A culture-specific perspective reflects the view that the occurrence and the effectiveness of certain leadership behaviors (as well as constructs) is likely to be unique to a given culture.
In contrast, leaders in the culture-universal position contend that certain leadership constructs are comparable across cultures and that many universal leadership behaviors do exist. Only recently, based on the review by Bass (House, 1998), has the leadership research community begun to realize that universal and culture-specific leadership behaviors and constructs are not mutually exclusive categories, but can rather coexist in a single culture at the same time.
Conventionally the culture literature is divided into two broad streams (Smirchich, 1983). One stream approaches culture as an 'attribute', something an organization 'has', along with other attributes such as structure and strategy. Another stream of literature regards culture more globally as defining the whole character and experience of organizational life, i.e. what the organization 'is'. Here organizations are construed as cultures existing in, and reproduced through, the social interaction of participants. Some scholars view the 'organization as culture' approach as but one of a range of paradigms used in organizational analysis. From that relativist perspective, a global definition of organizational culture may be termed as the 'culture as metaphor' approach (Smirchich, 1983).
While the debate over "nature vs. nurture" continues, many authorities agree that some leaders are born while others can learn how to become effective leaders in an organizational environment. As in all these debates, the answer often lies in the simplistic premise that both are right, and both are wrong. In the past, leaders have been traditionally seen in many cultures as those who have been advantaged by their heritage, but current theorists and researchers view leadership as learned behaviors (Bernard, 1926; Blake, Shepard, & Mouton, 1964; Drath & Palus, 1994; Fiedler, 1967; House & Mitchell, 1974). Organizational culture is shaped by varying aspects of organizational life, such as strategies, interpersonal relationships, and context (Dension & Mishra 1995) which vary across and within cultures. Because virtually everything that characterizes a society is based on humanity, and a society's culture is based on what humans do, say, want and feel the relationship between organizational culture and the larger society in which it exists are absolutely inextricable.
In the increasingly multicultural society that exists in the United States today, these issues have assumed new relevance and importance. Touraine (2000) explored the question of how we might live together in a globalizing society in which our differences are being heightened, as communities increasingly define their identities against the encroaching forces of globalization. He argues that under the global conditions, our cultural distinctiveness increasingly risks being eroded by homogenized mass culture, making us increasingly introverted as we fight to defend ourselves against outside forces. As Fairholm (1994) pointed out,
Of all the new and pressing problems the chief officers in our large-scale organizations face day-to-day one stands out. It is the challenge of creating and maintaining an organizational culture, that fits the nature of the work done and the character and capacities of its growingly diverse workforce" (p. 7).
According to Parvis (2003), the issue of cultural diversity has received an increasing amount of attention in recent years for several reasons, including (a) "the melting pot" has been replaced by the term "multiculturalism"; (b) the influx of immigrants into many major metropolitan areas of the United States has generated multiple concerns. These concerns have advocates from civil and human rights organizations demanding unprecedented attention from local authorities; and - following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a number of American organizations have identified a need to provide educational workshops in cultural diversity for their employees to diminish tensions in the workplace. While it is reasonable to posit that everyone can contribute to the accomplishment of an organization's goals. But managing people to act in a common direction to achieve a common goal can be one of the hardest things mere humans every have to do in their lives, and when a number of different cultures are involved, the task can assume gargantuan proportions.
In the essay, "Of Reason, Morality, and Ethics: The Way of Effective Leadership in a 'Multicultural Society,'" Campbell (2000) noted early on that,
The concept of the United States being the 'Great Melting Pot,' creating a stronger whole from the diversity of its members. Not only is it no longer true, but the very opposite seems to be actively occurring: Differences between our citizens be they real, pseudo-cultural, substantial or insignificant are being used as catalysts...
Employees handle a large amount of private documentation and must uphold the law of confidentiality legally and ethically. Despite the stress on confidentiality of client information, communication flow is still important to the organization's ability to get work done. / Thus confidentiality in the service of customers, not in the service of secrecy is the organizational mantra. Additionally, communication is not simply fostered in the organizational culture's common professional dress.
Human Resources Managing Organisational Culture The values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization make up the organizations culture. Organizational culture is the summation total of an organization's past and current suppositions, incidents, viewpoint, and values that hold it together, and is articulated in its self-image, inner workings, connections with the outside world, and future prospects. In dealing with the management of organisational culture, it is
Resolving Organizational Culture Issues Situational Overview and Background of the Issues The organisation consists of 43 employees managed by a management team of 3 males in their middle 60s: a Director, General Manager, and National Sales Manager. The average age of the employees is 30, and only 3 of the employees are female. The 3 managers all adhere to very outdated authoritarian management styles and communication patterns, routinely resorting to verbal abuse
CEO and Organizational Culture Profile Google is a successful information technology firm with footprints in over 43 countries. Established in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the company has expanded in all aspects since then (Bolden & Gosling, 2011). Some of its offerings include search, web applications, and advertising. A notable statistic is that Google receives over job applications annually but employs less than a quarter of them. This signifies
Globalization Scholars define globalization as the growing integration of the societies and economies across the globe. It is the process of integration and interaction among individuals, governments and companies of different countries. This process is influenced by international investment and trade, with the aid of information technology. Globalization is creating environmental uncertainty for business enterprises (Bryson, 2011). As markets become international, the numbers of variables a corporation must consider in decision-making
Organizational Theory #1 Create a code of ethics for an organization of your choice. For each point in the code of ethics, describe an ethical dilemma that would be resolved using the code of ethics. All employees will conduct business honestly and ethically. We will constantly improve the quality of our services, products and operations and create a reputation for honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, integrity, trust and sound business judgment. (Provides a
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