Leadership and Organizational Culture: Linking CEO Characteristics to Cultural Values

Purpose  The purpose of this study was to empirically examine organizational culture theorists’ assertions about the linkages between leadership and the cultures that emerge in the organizations they lead. Specific hypotheses were developed and tested regarding relationships between chief executive officers’ (CEO’s) personality traits, and the cultural values that are shared among their organization’s members. Design/Methodology/Approach  Thirty-two CEOs completed measures of the Big-Five personality traits and personal values. A total of 467 employees across the 32 organizations completed a competing values measure of organizational culture. Findings  Results indicate support for several hypothesized relationships between CEO personality and cultural values. Exploratory analyses indicated that several CEO personal values were related to culture values. Implications  Organizations need to seriously consider the “fit” between the current or desired organizational culture and CEO characteristics. Organizations attempting to change fundamental aspects of its functioning may need significant behavioral—or personnel—changes at the top of the organization in order to achieve those changes. Originality/Value  This is the first empirical study to establish a link between specific CEO characteristics and the cultural values of their organizations. This study provides evidence that CEO characteristics are felt throughout the organization by impacting the norms that sanction or discourage member behavior and decision making, and the patterns of behavior and interaction among members.     

Genotype and environment in the social interactions of wild and domestic “Norway” rats

Wild rats, Rattus norvegicus, (a) trapped as adults or (b) of the second generation in captivity (lab-wild), and domestic rats of two strains, were studied for 28 days in artificial colonies in large cages with attached nest boxes. Controls were kept in mated pairs in small cages. Each colony consisted of six males and six females. The interactions of the males in six colonies of trapped rats were highly “stressful;” 61% died; and most of the survivors lost weight and had greatly enlarged adrenals. In each colony, however, there was a male (an alpha) that gained in weight and spent much time, during the dark hours, in the open on the floor of the cage; and in three colonies there were also other males (“betas”) that gained in weight. The adrenals of alphas and betas weighed about the same as those of the controls. In one of the 12 colonies of domestic rats one male behaved like a wild male; but in the other colonies the males gained in body weight and their adrenal weights resembled those of the controls. In three colonies of lab-wild rats 22% of the males died, but there was no evidence of males of different status. The findings confirm that the “agonistic” behavior of domestic rats is usually much attenuated in comparison with that of the wild type; a number of methodologic implications are discussed.     

What's in a smile?

In positive social contexts, both adults and older infants show more Duchenne smiling (which involves high cheek raising) than non-Duchenne smiling (which does not). This study compared Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles in early infancy for clues to their emotional significance. Infants (N = 13) from 1 to 6 months of age were videotaped weekly for 5 min in 208 face-to-face interactions with their mothers. Levels of Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiling were correlated within interactive sessions, and the 2 smiles had similar developmental trajectories. Duchenne smiles were typically preceded by non-Duchenne smiles. The results suggest these frequently contrasted types of smiles occur in similar situations and are often different temporal phases of a continuous emotional process. In contrast to adults, infant Duchenne smiles had longer durations than non-Duchenne smiles, suggesting infant smiling does not fit adult models of emotional functioning.     

The effect of normative models on individual and group choice

Studied the effect of a normative model (maximization of expected value) upon group and individual choice. 109 MBA students in a Lain square research design chose between two alternatives differing in expected value and in range of outcomes. Group choices were significantly (p < .05) closer to those predicted by the normative model than were individual choices. This difference was not due only to information about the presence and applicability of the normative model but rather it was due to the persuasiveness of the model in a group as a cogent and correct solution to the choice dilemma. Task instructions emphasizing the rewards from risk taking produced significantly more choices (p < .05) of the riskier alternative, particularly by individuals as opposed to groups, than did instructions emphasizing the penalties of risk taking. ‘Risky’ and ‘conservative’ shifts in choice between groups and individuals were explicable through knowledge of the influence of the normative model in individual and group choice.     

Embedding leader characteristics: an examination of homogeneity of personality and values in organizations

The authors (a) investigated trait homogeneity in organizations by examining within-organization similarity among members' personality traits and personal values and (b) tested the relationship between the top leaders' personal characteristics and organizational profiles of personality and values. Results replicate and extend B. Schneider, D. B. Smith, S. Taylor, and J. Fleenor's (1998) hypothesis of the homogeneity of personality in organizations. Using data from CEOs and 467 employee participants from 32 organizations, the authors found evidence of within-organization homogeneity of both personality and values. Results also suggest initial empirical support for assumptions presented by E. Schein (1992) and B. Schneider (1987) about leader-follower congruence. Some implications regarding leadership and organizational behavior are discussed.     

