Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ethical and Leadership Challenges by Organizational Culture Type

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Leadership and Business Ethics

Part of the book series: Issues in Business Ethics ((IBET,volume 60))

  • 705 Accesses

Abstract

Most scholars agree that organizational or corporate culture affects employee behavior and corporate performance for better or for worse. Few researchers have investigated in a systematic way corporate or organizational culture types and their relationship to ethics and leadership. In this chapter, I draw upon one well-known systematic approach to culture assessment with a view to identifying the different ethical and leadership challenges faced by leaders within corporations characterized by various types of culture. The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI-Online, https://www.ocai-online.com/about-us, 2019) has been widely used by corporations and consultants to identify four dominant organizational culture types. Working through each of OCAI’s four dominant types, I identify distinctive ethical strengths and weaknesses and leadership opportunities and challenges arising in connection with each cultural type. Part 1 provides a brief overview of the four culture types in the OCAI 2 × 2 matrix. Part 2 delves more deeply into each culture type and specifies the associated ethical and leadership challenges arising in each type of culture. Part 3 identifies some limitations with the OCAI approach, limitations that point to areas for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Al-Khalifa, K., and E.M. Aspinwall. 2001. Using the Competing Values Framework to Investigate the Culture of Qatar Industries. Total Quality Management 12: 417–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alvesson, M. 2011. Leadership and Organizational Culture. In The SAGE Handbook of Leadership, ed. A. Bryman, D. Collinson, K. Grint, B. Jackson, and M. Uhl-Bien, 151–164. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boom, O., and V. Arumugam. 2006. The Influence of Corporate Culture on Organizational Commitment: CSR Study of Semiconductor Organizations in Malaysia. Sunway Academic Journal 3: 99–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borges, I. 2018. Why Semco Doesn’t Want Your Company to Be Like Semco. Corporate Rebels, April 7. At https://corporate-rebels.com/guest-post-semco/

  • Cameron, K., and R. Quinn. 1999. Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. New York: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang, A. 2011. The Zynga Method of Market Testing (“Ghetto Testing”). w2.0, December 28. At https://women2.com/2011/12/28/the-zynga-method-of-market-testing-ghetto-testing/

  • Chang, S.-C., and M.-S. Lee. 2007. A Study on Relationship Among Leadership, Organizational Culture, the Operation of Learning Organization and Employees’ Job Satisfaction. The Learning Organization 14: 155–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiordelisi, F., and O. Ricci. 2014. Corporate Culture and CEO Turnover. Journal of Corporate Finance 28: 66–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galbreath, J. 2010. Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Formal Strategic Planning and Firm Culture. British Journal of Management 21 (2): 511–525.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelfand, M.J., M. Erez, and Z. Aycan. 2007. Cross-Cultural Organizational Behavior. Annual Review of Psychology 58: 479–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groth, A. 2016. Zappos Is Struggling with Holacracy Because Humans Aren’t Designed to Operate Like Software. Quartz, December 21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, B. 2011. A Comparative Study of Organizational Strategy and Culture Across Industry. Benchmarking: An International Journal 18: 510–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G.H. 2001. Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, I., and H.J. Paton. 1964. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. New York: Harper Perennials.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kargas, A., and D. Varoutas. 2015. On the Relation Between Organizational Culture and Leadership: An Empirical Analysis. Cogent Business & Management 2: 1055953.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, J., and J.W. Slocum. 1987. Managing Corporate Culture Through Reward Systems. Academy of Management Review 1: 99–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotter, J.R., and J.L. Heskett. 1992. Corporate Culture and Performance. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwantes, C.T., and C.A. Boglarsky. 2007. Perceptions of Organizational Culture, Leadership Effectiveness and Personal Effectiveness Across Six Countries. Journal of International Management 13: 204–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, H.C., and M.A. Idris. 2001. Research and Concepts: The Soft Foundation of the Critical Success Factors on TQM Implementation in Malaysia. The TQM Magazine 13 (1): 51–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y.C. 2004. Examining the Effects of Organizational Culture and Leadership Behaviors on Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Job Performance at Small and Middle-Sized Firms in Taiwan. Journal of American Academy of Business 5: 432–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lund, D.B. 2003. Organizational Culture and Job Satisfaction. The Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing 18 (3): 219–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ngak, C. 2011. Zynga Demands That Employees Return Stock or Be Fired. CBS News, November 10. At https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zynga-demands-employees-return-stock-or-get-fired/

  • Nguyen, H.-N., and S. Mohamed. 2011. Leadership Behaviors, Organizational Culture and Knowledge Management Practices. Journal of Management Development 30: 206–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OCAI-Online. 2019. At https://www.ocai-online.com/about-us

  • Ogbonna, E., and L.C. Harris. 2000. Leadership Style, Organizational Culture and Performance: Empirical Evidence from UK Companies. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 11: 766–788.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oyserman, D., H.M. Coon, and M. Kemmelmeier. 2002. Rethinking Individualism and Collectivism: Evaluation of Theoretical Assumptions and Meta-Analyses. Psychological Bulletin 128 (1): 3–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rausch, N., Y. Onaran, and M. Smith. 2019. Charting GE’s Historic Rise and Its Tortured Downfall. Bloomberg, January 31. At https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-general-electricrise-and-downfall/

  • Rusu, L., P. Aasi, and S. Han. 2017. Culture Influence on IT Governance: What Have We Learned? In Organizational Culture and Behavior: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, 1329–1346. Hershey: Business Science Reference.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. 1990. Organizational Culture. American Psychologist 45: 109–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senarathna, I., M. Warren, W. Yeoh, and S. Salzman. 2014. The Influence of Organisation Culture on e-commerce Adoption. Industrial Management & Data Systems 114 (7): 1007–1021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shellenbarger, S. 2000. Companies Are Finding Real Payoffs in Aiding Employee Satisfaction. Wall Street Journal, October 11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smit, I. 2001. Assessment of Cultures: A Way to Problem Solving or a Way to Problematic Solutions? In The International Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate, ed. Cary L. Cooper, Sue Cartwright, and P. Christopher Earley, 165–181. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soares, D., E.C. Oliva, E. Kubo, V. Parente, and K. Tanaka. 2018. Organizational Culture and Sustainability in Brazilian Electricity Companies. RAUSP Management Journal 53 (4): 488–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stillman, J. 2016. How This CEO Runs a $240 Million Business with Basically No Rules. Inc., April 27. At https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/how-this-ceo-runs-a-240-million-business-with-basically-no-rules.html

  • Tsui, A.S., Z.-X. Zhang, H. Wang, K.R. Xin, and J.B. Wu. 2006. Unpacking the Relationship Between CEO Leadership Behavior and Organizational Culture. The Leadership Quarterly 17: 113–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M., and A. Pratkanis. 1998. Twenty-Five Years of Groupthink Theory and Research: Lessons from the Evaluation of a Theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 73 (2/3): 105–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yauch, C.A., and H.J. Steudel. 2003. Complementary Use of Qualitative and Quantitative Cultural Assessment Methods. Organizational Research Methods 6 (4): 465–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zappos. 2010. Zappos’ Culture. At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CcLIPaUz3E

  • Zynga. 2009. Inside Zynga. At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeRfnXbKbko

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Daryl Koehn

Authors
  1. Daryl Koehn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daryl Koehn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Gabriel Flynn

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature B.V.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Koehn, D. (2022). Ethical and Leadership Challenges by Organizational Culture Type. In: Flynn, G. (eds) Leadership and Business Ethics. Issues in Business Ethics, vol 60. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-2111-8_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation