units are called Unités de contexte élémentaires (UCE, i.e., elementary units of context). The program then creates a contingency table using UCEs as one entry and lexical items (lemmas) as the other. Each lexical entry is coded as (1) or (0) based on its presence or absence within the UCEs. A hierarchical classification in a descending order is produced. As a first step in the procedure, the program divides the whole corpus into two classes by maximizing the chi-square of the margins of the table. The procedure is then repeated in an iterative way until all classes are produced, that is, until the best fit between lexical entries and lexical fields is obtained. Each class constitutes a “discourse world.” Our analysis using this technique on 75 pages of single-spaced corpus shows a first major opposition between two discourse worlds, that of the managers from the mutualist and cooperative sectors (see Fig. 15.1, Clusters 1 and 3), and that of the managers from large private groups (see Fig. 15.1, Clusters 2, 4, and 5). Within the latter class, a further opposition emerged between the banking (Clusters 4 and 5) and food-processing sectors (Cluster 3). Finally, two different discourse worlds were produced for large state and private banks (Clusters 4 vs. 5). Further descriptions of each cluster are listed in Table 15.

The World of Managers in Mutualist and Cooperative Organizations. One of the main aspects of managerial work cited in these two discourse worlds is a humanistic orientation, which interviewees oppose to the mechanistic orientation of large private or state concerns that crush the individual. The style of management most often cited is participation and the central idea that decisions are made on the basis of one person, one vote, and not on the amount of capital one possesses.

The terms most used in Cluster 1, the world of mutualist banks, are manager, service, finance, and participation. Managers highlighted participative management. Senior managers consult the heads of service (middle managers) directly concerned with important decisions, such as the hiring or firing of personnel. The following quotation illustrates this type of management:

Things only work (are accepted) if management is participative. When a decision is made in our headquarters, the personnel are consulted first .… [The top managers] are elected [and not appointed] by the branches and work for them.

Cluster 3, the world of small and medium-size mutuals and cooperatives, best represents the mid-and small-size food-processing cooperatives. The terms most employed in this category are, commercial, producer, cooperative, assembly, and human. Managers perceive a tension between the human aspects of management and the pressure for immediate results. This humanist orientation leads most managers to emphasize the qualities of the cooperative and mutual sectors. All of the interviewees in this sector insist on the fact that in their company “one person equals one vote” occurs when decisions need to be made, unlike the traditional companies where “voting power” depends on the amount of capital invested:

FIG. 15.1. A dendrogram of five discourse worlds of French middle managers.

TABLE 15.2
Comparative Table of the Five Business Discourse Worlds

Sectors	Description
Cluster 1: Mutual banks	Participative management, top managers are elected, the base is consulted
Cluster 2: Large business private and public (ex-public sector)	Charismatic, competent
Cluster 3: Small food-processing groups	Competence, charisma capacity, values, technical skills
Cluster 4: Public bank / the Post Office	Administrative inertia, lack of understanding of social mechanisms, emotional women's world
Cluster 5: Large private banks	The leader who is able to succeed because of his or her will

But the final decision. How is it made? The final decision depends on the majority of the votes, but the majority one person equals one vote. It is like a referendum. The personnel will vote, and if there are 50 people, it will be 50 votes.

The leader is also a charismatic person who encourages people to work together in a democratic way.

The World of Large Business, Both Private and Public. The charismatic leader is the one that is most often cited in this category. The competent leader is highly valued as a person who is committed to a team to which he or she brings his or her technical expertise. The large public sector is more marked than others by conflict and conflict resolution (arbitration), by affective relations and sexism.

The terms most often used to describe Cluster 2, the world of large food-processing companies are: qualified leader, significant leader, chief, team, charisma, capacity, values, and technical skills. The interviews also show the importance attached to the charismatic leader for his or her ability to lead, but also to the competent leader who can help and do whatever the workers do:

The real leader is recognized as somebody who leads his team on a given project. He does not necessarily have the technical ability to substitute for a team member, … but the team members naturally adhere to his project. A “competent leader” can take the place of any of the team members.… He's the one who helps solve technical problems … and because he brings a sense of security to his team, he is recognized as a leader, but only for his competence.

Thus, one of the most important traits of the exceptional leader entails keeping a certain distance from the team. The competent leader may be a good leader, but she or he will never become an exceptional leader, lacking the necessary charisma.

Cluster 4, the world of large state banks, best typifies the one large public bank in our sample. People insist on administrative inertia and a lack of understanding of the social mechanisms of management:

“The constraints for the leaders are the structure, whether the social or administrative structure, or just the weight of habits, the weight of the past.” Middle managers regularly talk about their relations with upper managers (whether easy or not so easy), which shows a concern for hierarchy. They also express a concern for the evaluation of their work, and the emotional atmosphere of a women's world.

Cluster 5 represents the world of large private banks, one of which is a cooperative bank in the agricultural sector. The words most often used by middle managers are opinion, succeed, think, idea, question, and voluntarism. The team leader has a stimulating influence, but constantly keeps an eye on objectives that are not the purpose of discussion or argument. He or she insists on hierarchical relations, but is careful to leave enough space for the people working for him or her:

There are hierarchical relations since we operate in a top-down structure. The general strategy of the company is defined, and once this has been done, the machine comes into play so that all move in the same direction. … Let us say that we are not in a structure based on self-management. We are in a structure with objectives, with a direction.

5.  MEDIA ANALYSIS

This section takes the form of a discourse analysis, focusing on a limited number of extracts. It is not a content analysis of an exhaustive nature, but aims at defining social representations of managers as shown by the way a special section of the media portrays them in its discourse. Special attention is given to the position of the manager as an actor (subject and/or object positions) and the types of verbs associated with this role (factitive, declarative, or stative).

