Culture and Leadership

Culture refers to the underlying values, beliefs, and codes of practice of a society or an organization; it is subjective and reflects the meanings and understandings that people typically attribute to situations. Leaders will most likely deal with two aspects of culture: organizational culture and cultural diversity. Let’s examine organizational culture first. Organizational culture is often viewed as a unifying force that appeals to an entire organization and is the sum total of the organizational image. A change in an organizational culture is a change in the ethos, image, and values that influence organizational action. The core aspects of culture are social expectations, universal beliefs that bring individuals together, and material elements or artifacts.

According to theorists Deal and Kennedy (1982), culture is the most important factor that contributes to the success or failure of organizations. They identified values, heroes, rites and rituals, and a cultural network as the four dimensions of culture. Factors that influence the organizational culture are:

  • Level of artifacts or visually identified surroundings: This may include items like the dress code, physical work environment, signs, and banners.
  • Shared values or beliefs: These are usually implied and spoken and are accepted as part of a regular workplace. These may include practices of time management, detailed planning processes, philosophies, or possibly slogans.
  • Frequent social interactions: This includes interactions outside of the work environment.

The sum of all these factors together forms and defines the culture of any organization.

Deal, T., & Kennedy, A. (1982). Corporate cultures: The rites and rituals of corporate life. Harmondsworth, London: Penguin.

Institute of Management Sciences, 1(4), 339–359.

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