32 Organizational Culture

DR.Geeta Sachdev

1. Learning objectives:

Basic objectives of this module are:

To understand the Concept & meaning of Organizational Culture

To identify the nature, factors, levels & Importance of Organizational Culture. To recognise different types of Organizational Culture.

2. Introduction

Organizational culture is a structure of shared assumptions, values &beliefs, which administers how people act in organizations. These shared values have an abundant control on the people in the organization and utter how they tackle, act upon, &accomplish their responsibilities. Every organization builds up & maintains selected culture, which provides guidelines& boundaries for the activities of the employees of the organization. The unique personality of an organization is mentioned to as its culture. In groups of people who work cooperatively, organizational culture is an invisible but powerful strength that impacts the behaviour of the members of that group.

According to Martins and Martins (2003) the general definition of organizational culture as “a system of shared meaning held by members, distinguishing the organization from other organizations”.

In relation to the above definition, Arnold (2005) indicates that “organizational culture is the distinctive norms, beliefs, principles and ways of behaving that combine to give each organization its distinct character”. These two definitions propose that organizational culture differentiates one organization from another organization. Therefore, organizational culture is to an organization what personality is to an individual. Organizations, just like persons, have their own personalities—more classically known as organizational cultures. Understanding how culture is created, communicated, and changed will aid to be a more effective manager. Culture is mostly unobserved to persons like as the sea is invisible to the fish swimming in it. Even though it effects all individual behaviours, thinking, &behavioural patterns, employees incline to become more conscious of their organization’s culture when they have the chance to compare it to other organizations. Classifying a set of standards that may be used to clarify an organization’s culture aids us to recognise, measure, & manage culture more competently. For this aim, many researchers have projected a multiplicity of culture typologies.

3. Nature of organizational culture:

The primary characteristics of an organizational culture are as follows: –

Innovation and Risk Taking: It can be explained as the extent to which employees are motivated to take pioneering steps in taking risks.

Attention to Detail: It can be referred as degree or extent to which employees are probable to pay concentration to details.

Outcome Orientation: It can be described as the degree or extent to which top management focuses outcome rather than on process to attain outcome.

People Orientation: The degree to which management pays consideration to effect of decisions on people working in the organization and on its shareholders.

Team Orientation: The amount to which works are systematized round the team in spite of individuals. This spirit is invigorated in the place of performing work independently.

Aggressiveness: It can be stated as the degree or extent to which people are aggressive or competitive instead of unconcerned or relaxed.

Stability: Here the organization focuses on present status quo rather than being emphasizing on growth and development.

Individual Autonomy: These types of organizations are centred on responsibility, independence, and opportunities for implementing initiative that individuals in an organization have.

Structure: It describes the extent of rules and regulations and the amount of straight direction that is used to supervise and control behaviour.

Support: It states the degree of help and kindness managers offer for their subordinates.

Identity: It can be described as the degree or extent to which members recognize with the organization as a whole instead of with their particular work group or field of professional expertise.

Performance-Reward: It can be described as the degree or extent to which reward in the organization are based on employee work performance.

Conflict Tolerance: It can be described as the degree or extent of conflict present in relationships between peers and work groups as well as the motivation to be honest and open about differences.

Attitude towards Change: It can be described as the response given to new methods, ways, and values.

Focus: It can be described as the vision of the goals and objectives of an organization’s operations as communicated by those in control.

Standard and Values: The levels of performance and behaviour considered to be acceptable by both types of criteria – formal and informal.

Rituals: It can be described as the expressive events that support and reinforce organizational standards and values.

Openness, Communication, and Supervision: It can be described as the amount and type of interchange permitted. The communication flow can be downward, upward, across the organization, and in other directions as spelled out by the culture.

Market and Customer Orientation: It can be described as the degree or extent to which the organization is receptive to its markets and customers.

Excitement, Pride, and esprit de corps: It can be described as a discernibly good feeling about the organization and its activities.

Commitment: It can be described as the degree or extent to which employees are willingly working towards goals on a long-lasting basis.

4. Levels of Organizational Culture

Organizational culture encompasses of some aspects that are reasonably more obvious, as well as aspects that might lie underneath one’s conscious awareness. Organizational culture can be supposed of as containing of three interconnected levels.

At the deepest level, underneath our consciousness, lie fundamental assumptions. These assumptions are taken leniently replicate beliefs about human nature & actuality.

At the second level, values live. Values are shared principles, standards, & goals. Finally, at the surface, there are artifacts, or noticeable, perceptible aspects of organizational culture.

For instance, in an organization, a simple assumption employees & managers share may be that satisfied employees profit their organizations. It may be transformed into values like social fairness, high-quality relations, & having fun. The artifacts reflecting such values may be an administrative “open door” policy, an office layout that includes open spaces & meeting zones armed with pool tables, &recurrent corporation picnics.

