How Culture Can Be Expressed in the Organisation - Essay Example

Running Head: ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND EFFECTIVENESS Organisational Culture Name Course Tutor Date Introduction In an organisational setting, various stakeholders are tasked with different roles to ensure that set goals are achieved in an effective and timely manner. Everyone is responsible for particular specific tasks which form a synergetic system that is driven towards reaching targeted objectives. For instance, it is the role of management to plan, budget, staff, direct, control, which are directly meant to focus on objects such as producing and selling of goods and services. Leadership, on the other hand, is tasked with the responsibility of creating a vision, strategy and a culture in the organisation which helps others grow. Leadership also facilitates and focuses on growth in people by motivating them using personal power and service. It is through leadership that an organisational culture is created and maintained though the lifetime of an organisation through maintained standards and warranted change that is driven by operating environments and global diversity. Once they have done this, they are in the front line leading the way by their actions through establishing teams and guiding their way towards overcoming obstacles that may encounter on their journey (University of Toronto, 2013). This essay will look at organisational culture and how it helps organisations to operate effectively. Leadership and organisational culture Leadership styles differ with different leaders. They may be profiles of inspiration, instructions or, motivation. Others may have styles that are unique and like no other. With the world rapidly growing in terms of technology, globalization, communication, outsourcing and downsizing, organisational cultures are in constant change to keep up with the world. Leaders have been forced to step up from the traditional leadership styles and adopt news ways that facilitate effective change within their leadership portfolios. Organisational culture is based on the concept of leadership. The culture of an on organisation determines what it does and how it does it. It differentiates if from other organisations in the industry and gives it a unique edge which facilitates survival and growth (Cabreraa, Cabrerab, & Barajas, 2001). To be an effective leader, there are several requirements that an individual should have or posses. They should have the ability to establish a clear vision and direction for everyone to follow. They should effectively align their employees strategically within the direction of the organisation. They should have a clear understanding of effective communication, and have the ability to motivate and inspire others. Effectively able to produce and effect change and successfully give instructions and receive feedback. Finally, they should have a clear comprehension of what the organisational culture entails and always work towards its optimization (Yilmaz & Ergun, 2008). Culture and organisational efficiency In the modern world, organisations are struggling to keep up with the ever changing dynamics of operation and stiff competition. To cope with this, they have been forced to be creative, competitive and innovative. As mentioned earlier, there are various aspects that an organisation should put into consideration to ensure positive performance. One of the major factors that influence organisational performance is its organisational culture. Due to its effect of different individual organisations, organisational culture has widely been studied. Theoretically, organisational culture is directly related to performance. It is crucial to understand what exactly organisational culture entails before indulging into the topic fully. Many scholars have defined it differently and there is no particularly agreed definition of organisational culture. However, there is a general direction which most definitions take. Organisational culture is a routine of basic assumptions that have been enumerated, developed or discovered in experience to deal with internal and external challenges and integration. These assumptions have over time been proven to be effective and valid and are, therefore, taught to members as the way of thinking, feeling and perception within that particular organisation. Other simple definitions are, “the shared values and norms within an organisation” It is also refereed to as corporate culture which entails the expectations, beliefs, attitudes, behaviours and the way people get things done. Organisational culture influences and affects employees and results or outcomes achieved. The effects that organisational culture affects are in terms of behavior, development, earning, innovation, creativity, management and knowledge. Organisational culture provides a framework of meaning meant to guide in making of reality within a social environment. Through culture, the community involved is shaped by making sense of their surroundings which shape their activities. It encompasses what is held by a particular community and what differentiates it from others. Culture is passed from one generation to another through training, imitation, and communication. It is the responsibility of leaders to strengthen and embed the organisational culture into their strategies. Culture should be embedded in objectives, mission, vision, procedures and structures. It is the in organisational culture that organisations are able to deal with internal and external challenges, performance and to create a cohesive unit (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Culture is dynamic, it changes with circumstances. It is important for leaders to understand culture in depth to enable them to respond appropriately to factors that influence cultural changes. The