Response effort and resurgence

This study provides an initial translational examination of response effort and resurgence. Eleven typically developing adults and five adolescents with autism served as participants across two experiments. Participants received points for touching moving stimuli on a computer screen. The resurgence evaluation consisted of three phases: establishment wherein R1 was reinforced, elimination wherein R1 was placed on extinction while R2 was reinforced, and extinction wherein R1 and R2 no longer resulted in reinforcement. Rate of R1 during extinction was compared across three conditions: intermediate, easy, and difficult. Disparity in effort was created by manipulations of the size and speed of objects that moved about on a computer screen. In Experiment 2, control stimuli were added to the experimental arrangement. Across the two experiments, the magnitude of resurgence was greater when R1 was easy. In Experiment 2, both R1 and control responding were greater in the extinction phase than in the elimination phase in all conditions with all participants. The present study supports the hypothesis that response effort affects resurgence and that less effortful responses are likely to recur with greater magnitude under conditions that produce resurgence than are their more effortful counterparts.     

Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese students at a UK university

Aim: In this study we aimed to investigate whether Chinese international and British home students at a university in the United Kingdom differed in their attitudes towards seeking psychological help. Method: The total sample comprised 323 participants. Participants completed measures to assess their attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help (recognition of need for psychological help, stigma tolerance, interpersonal openness, confidence in mental health practitioners). Results: Chinese students reported significantly less interpersonal openness than that reported by British students. Contrary to prediction, however, no significant group differences were found on any of the other mental health attitudes (i.e. recognition of need for psychological help, confidence in mental health practitioners or stigma tolerance). Within‐group contrasts also showed that Chinese students reported lower scores on interpersonal openness than on stigma tolerance and confidence in mental health practitioners. In contrast, British participants reported less confidence in mental health practitioners and recognition of the need for psychological help than reported for stigma tolerance and interpersonal openness. Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for a greater understanding of students' cultural inclinations toward mental health issues and cultural attitudes that may hinder and/or facilitate students' access and engagement with psychological services in higher education institutions.     

fMRI responses to Jung's Word Association Test: implications for theory,treatment and research

Jung's Word Association Test was performed under fMRI conditions by 12 normal subjects. Pooled complexed responses were contrasted against pooled neutral ones. The fMRI activation pattern of this generic ‘complexed response’ was very strong (corrected Z scores ranging from 4.90 to 5.69). The activation pattern in each hemisphere includes mirror neurone areas that track ‘otherness’ (perspectival empathy), anterior insula (both self‐awareness and emotional empathy), and cingulated gyrus (self‐awareness and conflict‐monitoring). These are the sites described by Siegel and colleagues as the ‘resonance circuitry’ in the brain which is central to mindfulness (awareness of self) and empathy (sense of the other), negotiations between self awareness and the ‘internal other’. But there is also an interhemispheric dialogue. Within 3 seconds, the left hemisphere over‐rides the right (at least in our normal subjects). Mindfulness and empathy are central to good psychotherapy, and complexes can be windows of opportunity if left‐brain hegemony is resisted. This study sets foundations for further research: (i) QEEG studies (with their finer temporal resolution) of complexed responses in normal subjects (ii) QEEG and fMRI studies of complexed responses in other conditions, like schizophrenia, PTSD, disorders of self organization.     

Addressing Anger,Stress, and Alcohol-Related Difficulties in the Military: An ACT Intervention

The use of alcohol to manage emotion is a common technique seen in military service personnel, the implication of which is evident in the relationship between alcohol misuse and mood disorders. However, investigations into transdiagnostic treatments aimed at addressing the common underlying processes to these problems in military personnel are lacking. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a real-world Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based intervention undergone by 262 military personnel. A quasi-experimental prepost design was employed (interim 1 month postintervention) with a waitlist control group utilized to compare differences over time between those who promptly completed the week-long intervention course and the delayed waitlist participants. In line with predictions, the intervention group showed greater improvement (cf. preintervention waitlist group) in emotion management, and greater reductions in levels of alcohol consumption, aggression, anxiety, stress, and perceptions of others being responsible for their circumstances. No significant differences were found in the comparison of both groups’ 1-month postintervention results (i.e., both groups evidenced similar improvements); suggesting having to wait to start the course had little effect on its impact. The results suggest the course holds promise for helping military service personnel improve a range of psychosocial outcomes. Further testing with a more rigorous methodology is recommended, as is using a more proactive approach in the promotion and implementation of future courses.