The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life - Case Study Example

Organizational culture plays a very important role in any given organization. There is a relationship among organizational culture, project structure and project resources. Project has to be selected taking into consideration the availability or resources and the current organizational culture. This is planning of what needs to be achieved and in order to achieve the set goals, then all the organization’s activities have to be monitored until the end. This is because; planning in the midst of financial crisis seems downright silly. Uncertainty encourages caution and a tendency to tread water until "things clear up" and predictable patterns emerge. Yet failure to plan during tough times only contributes to a self-defeating, reactive mindset. A planning process engages the management and staff in a collective vision-centered method of establishing priorities and marshaling resources to achieve objectives. No plan will ensure control, of course. But a plan can minimize the turbulence and reduce the risk of damage by forces outside our control. At the very least, planning will increase the probability that when opportunities arise they can be exploited. And when threats emerge, the capacity to respond will be greater, quicker, keener, and more effective. I am going to study Coca-Cola Company as an organization and look at their current organizational culture, discuss how they select their project and structure them within their current organizational culture. I will also describe the challenges in acquiring resources to complete the projects and steps the organization takes to assess risks. Finally, I will make a recommendation for improvement. Cultural Analysis Paper Writers from Critical management studies have tended to express skepticism about the functionalist and unitary views of culture put forward by mainstream management thinkers. Whilst not necessarily denying that organizations are cultural phenomena, they would stress the ways in which cultural assumptions can stifle dissent and reproduce management propaganda and ideology. After all, it would be naive to believe that a single culture exists in all organizations, or that cultural engineering will reflect the interests of all stakeholders within an organization. In any case, Parker (2000) has suggested that many of the assumptions of those putting forward theories of organizational culture are not new. They reflect a long-standing tension between cultural and structural (or informal and formal) versions of what organizations are. Further, it is perfectly reasonable to suggest that complex organizations might have many cultures, and that such sub-cultures might overlap and contradict each other. The neat typologies of cultural forms found in textbooks rarely acknowledge such complexities, or the various economic contradictions that exist in capitalist organizations. Organizational Culture Organizational culture comprises the attitudes, values, beliefs, norms and customs of an organization. Whereas organizational structure is relatively easy to draw and describe, organizational culture is considered to be less tangible and more difficult to measure. It is also called Company Culture. Classifying Organizational Culture Several methods have been used to classify organizational culture. Hofstede (1980) demonstrated that there are national and regional cultural groupings that affect the behavior of organizations. He identified five characteristics of culture in his study of national influences: Power distance - The degree to which a society expects there to be differences in the levels of power. A high score suggests that there is an expectation that some individuals wield larger amounts of power than others. A low score reflects the view that all people should have equal rights. Uncertainty avoidance – This reflects the extent to which a society accepts uncertainty and risk. Individualism vs. collectivism Individualism is contrasted with collectivism and refers to the extent to which people are expected to stand up for themselves, or alternatively act predominantly as a member of the group or organization. Masculinity vs. femininity - This refers to the value placed on traditionally male or female values. Male values for example include competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions. Long vs. short-term orientation – This describes a societys "time horizon," or the importance attached to the future versus the past and present. In long term oriented societies, thrift and perseverance are valued more; in short term oriented societies, respect for tradition and reciprocation of gifts and favors are valued more. Eastern nations tend to score especially high here, with Western nations scoring low and the less developed nations very low; China scored highest and Pakistan lowest. Deal and Kennedy (1982) defined organizational culture as the way things get done around here. They measured organizations in respect of: Feedback - quick feedback means an instant response. This could be in monetary terms, but could also be seen in other ways, such as the impact of a great save in a soccer match. Risk - represents the degree of uncertainty in the organization’s activities. Using these parameters, they were able to suggest four classifications of organizational culture: The Tough-Guy Macho Culture – Meaning feedback is quick and the rewards are high. This often applies to fast moving financial activities such as brokerage, but could also apply to policemen or women, or athletes competing in team sports. This can be a very stressful culture in which to operate. The Work Hard/Play Hard Culture is characterized by few risks being taken, all with rapid feedback. This is typical in large organizations, which strive for high quality customer service. Team meetings, jargon and buzzwords often characterize it. The Bet your Company Culture, where big stakes decisions are taken, but it may be years before the results are known. Typically, these might involve development or exploration projects, which take years to come to fruition, such as oil prospecting or military aviation. The Process Culture - This occurs in organizations where there is little or no feedback. People become bogged down with how things are done not with what is to be achieved. This is often associated with bureaucracies. Whilst it is easy to criticize these cultures for being over cautious or bogged down in red tape, they do produce consistent results, which is ideal in, for example, public services. Influences on Organizational Culture The members of the organization bring their own individual experiences, beliefs and values. Work-groups within the organization have their own behavioral quirks and interactions, which, to an extent, affect the whole system. Task culture can be imported. That is to say, computer technicians will have expertise, language and behaviors