To study the image of a leader in the French press, use has been made of several specialized magazines with of a wide circulation. More specifically, bearing in mind the interpretation of the questionnaires, magazines read by middle managers in the finance and food-processing sectors have been selected. So that the results would not be attributed to specific events, two separate periods of time were chosen—August to October 1998 and June to August 1999.

L'Usine Nouvelle (The New Factory)

L'Usine Nouvelle is the most important magazine aimed at managers in industry and provides up-to-date information on themes such as technical progress, economic developments, financial assessments, and calls for tender. Through a study of this magazine the leader, visualized as a human actor encouraging the progress of his or her organization, is not particularly highlighted. For example, in the 1,300 projects that are analyzed systematically, we note that:

• The projects made no mention of a human actor. Use was made of a nominalized verb, the notion “actor” being understood implicitly. In food processing, for example, 120 out of 171 projects are described without any reference to a human being.
• The agents were described collectively as a group, organization, or enterprise.
• The agent is a specific individual who could be considered a leader (example: “The supplier of Beaujolais wine is required to …”).

Le Nouvel Economiste/L'Expansion

The New Economist (Le Nouvel Economiste) is a magazine, politically center-right, popular with managers specializing in finance. Another magazine, Expansion (L'Expansion), occupies the same segment of the market and follows the same format as Le Nouvel Economiste, but is more right-wing.

To identify the profile of a leader, important portrayals of certain personalities in business have been selected. First, the accounts of the life of similar people were studied in the magazines of 1998. These are Pierre Cardin, “pharaoh-like manager” (Nouvel Economiste, October 16, 1998), and Cédric, “manager in fashion” (L'Expansion, August 27, 1998). Second, a study was made of the portrayal of the French “among the 200 richest people in the world” (Le Nouvel Economiste, July 29, 1999) and of the actors involved in the “explosive revolution of French capitalism” (L'Expansion, August 26, 1999, No. 1629).

In Le Nouvel Economiste, Pierre Cardin, the fashion designer, is made the subject of a verb in only 11 out of 25 sentences included in the article mentioned previously. In most of these sentences, the agent is portrayed as someone who creates the conditions for production rather than as a producer himself. As the text develops, an image is painted of a manager as someone who exercises a precise activity from the start as the founder of his business. As the creator, he acquired a status that seems to absolve him of all responsibility. For example, in the observation, “In 1949 Cardin created his own business. Fifty years later his organization is present in more than 150 countries,” the fashion designer has become a human being who reacts to elements based on this position and who acts through speech.

In the portrayal of Cédric (L'expansion), the “fashion manager,” the leader is placed only once as the subject of a verb, which is declarative: “He has been able to move towards. …” Later it is only his professional career that is described. Consequently he is twice the subject, the first of a passive verb—“he is hired …”—and the second of a pronominal verb, “he is content to. …” In the two cases, he is not the actor in control of events (he is hired only because he has proved himself) and is offered something not very satisfying that he is obliged to accept. Finally, the article concludes with a direct quotation where the manager comments on his situation—“it is most fulfilling”—and describes his work—“my work covers all aspects of the business.” In other words, he remains outside and makes no mention of himself as the key actor.

Besides the depiction of leaders as professionals, we also looked at how managers are more broadly portrayed in different articles. Among portrayals of the 200 wealthiest persons in the world (Le Nouvel Economiste, 1999), 15 French people are discussed in this study. Leaders’ activity is described in one, two, or three sentences (20 propositions in all). Most of the articles provide readers with the latest news on the person described, rather than with his or her specific role in business. Results of this analysis show that the 15 richest French people are quasi-transcendental. Rooted in a family structure, of which they are the heirs or legatees, these out-of-the-ordinary people are content just to possess. Everything happens as if the evolution of their possessions is distinct from them.

Conclusion

The manager is not portrayed in any clearly distinct manner. When he or she is discussed it is rarely as the subject of the sentence, that is, as an initiator. When the manager is the subject, action verbs are rarely used. In fact, these verbs serve as initial acts. A picture is painted of a manager whose importance is (conversely) related to their disengagement from any concrete action. This approach is found not only in an industrial management review, but also in magazines addressed to financial managers of all political orientations. Finally, journalists give their readers (the managers themselves) a view of a leader cut off from events and relieved of work or effort. The manager represents more of an ideal or the vehicle for a dream.

6.  QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

This section outlines the findings based on a subsection of a survey that was carried out in banking and food industry in 1998/1999 in several areas of France (Paris, the Northeast, and the south). One hundred and eight-five questionnaires were retained for this study. The first part of the analysis deals with Sections 1 and 3 of the questionnaire, which focus on societal and organizational cultural GLOBE dimensions. The second part relates to Sections 2 and 4 of the questionnaire, which focus on the GLOBE leadership dimensions. An item analysis, followed by a factor analysis, allowed us to highlight the features that define good leadership in France.

GLOBE Dimensions in Organizations and Society

The “organizational culture” sample counts 80 subjects and the “societal culture” sample 105 subjects coming from 12 different companies. Age ranges from 35 to 60 with an average of 42. A majority of the respondents were men (149), with a minority of women represented (36). Most of them are French; the nine non-French citizens are Algerian, Belgian, Lebanese, and Polish.

Organizational Culture. See Tables 15.3 and 15.4 for a statistical breakdown of the organizational results in each of the two industries. Further detail about each of the dimensions follows:

TABLE 15.3
Organizational Culture Results in the Financial Service Industry

^aCountry mean score on a 7-point Likert-type scale. ^bBand letter A–D indicating meaningful country bands for the scales A > B > C > D; the band width is equal to 2 SD (standard deviation). ^cAbsolute difference between the “Should Be” and the “As Is” score.

TABLE 15.4
Organizational Culture Results in the Food Service Industry

^aCountry mean score on a 7-point Likert-type scale. ^bBand letter A–D indicating meaningful country bands for the scales A > B > C > D; the band width is equal to 2 SD (standard deviation). ^cAbsolute difference between the “Should Be” and the “As Is” score.

1. Uncertainty Avoidance: Uncertainty Avoidance refers to the extent to which the organization relies on rules, norms, and procedures. In the finance sector, middle managers agreed that enough structure and coherence existed in their own workplace. They strongly agreed that precise and detailed instructions needed to be given. However, they also indicated that this should not be done at the expense of innovation and creativity, nor at the expense of emotions; hence the hesitation to argue in favor of more structure overall. Managers in food processing scored slightly lower on this dimension, mainly because they thought that order and coherence were not to be valued to a point where it hindered originality and innovation. The presence of smaller and less formal companies also contributes to this lower score.
2. Assertiveness: In the finance sector, respondents indicate perceptions of low aggressiveness. They thought that they ought to be more assertive, and, interestingly, more domineering. However, respondents rejected the idea that they should be more aggressive. Note that the term aggressive does not have the positive connotation that it sometimes has in English. Whereas in English, and especially in a business context, the term may have the meaning of “assertive, bold, enterprising” (American Heritage Dictionary), in French aggressif is always related to aggression, violence, and attacking (Petit Robert). In food processing, managers felt self-confident and domineering; they therefore did not perceive any need for more Assertiveness.
3. Gender Egalitarianism: Managers in both sectors acknowledged the fact that most physical tasks are performed by men. The survey also shows that only 10% of the managerial positions are occupied by women. Respondents strongly agreed that this situation should change. They even believed that business would be better managed if more women were present. On the other hand, they strongly rejected the idea that special privileges should be granted to women, such as favoring them in terms of training and being more lenient toward them when they failed in their jobs. Respondents also found it normal that some physical tasks should be performed by male employees rather than by their female counterparts.
4. Future Orientation: Planning seems to take place in most businesses to the satisfaction of middle managers in general. These managers strongly agree that this should be the case in the future.
5. Power Distance: In GLOBE, Power Distance refers to the degree to which members of a collective expect power to be distributed equally. Results for this dimension in finance show that respondents found Power Distance in their own environment to be below average. They also indicate that power relations should be based less on authority and more on competence. Even though respondents believed that they should be allowed to question or challenge their superiors, they also strongly agreed that important decisions ought to be made by senior management and that management generally should “arbitrate” in the case of disagreement between employees or managers of equal rank. In short, what is expected from management is that it provides a broad framework and resolves conflicts to everybody's satisfaction. This is also the case in food processing.
6. Humane Orientation: In the finance sector, respondents found their colleagues to be moderately friendly, but also relatively egotistical (self-centered). Understandably, they wish that their colleagues were more altruistic, more sensitive, and more generous toward each other. However, they do not believe that mistakes and errors should be tolerated. The food-processing sector shows a completely different picture on this dimension. Managers found people in their company to be both altruistic and sensitive toward each other, and friendly and generous day to day.
7. Performance Orientation: Performance seems to be highly valued and encouraged by management. However, it does not seem to be rewarded appropriately in the finance sector. Indeed, in food processing, the reward system is reported to be based much more on performance and innovation; this can often be verified on the basis of existing reward systems. In both sectors, respondents agreed that performance should be valued even more highly. They also strongly agree that performance ought to be appropriately rewarded.
8. Collectivism 1: Societal Emphasis: Middle managers reported their jobs to be group oriented. Group work is also encouraged by management, notably through the reward system. They thought that this should be even more the case and that management should encourage a positive group atmosphere. In contradiction with what is usually found in the literature on France, managers considered that time spent on reaching consensus was productive rather than unproductive. Food processing displayed a much stronger leaning toward greater Collectivism. Respondents particularly endorsed collaborative projects and attached greater importance to acceptance within the group.
9. Collectivism 2: In-Group Cohesion and Loyalty: Respondents were found to have a fairly low degree of identification with their company, especially in banking. However, they believed that managers should identify more with their company. This somewhat contradicts the impression we obtained from the interviews where most respondents seemed to be extremely sensitive to the image of their bank, and strongly believed that its members should defend this image when under attack.

To conclude, considerable agreement was found between the two sectors on the nine dimensions. However, food processing scored lower in Power Distance, and higher on the Humane Orientation and Collectivism. Performance and innovation also seemed to be more valued, or, at the very least, better rewarded. This may be due to the fact that many food-processing organizations in our sample were cooperatives or had decentralized branches.

Societal Culture. See Table 15.5 for a breakdown of the societal results in each of the two industries. Further detail about each of the dimensions follows:

1. Uncertainty Avoidance: France scores fairly high in terms of Uncertainty Avoidance (Band B). The country conforms to the classic pattern of a strong Uncertainty Avoidance, defined by Hofstede (1991), and lives within a highly regulated society of rules and laws. Governments are also known for their output of negative regulations, which highlight what must not be done rather than what should. Many laws or regulations may be ambiguous, out-of-date, or conflict with other stipulations. The French have a name for the general practice of getting around the rules, applied by individuals pragmatically and depending on the situation or context, known as “System D,” the “D” standing for débrouillard (resourceful, smart).
2. Assertiveness: France ranks fairly high in terms of Assertiveness (Bands A and B). This means that relationships are more aggressive than in many other societies. Moreover, the fact that the “Should Be” score is equally high indicates that this style is considered normal, and even desirable in daily interactions. This taste for verbal confrontations and sparring corresponds to what has sometimes been presented as “French rationalism.” It also results from the educational system where persuasive writing (la “rhétorique”) and debating are systematically practiced. In everyday life, to be able to say exactly what one means or feels, in a concise, direct, or forthright manner, tends to be prized. Collectively, the French are reputed for oscillating between two extremes when faced with public authorities: submission and rebellion. When grievances are expressed, the French often do so in no uncertain manner.

   TABLE 15.5
   Societal Culture Results

   

   ^aCountry mean score on a 7-point Likert-type scale. ^bBand letter A–D indicating meaningful country bands for the scales A > B > C > D; the band width is equal to 2 SD (standard deviation). ^cAbsolute difference between the “Should Be” and the “As Is” score.

3. Gender Equality: In state organizations (including the civil service and teaching), in the liberal professions, and in upper management (industry) equality of pay exists for men and women in the same job categories. The law on workplace equality (July 1983) requires every firm above average size to submit an annual report on the relative employment level and pay of men and women employees. However, in spite of this law, only about 30% of managers are women and less than 10% are heads of businesses. Segregation against women is still quite strong. According to the 1999 Eurostat figures, women's salaries are on average 12% below that of men for comparable work (compared to 5% in Portugal and 22% in the UK). Reasons can be sought in the law, which is often vague on this subject, and in the fact that employers often find ways of getting around existing regulations. The French strongly disapprove of this disparity, as the high difference between the “As Is” and the “Should Be” scores indicate. France is among the countries with the least women in parliament. Only since the last presidential elections (1995) has there been a marked increase in the number of members of parliament (MPs), all left-wing. However in 1998 only 19 of the 321 senators were women and only 59 of the 577 were deputies in the National Assembly. In government, an increasing number of MPs are women, even though the percentage of women in parliament (10.2%) is still one of the lowest in Europe. The fact that women have been admitted to the Grandes Ecoles for a number of years (e.g., in 1972 at the Ecole Polytechnique) partly explains this evolution. Women serving in the armed service are able to rise to senior rank. Some are in senior positions in local and regional government. Women first entered the army in 1978; presently, about 20% of the officers up to the level of lieutenant-colonel are women (see <http://defense.gouv.fr/terre/hf/index4.html>).
4. Future Orientation: State provisions in areas such as health, pension, retirement, and job security reduce much of the unpredictability or uncertainties of life. The fact that an increasing number of people want to become civil servants (a position that offers absolute job security for life) may explain the relatively low score obtained for Future Orientation. This unique status explains why many people do not need to focus excessively on the long term or to make provisions for the future. For the others, bank advisers are generally allocated to a number of their clients and provide them with information on a range of tax-free, long-term saving schemes and other bank products. Despite the large number of civil servants who do not need to save for the future, the French save, on average, 15% of their income. In consequence, what is sometimes perceived as a lack of clear vision or “strategic planning for the future” needs to be qualified. Indeed, the difference between French Future Orientation and more “Anglo-Saxon” types of Future Orientation is more a qualitative than a quantitative one.
5. Power Distance: The French scored moderately high on Power Distance. However, the large difference between “As Is” and “Should Be” scores indicates that they strongly reject the notion of Power Distance altogether. To fully understand the notion of “Power Distance” in the French context, the need arises to resolve what may be perceived as an apparent paradox: How can French society resent Power Distance so much while supporting and maintaining such a strong hierarchy in society? This paradox, according to d'Iribarne (1996), is due to the fact that, unlike in the United States and the Netherlands, for example, a distinction needs to be made between power distance and hierarchical distance. Though Power Distance may be reduced in one part of a business (e.g., within the same office), the distance with those who are higher up in the hierarchy remains high. The very large difference between “As Is” and “Should Be” scores on this dimension shows that most French people resent Power Distance. However, their “logic of honor” and their desire to avoid interference from higher-ups contribute to reproducing and perpetuating hierarchical distance.
6. Collectivism I—Society: Results for this dimension indicate that the French value Societal Collectivism moderately (“As Is”). They also seem to be satisfied with the degree of collectivism found in society (“Should Be”). The term social economy, which the French often use to describe their own mode of organization, denotes activities of a charitable or noncommercial nature. This links together associations purely social in nature concerned with aid to the sick, poor, and handicapped, mutualist organizations that supplement the National Health Service, and mutualist and cooperative entities in areas such as transport, building, banking, and food processing. All these entities are particularly oriented toward their customers. For the French, the term collectivism does not only mean agreeing. It often indicates the right to be heard, for example, through strikes. Not only is the right to strike well protected, but considerable tolerance is shown in conditions when strikers break the law. Basically, the fact that the general public on the whole tacitly supports major strikes reflects a negative form of social cohesion or solidarity.
7. Collectivism 2—Family: Large families with three or more children benefit particularly from tax benefits, whereas family businesses may obtain tax concessions to encourage the survival and development of small and medium-size family-run organizations. This applies particularly to businesses where the family members are the direct descendants of the original founders. Despite the fact that divorce rates are high, family values are still at the center of most types of social organization. Not surprisingly, it is in the food sector that respondents believe that family collectivism “Should Be” more developed, in both society and organizations. Indeed, this sector includes a larger amount of smaller paternalistic family businesses.
8. Humanism: The score obtained for this dimension is relatively low compared to that of other countries (Bands C and D). However, the high “Should Be” scores show that the French highly value Humanism. Some researchers have argued that the French are primarily moved by self-interest, but that they expect Humanism in the social system and in the business world. This judgment may sound unduly harsh. However, it is true that the French expect fairness and equality to be provided by the political and economic system, and are ready to pay for it, rather than through the generosity of individuals. This results in the relatively higher score for Societal Collectivism (Band B). Today laws and regulations stipulate secure working conditions. For example, employees are protected by minimum-wage legislation (SMIC) and an employer cannot fire, at short notice, an employee without providing satisfactory monetary compensation. When French business leaders receive press coverage, emphasis is placed less on personal details reflecting achievement, such as annual salary and size and quality of house, but rather on what they do that is of a positive nature. This concerns the way they have enhanced the efficiency of their organization, how many jobs they have saved, or the number of small companies that they have prevented from going bankrupt.
9. Performance Orientation: Understandably, the score obtained for Performance Orientation was lower in society than in organizations. Certainly, it is in the workplace that performance plays a more important role. However, the high “Should Be” score for this dimension indicates respondents’ dissatisfaction with this state of affairs. The role of “honor” in all areas of society (in education, among families, etc.) may explain this disparity between “As Is” and “Should Be” scores. The French tend to be very competitive while at school, but ascription occurs at an early age based on individual scholastic attainments. Sometimes a person is considered to have already partially succeeded in life when gaining admission to a prestigious institution. Entrance exams are very difficult for the top Grandes Ecoles but, having entered, nearly all students pass successfully.

The Social Representation of the Exceptional Leader

The purpose of this section is to determine the representation that French managers have of good leadership in the business world. The notion of social representation, as defined in France by Moscovici (1961), refers to “common sense knowledge” (Moscovici, 1984), that is, to the whole body of knowledge held by any individual as a member of a social group. Thus, social representation is a form of common ground that is taken for granted, underpinning all forms of behavior and the way these behaviors are rationalized. It is an organized body of denoted and connoted cognitions (Le Bouédec, 1984). According to Flament (1986) and Abric (1984) the semantic content of representations consists of two systems: a central system and a peripheral system. The former revolves around a “hard core” containing the most commonly shared elements, which are therefore the most resistant to change; the latter group contains mainly contextual elements, which are more easily subject to change and transformation. From a functional point of view, the central system ensures the stability and global orientation of the elements of the representation (Abric, 1988), whereas the peripheral system serves to decipher reality. Because the latter constantly adapts to a changing reality, it protects the central system.

Open methods of inquiry are traditionally used to access representation, such as the analysis of nondirective interviews and free verbal association. The first step in the analysis consists of identifying the lexical fields associated with a given term. We then determine how these are structured on the basis of similarities perceived by subjects as a group. Given the way the data were collected in the GLOBE (House et al., 2004) study, certain changes were necessary to examine this particular aspect of social construction. Indeed, we did not try to group items, as was done in other parts of the GLOBE study. Instead, we applied the methodology traditionally used in the study of social representations.

The 112 items in the GLOBE study all refer to the field of leadership. Indeed, they can all be considered as a repertoire of traits that allow us to interpret leaders’ behavior (Wetherell & Potter, 1992). However, only the items that received a high score can be considered as belonging to the field of exceptional leadership. On the 7-point Likert scale, 32 items scored 6 or higher and can therefore be taken into account. To be considered as a reflection of a given social reality, these items also need to represent a consensus on the part of the subjects. Items that display too great a variation therefore need to be excluded; standard variations between 0.34 and 1.33 were all considered as weak. For example, even for the item “motivating,” which displays the widest variance (1.33), 168 out of 178 subjects attribute scores of 5, 6, or 7. Finally, in order to retain only the items that are part of the core, those items that are too sensitive to context also need to be eliminated. Effects concerning the variable “business sector” comprises eight modalities in the French corpus (four in banking and four in food processing), which were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The analysis revealed significant effect of a variable on 18 items. These items were therefore ignored. Thirteen items were finally retained as belonging to the core (i.e., non-field-specific) representation of exceptional leadership.

The structure of these elements can be identified through two types of analysis (MacLaury, 1997, 2000; Castel, Lacassagne, & Salès-Wuillemin, 2002), one based on resemblance, and the other on difference. In the former case, an ascending hierarchical analysis is used and represented in a dendrogram displaying similarities. The relation between two elements is considered as similar when it is rated in the same way by a large number of respondents. Relations of difference are obtained through factor analysis.

The dendrogram in Fig. 15.2 shows how groupings are progressively formed, from the bottom to the top. A short distance in the distance of aggregation between two items or blocks of items (y-axis) is shorter when the relation is stronger. The dendrogram displays two unbalanced blocks. The first one (right branch) contains 11 items, whereas the second one contains only 2 items, which are only loosely related.

The first block consists of three subgroups. Subgroup 1 has two poles. In the first one, the item “positive” is close to the item “encouraging”; the item “trustworthy” is also closely related to this pair. In other words, French leaders agree that a positive leader is also an encouraging one; these qualities determine the trust that she or he deserves. These traits are related to the impact that the leader is able to exert on the dynamics of her or his team. Indeed, they are related to the second pole, which includes the items “team builder” and “motivating.” Relations in Subgroup 2 highlight the close connection between “informed” and “fair or just”; a third item “intragroup competitor” also closely relates to these traits and makes the connection with Subgroup 1. This means that only people who are likely to use information in a socially acceptable way will be given access to it. The relation between subgroups 1 and 2 shows that a competent and fair leader connects to the relational leader through her or his taste for competition. The third subgroup refers to the traits “morale booster, honest” and “dependable, serious” and loosely connects to the other subgroups through the trait “intelligent.” These traits are not sufficient to be an exceptional leader; they need to be rendered more dynamic through intellectual input.

