Understanding Organisational Culture: Definition, Contributors, Linkage With Objectives, And Importance

Define the concept of organisational culture.

Discuss the contributors to organisational culture.

Discuss the link between the organisation’s culture and its capacity to meet its objectives.

Discuss the link between various organisational elements (e.g., structure and strategy) and the organisation’s culture.

Discuss the reasons why organisational culture has become so important in modern organisations.

Explore different types of culture and their advantages and disadvantages to organisational effectiveness Discuss the ways organisations can introduce practices into their organisation to build the organisational culture they desire

Contributors to Organisational Culture

In today's world, organizations are giving attention to the culture like never before. This is because they understand that a healthy culture is integral to their foundation and their survival too. Organizations know that the debate on culture is not only a matter of values. They are using different approaches to make sure they are embedded in the organization system to foster appropriate behavior of employees. An organization needs to ensure that culture of rewarding the right behavior and policies and the methods that generate desired behaviors are firmly rooted across their organization. The development of an organization’s operations demands one to understand the overall dynamics culture has upon the day to day activities of an organization. The following is a detailed report about the concept of culture, its importance and how culture relates to other elements of an organization and organizational objectives.

The organizational culture is founded on beliefs; customs, attitudes as well as written and unwritten policies developed over time and are considered acceptable. Generally, organizational culture is a set of shared assumption, values and beliefs that determine the way work is done in organizations and outlining appropriate behavior for different situations (Al Saifi, 2015). It affects the interaction of individuals and groups with one another, with stakeholders as well as with clients. The unique social and psychological environment in any organization is a function of organizational culture (Samuel, 2015). It incorporates the philosophy, experience, and expectation of an organization which dictates member behavior. Organizational culture is also referred to as corporate culture, workplace culture and business culture as well.

Individuals in a workplace are among the factors influencing organizational culture. The employees significantly contribute to the organizational culture in their way. Individuals’ attitudes and interests, there ways of thinking and perception as well as mentalities affect the culture of an organization (Anitha, 2016). For instance, in an organization with military background usually, observe rigorous culture. The employees never question the rules and orders. They are never late at work and highly disciplined. This mindset of the subjects develops into a culture of the organization.

The sex of the employees also determines the culture of an organization. The male employees will tend to be more aggressive compared to their female counterparts who are always caring and softhearted. The nature of the business affects the organizational culture as well (Samson & Daft, 2018). Financial industries rely on external factors such as demand and supply and market capitalization. When the market falls, these kinds of sectors terminate the workers which in turn affect the culture of the workplace. It gives rise to tension; unrest such that it demoralizes the individuals. The goal of an organization contributes to the organizational culture as well. The work plan and procedures formulated to realize the set goals and objectives of an organization influence the culture of an organization (Boswell, 2015). Advertising and event management companies, for instance, anticipate their workers to be attentive, hyperactive and aggressive.

Linking Organisational Culture with Objectives

Two businesses can have similar organizational structure, but again their effectiveness may not match because of differences in their organizational culture. One should encourage a culture that is in line with the organization's goals and guides the employees to attain their objectives. To a significant degree, organizational culture plays a significant role to the organization to reach their set goal and prepare strategies and propaganda so that the outcome of effective decision-making process favors the organization (Burmann et al., 2017). Organizational culture defines the policies of organizations such as organizational structure, team behavior, and group psychology. Furthermore, it determines the working condition, employees’ motivation, job satisfaction, organizational values, and effective management. The organizational culture affects the operations and policies of organizations which are crucial to the realization of the organization's goals.

Knowing how two elements of an entity are related can contribute to plans of an organization. The organizational culture is the heart of the organization, but again it cannot prosper without structure for it has an essential role in an organization. The organizational structure refers to how communication takes place in the workplace (Scott et al., 2018). It also determines how organizations utilize resources to achieve the set goals. The chances of the culture of an organization to mature depend on support from the organizational structure. When an organizational structure does not match the organizational culture, it may lead to a disaster (Barry, 2017). For example, a software company that has to advance fast cannot embrace the hierarchical structure like that one of a bank.

Scholars have addressed the impact of culture on leadership by emphasizing cultural values which determine the style of leadership. Leaders are responsible for developing culture during the early stages of establishing a business. When the business attains maturity, it is the culture that determines the characteristics of leadership (Carlos et al., 2014). Most scholars argue that leaders utilize their knowledge related to organizational culture to affect change in the organization. The set goals of an organization are attained through strategic management. Therefore, there exists a close association between organizational culture and strategy. Corporate culture is essential for the formulation of management strategy. It can outline the nature of the enterprise and promotes common values of the members of an organization.