reason for dynamism is to keep up with competition and help keep the organisation relevant as a going concern. Different organisations in different industries reflect culture differently. Even with frequent changes, leaders should have new ways of maintaining their culture by taking advantage of the avenues provided by globalization and advancement in technology. They should not lose focus of their initial culture that have seen them through time as they risk being overtaken and becoming irrelevant (Aktas, Kıyakc, & Cicek, 2011). Organisational culture and performance The corporate culture within an organisation has a direct effect of the performance of the organisation, both short term and long and long term. It is so crucial that it is one of the determinants of success or failure. Even with a strong workforce with highly skilled personnel, it is possible for performance to be restrained if corporate cultures are static and rigid. To prevent this from happening, corporate cultures can be made and geared toward performance enhancement by take full advantage the resources they have at their disposal. This will help the organisation to form a strong culture in which performance becomes part of it. The stronger the culture the more effective and better performing the organisation is. Effectiveness within an organisation can be measured by the extent to which goals and objectives have been achieved. Effectiveness is deeply embedded in culture. Culture has an effect on job satisfaction, employee participation, employee productivity and decision making. Many studies have linked organisational culture to performance and effectiveness. There is a tension in organisations between maintaining high levels of stability and being flexible and adaptable to new environments. There is a need to keep control over issues and at the same time allowing a certain degree of freedom. There is also a need to have formal and informal structures. All theses are heavily influenced by culture. A successful organisation is effectively able to strike a balance between these traits which are crucial in goals achievement (Hodges & Hernandez, 2000). Measuring organisational effectiveness Effectiveness in an organisation can be measured by correspondence of set goal and achieved results. This is important as it determines the degree of success and highlights areas that need improvement. Effectiveness is achieved through the interplay of efficiency, proficiency, innovation, culture, competition, and direction. All stakeholders have a role to play in determining the final degree of effectives achieved. In measuring effectiveness, it can be grouped into four broad categories (Pareek, 2007). These categories can widely evaluate how organisational culture may influence performance and effectiveness Customer orientation Marketing is a basic function of organisation with the sole goal of increasing customer bases. Organisations which are based on a culture of market orientation will perform in depth analyses of the markets they operate in. A market based culture has three major drivers. First, generating and developing a market intelligence that enables realisation of consumer needs and trends both in the present and in future. Secondly, sharing of market information amongst relevant departments and finally responding to specific requirements. Basically it involves gathering information, disseminating it and reacting to it effectively by adding value with new actions directed to the market. The other aspect of a market oriented culture involves creation of marketing strategies that are meant to satisfy consumers more comprehensively than their competitors in the same industry. Market orientation is crucial and its main focus is the consumer where their needs are the driving strategy of the organisation. This culture puts the customer at the centre of and mobilizes all other stakeholders to work toward ensuring that they get exactly what they are looking for in products. Consumer priority is the key aspect of customer orientation (Aydin & Ceylan, 2009). The strategy that any company uses towards its customers will determine the degree of success they achieve. Competition has driven organisations to develop strategies that will help them retain the customers that they have, that is, maintain a certain level of market share as acquiring newer consumers is very expensive. Even well established brands in the past are becoming more consumer conscious as they realise that they are losing market share to developing ones. The way an organisation deals with its customers is very crucial as it will determine whether it will stay in business or not. Employee satisfaction Employees are very crucial to any organisation and are at the epicentre of its success or failure. Utilizing the available workforce and skills is what gives the company a competitive edge. Human resource management is responsible for ensuring that competent and skilled employees are placed at specific jobs with regard to their ability and capability to deliver maximum results. Some organisations have a culture based on their employees. They ensure that they always maximise on the employees to give them maximum results. Employees are at the centre of focus for such organisations the HR strategy in such organisations is to ensure that employees develop necessary skills and are motivated and well remunerated for their efforts. This way they are more committed to their work and employee turnover is greatly reduced. The argument that such a culture holds is that satisfaction among employees will ensure loyalty and high productivity. Satisfied employees will positively affect customers and satisfaction will be replicated towards them too. Organisational productivity will also remain high when employees are satisfied. Combining affective reactions with what employees want