Leadership and Organizational Culture: Traits, Ethics, and Styles

This essay discusses the traits of effective leadership, the importance of organizational culture, and the role of ethics in corporate culture. It also explores different leadership styles and their impact on organizations.

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Introduction
Organizations are defined by various among them is the kind of leadership and
organization culture associated with them. Different organizations have different cultures and
leadership styles that make them unique. This essay focuses on various aspects of organizational
culture and leadership.
Leadership traits. Leadership traits refer to the attributes posses by individuals who can
influence and motivate a group towards a particular direction. Leaders are defined by the
characteristics that they possess. One of the essential attributes of leadership is empathy.
Effective leaders care about their employees by guiding them through any challenges and always
offering solutions that can increase the productivity of employees and the organization. A leader
should always be willing to listen to their employees and provide solutions where necessary
instead of blaming individual employees. Leaders should also be driven by a high degree of
confidence, focus, Honesty, and optimism. They should also be decisive, accountable and be in a
position of inspiring their employees and building trust among them ("The Characteristic of
Leadership - 7 Important Traits", n.d.)
Organization culture. Organization culture is a set of beliefs, values, and assumptions
shared by an organization and which define behavior patterns in organizations. An organization's
corporate culture contributes to the uniqueness of the psychological and social environment of an
organization by influencing dressing code, behavior patterns, and organizational performance.
Organizations are defined by their unique culture which offers boundaries and guidelines for the
conduct of its employees. Through its shared believes, organization culture promotes

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collaboration whereby employees from different demographics can unite towards a common
goal. It also encourages healthy competition by motivating employees to perform and creates an
image for an organization by giving it an identity (Watkins, 2014). By making employees feel
to be part of an organization, organization culture promotes their loyalty towards their
organization.
Role of ethics in organization culture. Ethics is a set of moral principles that guide
people's behavior by helping them to distinguish what is right and what is wrong. Ethics plays a
significant role in organization culture. Ethics is a substantial contributor to teamwork among
employees and increased productivity for both employees and the organization. Ethics in an
organizational culture also contributes to the protection of an organization's assets (Gratton et
al.,2018). Employees take it as their responsibility to respect and protect the assets of their
employer. It also promotes ethical decision making within an organization.
Leadership. Leadership is the art of inspiring a group towards the achievement of
specific predetermined goals. Leadership style is an approach used by a leader to motivate
people, implement plans and provide direction to the organizations or groups that they lead.
Leaders are defined by the leadership style that they use. Most common leadership styles include
participative leadership, transactional leadership, autocratic leadership, transformational,
strategic and charismatic leadership style ("What Is the Difference Between Leadership
Style ...", n.d.). Transactional leadership is a leadership style through which a leader uses
rewards and punishment to promote compliance among their employees. The primary focus of
this style of leadership is on supervision, organization, and performance. An excellent example
of a transactional leader is Zhang Ruimin of Heir Group.
Conclusion

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In conclusion, leaders possess certain traits that define them. Such traits include courage,
empathy, confidence, and honesty. Both organizational culture and leadership of an organization
and ethics in corporate culture play significant roles towards the success of organizations.
References

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Gratton, T. J., Bradley R. Staats David M. Upton, Aaron K. Chatterji Michael W. Toffel,Allison-
Scott Pruitt Carolyn Brinkworth Joshua Young Kristen Luna Aponte, Duc Duy Nguyen
Jens Hagendorff Arman Eshraghi, Alonso, O. A., Stiroh, K., . . . Harvard Business
Review Karen. (2018, April 05). Organizational culture. Retrieved April 07, 2018, from
https://hbr.org/topic/organizational-culture
The Characteristic of Leadership - 7 Important Traits. (n.d.). Retrieved April 07,
2018, from http://www.leadership-toolbox.com/characteristic-of-
leadership.htm
What Is the Difference Between Leadership Style & Leadership Traits? (n.d.).
Retrieved April 07, 2018, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-
between-leadership-style-leadership-traits-34649.html
Watkins, M. D. (2014, August 07). What Is Organizational Culture? And Why Should
We Care? Retrieved April 07, 2018, from https://hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-
organizational-culture