This study explores the extent to which organizational culture and operational
environment influence the leadership activities of an organization in the midst of
significant organizational change and whether culture drives leadership development or
vice versa. After exploring several different leadership theories, the study focuses on the
concepts of transformational leadership as the theoretical foundations for the leadership
component of the research. Likewise, the study builds on organizational theory and
sociological foundations to focus on the work of Schein and Hatch for organizational
culture, and Schneider for key concepts used in the development of person-organization
fit.
The research in this study concentrated on the manufacturing organization of a
large, well-known company based in the US. This organization is in the midst of
considerable organizational change in response to upheavals in its markets, its
technology, and its manufacturing strategy. Research was conducted through collection
of data from public sources, review of internal organization documents, a survey of perceptions of the organizational culture held by the staff, and detailed interviews with a
cross section of the professional and managerial staff involved in the leadership
development process.
The results of the research and analysis showed that despite strong efforts by
executive leadership and developing leadership at all levels to create a more
compassionate organizational culture, the crisis facing the organization caused even the
most committed and well-meaning individuals to revert to a cultural norm of a driven,
results-oriented organizational culture. The interviews and survey data led to conclusions
that culture change is a long term effort; that it requires executive leadership
commitment, vision, and constant communication to reinforce the vision; and is best
addressed through leadership development in the younger staff with less personal
investment in the status quo.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-05-344 |
| Date | 2009 May 1900 |
| Creators | Hasler, Michael G. |
| Contributors | Callahan, Jamie L. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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