Aspects of Organizational Culture - Coursework Example

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE STUDENT’S NAME: INSTITUTION: INSTRUCTOR’S NAME: DATE: Organizational culture Introduction The term culture is defined to mean a certain way of doing things; this has been used to define how people in all aspects of life have come up with ways of conducting their day to day activities. Every community has their culture, such that a culture from one community is different with another community. We can, therefore, understand that people live according to cultural guidelines. For example, if we take the cultures of people from different religions, we will find that they have different characteristics which are stated by their unique cultures (Woodside, 2010). Organizational culture evolves in response to the need for a process to determine how subordinates in an organization should perform their activities. Therefore, organizational culture can be defined as an accepted procedure of performing organizational duties. Each organization has its process and therefore all the employees should follow their organization culture. The main contributor on the emergence of organization culture resulted from the fact that in any organization, there are subordinates from various diversity; therefore, since each subordinate has their way of performing duties, the need for a unified system formed an organization culture (Alvesson, M. 2002). An organization that has a well formed and established culture has always experienced impressive performance among their subordinates. A good culture should provide conducive working environment both to the subordinates and to the clients. A culture that everyone understands and can adapt is a good culture because subordinates are from diverse backgrounds. Therefore, the human resource management should come up with a uniform culture that will favor and unite subordinates (Alvesson, & Berg, 1992). Technological advancement has impacted the cultures of many organizations because they have forced subordinates to experience cultural changes. Change in technology implies changes in the way of doing things as well. Organizations have been forced to keep with the phase of technology and therefore they have to be quick in adapting to these changes. Implementing new technology has an effect on existing policies, administration and all components forming the organization. Rapid technological change is a pressure to the organization because of the need to organize for trainings and developing projects that enhance appropriate implementation process. One of the major factors that stimulates and enables the success of a culture depends on the influence from the people surrounding each other. For an organization, influence is highly achieved through the process of leadership. Therefore the leadership is the major aspect of culture influence in an organization (Harrison, & Carroll, 2006). Culture is shaped by people’s behaviors, beliefs and their attitudes. Organizational structure also impacts on the success of a culture because it determines factors such as level of communication and decision making process. Management is also another factor influencing cultural success. This occurs when there are different levels of management, and each is responsible for the actions of the employees. Aspects of organizational culture An organization’s culture is defined by its customs and language, for example, a company will have its way of expressing opinions, such as sayings that have been used in the company for a long time. Customs include how the employees are rewarded, for example, sending them Christmas cards or gifts. The climate of the workplace, as in how the company values some certain aspects such as working overtime or working under specially formulated rules also defines the culture of an organization. Moreover, habits are cultural and include both what people do in the company and the extent to which their habits are influential (Schein, E. 2009). Values and mission are a third cultural element. Organizations use missions to guide their actions towards achieving their goals. Values, on the other hand, define how the organization values their actions as those of the employees. Finally, Symbols constitute the primary element of organizational culture. Symbols are statements used to represent a certain aspect of the company generally, something that is important to the organization. Organizational dress code, layout and landscape are some of things that represent the culture of that particular organization. Characteristics of organizational culture Organizational culture has several characteristics, first it should be negotiated. One person does not form a culture; it is formed through negotiation of two or more people. Take for example employee performance, this is developed through a negotiation regarding how things should be done, which direction to be followed and how the decision- making process should be carried out. Person's shape culture subordinates in organization shapes the culture through their behavior and experiences. Obviously new employees will be influenced by the actions of the older employees, and they will, therefore, perform their duties by emulating other employees. This explains how organizational culture is passed on- not through direct communication but observation of the actions of the people in the organization (Perker, 2000). Finally, it is difficult to change the culture once a culture is formed; this is because cultural change involves changing people’s behavior (Schabraq, M. 2009). It is not easy to change one’s ways of doing things, and it takes much persistence and patience. Steps in forming organizational culture The best way to instill a culture among the subordinates is to define it. This is done by creating a vision for achieving a good culture. This includes discussing the major components of the culture in consultation with the decision makers and coming up with the best definition of the culture for a particular organization (Harrison, R., & Stokes, H. 1992). The second step of forming an organizational culture is to teach subordinates about it. Obviously when employees are undergoing trainings, they will tend to ask questions about how things should be done. The answer can help form a good organization culture. For example about time consciousness, good customer service and teamwork are some of the factors that form and shapes the culture. When all employees on training and are exposed to certain experiences, they will tend to form a unified culture. The best way to teach about culture is to tell stories of success during a difficult situation (Keyton, 2011). This will help the subordinates to visualize the necessary behaviors and compare their ways of doing things to those in the stories, thereby shaping the culture. Another step is to practise living with the culture. This comprises a major step toward forming a culture because once a culture has been formed, subordinates should be able to adapt to it. Leaders are responsible for influencing subordinates, so they are required to lead by example. Indeed employees will do exactly what their leaders do. Living a culture means carrying out actions that demonstrate how things should be done. For example, if an organisation’s leaders have gone through difficult situations and managed to overcome them simply by applying their best effort, nurtured by culture, subordinates’ exposure to this will help them strengthen their own culture. Observations of good examples of how to handle clients or fellow staff member in trouble, how to minimise conflicts among staff and how to address difficult situations, such as financial problems in an organisation, will help form a strong culture (Driskill, & Brenton, 2010). The culture must also be measured. Once the organisation has identified the major aspects of its culture, it is important to measure its successful realization. This is done by assessing the level to which each factor that makes up the culture has succeeded. The last step in forming a strong culture is rewarding it. This is achieved by identifying the key elements that influence the