Recognising the organization’s culture may arise from probing its artifacts: its physical environment, employee communications, business strategies, remuneration systems, & other noticeable features. While interrogating for a position, noting the physical environment, how people outfit, where they relax, &how they converse ate to others is certainly a decent beginning to understand the corporation’s culture. But then, merely observing at the palpable features is unlikely to have a complete image of the business, as vital portion of what marks up culture occurs below one’s degree of consciousness. The values &, deeper, the assumptions that form the organization’s culture can be exposed by examining how employees interconnect& the selections they make, as well as by questioning about their beliefs & perceptions concerning what is correct & appropriate behaviour.

5. Factors affecting organizational culture

There are many factors which can affect the organization culture followed as under:

• The first & the foremost factor affecting the organizational culture is the individual working with the organization. The employees in their individual mode enlarge to the culture of the place of work. The attitudes, characters, interests, observation& even the thought procedure of the employees can affect the culture of the organization.
• The sex of the employee also affects the organization culture. Organizations where male employees regulate the female counterparts follow a culture where late-night sitting is a usual feature. The male employees are more antagonistic than the females who instead are helpful & tender.
• The nature of the organization also affects the culture of the organization. Stock broking industries, financial services, banking industry are all dependent on outdoor factors like demand & supply, market cap, earning per share etc. When the market clatters, these businesses have no other choice than to terminate the employees &ultimately affect the culture of the workplace. Market variations lead towards discontent, pressures & strictly discourage the individuals. The management also feels stranded when conditions can be controlled by nobody. Employees are uncertain about their career as well as development in such organizations.
• The organizational culture is also affected by its objectives and aims. The policies& the measures planned to attain the objectives of the organization also contribute to its culture.
• Employees working with government organizations obey to the set rules but do not follow a process of feedback therefore making its culture. Fast stepped businesses like advertising, event management companies assume the employees to be concentrating, aggressive & hyper active.
• The customers& the outside parties to some extent also affect the workplace culture. Organizations catering to UK & US Patrons have no other substitute but to work in shifts to match their timings, so making the culture.
• The management & its technique of handling the employees also affect the culture of the place of work. There are many organizations where the management allows the employees to take their individual judgements& let them contribute in policy making. In such type of a culture, employees get devoted to their management & look onward to long term participation with the organization. The management must reverence the employees to avoid a culture where the employees mere work for money & nothing else. They treat the organization as a simple foundation of earning money &look for a change in a short period of time.

6. Importance of organizational Culture

The culture makes a decision the way employees interact at their place of work. A strong culture motivates the employees to stay faithful towards the organization.

The culture of the workplace also goes a long way in endorsing healthy competition at the place of work. Employees attempt their level best to execute better than their fellow workers and receive recognition and admiration of the superiors. It is the culture of the workplace which really encourages the employees to perform.

Every organization must have put rules for the employees to work consequently. The organizational culture signifies definite predefined rules which lead the employees &offer them a sense of direction at the place of work. Every employee is apparent about his roles and responsibilities in the organization and know how to complete the tasks in front of the deadlines.

No two organizations can have the similar work culture. It is the organizational culture which marks it different from others. It drives a long journey in building the brand image of the company. The work culture offers individuality to the organization. In other words, an organization is known by its culture.

The organization culture fetches all the employees on a general platform. The employees must be treated evenly and no one should feel abandoned or left out at the place of work. It is necessary for the employees to adjust well in the organization culture for them to deliver their level best.

The work culture unites the employees who are otherwise from dissimilar back grounds, families and have diverse attitudes and mentalities. The culture of the organization provides the employees a sense of harmony at the place of work.

Each employee is comprehensible by his roles &accountabilities and fight tough to attain the tasks inside the favoured time frame as per the set rules. Implementation of procedures is not at all a problematic situation in organizations where employees follow a predefined culture. The new entrants also do their level best to understand the work culture & make the organization an improved place to work.

The work culture approves healthy association among the individuals. None of the employees treats work as a load& alter himself as per the organization culture.

It is the culture of the organization which takes out the best out of each team member. In a culture where management is very meticulous about the reporting system, the employees however busy they are would definitely send their reports by end of the day. No one has to compel anyone to work. The culture develops a habit in the individuals which makes them successful at the workplace.

7. Types of Organizational Culture

Before discussing the thorough particulars of the diverse kinds of cultures, there are two main models that corporations will fall into, these are: strong culture & weak culture. In a strong culture, employees have a sense of empowerment and understanding of the company goals, regulations and philosophy. This kind of culture allows employees to be driven and feel respected which benefits the overall health of a company. In a weak organizational culture, employees are lost, unmotivated and operate under a regime of fear. Fear may motivate individuals but not for long and for all of the wrong reasons. Some organizational culture archetypes are as:

Academy Culture

Academy culture relies on employees who are highly accomplished, serious and welcome further training and advancement. This type of work place environment thrive off of strong training for employees being brought on board and ongoing training for the employees previously there. Organizations that wish to chase this kind of culture are extremely particular about who they employ, their existing skill sets and their willingness to learn and grow. This format of management keeps turn-over rates low and the employees willing to do their job to the best of their ability. Various hospitals, universities and other educational institutions rely on academy culture to stay up to date on the newest information and technology.