gained independently of the organization that set them apart from their colleagues, but their mere presence can influence the culture of the organization. Senior management may try to determine a Corporate Culture. They may wish to impose corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically reflect the objectives of the Project Structure Project roles and resources will have been identified as part of the planning, estimating and resource process. Note that the resources and optimum way of working will normally change during the project. Often an initial high-powered team will define the business solution, followed by a much broader team to deliver it, and then a line management and operational team to operate it. There will be a core team who remain fully involved throughout the project, but others will need to be brought in as required. Team structure will probably be adjusted at each stage to meet the evolving nature of the project. The right structure for a small, high-powered, business-design team is unlikely to work for a large applications development team. For a project to be effectively planned and controlled it needs to be structured into a number of main stages. Typically between three and eight and we use five as the starting point. For smaller or very short duration projects these can then be merged as required and for longer projects they can be split down or supplemented as required. In addition to the five main stages we also define a process for project start up and project closure. Initiation Stage A controlled start to a project is essential as this is where so many projects start to go wrong. The Initiation stage is the first short stage of the project. It brings the project team together to agree the project brief, make sure they have a thorough understanding of the business case, plan the project, carry out an initial risk analysis and set up any necessary controls and support systems. This is all documented in the Project Initiation Document, which shows the business what the project team are setting out to achieve and how they are going to go about it to give them confidence in the approach. Strategy Stage Now the project team starts to explore the business requirements through information gathering and feedback sessions. The team documents these requirements together with other recommendations for what the system should do in the Business Requirements document. This can include early models and prototypes and shows the business what the project team has understood to be their real requirements. Analysis Stage The agreed business requirements are now expanded through a review of any existing systems and a more detailed analysis of the requirements. At this stage the team produce models and prototypes to show the business how they think the requirements can best be met. They will also start to plan the implementation strategy for how the new system will be brought into use. This is all documented in a Functional Specification, which shows the business how their requirements will be met, and shows the developers how the system is to be designed and built. Design and Build Stage The project team refines the requirements, design, build and test prototypes in a cyclical process. This involves the developers and the users working together to produce the finished system. While this is going on, the team will also be preparing the test plan, training plan and developing the necessary documentation. This stage finishes when the final product has been built, tested and quality assured. Implementation Stage The final product is installed, the end users are trained, initial data capture or take on is run, parallel running or piloting takes place (if relevant) and, once accepted by the business, the new system is handed over with any required support and documentation in place. Following implementation, the project will be closed down in a controlled way to tidy up any loose ends, archive and hand over the project documentation, produce any follow-on recommendations and formally close the project. Roles There are many different roles in addressing a full business solution. Some of these will probably form the core full-time project team. Others may be part-time specialists, and others might be representatives of various groups interested in the project. As well as identifying the type of person, it is often necessary to give thought to the level of capability or power. Core team roles will normally depend on what you are doing. For example, you might need sales managers, website designers and Java programmers, or you might need accountants, systems analysts and COBOL programmers. Other roles may depend less on the specific solution; for example, you almost always need a Project Manager. Project Resources Project resources are required to carry out the project tasks. They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything else capable of definition (usually other than labor) required for the completion of a project activity. The lack of a resource will therefore be a constraint on the completion of the project activity. Resources may be storable or non storable. Storable resources remain available unless depleted by usage, and may be replenished by project tasks, which produce them. Non-storable resources must be renewed for each time period, even if not utilized in previous time periods. Resource scheduling, availability and optimization are considered key to successful project management. Recommendation In order for an organization to achieve its organization goals, it must take in consideration the organizational culture, project structure and project resources. There is no organization that can succeed if they have not identified their project according to the availability of the resources and the current organizational culture, which must suit the organization. The way a project team is structured can play a major role in how it functions. Different styles of team will have different characteristics. For example, do we wish to encourage discussion with the business representatives or to keep them at arms length so the developers can make good progress? Careful consideration of team composition and reporting relationships can make a big difference to the results. The various roles in the team will depend on the nature of the project. As well as the main team roles, consider the other participants and how they fit into the picture. Bibliography Deal T. E. and Kennedy, A. A. (1982). Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books. Handy, C.B. (1985). Understanding Organizations, 3rd Edn, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books Hofstede, G. (1980). Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Beverley Hills, CA, Sage Publications Johnson, G. (1988). "Rethinking Incrementalism", Strategic Management Journal/ Vol 9 pp75-91 Parker, M. (2000). Organizational Culture and Identity, London: Sage. Read More