Title: Role of leaders in the development and maintenance of organisational culture through artefacts

Authors: Asma Khalid; Bakhtawar Bibi; Ch. Shoaib Akhtar

Addresses: Department of Public Administration, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan ' Shaze Interiors, Islamabad, Pakistan ' Department of Public Administration, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Abstract: The present research explores the role of leaders in the development and maintenance of organisational culture by studying artefacts - a part of organisational culture. To understand the culture of organisations, ethnographic approach is used. Primary data was gathered through 28 semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation and studying and analysing different official documents of organisations. For the study, two organisations belonging to insurance sector of Pakistan were taken as case studies. Data analysis comprised of line by line coding to identify themes. Artefacts of organisational culture are discussed according to Schein's model of culture. Findings of this study suggest that artefacts such as tangible assets, logo, employees as asset, and respect are important for organisations to be successful in the market. The other important finding is that leaders play a significant role in the development and maintenance of cultural artefacts of organisations for success and survivability.

Keywords: leaders; organisational culture; artefacts; ethnographic research; Schein model of culture.

DOI: 10.1504/MEJM.2020.105943

Middle East Journal of Management, 2020 Vol.7 No.2, pp.132 - 149

Received: 08 Jun 2018
Accepted: 09 Nov 2018
Published online: 19 Mar 2020 *

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