HR assignment essay help on: Concept of organizational culture

Introduction

The concept of Organisational culture has gained positive acknowledgment from many scholars, researchers and management gurus.   It has been observed that effective companies often have very strong organisational culture and, more and more people have started believing in the concept of a sound culture. The purpose of this report is to analyse if indeed the success of a company depends on its culture and how is a winning culture established.

What does Organisational Culture Mean?

The term culture is so vast that it is simply not possible to cover the concept in a single definition. The one stated below is the simplest definition

“Culture can be thought of as the foundation of the social order that we live in and of the rules we abide by.”  Source: (Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2010) In other words, people who belong to a particular culture have same beliefs and assumptions about what is right, wrong and normal. Culture has four dominant aspects values, customs, symbols and language.

Organisational culture, as the name suggests is the culture prevalent within the organisation; there are some values and norms which all employees understand and accept. It goes without saying that, employee behaviour and decisions are hugely guided by the culture that prevails in the organisation. Employees, by default, belong to the culture they were born in; however, when they enter the organisation they have to set aside their beliefs and adopt the values of their workplace. Adapting to the culture of the workplace is not only important to sustain the job but also so that the company represents one common notion.

Further in this report, how employees learn the organisational culture is discussed along with its importance. Towards the end, the report focuses on how a particular culture is maintained via effective leadership.

How Employees Adapt the Culture?

When an employee joins a new organisation, he is subjected to a new culture from the day one. The organisational culture is reflected in the way employees talk, behave, and conduct themselves. A new employee experiences bits and pieces of the culture, everywhere in the organisation and therefore, it is not tough for him to get accustomed and modify himself according to the new culture.

The diagram stated above, depicts how the organisational culture is continually reinforced in the employees via stories, rituals, material symbols and language. This can be best explained with the help of an example; the organisational culture of Wal-Mart revolves around how to get customers the best prices and efficiency is of paramount importance, all these values are ingrained in the employees of Wal-Mart.  Samuel Walton and him team has created an organisational culture which supports the organisational goal; everything in the company is value for money. The management believes that any extra expenditure will have to be borne by the customers in the end and this way Wal-Mart cannot provide the lowest price possible. Therefore, when visitors come to Wal-Mart they pay for their own beverages; the corporate office has inexpensive workstations in which employees work with inexpensive equipments to make the system more efficient. (Navarro, 2005)

Wal-Mart wouldn’t have been Wal-Mart had the organisational culture promoted extravagant spending. This explains the importance of having a complementing organisational culture.

Types of Organisational Culture

Each organisation has its own unique culture and this is what differentiates one company from another. It is next to impossible to state every culture present in the world; however, they can be loosely bifurcated into the following categories

è The Clan culture

As the name suggests, the whole organisation is like a clan or a family; the employees are encouraged to share what they feel, an open door policy is maintained throughout the organisation. The management gives a lot of importance to team work, consensus and employee development. (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2007)

è The Hierarchy culture

Completely opposite to the clan culture, rules and procedures govern the working in the hierarchy culture. Employees are expected to follow the policies devised by the top management; the emphasis is on smooth running of the organisation.

è The Adhocracy culture

One word that describes the adhocracy culture is Creativity. There is a lot of emphasis on innovation, free thinking and experimentation. However, it is important to channel this creativity in the right direction.

è The Market culture

Winning is what defines the market culture. Employees are very result oriented and competitive; leaders, on the other hand are very demanding and productive. The focus is always on getting things done effectively and efficiently. Not many people are can sustain under such circumstances; however, for some it is exciting and challenging.

Does Organisational Culture Really Matter?

To answer this question, it is important to understand how the culture of an organisation effect it’s working. This can best be understood with the help of an example, consider two managers, both of them face a situation where they have to take instant decisions. Manager A works in a bureaucratic firm with the hierarchy culture and manager B works in the clan culture.

The situation demands an instant decision; however manager A is not authorised, therefore he will first contact his superiors which will slow down the procedure. On the contrary, manager B is authorised to take the decision since the culture does not believes in empowering the employees. The bureaucratic organisation stands to lose because the decision was not taken when it was required; there were unnecessary delays because of power centralism.

This is how organisational culture effects the functioning of the company and therefore it is important to choose a culture which meets the requirement of the company/industry. Some of the other managerial implications are (Miltenburg, 2005)

a)      Safety vs. Risk: The culture of the company specifies whether risky decisions should be taken or not and whether managers should give importance to high risk high return ventures or low risk low return ventures.

b)      Individual vs. Group: The founder has to decide whether he wants his employees to be team players or he wants them to work collectively without competition.

c)      Informal vs. Formal Procedures: As stated in the example some cultures are highly bureaucratic and some follow an open door policy; both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

d)     Centralisation vs. Decentralisation: Some cultures want the power to remain in the hands of a limited few wherein in other companies delegation of power and authority is thought to be the better choice.

Having a strong and positive organisational atmosphere has many advantages; for instance, companies which have an employee friendly approach is able to attract talent and retain it. A positive culture is also capable of motivating the employees and creating synergy.  The reason behind taking so many measures to keep the employees satisfied is because only happy employees can give happy customers. (Nelson & Quick, 2008)

There is indeed a positive correlation between the culture of the company and its success.  Strong cultures are capable of instilling a feeling of loyalty and commitment amongst the employees. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrel, 2009) Culture also serves as a control mechanism, if the culture of the company is strictly against any dubious activities then employees are bound to think twice before committing something unethical.

It is imprudent to assume that the only reason to maintain a positive work culture is to satisfy the employees. One of the other major advantages is that the company gains good reputation in the market. Although there are no fiscal benefits of having a strong goodwill but the non-monetary benefits are innumerable; the company earns respect in the eyes of the customer which soon turns into loyalty and thereby increased market share.

The Role of Leadership in Determining and Managing Organisational Culture

The creation of organisational culture majorly depends on the founder, his ideologies and values are clearly reflected in the culture he tries to actualise in his company. There are three ways to create and sustain organisational culture (Schein, 2004)

è Only those employees are hired who match the values of the company

It is believed that new employees can be moulded according to the work culture; however, it is still necessary to hire only those employees which exhibit similar values and are willing to change. Before hiring, it is necessary check both their ability to perform and their ability to accept changes.

è Indoctrinating and inculcating the culture in the employees via socialising

Socialisation is the technique used by the human resource department of the company to implant the culture in new employees. It is necessary to impart the culture right from the beginning so that new employees do not disturb the existing atmosphere. The process of socialisation has three stages 1) Pre arrival: employees form an opinion about the company they are going to work for 2) Encounter: they notice the difference between their perception and the reality 3) Metamorphosis: new employees try to imbibe values which will make them one of the clan.

è The leaders should act as role models and set up examples for subordinates to follow

The best way to create a culture is by setting examples for employees to follow. It goes without saying that every employee looks upon his superior for guidance and direction; if the actions and decisions of the top management are in sync with the organisational culture, it reinforces the values in the minds of the employees. (Keyton, 2011)

Let us say company A follows an open door policy and employees are encouraged to put forward their views; however, some of the superiors do not want to consider junior’s opinions. Such a situation will create confusion in the minds of the employees and in the end they will end up disrespecting the culture set by the founder of the company. This example proves how important it is for the leaders of the company to be a role model for the employees at all times.

Conclusion

Creating a strong organisational culture might seem frivolous to some, but those who are prudent understand its importance. Setting up a culture which matches the ultimate objective of the company is the key to success. Creating a culture is not a herculean task; it just needs little efforts from the founder and leaders of the company; however, these miniscule efforts pay back in the most generous ways.

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