Leadership is a fundamental component of good management. Previous studies demonstrate that people who follow charismatic leaders are highly motivated and enthusiastic (Wang et al., 2010). Charismatic leaders are regarded as the ‘mover and shakers’ of the world, daring to challenge the status quo and motivating their followers to work beyond their normal scope. In a systemic review of literature, we test the hypothesis whether charisma has a positive effect on organizational culture.
Hypothesis
Hypothesis: Charisma has a positive effect on organizational culture
Review of Literature
Leaders are significant in shaping and maintaining the culture of their organizations. An organization’s leadership process is a cornerstone for perceptibility of its culture (Acar, 2012). Although the leadership style influences attention towards the organization’s visions, it is the culture of the organization that confers legitimacy on that vision. Leadership is considered as both a relational process and dynamic competence. It, therefore, implies that an organization will require specific skills and capabilities for setting aspirations envisioning and for motivation of other employees (Aydogdu, 2011). Transformational leadership is always viewed from the perspective of a leader influencing their subordinates, implying that subordinates would usually get more satisfied when their superiors adopt this kind of leadership (Densten, 2012). Studies suggest that high levels of transformational leadership are positively linked with a committed group of subordinates in an organization.
Other studies suggest that effective leadership relies on personal charisma as an extension of transformational leadership. Apart from personal charisma, leaders also are found to require moral vision and sensitivity to contextual demands for good leadership (Obiwuru, 2011). Charismatic leaders are known to influence their subordinates from their personal traits, which depict them to have high self-confidence, empathy and also interpersonal skills that make their followers feel a sense of competency and empowerment. An organization’s success can be attributed to how much a leader can adjust their leadership style to situations within.
Different researchers define organizational culture in their own understanding. Organizational culture can be viewed as norms and values shared within the employees within an organization (Sarros, 2011). Other authors view organizational culture as a set of widely recognized procedures and rules that inform the members of the organization on what to do and when to do it under varied undefined situations.
From a systemic literature review, it is noticeable that there has been a rise in the number of publications done concerning organizational culture in academic journals. Organization culture has been recognized as the determinant of the success of an organization. Looking at approximately ten different publications across different countries, with both single and multiple authorship, 8 of the publications support the notion that organizational success depends solely on the culture brewed within the organization. Out of the 10 articles, 4 were qualitative while the remaining 6 were quantitative. Majority of the articles used were empirical. The buildup of most of the theories takes place through conceptual approach methodologies procedures.
A review of the literature depicts that there is a wide variety of theoretical approaches that explain the existence of leadership process complexities. From the review, experienced manifestation of an ideal worker advocates belief in organizational leadership, and honor to the leading personalities (Wang, 2011). The reviews support that an ideal worker looks up to motivation and inspiration from its leadership’s influence. Some of the authors treat charismatic leadership as a collective and dualistic process (Nam, 2011). Authors supporting the hypothesis—that charisma influences organizational culture—depict charismatic leadership as tending to identify employees with their groups that they belong and making them appreciate their positions in the organization.
Some of the authors, however, do not depict charisma as an influential factor in organizational culture. These authors claim that in groups with charismatic leadership, external stimuli does not pose as significant challenge in the cultural complexities as long as the workers identify and appreciate a group (Erkutlu, 2012). They claim that internal factors such as motivation, attractiveness of expression and awareness of self-worth are more significant in explaining the organizational culture. On the contrary, though, it is important to note that charisma plays an important role in internal motivation of employees (Wilderom, 2012). Charismatic leaders, being empathetic and reasonable, have an influential role in boosting an employee’s awareness of their self-worth and allows them to express themselves.
Conclusion
In conclusion, an organization’s culture is dependent on the beliefs of its employees and their ability to synchronize into the operations of the organization and achieve its goals. With charismatic leadership viewed as a binding factor that allows an organization to achieve its vision, it is logical to say that the charismatic type of leadership is only able to achieve organizational success if the organizational culture is influenced. Although some may argue that organizational culture relies solely on the attitude and internal motivation of employees, it is essential to note that charismatic leadership influences internal motivation and attitude of their employees. Therefore it is logical to say that charisma has a positive effect on organizational culture.