FIG. 15.2. Dendrogram indicating the relation between items.

The second block indicates that the items “anticipatory” and “win problem solver” are related, but the relation is fairly loose, which indicates that pragmatic intelligence is not given.

This organization of items, on the basis of consensus, highlights the importance of the relational dimension (the affective component) in the definition of the exceptional leader, but also the subtle relation of this dimension with other attitudinal components (both cognitive and conative). To be informed, that is, to hold knowledge, is not disconnected from human qualities such as fairness. However, this two-dimensional form of “professionalism” is effective only when a competitive dimension is added to the mix. Neither are “dependability, seriousness” and “honesty” by themselves enough to ensure the leader's commitment to tasks on the basis of common interest; they need to be associated with intelligence to contribute to social leadership. The “hard worker” is a good leader only if she or he has the intelligence to adopt the qualities of a “human leader.”

FIG. 15.3. Two-factorial representation of core attributes of an outstanding leader in France (factor analysis).

Factor Analysis

The factor analysis highlights the opposition between items. Indeed each axis is defined by items whose projections are the most extreme. (See Fig. 15.3.)

In this factor analysis, we identify a first axis (29.36% of the variance), which opposes the items “informed,” “intelligence,” and “foresight” at one pole, and the item “encouraging” at the other. Between these two poles, we find items such as “motivating,” “team builder,” and “solution” on the left side, and items such as “competitor,” “fair,” “honest,” and “serious” on the right. By adopting a discriminating vantage (MacLaury, 1997), intellectual qualities can be distinguished from qualities in the management of human relations. As for pragmatic (“win-win problem solver”) and collective (“team builder”) commitments, they are to be distinguished from more general human qualities such as seriousness (“dependable”), honesty (“moral”), and fairness (“just”). As a consequence, there seems to be an opposition between “cold” and “human” leadership, which affects the way efficiency and team management is perceived. Indeed, problem solving and team building seem to be perceived as less “human” traits than other features that dominate in direct face-to-face relations. The analysis of this first axis confirms the analysis obtained through the dendrogram, and also reveals that the French management of human relations is a relatively complex process, insofar as this dimension tends to infiltrate others. Furthermore, it indicates that more is expected from leaders in terms of individual human relations than in terms of collective relations. This underscores the importance of human sensitivity in leadership.

The second axis (10.81% of the variance) opposes the items “informed,” “positive,” “trustworthy,” and “competitor” to “motivating,” “anticipatory,” and “moral booster.” In other words, it opposes the entrepreneurial but reassuring leader to the serious, future-oriented leader who expects a great deal from his or her subordinates. The fact that respondents make a distinction between the leader who is simply good, and the one who is good for them, again highlights the importance of interpersonal relations in the representation of the exceptional leader among French managers.

TABLE 15.6
Characteristics of Exceptional Leader Among French Managers

Dimensions (First-Order factors) Subdimensions(Second-Order factors)	Mean	Rank
I. Charismatic	4.93	50
Performance Orientation	5.10	59
Visionary	5.06	59
Inspirational	5.22	59
Integrity	5.14	58
Self-Sacrificial	3.98	61
Decisive	5.06	58
II. Team Oriented	5.11	60
Team Integrator	4.73	60
Collaborative Team Oriented	5.11	59
Administratively Competent	4.52	61
Diplomatic	5.01	59
Malevolent (reverse for II)	1.95	15
III. Self-Protective	2.81	58
Self-Centered	1.86	54
Status-Conscious	3.25	58
Conflict Inducer	5.11	59
Face Saver	2.19	60
Procedural	3.17	57
IV. Participative	5.90	7
Autocratic(reverse for IV)	2.36	44
Nonparticipative (reverse for IV)	1.86	61
V. Humane	3.82	61
Humane	3.29	60
Modesty	4.27	59
VI. Autonomous	3.32	58
Autonomous	3.32	58

Note. Ranks are given in comparison to the 61 GLOBE countries.

To conclude, the analysis of the organization of the most resistant elements of social representation shows that, for French managers, the exceptional leader is a “people-oriented” person who maintains personable relations in his or her environment. This analysis is confirmed by the following 21 first-order and 6 second-order factors obtained from the GLOBE study.

Table 15.6 shows that some of the major GLOBE leadership dimensions (second-order factors) are valued whereas others are clearly depreciated. Participative leadership stands out as the most appreciated of leadership traits. Indeed, French leaders seem to value everyone participating in decisions as well as task delegation. However, when reading these results, one needs to keep in mind that scores refer to the “nonparticipative” and “autocratic” traits; this means that it is not a direct espousal of “participation” that was expressed, but rather a rejection of nonparticipation (see next section). The next most valued traits in leadership style are “team orientated” (5.11) and “charismatic” (4.93). The former refers to purpose-oriented teamwork based on “diplomacy” and “administrative competence,” whereas the latter represents the “visionary,” “self-sacrificial,” “honest,” “decisive,” and “performance-oriented” leader. Being “modest” and “humane” appears to be less important and even sometimes slightly negative for good leadership, in that it may affect leaders’ credibility. This also applies to “autonomous” leaders, who tend to manage problems on their own. Finally, the least appreciated among leaders is the “self-protected” leader who is “self-centered,” “statusconscious,” and “procedural,” as well as a “conflict inducer” and a “face saver.”

