The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture

The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture Douglas E. Kronk Walden University Abstract Leadership’s role in shaping a healthy organizational climate has many facets. Both leadership and organizational culture are difficult concepts to define, as many researchers have chosen to define each in various ways. For the purposes of this paper, I examine leadership as a process that guides both leaders and followers to a common goal, that being a shared culture that binds the members together in a healthy and productive climate. I present several leadership factors that play an important role in shaping a healthy organizational culture. The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture One of the most critical†¦show more content†¦Leadership Defined Leadership is a complex concept. Stogdill, as cited by Northouse (2013), indicated that there are essentially as many definitions for leadership as there are people who have tried to define it. Many have used management and leadership interchangeably, but this is not accurate. Whereas managers manage resources through the functions of planning, organizing, and administering, in order to accomplish activities and master routines, leaders lead people by motivating, developing, and inspiring individuals under their supervision (Northouse, 2013; Hutchinson, 2013). Given these preconditions, for the remainder of this paper, leadership will be defined as a process by which an individual influences followers to accomplish a common goal (Northouse, 2013). Organizational Culture Defined Defining culture, like leadership, is also very difficult to do. Social scientists routinely disagree about the meaning of culture. Consequently, culture has numerous definitions, many of which are quite different from one another. Historically, leadership research has primarily defined culture in two different ways. The first has been based upon visible characteristics, such as geopolitical boundaries (e.g., national borders) or physical characteristics (e.g., skin color or eye shape) (Ayman Korabik, 2010). The second has been based upon invisible differentiators (e.g., values, beliefs, and personalities) (Ayman Korabik,Show MoreRelatedThe Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture3387 Words   |  14 Pages The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture Gian Andrea Manzoni Walden University The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture During commercial presentations, it happens quite often to see the commercial director explaining to a client what the company does, what kind of services provided, who are the potential customers and the best results recorded.  Rarely, it is possible to assist to a presentation on who the company is.  In fact, we tend to focus on the characteristicsRead MoreThe Role and Responsibility of Company Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture1712 Words   |  7 PagesAccording to (Organic Workspaces, n. d) an organization’s culture refers to the observable, powerful forces in any organization, usually constituted by the employees’ shared values, beliefs, symbols, and behaviors. The organizational culture ideally influences its decisions and actions (Tharp, n. d). (Watkins, 2013) also defines organizational culture as a consistent and observable pattern of behavior in organizations. An organization’s culture channelizes individual decisions and actions at a sub consciousRead MoreOrganizational Culture And Human Behavior1323 Words   |  6 Pagesproject’s success is the behavior of the employees. Employee behavior is influenced by organizational culture and leadership. This paper will briefly explore the influence organizational culture and human behavior have on the success of projects, in particular projects plagued with conflict. First, this paper will discuss the influences organizational culture has on the success of projects. 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Exercise of humaneness alone results in weakness. Fixation on trust results in folly. Dependence on the strength of courage results in violence. Excessive discipline and sternness in command result in cruelty. When one has all five virtues together, each appropriate to its functionRead MoreLeadership Models : The Transformational Leadership Model818 Words   |  4 Pagesplethora of leadership models to choose from, however, not all leadership model are able to transcend cultures ethically. Organizations seeking to globalize and diversify must choose a leadership model that is equipped to hand such challenges. The cultural style impacts the leadership model, styles and traits, ethical leadership models are tools for shaping organizational culture while honoring the diversity of the social cultures represented by employees. The transformational leadership model is equippedRead MoreOrganizational Culture And Its Impact On Employees Performance And Innovative Work Behavior949 Words   |  4 Pagesbe considered right in one organizational culture might be considered wrong in another. Normative appropriate conduct varies with societal and organizational culture (Yidong Xinxin, 2013). Perception of leaders being ethical affects employees’ performance and innovative work behavior (Yidong Xinxin, 2013). Global leaders should possess traits such as honesty, altruism, high moral values, transparency, integrity, and fairness to be respected by the followers as a role model (Cowart, Gilley, AveryRead MoreEthical Values And Behaviors Of An Organization941 Words   |  4 Pagesorganizations institutionalized philosophies along with the moral ideologies of its members. In addition, the codes of ethics help to enhance the moral reasoning of employees while shaping their behaviors towards morally question ing unethical situations. Organizational leaders are encouraged to build cultures of trust with leadership who establish concerning goals employees pursue y setting examples for others to follow (Crosbie, 2008). The leaders whom are able to build training and development throughoutRead MoreThe Influence Of Cultural Differences On Leadership990 Words   |  4 Pages The influence of cultural differences on leadership Prejin Padeep Kumar Husson University â€Æ' Leadership is a process of influencing subordinates. Leadership behaviors differ in different cultures. As a result, leaders of international organizations should be aware of cultural differences. With so many organizations operating in a multinational environment today, it is easy to assume that the increasing connection among countries, and the globalization of corporations, would result in culturalRead MoreLeadership and Management977 Words   |  4 PagesLeadership and management are two notions that are often used interchangeably. However, these words actually describe two different concepts. The following report will discuss the differences and examine the roles and responsibilities of leaders in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture. What is leadership, and what is the difference between leadership and management? • Leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, i.e. a leader is the spearhead The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture Gian Andrea Manzoni Walden University The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture During commercial presentations, it happens quite often to see the commercial director explaining to a client what the company does, what kind of services provided, who are the potential