Topic explanation: in the business or organisational context, culture is described as a set of shared values, norms and beliefs that the people of the organisation have adopted to adhere to in their daily tasks and interactions. In other words, culture entails what people are expected to do or the way they are expected to behave in order to fit in the organisation and progress peacefully.
The role of a leader is to influence others and direct them towards accomplishing a certain objective that will result in the progress of the organisation (House et al 1999, p. 172).
Business is turning global and culture is shaping the way business is conducted and defines how the people in business act. Leaders are products of their culture because they have grown in the organisation or the industry and they have learned and done business in that culture (Camberon et al, 2010, p. 14). As such, culture helps leaders to acquire and apply this values, ethics, skills, knowledge and beliefs.
Academic Link: culture enables business leaders to perform their fundamental executive duties. This is what guides their ability to identify a problem, define that problem, devise a resolution strategy, allocate resources accordingly, monitor its solution process, and evaluate the solution.
A leader cannot actually fit in all these diverse cultures. However, research by GLOBE suggest that a leader can learn to build bespoke leadership attributes that are uniquely set to meet the objectives of the organisation where they leader works (House et al 1999, p. 172).
The GLOBE studies among other numerous and reliable researches have demonstrated that there are some unique characteristics that are expected from the leaders, some things that leaders allowed or may not be allowed to do, and the authority or status bestowed on the leaders vary greatly because of cultural factors in the different businesses of organisations (House et al, 1999, p. 172).
This is why there are variation like; American value authority and would appreciate a leader who empowers them, gives them autonomy and entrust responsibilities to workers.
Manager example: over the years, there has been an increase in the number of tools that enable leaders to assess their leadership skills against a continuum of characteristics of varying personalities, competencies, and culture perceptions (Daglish & Miller, 2010, p. 21).
Personality evaluation tools are important for managers as they enable them to know themselves and will work to improve their management skills to tailor them towards effective execution of the organisational structure (Camberon et al, 2010, p. 15). As a manager, it is important that the leader is able to communicate the organisation goals and objectives to the employees and organising them into a team.
If a Manager can be able to understand the organisation culture very well to influence others, then that manager will be in a better position to manipulate the working environment like in the banking sector hence dramatically improving the ability of the workers to carry out their duties (Daglish & Miller, 2010, p. 21). A manager’s influence is felt across the organization and the employee productivity and overall performance of the organisation will improve.
As a worker: it is important to corporate with the management decisions because the organisation culture is developed to benefit everyone. A culture of respect of authority, effective production, goal-based progress, communication and teamwork will greatly improve the performance of the organisation as a whole (Dalglish & Evans, 2007, p. 34).
This requires that as an employee, one understands why the organisational strategies are good for the whole organisation. It’s imperative for the employee to seek clarification because some leaders can be vague in communication (Kefela 2001, p. 4).
The employees should also support a culture that is transformative or adaptive and hence allows them to progress in the organisation in effective success and rise in leadership as this would prepare them for higher positions.
Knowing that one day the employee will be in the management and Understanding the business strategies to meet the business goals have a great impact on the motivation and satisfaction (Kefela, G.T. 2001). When an employee attains job satisfaction then performance will be great.
Reference List
Camberon, R. et al. 2010. Comparing Current And Future Global Leaders Based Upon Known Leadership Dimensions And Cultural Indicators. Paper Presented To Management Research In A Changing Climate: British Academy of Management Conference. Sheffield, UK, 14-16.
Dalglish, C., & Evans, P., 2007, Leadership In The Australian Context: Case Studies in Leadership. Melbourne: Tilde University Press.
Daglish, C., & Miller, P., 2010, Leadership, Understanding Its Global Impact. Melbourne: Tilde, University Press.
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Ruiz-Quintanilla, S. A., Dorfman, P. W., Javidan, M., & Dickson, M., et al., 1999. Cultural Influences on Leadership and Organizations: Project GLOBE. In W. H. Mobley, M. J. Gessner & V. Arnold (Eds.), Advances In Global Leadership, Vol. 1, pp. 171-233.
Kefela, G.T., 2001. Understanding Organizational Culture and Leadership- Enhance Efficiency and Productivity. PM world Today, Vol. 12, No. 1. pp. 1-12.