(145b) Leadership and Culture - the Key to Success

Culture plays an important role in how a company operates since culture is all about a company’s values, beliefs, symbols and myths, which have developed over the history of the company. Culture can play a significant role in a company’s ability to succeed. A company that fosters an open, honest and non-punitive culture, encouraging, fostering and rewarding initiative and success, is a much better place to work as opposed to one that has a closed, feared and punitive culture; these organizations suffer from a lack of initiative and employees just doing as they are told. Culture stems from the highest levels of the organization and is reflected in how the CEO works with the management team, all the way down the line to local supervisors; it dictates the norms of behavior within the organization. Leadership and management style is therefore very relevant in how the culture of the organization develops. Creating a culture that facilitates personnel growth and development, at the same time as providing a great place to work, to enhance the company’s success, is crucial. This paper explores the leadership styles required to enhance success.