customers and the best results recorded. Rarely, it is possible to assist to a presentation on who the company is. In fact, we tend to focus on the characteristics of a product or service; we leave out what drives us to produce, what choices we made, what we (leaders, managers and entrepreneurs) can inspire to the employees. Moreover, the vision that we have of our work and of our customers has left†¦show more content†¦In fact, leadership in organizations inspires moral decisions, creating a climate and organizational culture that stresses and reinforces the ethical behavior; This can be achieved through training, communication of key organizational values and coaching ADDIN CSL_CITATION { citationItems : [ { id : ITEM-1, itemData : { DOI : 10.1007/s10551-010-0601-3, author : [ { dropping-p article : , family : Bagozzi, given : Richard P, non-dropping-particle : , parse-names : false, suffix : }, { dropping-particle : , family : Sekerka, given : Leslie E, non-dropping-particle : , parse-names : false, suffix : }, { dropping-particle : , family : Hill, given : Vanessa, non-dropping-particle : , parse-names : false, suffix : } ], container-title : Journal of Business Ethics, id : ITEM-1, issue : 2009, issued : { date-parts : [ [ 2010 ] ] }, page : 461-486, title : Hierarchical Motive Structures and Their Role in Moral Choices, type : article-journal, volume : 90 }, uris : [ http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=7c06f469-987f-4e7b-8974-31d78d829a9a ] } ], properties : { noteIndex : 0 }, schema : https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json }(Bagozzi, Sekerka, amp; Hill, 2009). Values and Organizational Culture Schein (2009) suggested that an organization’s culture develops to help it to cope with itsShow MoreRelatedThe Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture2310 Words   |  10 PagesThe Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture Douglas E. Kronk Walden University Abstract Leadership’s role in shaping a healthy organizational climate has many facets. Both leadership and organizational culture are difficult concepts to define, as many researchers have chosen to define each in various ways. For the purposes of this paper, I examine leadership as a process that guides both leaders and followers to a common goal, that being a shared culture that binds the membersRead MoreThe Role and Responsibility of Company Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture1712 Words   |  7 PagesAccording to (Organic Workspaces, n. d) an organization’s culture refers to the observable, powerful forces in any organization, usually constituted by the employees’ shared values, beliefs, symbols, and behaviors. The organizational culture ideally influences its decisions and actions (Tharp, n. d). (Watkins, 2013) also defines organizational culture as a consistent and observable pattern of behavior in organizations. An organization’s culture channel izes individual decisions and actions at a subconsciousRead MoreOrganizational Culture And Human Behavior1323 Words   |  6 Pagesproject’s success is the behavior of the employees. Employee behavior is influenced by organizational culture and leadership. This paper will briefly explore the influence organizational culture and human behavior have on the success of projects, in particular projects plagued with conflict. First, this paper will discuss the influences organizational culture has on the success of projects. Secondly, the role project leadership plays in the success of projects and how project managers can build and manageRead MoreLeader Development And Leadership Development753 Words   |  4 PagesLeaders exist at all levels within an organizational design and should not be interpreted as only applying to positions of management. Leadership development programs characterize the institutional desires in creating positive organizational structure in every realm of the corporation. Recognizing the variation between different levels of leaders and their contributions, it is critically important to identify the necessary characteristics of emerging leaders. The knowledge, skills and abilitiesRead MoreThe Influence of Leader ship on Organizational Culture1744 Words   |  7 PagesTHE INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and discipline . . . Reliance on intelligence alone results in rebelliousness. Exercise of humaneness alone results in weakness. Fixation on trust results in folly. Dependence on the strength of courage results in violence. Excessive discipline and sternness in command result in cruelty. When one has all five virtues together, each appropriate to its functionRead MoreLeadership Models : The Transformational Leadership Model818 Words   |  4 Pagesplethora of leadership models to choose from, however, not all leadership model are able to transcend cultures ethically. Organizations seeking to globalize and diversify must choose a leadership model that is equipped to hand such challenges. The cultural style impacts the leadership model, styles and traits, ethical leadership models are tools for shaping organizational culture while honoring the diversity of the social cultures represented by employees. The transformational leadership model is equippedRead MoreOrganizational Culture And Its Impact On Employees Performance And Innovative Work Behavior949 Words   |  4 Pagesbe considered right in one organizational culture might be considered wrong in another. Normative appropriate conduct varies with societal and organizational culture (Yidong Xinxin, 2013). Perception of leaders being ethical affects employees’ performance and innovative work behavior (Yidong Xinxin, 2013). Global leaders should possess traits such as honesty, altruism, high moral values, transparency, integrity, and fairness to be respected by the followers as a role model (Cowart, Gilley, AveryRead MoreEthical Values And Behaviors Of An Organization941 Words   |  4 Pagesorganizations institutionalized philosophies along with the moral ideologies of its members. In addition, the codes of ethics help to enhance the moral reasoning of employees while shaping their behaviors towards morally question ing unethical situations. Organizational leaders are encouraged to build cultures of trust with leadership who establish concerning goals employees pursue y setting examples for others to follow (Crosbie, 2008). The leaders whom are able to build training and development throughoutRead MoreThe Influence Of Cultural Differences On Leadership990 Words   |  4 Pages The influence of cultural differences on leadership Prejin Padeep Kumar Husson University â€Æ' Leadership is a process of influencing subordinates. Leadership behaviors differ in different cultures. As a result, leaders of international organizations should be aware of cultural differences. With so many organizations operating in a multinational environment today, it is easy to assume that the increasing connection among countries, and the globalization of corporations, would result in culturalRead MoreLeadership and Management977 Words   |  4 PagesLeadership and management are two notions that are often used interchangeably. However, these words actually describe two different concepts. The following report will discuss the differences and examine the roles and responsibilities of leaders in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture. What is leadership, and what is the difference between leadership and management? • Leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, i.e. a leader is the spearhead