Leadership and its impact on organizational

culture

This is a research of 1,918 members of Australian Institute of Management.

They revealed a strong relation between leadership and organizational
culture. Leaders are constantly learning form what they do, what they see,
what they take in and process, and recognize also that status quo is not
acceptable. Good leaders apart from just learning are quite reflective as well.
They understand a little bit about human behavior and also motivating the
people. They also understand how to get positive result in difficult situations.

Leadership consists of attributes and skills that determine not only the
nature of enterprise, but overall nature of society and the world.

True leaders know what needs to be done. They know how to lead. They
know what an effective culture looks like. They know about values, vision
and empowerment”. And, most importantly, they act on their knowledge to
establish very constructive cultures that produce outstanding performance.

Leader in large measure creates the corporate culture. Culture model, then
Organizational culture can be both a predecessor and a dominant variable
simultaneously.

The problem is: “They are…the exception, not the rule.” Most in leadership
positions still know how to lead, they just don’t do it. And even if they do,
they don’t do it particularly well. “So why is it that leaders know they should
be leading, know that culture will help the organization best meet its
objectives, but they don’t lead like this and they don’t build cultures like
this?” Strong organizational cultures are associated with competent
leadership.

The study of transformational and transactional model of leadership first

developed by (Burns, 1978) and subsequently operationalized by (Bass
1985). Bass and Avolio (1994) define transactional leadership as a
transaction between leaders and followers.

TRANSFORTMATIONAL CULTURE
In transformational culture, there exist a sense of purpose and a feeling
of family (Bass and Avolio 1993). Leaders in these cultures are role model
who promote organizational goals and encourage employees’ commitment
to the Organization’s purpose and vision. They change their culture by
realigning the Organization’s culture with a new vision (Bass & Avolio,1993).

TRANSACTIONAL CULTURE
Transactional culture in comparison focus on the here and now, where
everything has a value, but where the long-term contributions of people and
processes may not be fully tie together or appreciated.

The mixture of transformational and transactional leadership is needed in

order to maintain sustainable and competitive culture (Bass 1997, 1998 a, b,
1999).

Leadership is part of good management because clearly strategy, as in fact

leadership, is not limited to the top of the Organization.

INCLUSIVE APPROACH
If you have an inclusive approach you would want to see that people at all
levels have willingness to actually participate in the setting of strategy for
the Organization from their perception and overall for the Organization.

According to Kottler, managers maintain the status quo through the process
and functions of planning and budgeting, organizing and staffing, and
controlling and problem solving. In comparison, Leaders reduce constructive
and adaptive change through the possessive of establishing direction
through a cooperate vision aligning people through communication and
motivation and inspiring workers.

Leadership is proactive and prescient; in comparison, good manager’s work

effectively and efficiently on a day to day basis; It is more hand-on and
focused in the present.

There are three dimensions of transactional leadership as measured by MLQ

(5x) namely contingent reward active, Management by exceptions,
Passive management by exception, non leadership factor (Laissez-
Faire Leadership) motivation factor (extra effort) and outcomes
(effectiveness and satisfaction).

In comparison on transaction leadership, transformational leadership is a

more positively affirming approach to leading people and corporations.
Research suggested that transformational leadership is a superior form of
leadership (see Bass, 1998 for a review), and the effectiveness of
transformational leadership is a major premise underlying the present paper.
Transformational leaders link organizational goals to the needs and beliefs of
workers. They seek to raise the consciousness of followers by appealing to
their higher ideals and values, such as liberty, justice, equality, peace and
humanitarianism (Bass,1985). According to Bass (1998), female leaders
should be more transformational (and effective) than males.

There are five dimensions of transformational leadership as measured by the

MLQ (5x) used in this study: Idealized attributes (formally attributed
charisma), idealized behavior (previously idealized influence),
inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized
consideration.
CULTURE

Culture is “the deep structure of the Organizations, which is routed in the

values, beliefs and assumptions held by the Organizational members”
Denison (1996:624). Organizational culture refers the meaning inherent in
the actions and procedures of Organizational commerce and discourse.

In comparison, “climate is often is considered as relatively temporary,

subject to direct control, and largely limited to those aspects of the social
environment that are consciously perceived by Organizational members”.
When we speak of organizational culture, we refer to the meanings inherent
in the actions and procedures of organizational commerce and discourse. In
comparison, “climate is often considered as relatively temporary and largely
limited to those aspects of the social environment that are consciously
perceived by organizational members”.

One way leaders can promote a positive organizational culture is by setting

priorities that all members recognize as important to the organization’s
success. Leaders set priorities by how they focus their attention and allocate
resources.

Culture, however, cannot be dictated anymore than one can dictate how
someone else feels. While leaders cannot dictate culture, they certainly play
a role in shaping it.

O’ Reilly , Chatman and Caldwell has developed the organizational culture

profile which was used to measure organizational and personal culture
orientations. But for the purpose of present study, the abbreviated version
of the OCP was used. The representative items of organizational are
“Adaptability”, “Taking individual responsibility” ‘and “not being constrained
by many rules”.
References

1. Bass, B.M. (1998). Transformational Leadership: Industry, Military, and Educational Impact.
N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

2. Burns, J.M. (1978). Leadership. N.Y.: Harper & Row.

3. Panopoulos, F. (1998). The Role of Transformational Leadership in a Follower Focused Model of

Police Recruit Occupational Adjustment. Doctoral Dissertation: The University of Sydney.

4. Daymon, C. (2000). Culture formation in a new television station: A multi-perspective analysis.

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5. Martin, j., Sitkin, S.B. and Boehm, M. (1985). Founders and the elusiveness of a cultural
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6. http://www.bizmanualz.com/information/2007/06/11/what-do-you-believe-about-leadership-
and-organizational-culture.html

7. http://www.bizmanualz.com/information/2007/06/11/what-do-you-believe-about-leadership-
and-organizational-culture.html