Societal culture is one important aspect of
the context within which school leaders must operate. They mustalso contend with organizational culture, which provides a more
immediate framework for leadership action.
Central features of organizational culture
- It focuses on the values and beliefs of members of
organizations.“Shared values, shared beliefs, shared meaning,
shared understanding, and shared sensemaking are all different waysof describing culture . . . These patterns of understanding also
provide a basis for making one’s own behaviour sensible and
meaningful”(Morgan, 1997, p. 138).
- The cultural model focuses on the notion of a single or
dominant culture in organizations but this does not necessarilymean that individual values are always in harmony with one another.“There may be different and competing value systems that create a
mosaic of organizational realities rather than a uniform corporateculture”(Morgan, 1997, p. 137). Large, multipurpose organizations,
in particular, are likely to have more than one culture (Schein,1997, p. 14).
- Organizational culture emphasizes the development of shared
norms and meanings. The assumption is that interaction betweenmembers of the organization, or its subgroups, eventually leads to
behavioural norms that gradually become cultural features of theschool or college.
- These group norms sometimes allow the development of a
monoculture in a school with meanings shared throughout the staff -“the way we do things around here.”We have already noted, however,
that there may be several subcultures based on the professional andpersonal interests of different groups. These typically have
internal coherence but experience difficulty in relationships withother groups whose behavioural norms are different.
- Culture is typically expressed through rituals and
ceremonies, which are used to support and celebrate beliefs andnorms. Schools are rich in such symbols as assemblies,
prize-givings and corporate worship.“Symbols are central to the
process of constructing meanin.”(Hoyle, 1986, p. 152).
- Organizational culture assumes the existence of heroes and
heroines who embody the values and beliefs of the organization.These honoured members typify the behaviours associated with the
culture of the institution. Campbell-Evans (1993, p. 106) stressesthat heroes or heroines are those whose achievements match the
culture:“Choice and recognition of heroes . . . occurs within the
cultural boundaries identified through the value filter . . . Theaccomplishments of those individuals who come to be regarded asheroes are compatible with the cultural emphases”(Bush, 2003, p.
160-162).
Moral leadership
Leaders have the main responsibility for
generating and sustaining culture and communicating core values andbeliefs both within the organization and to external stakeholders
(Bush, 1998, p. 43). Principals have their own values and beliefsarising from many years of successful professional practice. They
are also expected to embody the culture of the school or college.Schein (1997) argues that cultures spring primarily from the
beliefs, values and assumptions of founders of organizations.However, it should be noted that cultural change is difficult and
problematic. Hargreaves (1999) claims that“most people”s beliefs,
attitudes and values are far more resistant to change than leaderstypically allow”(p. 59-60).
