How a leader can influence the culture of an organisation

Organizational culture refers to the beliefs and values that have existed in an organization for a long time, and to the beliefs of the staff and the foreseen value of their work that will influence their attitudes and behavior.

Administrators usually adjust their leadership behavior to accomplish the mission of the organization, and this could influence the employees' job satisfaction.

It is therefore essential to understand the relationship between organizational culture, leadership behavior and job satisfaction of employees. A cross-sectional study was undertaken that focused on hospital nurses in Taiwan.

Data was collected using a structured questionnaire; questionnaires were distributed and valid questionnaires were returned. Correlation analysis was used on the relationships between organizational cultures, leadership behavior and job satisfaction. Organizational cultures were significantly positively correlated with leadership behavior and job satisfaction, and leadership behavior was significantly positively correlated with job satisfaction.

The culture within an organization is very important, playing a large role in whether it is a happy and healthy environment in which to work. In communicating and promoting the organizational ethos to employees, their acknowledgement and acceptance of it can influence their work behavior and attitudes.

When the interaction between the leadership and employees is good, the latter will make a greater contribution to team communication and collaboration, and will also be encouraged to accomplish the mission and objectives assigned by the organization, thereby enhancing job satisfaction.

Peer Review reports. Because organizational culture reflects the values, beliefs and behavioral norms that are used by employees in an organization to give meaning to the situations that they encounter, it can influence the attitudes and behavior of the staff [ 2 ]. Understanding the organization's core values can prevent possible internal conflict [ 3 ], which is the main reason for our research into these cultural issues. In other management fields, empirical research of organizational culture has involved the functionalist perspective, providing impressive evidence of the role of organizational culture in improving performance [ 4 ].

The pervasiveness of an organizational culture requires that management recognize its underpinning dimensions and its impact on employee-related variables, such as job satisfaction [ 5 ], organizational commitment [ 6 ], and performance [ 7 ].

Lund [ 5 ] believed that less research was done on the relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction within the research topic of organizational culture and outcome. The organization consists of the staff, with the behavior of its individual members affecting outcomes. Since cultural research within the nursing field is not common [ 8 ], it is necessary to explore the way the culture influences the behavior of the nursing staff, and in turn how the behavior of the staff influences the organizational outcome.

A two-dimensional model of leadership that focuses on the concern for people and production has been used for many years in organizational research [ 9 ]. In the late s, leadership research started focusing on behavior within organizational change and development [ 10 ].

Leadership implies authority in the broadest sense of the word and not simply the power to wield the stick [ 11 ]. It is based on objective factors, such as managerial ability, and more subjective characteristics that include personal qualities of the leaders. The factors are of even greater importance given the current emerging culture of the nurse who has a clear and assertive vision about the nature of clinical practice [ 12 ].

Currently, there is a shortage of nurses in clinical care, and good leaders can help any attrition. Furthermore, the leadership skills of nurse administrators can contribute to the success of their organization [ 13 ]. Leadership is of increasing importance in clinical nursing [ 14 ]. Although leadership and organizational culture constructs have been well studied, the relationship between them has not been established in the field of nursing [ 6 ].

This study explores the relationship between organizational culture and leadership behavior. Nielsen et al. Although the data indicated that the development of an organizational culture is related to the behavior of its leaders, the results failed conclude whether this affected their attitudes or behavior as employees. From the nursing administration perspective, the normal course of action taken to influence employee behavior and achieve the objectives set by the administrators comes through administrative management.

Therefore, as well as discussing the relationship between leadership behavior and organizational culture, this research will investigate the effect of leader behavior and organizational culture towards employee job satisfaction.

The findings clearly show that hospital administrators should be concerned about the effects of leadership behavior and organizational culture on the attitude towards work of their employees. This should help administrators alter their behavior in order to maintain a good mutual relationship with their subordinates, improving their working attitude and, more importantly, reducing potential conflicts.

Culture is socially learned and transmitted by members; it provides the rules for behavior within organizations [ 18 ]. The definition of organizational culture is of the belief that can guide staff in knowing what to do and what not to do, including practices, values, and assumptions about their work [ 19 ]. The core values of an organization begin with its leadership, which will then evolve to a leadership style.

Subordinates will be led by these values and the behavior of leaders, such that the behavior of both parties should become increasingly in line.

When strong unified behavior, values and beliefs have been developed, a strong organizational culture emerges. Leaders have to appreciate their function in maintaining an organization's culture. This would in return ensure consistent behavior between members of the organization, reducing conflicts and creating a healthy working environment for employees [ 20 ]. Job satisfaction has been associated with nurses who perceive their managers as supportive and caring.

