CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW

Culture and Mindset within Organizations and Leadership

Culture and Mindset within Organizations and Leadership

Introduction

Organizational culture is basically the personality of a company. Culture is comprised of the assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs (artifacts) of organization members and his or her behaviors (Denison, 1990, pp.30-42). The personality of a company is what keeps the company or organization going. Depending on the type of leadership will determine whether the organizations culture is well-off or failing. There are different types of culture just like personalities such as; Sports, Clubs, Academy's, and many others. If a leader is unable to adjust to the organizational culture they are in than there is no need for that leader; therefore, causing the organization disaster. When managing a company it is very important to know the culture of the company. Organizational change must include not only changing structures and processes, but also changing the corporate culture as well.

Leaders come in many varieties, and leaders need to be utilized in all levels of an organization. It is not always a good idea to take on the same leadership abilities as other leaders due to lacking information in one or more areas. Individuals want help from his or her leader in achieving goals. Leaders serve people best when they help them develop their own initiative and good judgment enabling them to grow, and help them become better contributors(Schein, 1996, pp.56-65).

Leading is establishing direction and influencing others to follow that direction. However, there are many variations and different areas of emphasis to this very simple definition. Experts assert that, whether you're an executive or an entry-level worker in your organization, it's critical for you to have strong skills in leadership.

Many people believe that leadership is simply being the first, biggest or most powerful. Leadership in organizations has a different and more meaningful definition. A leader is interpreted as someone who sets direction in an effort and influences people to follow that direction. How they set that direction and influence people depends on a variety of factors. To really comprehend the "territory" of leadership, we will discuss various styles of leadership, provide some of the major theories and review some of the suggested traits and characteristics that leaders should have.

Leadership Styles

Leaders carry out their roles in a wide variety of styles, e.g., autocratic, democratic, participatory, laissez-faire (hands off), etc. Often, the leadership style depends on the situation, including the life cycle of the organization (Goodpaster, 2007, pp.110-125). At Phoenix Logistics, our laissez-faire leadership style has been effective, in which, management exercises little control over his group, leaving them to sort out their roles and tackle their work, without participating in this process. In general, this approach leaves the team floundering with little direction or motivation.

Again, there are situations where the Laissez-Faire approach can be effective. The Laissez-Faire technique is usually only appropriate when leading a team of highly motivated and skilled people, who have produced excellent work in the past. Once a leader has established that his team is confident, ...