and what they receive can adequately define their satisfaction (Aydin & Ceylan, 2009). An organisation that has an employee oriented culture will try as much as possible to fulfil expectations of employees. Satisfaction is not only in the work place but it also revolves around their social, emotional and employee well being outside the work place. The full potential of skills and talent can only be brought out when employees are satisfied. It also triggers competition within the organisation as every employee wants recognition as the best in what they do. An employee centred culture in an organisation may be developed right from commencement of business. It is crucial that leaders maintain such a culture. However, they should realise that utilizing technology may sometimes render even the best talent to be redundant or obsolete. They should therefore strike a balance between human manpower and technology for the highest levels of effectiveness (Kaur, 2006). Employee oriented organisations will spend huge amounts of money to acquire the best talent possible. They will also ensure that thee are satisfied to prevent competitors from acquiring them. Such employees are made to “feel at home” in the work place. They are the most valuable assets that the organisations have and are made to feel part of it. Organisational commitment Organisational commitment is the psychological attachment and strength that links an individual toward their organisation. Employees can be committed to their organisations in different ways and intensity. An e employee may be affectively attached which involves their emotions. There is also continuance attachment which relates to the awareness of challenges that would be faced on leaving the organisation. Normative commitment is associated with the feeling of obligation or responsibility to continue with employment. Willingness and commitment go hand in hand. Employees with a sense of commitment towards an organisation will put more effort compared to those who are not. Organisational structures have rules which employees should follow. When they are bored by such rules, commitment is affected and productivity may go down (Röhm, 2006). Commitment to the organisation will affect performance of tasks in the organisation. Employers should give employees a reason to find attachment to their work. This could be in the form of incentives, promotions, salary increments, rewards, holidays, and leaves among others. This makes them feel that they are needed in the work place. Employees should be committed to their organisations because they fell they are part of it and not for other reasons. Leaders who embrace a commitment culture seek to retain a workforce that is cohesive and has the ability to work together and create strong teams. In the current world is has become difficult for employers to maintain high organisational commitment. This is partially as a result of huge workforces and modernisation that has shifted attention from the employee to other ways of increasing productivity. Commitment is only seen at the high positions of leadership and management Financial performance and growth All organisations have an objective of growth and profitability. It is the different ways of reaching this goal that diversifies and differentiates organisations. Some organisations have this objective developed as their main culture where all their efforts are aimed. Financial performance is directly related o financial health while growth is the increase in volumes of profits and productivity. This can be measured using financial ratios and statements. The main aim and focus of such organisations is the return of investments, assets, equity, and profit margins. Growth is concerned with market share, sales, and relative annual performance. Organisations that have a culture of profitability and growth identify an aspect that drives their profitability and centre their attention there. For instance, if profitability is largely driven by sales, then they will put all there attention on sales strategies. If sales are driven by the brand. Then they will maintain bran superiority to maintain a competitive edge (Yesil & Kaya, 2013). This culture ensures that all times the organisations and all its stakeholders are pushing towards having better profits. Such organisations tend to be very dynamic and prone to change as competition warrants change of strategy no and then. Leaders have to very open minded and willingness to take risks as changes can happen at any time. Conclusion Organisational culture defines an organisation and its uniqueness. With all organisations being different, achieving their goals will be largely affected by the culture. Being dynamic and at the same time maintaining the basic fundamentals of culture is what keeps many organisations effective and on their feet. Change of strategies from time to time may be warranted by circumstances and operating environments. Organisations that have the ability to develop working cultures reap benefits from increased productivity and effectiveness within their organisations. Through effective leadership, organisations that are able to find a balance of culture that promotes every aspect of their organisation. Leaders who ensure that all employees understand and incorporate culture in their efforts will reap maximum benefits from them. Organisational culture is a key aspect in ensuring a cohesive organisation that puts its efforts towards effectiveness in all aspects. It ensures that all subsystems within a complex system work in a synergetic manner towards goal achieving success. References Aktas, E., Kıyakc, M., & Cicek, I. (2011). International Strategic Management. Amsterdam: Elsevier Ltd. Aydin, B., & Ceylan, A. (2009). The Role of Organisational Culture on Effectiveness. 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