Normative Culture

This culture is very cut and dry, following severe rules and guidelines that support the policies of the organization. Employees hardly ever diverge from their precise job role, break rules or do anything other than what is asked of them. These types of organizations run a tight ship and are not suited for every type of employee.

Pragmatic Culture

In this culture the customer or client comes before anything or anyone else. Since each customer is unlike, these types of work places are very contradictory to the normative culture environment as employees don’t adhere to strict rules. Whatever the customer wants, the customer gets (within reason, of course).

Club Culture

This type of culture requires employees to be incredibly expert and capable in their position of work. Educational qualifications, prior work experience and even personal interests are taken into deliberation before an employee is hired. Club culture can be seen in organizations like the FBI, commercial pilots and specialty branches of the military. The hiring process can be pretty intense for these work environments, requiring multiple interviews, background checks and so on. These types of organizations frequently reward hard work with promotions but with that are frequent appraisals of your work and role within the company.

Baseball Team Culture

It can be the finest type of organizational culture from an employee’s stand point. As long as the workers are contented, relaxed and feel respected, the work will get done and the employees will want to attach with the company for the long run. Google is a good instance of a baseball team culture, the employees get to pretty much do what they want, soup up their offices with whatever makes them feel creative – and it’s on the company dime. Company outings are a regular thing, social events within the office and incentives are a big component of this type of culture.

Fortress Culture

Opposed to baseball culture, fortress culture could be the worst for employees. This type environment is all about the numbers. If the organization is doing well as a result of the employee’s productivity then the employees carry on having a job. If the organization starts to see a downfall in success then the individuals that aren’t pulling their weight are ended. A god example would be the case of salespeople who have a very vital job to do, they seek out business, secure business and retain business. If a salesperson is not sustaining their share or cannot fulfil the demands of the section then the company will restore them.

Tough Guy Culture

Tough guy culture is essentially another way of saying micro-management. Employees are monitored every step of the way and when something does not meet the standards or expectations of the company the employee is given guidance and monitored further. It can be a tough (hence the name) environment for some to work in particularly if you are independent and have a creative mind.

Process Culture

This type of office culture gives a set of rules and procedures that the employees follow. It’s different than the normative culture as the regulations are not a bullet-pointed list of do’s and don’ts so much as it is an philosophy that the employees adhere to. Employees know what they are getting into when they sign-up and are often self-starters. Unlike tough guy culture, these employees are not micro-managed and they rarely are given performance reviews. If they are given reviews it’s annually and it’s to assess their work on a large scale, their aspirations within the company and potentially a discussion about salary. More often than not, government agencies run operate under the process culture.

Bet Your Company Culture

Organizations that chase this culture are known to literally bet the success or failure of their company on single decisions of which the outcome is completely unknown. It can be a wild ride working for this type of company as you don’t know what each day is going to bring. The results of the decisions made by the individuals working in the bet-your-company culture can be so terrible that the company goes under; contrarily, they can be so excellent that the company thrives more than ever before.

Some companies practice more than one of these and some are strictly one of the above. Overall, rooting your employees on while ensuring the customers are happy is the best balanced culture there is.

8. Summary

Organizational Culture is an intervening variable. Employees perform an overall subjective perception of the organization based on the factors such as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis and support of people. This overall perception becomes, in effect, the organization’s culture or personality. These favourable or unfavourable perceptions then affect employees’ performance and satisfaction, with the impact being greater for stronger cultures. Like as people’s personalities incline to be steady over time, so too do robust cultures. This makes strong cultures difficult for managers to change. As a manager, one can shape the culture of work environment.

REFERENCES:-

• A handbook of Human Resource Management Practice by Michael Armstrong, 10th edition. Published by Kogan page.
• Human Resource Management, Text and Cases by V S P. Rao (2005), 2nd Edition, Published by Anurag Jain, New Delhi.
• Managing Human Resource by Wayne F. Cascio and Ranjeet Nambudiri, 8th edition. Published by Mcgraw Hill.
• Organisation Behaviour by Aswathappa. K (2005), , Text and Cases, 6th Edition, Himalaya Publishing House, New Delhi.
• Organizational Behaviour by Shashi K. Gupta and Rosy Joshi, published by Kalyani publishers.
• Organizational Behaviour-Managing People & Organizations by Griffin & Moorehead, 11th edition, Cengage Learning.
• Organizational Behaviour by Stephen P. Robbins, 13th edition, Pearson Education. https://www.strategy-business.com/article/10-Principles-of-Organizational-Culture?gko=71d2f
• https://hbr.org/topic/organizational-culture
• http://www.managementstudyguide.com/importance-of-organization-culture.htm
• http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/sablynskic/ch18.htm