The Culture Of An Organization - 1921 Words

Organizations develop a culture through many different ways. As an organization ages, evolves, and grows, this culture may change, or even become divided. Understanding the nuances of the culture of an organization is difficult. Leaders of organizations must be able to not only understand, but also influence the culture of their organization. Leaders are responsible for steering the organization, and generally aim to impress their way of thinking, feeling, and behaving onto followers. At first thought, it would seem leaders do this with personal power, or what Edgar Schein (2010) describes as charisma, â€Å"that mysterious ability to capture the subordinates’ attention and to communicate major assumptions and values in a vivid and clear†¦show more content†¦An example in one Naval Aviation squadron was a Commanding Officer who used every opportunity when speaking to a group of Sailors, regardless of size, to talk about the importance of sexual assault preventio n. The issue was a top priority for the Navy as an organization, and this unit leader understood that regardless of what he was addressing the Sailors about, he always discussed how important it was to help prevent sexual assault, and also the resources available for victims. His philosophy was similar to Schein’s, believing that it would be impossible for any member of the command to not understand how important the issue was to him. This mechanism can also prove to be counterproductive when a leader is unaware of, or inconsistent with, his or her message. Subordinates will be confused and waste time trying to figure out what is important to the boss, and may end up actually weakening the values a leader is trying to embed (Schein, 2010, p. 237). An example of this can be seen in one Naval Aviation Commander who would routinely praise his aircraft launch crews after a particularly expeditious aircraft launch. The Commander understood that it was necessary for the team t o work fast sometimes in order to make a mission, but the message received was- faster is better. The problem was he would