Organizational culture involves shared values, attitudes, philosophies, and rules that have been developed over time and guide decision-making as well as the actions of individuals in an organization (Grand Canyon University, 2018). One barrier caused by an organizational culture that can be encountered by nursing leaders and make them feel powerless is resistance by some members of the organization due to personal cultural values. With employees having different perceptions regarding certain organizational issues, this may lead to resistance where members only agree with decisions or actions that are in accordance to their cultural values and beliefs (Grand Canyon University, 2018). It is difficult to effectively guide and direct employees with different perspectives as the employees may become resistant to certain changes developed by the organization’s leaders.
A shared culture may also affect the implementation of certain changes since the organization has adopted a certain way of doing things. This creates uniform behaviors and attitudes by employees working in the organization (Ghiasipour, Mosadeghrad, Arab, & Jaafaripooyan, 2017). For a nursing leader to successfully implement a positive change, the nursing leader will be required to go through top managers and convince them on the importance of the change. Due to the resources required in implementing changes, this idea may also be opposed leaving the leader with no alternative options (Ghiasipour et al., 2017). An organizational culture may also lead to communication breakdown in the workplace which is important in sharing information and enhancing collaborating to improve productivity. This may affect how a leader communicates policies, strategic plans, and organizational goals to members of the organization. Poor communication also prevents effective addressing of conflicts between members (Ghiasipour et al., 2017).
References
- Ghiasipour, M., Mosadeghrad, A. M., Arab, M., & Jaafaripooyan, E. (2017). Leadership challenges in health care organizations: The case of Iranian hospitals. Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 31, 96. https://doi.org/10.14196/mjiri.31.96
- Grand Canyon University. (2018). Nursing Leadership and Management: Leading and Serving. Grand Canyon University.