adoption of culture and then offering positive recognition for the behaviors that build the culture. Types of organizational cultures There are several types of organisational culture. These include academy, normative, pragmatic, club, fortress, and tough-guy and process culture. Academy culture has to do with the competence level of subordinates; some employees with high skill levels will always welcome more training to enhance their skills even further. Academy culture enables subordinates to thrive through intense training aimed at improving the performance of duties. This culture is used by institutions such as hospitals and educational institutions because they want to stay up-to-date with new technology (Miroshnik, V.2013). Normative culture is found in many organizations; culture that has already been established and every subordinate should stick to this culture. Rules and regulations have been used to define this culture such that employees perform their duties by following the orders. This culture is not suitable for any employee since they have to follow the guideline which implies that only those employees who are experienced and can handle any form of cultural demand work well within this culture (Tierney, 2008). Pragmatic culture pays attention to the customers. The way of doing things is focussed on putting the customers first. This is done simply because it is believed that customers are the foundation of the organisation and so they should be a top priority (Fieldman, S. 2000). The cultural practices are based on the fact that the customers are different and have different needs; the customers get what they want. In contrast to the normative culture, the employees in organisations that practice pragmatic culture do not have to adhere to a specified set of rules laid out by the Club culture has some regulations regarding the employees, such as that they must be competent and skilled in their job performance. Before employing people, the organisation considers aspects like potential employee, education and experience. This type of culture is found in organizations such as the military (Askanasy, & Wilderon, 2011). Fortress culture is based on the performance of the employees, such that a rise in performance will result in a prolonged employment contract with the employees, while a fall in performance may result in retrenchment (Msoroka, M. 2013). Employees in organisations with this culture are forced to work extra hard to use the established culture to ensure success. Sales and marketing companies use this type of culture. Tough-guy culture is used in organisations that have controlled measures and expectations of their employees. Organisations that use this culture monitor their employees in all aspects of their performance (Young, 2007). The employees have set standards that they must meet, and failure to do so will subject them to guidance and further training. Customer service falls under this type of culture because customer service employees have a set of scripts to follow when providing services. Finally, Process culture is based on organization’s regulations. The employees work under stipulation and regulations often under contract. This type of culture dictates what the employees should do, and it is their choice to either accept the terms and conditions or quit working for the organization. Divisions of organizational culture Organizational culture can be divided into several ways including as a clan- oriented culture, an adhocracy culture, a hierarchy culture and as a market-oriented culture. In a clan-oriented culture, the organisation performs its activities as a family. It focuses on nurturing, working as a team and mentoring their members (Gherardi, 1995). This type of culture is found in small organisations where there is a need to establish and build a strong culture. The adhocracy culture focuses on entrepreneurship, and its main purpose is to achieve profit-making goals by taking risks. This type of culture is used by organisations that are oriented toward innovation. Hierarchy culture focuses on perfection, and the organisation is controlled so that things will be done correctly. Organisations that use this culture are large organisations that have already established their way of doing things, such that any new employee will have to accommodate to the culture that has already been set (Silverthorne, C. 2005). Market-oriented culture focuses on competition, market results and end results. The cultural traits of the market –oriented organization are straight forward because they will only deal with the external environment; this approach does not necessarily concern the internal environment. Importance of Organizational culture Organizational culture affects the organization and the employees because the traits that make up the culture also shape the company and the lives of the subordinates as they perform their duties. There are several aspects of organizational culture that makes it important, and these are detailed below (Sims, 2002). First, organisational culture enhances unity. When a culture is shared among employees, particularly when employees come from different backgrounds, a unified culture enables them to work as a team. Of course, unity promotes understanding and enhances communication, reducing the chances of conflict and promoting equality (Pfisher, 2009). A culture that is acceptable to all subordinates is important because it will enhance equality when it comes to decision making and determining how to perform organisational duties. Second, organisational culture fosters loyalty. Employees will tend to be motivated by a favourable organisational culture, and hence, they will be more loyal in their duties. Allowing employees to be a part of an organisational culture gives them a sense of belonging that will improve their level of performance. Loyalty, in turn, boosts a company’s performance because the employees will work without being forced to do so (Lewis, 2009). Fourth, organisational culture provides direction to the organisation. Any organisation that has an established culture has experienced great success because a good culture acts as a compass for the company. Take, for example, an organization that relies on guidelines. The employees will tend to work according to the guidelines, and with time, they will adapt to these guidelines, thereby forming a culture. Finally, organisational culture gives an identity to the organisation. This is because all of the activities performed reflect the culture that has been applied. Since the way of doing things is comprised of the clients, the company and the employees, the culture will come to identify the organisation (Mawhinney, 2013). Organizational culture and leadership Finally, there is a relationship between the culture of any company and the leadership practiced in that company (Loughram, J. 2007). Clearly the leadership is a way to influence people to follow a certain direction eventually leading to the achievement of a common goal. When it comes to organizational culture, leadership is essential because the employees must be encouraged to adapt to the culture. Therefore, a leader in an organisation should be able to influence the rest of the employees and expose them to the advantages of practising a culture that is favourable to everyone. An organisation with an established culture will have a good leader who can direct subordinates toward achieving the organisation’s goals (Schein, 2010). Together, leadership and culture form the image of an organisation, as it is the qualities of a good leader that will motivate the employees to work hard, and the end results will be an impressive level of performance. The behaviours of employees reflect the influence of their leaders. A good leader should have good traits and lead by example. Before designating a leadership position in any organisation, it is important to consider a person’s experience and competence. Moreover, the chosen leaders should be able to master the culture of the company so as to enable the success of influence (Davis, 2003). Reference Alvesson, M. (2002). Understanding organizational culture. London: SAGE. Read More