How Culture Is Expressed and How It Helps or Hinders the Organisations Effectiveness - Essay Example

Organizational Leadership and Performance Students’ Name: Learning Institution: Introduction In the last two decades, the concept of organizational culture has become a major concern for the organizational leaders. An organizational culture refers to the deeper level understanding of the shared ideologies, assumptions and attitudes that the organizational members share unconsciously. According to researchers, organizational culture defines a firm and its operating environment. A sound organisational culture plays a critical role of providing firms with a competitive advantage (Mead, 2005). The following essay discusses how culture is expressed and how it helps or hinders the organisation’s effectiveness. How culture is ехрrеssed in my оrgаnizаtiоn and how this ехрrеssiоn helps or hinders the оrgаnizаtiоn’s еffесtivеnеss In my organization, culture is expressed through the following; mission, believes, and assumptions. The leaders in my organization emphasize key things such as customer is the key in order to implement cultural change. In addition, they encourage dissemination of stories and legends about organization’s core values. According to Mead (2005), the organizational culture is made up of the organization and the assumptions they adhere to, that is, recipe. A recipe is a set of assumptions that defines the organizational purpose, shared wisdom and how managers should carry out their roles. A recipe is useful in conceiving the culture of an organization and helps organizational leaders to identify three cultural layers including values, believes and assumptions. With regards to believes, organizational leaders should write down company’s statements which are easy to identify. Such statements include organizational mission, objectives or strategies among others. Believes are issues that people in the organization talk about. An example of believe is that an organization should not trade with certain countries. Organizational leaders have the role of coming up with clear and specific believes within the firm (Mead, 2005). Through organizational culture, organizational leaders are able to prescribe acceptable ways through which employees can interact with customers. Organizational culture enables workers and senior leadership team to gain knowledge about consumers. A company usually develops deeper bonds with customers through interacting with them. Through interaction, employees get to know when a customer is satisfied and when he or she is dissatisfied. An organization thus strives to enhance its service delivery in order to retain the existing customers and attract new ones. Organizational culture helps to create a learning relationship between customers and the firm. Satisfied customers are usually loyal to the firm. For instance, the Ford Motor Company has developed a website for interacting with the customers. Through the website, the company interacts with customers in real time and on a regular basis. Customers find it easier to find information regarding car prices. This has, in turn, proved to be fruitful because it has provided Ford Motor Company with a competitive advantage over its rivals. Customers are usually loyal to companies that have systems that encourage their customers to express their views and opinions .Criticisms and complaints from customers provides a firm with an opportunity to identify its weaknesses (Hoffman & Bateson, 2010). According to Rainey (2009), culture is important because it determines the type of leadership in an organization. Organizational leadership is important for effective achievement of organizational objectives. It helps the business to survive during challenging times and enhance the growth momentum. It inspires, directs, enables and empowers individuals to work extra hard in the achievement of organizational objectives. In addition, it brings different people together and facilitates working towards the achievement of a common goal. An organization whose leadership is authoritarian is managed differently from a democratic type of organization. Each of these organizations has different aspects of culture. With regards to autocratic leadership, the leader takes decision alone without consulting his subordinates. He expects unquestionable obedience on the part of subordinates and is characterized by centralization of authority. This kind of leadership is not customer oriented because subordinates focus on pleasing the leader. Autocratic leadership creates no scope for initiative and self development. Thus, the future needs of customers are not addressed .In addition; the leader might make poor decisions regarding customers due to the absence of feedback from subordinates (Eqbal, 2011). Democratic leadership is characterized by leaders who permit subordinates to participate in decision making. Final decision is combined efforts of everyone including the leader. A democratic leader leads by mutual consent rather than the use of authority. Democratic type of leadership improves employees’ attitudes towards their job. Job satisfaction and high morale among employees ensures that clients’ expectations are met (Iqbal, 2011). An understanding of culture helps to determine the size of an organization. Size influences culture in terms of the formalities required in the operations of the organization. A large organization is likely to evolve bureaucratic elements. Bureaucracies are mostly found in public sector organizations across the globe. Bureaucratic organizations are characterized with customer dissatisfaction. Bureaucratic organizations are also associated with monopoly. For instance, government agencies are usually accorded some form of monopoly. As a result, government agencies are always victims of poor results as they do not respond quickly to the clients’ needs (Johnston, 1993). A research which was done by Keyton (2010) suggested that, organizational culture usually determines the technology in use. Many firms usually emphasis on high technology during their operations. Successful organizations such as General Motors, Toyota and Starbucks Corporation have adopted a culture of innovation. Most companies have accepted the reality that customers will only buy those products that satisfy them. These companies have continued to generate new ideas. They have incorporated new ideas in their business operations in order to meet the future needs of customers. The first step to innovation involves researching for consumer needs. The tremendous growth of world’s telephone companies such as China Mobile, Vodafone, China Unicom and T-Mobile1 shows how consumer research and innovation go in hand. The banking sector has also discovered the need to adopt information technology in order to enhance their customer satisfaction. The more aggressive banks in the United States such as Citicorp and Chase Manhattan Bank have deployed state of the art technologies to manage their increasing number of account holders. Where it has been properly utilised, technology has played an important role of removing the market barriers that exist between large and small organizations (Weiss, & Legrand, 2011). Different organizations have different ways of motivating their workforce. Any employer who values the well being of their company should fight under all costs to maintain motivated employees. Motivation comes in various forms and could be awarding of prizes to the best working employees, salary increment, paid leaves, leadership attention, and praise among others. Motivated employees pose several benefits to the firm. For instance, they are loyal to the firm and also, perform their duties enthusiastically and effectively. Therefore, the human resource department should comprise of a team of professionals with relevant knowledge on how to handle the employees’ needs, in order to promote their well being. This will in turn give birth to a spirited team working together and in harmony to realize the goals of the establishment (Weiner, 1992). Employees usually deal with customers on day to day basis. They are the eyes of the company. Employees have the effect of making or breaking an organization. Organizational culture ensures that employees are totally focused on meeting the expectations of clients. Employees get to know more about customers through their daily interaction. This in turn enhances their service delivery. In many civil service settings, government workers usually treat the public with arrogance. Customers continue to be loyal to their services due to lack of alternative .On the other hand, private sector organizations treat their customers well in order for them to survive. For instance, the Federal Express Corporation, which is a private company, has more service minded staff. Their employees provide unique services to the clients. This has in turn enabled the firm to create loyal customers (Zemke, 1999). Organizational culture ensures that employees who deliver excellent service are rewarded and recognized. In many organizations such as Wal-Mart stores, employees who offer excellent customer services are rewarded with bonuses. By rewarding and recognizing employees, a direct correlation between an individual’s performance and the customer is created. Rewards and recognition enable an organization to attract and retain the most qualified talents. Employees also feel motivated once their efforts are recognized (Philips & Gulley, 2011).Thus, they directs all their efforts towards meeting the needs of customers. The company’s compensation structure is determined by such factors as the company’s needs and conditions. Wal-Mart’s believes that all its staff members should be paid fair wages based on their contributions to the organization. Thus, the Wal-Mart stores do not advocate for minimum wages. In many firms, professionals who don’t provide excellent customer service are empowered and encouraged to identify their weaknesses (Bowen, 2000). An understanding of organizational culture enables the organizational managers to support the firm’s business strategy. Organizational culture usually supports the company’s vision. This integration between the organizational culture and vision enhances individual performance. The vision usually contains policies that state how clients are to be treated. Additionally, a vision provides the company with directions of where it intends to go. A mission statement gives an idea of what the organization purports to be. Through vision and mission, organizations are able to deliver world-class customer service. The management team regularly communicates to employees on the importance of customers (Hill & Jones, 2007). A clear understanding of organizational culture enhances decision making in organizations. Organizations usually handle various forms of private information about their customers. Organizational culture allows organisational members to develop privacy policies. Employees are not supposed to disclose sensitive information regarding a customer without the customers’ consent. Thus, organizational culture enhances trust in organizations. Trust is a major factor as far as excellent customer service is concerned. A friendly attitude enhances customer’s trust. Customers are usually inclined to buy goods from a firm that has friendly personalities. Through organizational culture, employees learn to show kindness to their clients. Customers therefore find it to be more convenient to do business with the firm. Trust therefore enhances customer loyalty (Kossmann, 2006). An understanding of organizational culture helps to determine the recruitment and selection policies of a firm. Recruitment and selection of suitable employees is the key to excellent customer service. Some organizations recruits its employees based on their experience and other technical criteria. Other firms recruits their employees based on their foster skills such as the ability to serve clients effectively. Organizations that match the individual skills to the job ensure that their workforce is competent enough to offer excellent customer services. For instance, most call centres across the globe have experienced tremendous growth in recent years because they have placed more emphasis on social skills. Service sector jobs require employees to have excellent social skills in order to interact with the customers effectively. Also, organizations that recruit and select employees who have good attitudes toward customers have excellent service delivery. Thus, human resource managers should examine the employees’ personality during the recruitment and selection process (Capon, 2009). The human resource department of an organization is concerned with the training of professional employees. In this regard, an understanding of culture helps to identify the employees’ limited set of skills. Most organizations across the globe have placed employee training as a priority. To operate successfully in the face of dynamic working environment, employees skills requires to be updated on regular basis. Training plays an important role of providing staff workers with the required skills to carry out their duties effectively and efficiently. Training thus ensures that employees respond effectively to future customer needs (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2011). Carter, Ulrich & Goldsmith (2005) in their studies stated that an understanding of organizational culture helps to define the behaviours of employees and senior leaders in an organization. For instance, an organization’s culture may be rigid. A rigid culture refers to a situation whereby there is resistance to change (Carnall, 2003). Also, an understanding of organizational culture helps to determine the span of control in an organization. Most firms have a strong culture that allows employees to have a degree of discretion .Employees are thus allowed to do what they aspire to do. In other firms, employees are provided with instructions. Without instructions, customer satisfaction may not be achieved (Crawford, 2008). Power structures are likely to be associated with the key assumptions and beliefs of what or who is important within the paradigm. The most powerful groupings within the organization are likely to be closely associated with a set of core assumptions and beliefs which have grown over the years. Organizational leaders should ensure that power is based on expertise in the organization (Miner, 2005). Conclusion A clear understanding of culture from the organization and customer perspective is important. Every firm has a unique set of assumptions that members identify with. These underlying assumptions shape the behaviours and roles of organizational members. The following are the major benefits of organizational culture; it enhances leadership, encourages innovativeness, promotes interaction between employees and customers among others. Organizational culture determines a firm ability to identify the needs and requirements of their clients, employees and other stakeholders. The success of organizations in the modern business environment strongly hinges on strong managerial leadership. According to Ohio and Michigan studies for leadership, organizational leaders must clarify strategic intent, build a strong mission that drives both the management and employees, shape organizational culture and manage conflicts in their organizations (Daft, 2008). Organizational leaders serve as a mentor to the employees. As such, the leaders should be able to challenge the status quo. Leaders should be able to rally employees around a shared vision. Such leaders have the ability of setting an example for others to follow. They should inspire subordinates to perform their duties enthusiastically by passionately communicating future goals to them (Daft, 2008). References Bowen, R. (2000).Recognizing and rewarding employees. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Capon, N. (2009).Capon’s marketing framework. New Forest: Wessex Publishing. Carnall, C. (2003).The change management toolkit. London: Cengage Learning EMEA. Carter, L, Ulrich, D & Goldsmith, M. (2005).Best practices in leadership development and organization change: how the best companies ensure meaningful change and sustainable leadership. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Crawford, A. (2008).Empowerment and organizational climate: An investigation of mediating effects on the core-self evaluation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment relationship. Michigan: ProQuest. Daft, R. (2008). The Leadership Experience. Cengage Learning: London: 2008. Hill, C. & Jones, G. (2007).Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach: Edition8.London: Cengage Learning. Hoffman, K. & Bateson, and J.E.G. (2010).Services marketing: Concepts, Strategies, & Cases.Edition4.London: Cengage Learning. Iqbal, T. (2011).The Impact of Leadership Styles on Organizational Effectiveness: Analytical Study of Selected Organizations in IT Sector in Karachi. Munich: GRIN Verlag. Jackson, S., Schuler, R. & Werner, S. (2011).Managing Human Resources: Edition11.London: Cengage Learning. Johnston, K. (1993).Busting bureaucracy: how to conquer your organization's worst enemy. Sarasota: Visionary Publications Inc. Keyton, J. (2010).Communication and Organizational Culture: A Key to Understanding Work Experience. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. Kossmann, M. (2006).Delivering excellent service quality in aviation: a practical guide for internal and external service providers. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Mead, R. (2005).International management: cross-cultural dimension: Edition3.Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. Miner, J. (2005).Organizational behavior 2: Essential theories of process and structure, Volume 2 .London:M.E. Sharpe. Mukherjee, P. (2006).Total Quality Management. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Philips, J & Gulley, S. (2011).Organizational Behaviour: Tools for Success. London: Cengage Learning. Rainey, H. (2009).Understanding and Managing Public Organizations: Edition4.Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Weiner, A. (1992). Human motivation: metaphors, theories, and research. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. Weiss, D. & Legrand, C. (2011).Innovative Intelligence: The Art and Practice of Leading Sustainable Innovation in Your Organization. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Zemke.R. (1999).Best practices in customer service. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Read More