The link between the style of leadership and the organisational culture

The link between the style of leadership and the organisational culture

ERASMUS Student

2007 words

Introduction to Management and Organisation

A – Introduction

An organisation's culture and leadership are two of the most important factors in building, controlling and improving an organisation. They are considered as the most crucial points of an organisation in order also to have an advantage over competitors and to reach successfully the objectives. This raises the question of a link that may exist between them. Schein (1992) discusses how culture can evolve and change through corporate leadership, while having an impact on leadership development. The ambiguous relationship between the two factors raises the question of the influence that one can have on the other. To what extent does leadership influence the company's culture and vice versa. In this paper, I will analyse the relationship between the corporate culture and the leadership, through the case studies of Suma which is one of the largest wholesalers in the United Kingdom, established in 1977 in Leeds and Greggs which is the largest bakery chain in United Kingdom created by John Greggs in 1939 and led today by Roger Whiteside

I will analyse before the impact of a corporate culture on a specific leadership style and in a second part, I will analyse how a leadership style can create or influence an organizational culture.

B – The impact of the organisational culture on leadership

1. Values as a model to follow

At first place, the corporate culture is not visible but it has a strong influence on what happens within the organisation. It is a set of values and beliefs shared by the members of the organisation. Like a person, an organisation has its own characteristics that distinguish it from others, so each company has its own culture. Suma will promote a perfect equality among its members, ethics for people, the planet and profit, as well as anarchic and collective ideals in order to create a company based on solidarity. Greggs will promote the atmosphere of a family business with employees who have been there for a long time and want to stay. Roisin Currie said that at Greggs it is important to remain as transparent as possible in order to maintain values such as appreciation, honesty and respect that are key values for Greggs as well as the support of local communities.

Porras and Hoffer (1986) explained the effect of the culture on leadership because of the cultural values, trends and rules which shape a style of leadership. In addition, an organisation's culture is built on its values and beliefs. These values represent what structure is fundamentally and weigh on behaviour to impose a certain stability. First of all, you should choose carefully and affirm your values because it is an asset to differentiate yourself on the market from the competition. However, it is not enough to proclaim loud and clear who you are, but to prove on a daily basis that your statements are followed by concrete facts, hence the role of the leader who must adapt to the organisation's culture. In Greggs' case, the values that have been instilled in the company continue to thrive thanks to the leaders, indeed, with the changes that Greggs has undergone it was important for Roisin Currie and Roger Whiteside to keep the company's values in mind. Despite significant changes over the years, the company has kept its family values in mind and continues to grow the company at the local level through its various charitable committees such as the Greggs Foundation and the Get Ready to Work program. Roger Whiteside even said "each of us is only a guardian for a few years", guardians who are here to keep an eye on the company and ensure that it is doing well without imposing its own values, its own culture, which shows the influence of culture on the way Roger Whiteside or someone else can run the Greggs company.

For Suma, with a completely different corporate culture than Greggs', the culture has almost erased the role of the leader if not really eliminated. Indeed, as stated above, the workers' cooperative advocates equality between its members, in this company the decision-making system is summed up as one worker with one vote. In other words, no one has the status of manager even if there is a management committee to set up the various general assemblies. Their alternative to leadership reinforces the culture of perfect equality and the fact that for its members a company does not need leaders. In addition, the figures show that these actions are working very well, the wholesaler made a profit of £1 million in 2013.

1. Factors to consider

Hatch (1993) stated that culture has a greater influence on leaders. In fact, even if the leader creates culture in the early years of an organisation, as the organisation grows the culture influences leadership and for Schein (2004) culture would be a strong and stable factor that causes leaders to follow it. This would be a determining factor in the recruitment process within a company, and in its vision, missions and strategy. The leader must lead appropriately because culture is a decisive factor in the proper functioning of the organisation. However, culture can sometimes change due to internal and external factors. The organisational culture is influenced by the social and national culture of the region in which it is located, as is the case with Greggs, where local communities are very important.

In addition, other factors influence the culture and even make the management of the company out of control for the leader as external factors. External forces such as economics, education, family, law, media, politics, religion and technology play a significant role in determining organisational culture and the leader must adapt to this new culture. In the case of Suma, when the founders created the company, they put into practice the anarchic and collective ideals shared by different workers' cooperatives in the 1970s, politics then influences the culture that forces leaders to adapt. For Greggs, it was technology that influenced the new culture through home delivery applications where the sausage roll business made its mark.

However, the corporate culture often reflects the passion, vision and values of its creator. It is never fixed and evolves notably under the influence of its leaders. Leaders who themselves have arrived where they are by embracing this culture. What is the dynamic of this relationship? How can we develop our corporate culture so that it is in line with our environment and requirements?

C – A leadership style can create or influence an organisational culture

1. Leadership as a model

Several definitions have been given to define the role of the leader, such as Northouse (2007), for example, which states that it is a process that an individual use to influence and manage a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. If there are several definitions, it is important to say that they all share a common sense, in fact the leader is known as a person who makes decisions, establishes the company's orientations, manages and controls his company. He is placed at the top of the organisation and clarifies the strategies and ensures that they are adopted, which has an impact on the organisational culture. However, there are different styles of leaders that can have a greater or lesser impact on the culture and climate of the organisation.

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