Researchers argue that the culture of an organization shapes the identity of the organization. It defines how an organization runs its business, the mode of interaction within the organization and how it interacts with the external world especially clients, employees and the rest of the stakeholders. In other words, it implies that organizational culture will dominate across all activities of a business because it reflects the way business is done. Therefore, organizational culture defines how the client and community at large perceive the organization.

Factors Influencing Organisational Culture

The culture of an organization can be a representation of the organization's core values. The way an organization carries out its business manages its workflow, its mode of interaction and the way customers are treated reflect the nature of the company and its belief on how a business enterprise should be conducted. Nevertheless, if the espoused values mismatch the culture of the organization, it begets a problem. People will assume the core values are meaningless (Elsmore, 2017). Most of the productive and competent employees are retained in a company because of their emotional attachment to it. This is because organizational culture which concentrates on people has a strong appeal. One way to recruit productive employees that are driven by cultural is to consider job applicants who fit in the organizational culture when hiring employees. Organizational culture has a significant impact on the performance of an organization as well as the wellbeing of the employees.

Organizational culture has been grouped into four categories as follows; Clan culture is a warm and friendly culture which makes the work enjoyable to employees rather than a burden and stress (Charman, 2017). It creates a platform where employees know each other personally and professionally as well. It sets an environment which allows employees to assist each other with tasks at the workplace and share experience. The hierarchy culture on the hand is a formal type of culture. In this case, a manager is appointed and who directs and formulate guidelines for the subordinates. Organizations which practice hierarchy culture have strict rules and policies that must be followed.

Adhocracy culture motivates employees to talk to each other and exchange views such that new ideas are generated for the organization. Employees are encouraged to communicate with each other and make new ideas for the organization (Kokt & Ramarumo, 2015). The market type of culture stresses on completion of tasks and goals that are given to them. Organizations which practice this kind of culture compel employees to accomplish tasks right on time. Market culture is result oriented.

Each type of organizational culture has advantages and disadvantages. The clan culture is said to be supportive. When a problem arises, it is dealt with by the employees such that there is no delaying of operations in the organization. Nevertheless, employees take advantage of this friendly environment which leads to wastage of time talking instead of being committed to their jobs. The advantage of hierarchy culture is that it helps to create more profitable results and getting tasks completed within the time frame. The major setback is that it takes time to solve a problem when it occurs.

Importance of Organisational Culture

The adhocracy has the benefit of creating innovation in the market. It generates new and unique ideas for the organization. The problem with this culture is that an organization can incur a loss if the new plan fails to produce the right outcome. The significance of market culture is that work is done fast and tasks and goals are completed in a short while (Laforet, 2016). This type of culture is might be a disadvantage to an organization because it does not promote innovation or a supportive work environment.

In the process of selection, organizations should seek to recruit job applicants who will fit into their culture. For example, most airlines consider personality and attitude rather than career-related skill to employ workers. Organizations should replace candidates who are not able to fit in even after recruitment. Generally, an organization should attract, recruit and retain employees who show relevance to the core values of an organization (Lu et al., 2016). Such practices defend desired cultures from being compromised. On-boarding is another way of maintaining the desired culture. It refers introduction of employees to the organization’s culture. A famous company called Ritz Carlton which was ranked top in Training magazine's list in the year 2007 is known for its systematic approach towards the orientation of its employees, and it has helped the company to retain and maintain its core value and culture over time.

There exists a close link between the style of leadership and organizational culture. For example, Leaders who reward the performance of employees motivates them and in turn creates a competitive and performance oriented culture (Mi?kiewicz, 2017). Again leaders who act as role models communicate values that are expected to guide the behavior of the subordinates.

Conclusion

After a comprehensive discussion on the culture of an organization, it is easy to see that culture contribute significantly to the operations of an organization. To attain successful and productive organization, then one must address the complexities and ambiguities of culture and behavior in the organization. Approaches to the culture of an organization have evolved. Organizations have shifted their focus to leadership, rewarding and induction of new members to retain a suitable culture. A clear culture influences positively other essential organizational aspects especially productivity, commitment, and employee engagement. To ensure the success of an organization, then it must be continuously created, assessed and changed. It is crucial for management to understand the aspects and role of culture. Moreover, managers must have a great understanding of its relevance to an organization. This is because organizational culture determines the day to day decision making of an organization. Failure to understanding organizational culture and the environment it operates and how it is structured and related to all the elements of an organization leads to a poorly performing organization.

References

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