7.  LEADERSHIP IN FRANCE COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES

When compared with the scores obtained for other countries, French scores lie at both ends of a scale, from the most open or “participative” to the most closed or “self-protective.” Indeed, among the six second-order factors, the score obtained for “participation” (Rank 7) places France among the countries that most favor this style of leadership. The other five factors are clearly devalued, ranking between 50th and 61st. Thus, in comparison, only participation seems to be valued whereas other styles are clearly rejected. However, these scores need to be interpreted in light of the general outlook of the results. Indeed, the scores attributed by French middle managers appear to be systematically much lower than those obtained for other countries (the higher score for participation results from an inverted low score). Thus, France ranks among the lowest four countries for 18 out of the 21 first-order scales. The other three (where France ranks 54, 44, and 15) refer to items where the other 60 countries also obtain low scores (average <3.5). One possible interpretation is that the middle managers who took part in this study evaluated their own bosses and gave them low scores on most traits. Therefore, it appears that it may not be easy to give a positive opinion about one's superiors in French culture, especially for traits that are most commonly valued.

General Observations

In the interviews, managers endorsed universally approved qualities of leadership, notably vision, dynamism, collaborative, and team orientation, and rejected the negative qualities. In general the findings from the literature research, unobtrusive measures, questionnaire results, and interviews all concur.

Contrary to expectation and what can be found in the literature on France (e.g., Hofstede), France scored relatively low on Power Distance (Bands B and C). This is probably due to recent changes in the business world in France, because many state companies have been recently privatized. However, these results can also be attributed to the fact that most of the literature on leadership in France is based on the study of state industries and large companies, thereby ignoring more than half of the other businesses in the country. The presence of “both worlds” in our sample therefore made it possible to provide another interpretation of French organizations.

Similarly, Uncertainty Avoidance was rated as moderately high. However, the study reveals that the French did not want less structure and did not think that more Uncertainty Avoidance would help. Indeed, less structure might, in their view, lead to anarchy rather than favor risk taking.

Humane Orientation was rated relatively low compared to other countries. The following observations might explain this score. First, as explained earlier, managers are only moderately tolerant regarding professional mistakes, which influences the score obtained for Humane Orientation. Second, leaders work within a range of constraints. They are not considered as fully autonomous actors or unique individuals able to achieve, perform, or “move mountains” based on their own volition. They are part of a democratic structure that ensures that the voice of all, including lower level employees, is heard and taken into consideration in decision making.

The results of the media analysis, in which leaders display a low profile, reinforce this viewpoint. In publications, the role of the leader as the main actor is downplayed; the focus is on events that materialize, seemingly independently of the actor's initiative. The key actor in the public domain and business is expected to be rational, intellectual, and objective, conforming to the abstract notions of the system. From that point of view, expectations are similar to those found in other European countries, for example Germany (Brodbeck, Frese, & Javidan, 2002; see also chap. 6, this volume). These “neutral” qualities are important culture-specific traits. The leader is expected to be very well educated, a discreet operator, and a strong silent leader who serves his or her company and country.

Aspects of state industry relations must also be considered. These include the importance of government laws and regulations, many of which form part of the rules of private companies. In many cases, in spite of recent privatizations, the state still maintains a continuing presence as a shareholder, especially in large companies considered of strategic importance. The politicized nature of the state–industry relationship is reflected, for example, in the practice of parachuting.

In spite of this apparently technocratic structure, a series of culture-specific traits reflected a more humanist style of management. Confirmation of the insights of the studies by d'Iribarne (1989) and Amado, Faucheux, and Laurent (1990) were found in that human relations remain important, particularly in the smaller, family-based cooperatives in food processing. A purely commercial and technocratic approach in these companies has often proved to be disruptive, and technocratic leaders have often failed to be reelected because of a lack of knowledge of how human relations function in this sector.

Thus, outstanding French leaders have the ability to adapt to the structure of the workplace, finding their position in the complex network of personal relations of the milieu in which they operate. Many interviewees stressed the need for outstanding leaders to be tuned in on a daily basis to what happens in their organization. This idea of adapting to the milieu becomes all the more relevant because regional differences are still very strong. Indeed, mobility (which is part of the condition of many top leaders) requires modification of leadership styles and techniques for handling management–employee relations.

Thus, for the outstanding French leader, the many rules and regulations that outside observers usually consider as having a paralyzing effect are not perceived as constraints. Rather, these rules constitute a framework that makes creativity and innovation possible. They are the “grammar” of business, or in Pierre Bourdieu's terms, “the rules of the game” (Foster, 1986). The better leaders understand and master these rules, the better players they will be. In short, outstanding leaders do not simply obey rules they use them and build upon them.

Conclusion

Limitations. On the basis of the overall GLOBE findings, as noted by Hanges (2004), the country scores for France were often identified as outliers. This particular requires further attention. For us, it could be attributed to the way the French relate to power practices. Indeed, the “exercise of power” (l'exercice du pouvoir) can be conceptualized in different ways. It can be considered as referring to personal attributes of the source of power. It can be considered through a type of relation linking the source to the target. Finally, it can be considered as result of the interaction between the source and the target. The GLOBE study as a whole focuses on the first conception of power. However, this type of power appears not to be valued by the French. For instance, the individualistic perspective adopted in this study has been contested by many French researchers, a great number of whom in our own research team have refused to collaborate. In the French leadership research tradition, the leader looks like the leader described in the GLOBE study only because his or her subordinates give him or her this role. Thus, a conception of power that focuses on the consciousness of the other's contribution to power would be more acceptable than one that outlines leadership styles. In fact, as we demonstrated in our historical overview, the social conflict between classes is always present in people's minds; as a result, when they answered our questions we do not know what reference group (dominant or dominated) managers had in mind, or more precisely what reference group they chose to adopt, or have adopted, depending on their individual strategy. Despite this fact, which reinforced mental insecurity in responding, managers answered the questionnaire and gave some qualities that they deemed essential in managing French organizations.