A supportive manager shares values, believes in a balance of power, and provides opportunities for open dialogue with nurses [ 21 ], which in turn reduces the chances of internal conflicts.

This type of leader is successful in his or her role and is supportive and responsive to clinical nurses, thereby preserving power and status within the hospital system. Such leaders are valued throughout the organization and have executive power to do what they see as necessary to create a positive environment for nursing [ 22 ].

Accordingly, they have a measurable effect on the morale and job satisfaction of nurses [ 23 ]. Organizational culture expresses shared assumptions, values and beliefs, and is the social glue holding an organization together [ 24 ]. A strong culture is a system of rules that spells out how people should behave [ 25 ]. An organization with a strong culture has common values and codes of conduct for its employees, which should help them accomplish their missions and goals.

Work recognition and job satisfaction can be achieved when employees can complete the tasks assigned to them by the organization. A structured questionnaire was compiled based on similar studies published in international journals [ 26 , 27 ]. Twenty-three factors regarding organizational culture were taken from Tsui et al. Our research was focused on clinical nurses in hospitals; therefore, refinements were made to the questionnaire designed by Tsui et al.

The study invited three directors or supervisors from the medical center to validate the questionnaire. Lastly, there were 22 questions in the organizational culture section. However, the proposed test was not empirically studied. Nurses from hospital A were used as a pilot study sample. Vroom [ 28 ] classified job satisfaction into 7 dimensions: organizational, promotion, job content, superior, reward, working environment and working partners. We took into consideration that nurses' salary increases are based on promotion.

Furthermore, a large number of variables in organization culture and leadership behavior were covered by this research. To prevent too few number nurses from responding to the questionnaires, we asked only 4 job satisfaction dimensions out of a total of 12 items: job recognition, reward and welfare, superior and working partners.

We employed self-administered questionnaires to collect research data. Data was collected between October 1 and November 30, We selected 2 hospitals as our sample target and appointed a designated person at each to issue questionnaires to employees.

The number of questionnaires issued depended on the designated person. The questionnaires were completed voluntarily by all respondents. During the research period, there were nurses in hospital A; questionnaires were distributed, and 57 valid questionnaires were returned. In hospital B there were a total of nurses; questionnaires were distributed, and valid questionnaires were returned total return rate Of the subjects, The majority of employees at the hospitals were general nurses All data were analyzed using the SPSS In this way, a strong organizational culture emerges.

Your leaders are the ones swinging the pendulum, and your success as an organization is in their hands. Here are five ways your leaders may be impacting your organizational culture. When you look to someone as a leader, they instantly become a guiding force in your life.

But can these people be trusted to lead the way? As a leader, your motivations and wants trickle down to your staff as they are the soldiers you employ to carry out your will. Depending on what you are motivated by, your organizational culture will surely respond in kind. The line between innovative and toxic culture is a thin one, and your leader can push you over the edge. Leaders motived by things like money and influence attract employees who are motivated by the same.

Leaving an organizational culture where your employees only show up for a paycheck. On the opposite end, we have leaders motivated by purpose. To make the best out of your leadership, get to know your staff. Open up two-way communication. Find out their motivations.

Listening to and integrating the beliefs and motivations of your team will make them feel valued. A positive organizational culture begins with these satisfied employees. The foundation of any organizations is established on the vision of its leaders. These individuals craft it, share it and watch it come to life.

An effective leader shares their values and views on work with staff members to act as a compass to follow. Providing this awareness allows staff to work as a team to act out organizational strategies. It also reassures them that their actions are for the good of the organization. But, be careful with the visions you choose to bring to life. As we saw with Emperor Nero, his vision was strong.

His ethics and execution…not so great. To ensure the most effective leadership, incorporate a sense of integrity into your habits. Put a clear purpose in place that has both the good of the organization AND staff in mind.

This will enable staff members to follow your will with no qualms, emotionally connecting them to your journey. Leaders are your coaches. Leaders are responsible for creating systems that develop organizational culture and reinforce workplace norms. Cultural norms in the workplace are adopted from the actions of the leader: where their attention is focused, how they react to crises and the behaviors they model 1. The abusive leadership within the Lakers organization established a culture that quickly became visible on and off the court.

Studies on abusive leadership show an association with negative outcomes on both the individual and organizational level. Exposure to abusive leadership is correlated with lower individual and group morale, psychological health and executive functioning.

Abusive leadership in organizations is also linked to higher levels of counterproductive work behavior and quit rates in employees 2. Do you work for a bully boss? Read here. Public Administration Quarterly, 17 1 , Abusive Supervision. Disclaimer Here at Lead Read Today, we endeavor to take an objective rational, scientific approach to analyzing leaders and leadership.

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