These qualities are important in cross-cultural comparisons insofar as they give a unique standard of comparison to determine knowledge. The GLOBE study's reference frame leads the subjects to give an answer. And so they do; they give an image. This image is interesting to explore by comparing one culture to the others. Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that this knowledge does not immediately fit the reality of a particular culture. Consequently, we have to be cautious when we refer to this knowledge in relation to action.

Practical Implications. Because of the limitations of the research, we believe that the results we obtained differ according to the nationality of managers. For foreign managers, results allow us to provide interpretations for “critical incidents.” By critical incidents we refer to conflicts that often emerge between members of different cultures, because they do not have the same reference frame. At work, many problems arise from misunderstanding due to cultural specific perspectives. Considering cultural difference when a problem is emerging allows avoiding interpersonal problems. Thus, foreign managers working in France should appreciate the significance of the following:

• The pervasiveness of intellectualism, planning, and abstraction (see the Appendix).
• The importance of humanism, group orientation, and social forces in the workplace.
• The French ability to reconcile contradictions, such as hierarchy and equality, order, and liberty.
• The extent to which people accept the “system,” are bound by it, and find ways to rise above it.
• The fact that horizontal networking and bonding is as important as the more visible hierarchical structure.
• French forms of pragmatism, which include handling uniformity (centralization) and diversity.
• The ability of French managers/supervisors to lead while allowing employees to fulfill tasks on their own (respect of people's sense of honor).
• The French preoccupation with maintaining their own particularism, exceptionalism, and originality.
• The respect for leaders depicting qualities reflecting flair, form, style, charisma, panache, and elegance.

Nevertheless, this knowledge is not really a checklist that can be reduced to one leadership style. The necessity for the leader to be “above the crowd,” and therefore, to a certain extent, to be impersonal, invisible, replaceable, and therefore at times bureaucratic and procedural, does not prevent him or her from being human, people centered, and in favor of a team-oriented and humane form of leadership. On the contrary, it is the ability to combine these apparently contrasting qualities that distinguishes the outstanding leader from the “weak leader.” In France, leadership style is not entirely the property of the leader because it has to fit with the expectation of the other members of the company. Even if the foreign manager behaves as a manager should behave according to French standards, he or she could be rejected. An outstanding leader is not necessarily associated only with qualities regarded as positive. For example, he or she might possess qualities regarded as marginally negative; certain outstanding leaders have been described as “nice and nasty,” “mercenaries,” or “pirates.”

It is the position of the leader in the entire organization that determines his or her role and consequently the style he or she should adopt. Not conversely, French managers working in the United States can take into account the results of the survey. Thanks to the GLOBE study, they possess, just as managers in other countries do, the expression of (from our viewpoint) the “American framework,” and can directly use it. In the same way, but more carefully, French managers can use the results obtained to work with partners all over the world (except perhaps for partners from other “outlier” countries). Explicitly considering the GLOBE questionnaire as referent frame and analyzing the respective distance of its own position, the French position, and the partner country's position, each manager can see what type of effort he or she has to make.

Future Research. In future research, we would try to be more specific in the identity of our respondents. In sociopsychological terms, we would control the identity concerned by the participation to such a survey. According to self-categorization theory (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987), the consciousness of cultural identity is linked to social identity. When a culture is strongly recognized, social categories emerge. In other words, when people are aware of belonging to the same category at a superordinate level, they strongly show their difference at the ordinate level. As we have seen in our historical overview, French identity is relatively strong. As a result, intragroup conflicts emerge and social categories become salient. Therefore, in their answers, managers tend to activate their social identity by referring to the social group they choose to enhance. To understand what managers are doing when they answer the questionnaire, we would systematically explore the social partitions emerging in the chosen sector (Hight status/Low status; Representative/Nonrepresentative; Minority/Majority) and determine the score for each reference category.

We would also explore leadership in sports contexts. Indeed, it seems that in this field, leaders are viewed differently. They really seem to be responsible for all sport issues, and their individual characteristics are largely developed in the media.

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Appendix B

French Economy and Culture

“France,” writes sociologist Stanley Hoffmann, “remains a nation that practices capitalism but harbors a solid anti-capitalist tradition, based on the high value attached to equality, and linked to powerful socialist and Catholic schools of thought” (Hoffman, 2000, p. 78). One should therefore not be surprised to find, behind a rhetoric dominated by anti-Americanism and exceptionalism, a country that, in many ways, resembles most other economic powerhouses.

With its 60 million inhabitants, France ranks fourth in the world in terms of gross national product (GNP), after the United States, Japan, and Germany. It is also the fourth largest exporter after the United States, Germany, and Japan with a positive trade balance of 3% in 1999 (Organization for Ecomonic Corporation and Development figures). Most of its activity relates to services (72%), followed by industry (25%) and agriculture (3%). The country is particularly competitive in the areas of new technologies, transportation, equipment, and tourism. It exports goods in agriculture, automotive, civil aviation, transportation, and trains. Its main trading partners are Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. Seventy percent of its commercial exchanges are with these and other European countries.

In June 2002, the international consultants Ernst & Young published a report in which it showed that France, like other European countries, needed to improve its attractiveness if it wanted to counter the ongoing process of delocalization toward central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Rumania. The 200 international companies consulted for the study resented the labor costs, the poor labor flexibility, and the high taxes that France imposes on foreign investors. Yet France ranked first in terms of quality of life and telecommunication infrastructures, and second, just behind Germany, in terms of quality of labor. Its situation at the center of Europe, and its transport infrastructure were also highly valued. These factors may explain why 266 foreign companies decided to settle in France in 2001 (Le Monde, June 25, 2002).