Changing Organizational Culture and Its Importance - Coursework Example

Changing Organizational Culture ID] [Lecturer] Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Organizational Culture Defined 3 Organizational Culture Formation 5 The Influence of Organizational Culture on the Success/Failure of the Organization 7 Influence of Leadership on Organizational Culture 11 Subcultures 13 Changing Organizational Culture and Resistance to Change 15 Bibliography 17 Organizational Culture Defined Any set of values and beliefs make up a culture. On the same pretext, an organizational culture is a set of values, morals, beliefs, traditions and norms which come from the industry specific regimes as well as that from the society under which it exists in the first place. Thus it would not be wrong here to suggest that the organizational cultures are dependent on the society’s undertakings and the industrial influences at the same time. What is most important is how the two shape up the organizational culture at the very end and take the organization one step ahead in its different processes, activities and undertakings. The significant aspect lies on the basis of these societal and industrial cultures bringing about an imperative basis for the organizational culture to exist in the most basic sense. One must understand that the organization cannot exist in seclusion and it has to remain in constant touch with the society in which it exists and the industry under which it finds competitors for its own selves and the strategic alliances, mergers and unities that form as a result of the same. (Quinn, 2005) Now the foundation lies merely on the manner under which the strategic and the tactical moves are adopted by this organization under study and how best it delivers towards the needs of the stakeholders, customers and employees working for the benefit of the organization itself, both from the short term perspective as well as an investment in the long run. Societal and industrial cultures change with the passage of time and since their change is somewhat of a certainty, one can easily predict the impact the same has on the organizational cultural regimes. This is very true in the case of the society being an extremist one, which does not encourage freedom of speech and expression. What this does is to limit the creative talent of the inhabitants of the society and thus shelve them in a corner for as long as it could. This marks the basis of the changing industrial culture which gives out a strong meaning of seclusion and quietness in the related realms. The message that goes out to the cultural basis of the organization under study is that it has to confine its meaning and value deliverance in accordance with the industry which up till now has listened to what the society had to speak for its own self. The result is self-evident. There have been changes made in the wake of the organizational culture which has taken its basis from the industrial modifications coming directly from the society hoopla. (Brenton, 2005) Organizational Culture Formation The organization needs to spell out its ways and means through which it will get in touch with the customers since they are the actual recipients of its different products and/or services. The work basis is thus deemed as one of significance in the whole context of organization control and planning. To start with, we see that an organization can either be formally aligned in its ways and means of doing things and different processes or the same might just be in a way informal in quite a few of its activities and tasks. The manner in which it runs across this paradigm is something that needs to be studied in depth before we reach further consensus on their purposes and the kind of achievements that they have had. The communication within an organization can flow in one of three ways or in all the three directions. This means that these three directions pave the way for the ease of communication and there are as such no barriers to arise from the whole equation. (Cerulo, 2001) Pro-activity remains the key for understanding the customer focus and attention that is being paid on the part of the customer towards the organization itself and the organization must make sure that it documents it. In the present times, organizations are doing their utmost in order to know more and more about their valued customers and stakeholders. For this, they have devised certain strategies which are in line with the values that their business has set for itself. These values are thus deeply intrinsic within the mission and vision statements of the company. In order to gain further knowledge about the customers, research is being given proper emphasis which would eventually discern the exact basis for the customers to come and make that vital purchase. The usage of sound planning on the part of the managers is very imperative as it ensures that the same is not only important to the whole well being and the actual basis of the business but also the manner in which it invites the short term gains and incentives that come along all this while. Therefore to understand more about the cultural basis of the organization, we need to rely on the aspects related with the customer itself. Since the customer is the one for which the business works and thus the organization remains in business, the organization must make giant strides day in day out to let the customer know how valued and prized he is. The organization’s culture must make sure the same are the inherent and intrinsic core elements of the organization nonetheless. Organization’s culture should be such in the first place so convenient for the customer that there are not any changes to be made further ahead in the business operations of the organization. The homework must be done in the starting to ensure that there are not any hiccups, say five years down the lane as there develop predicaments in the wake of changing global infrastructure and management styles so to speak. (Lee, 2006) Thus, long term planning has to be drawn in the light of the objectives that the company has set for itself and this does not mean that the revenues and profits alone are the points that need discussion rather the emphasis is on understanding the mission and vision statements of the company and the manner in which the two align with the goals that it has to meet over a period of time and then only weigh it with the benefits that are reached courtesy the long term incentives and the short term gains. Thus it is a fact that contingency planning is the buzzword which is making the business circles’ rounds in the current times. These provide a stop gap solution to the needs which are drawn up by the companies and then the answer is found out so as to cope up with the very same. The Influence of Organizational Culture on the Success/Failure of the Organization The ways and means that are usually taken care of whilst managing a business are aplenty and it is only up to the top management within a company that the same can be handled in a several different methods. They are the ones to decide as to what is the real manner in which the firm’s operations would be handled as well as who will head the respective departments, lead the business strategic units and act as legal and media representatives of the said business. The business, as marketers say, exists to satisfy its target audience through fulfilling a need courtesy its products and/or services or a combination of the both, the same being true in case of a retail outlet which sells gasoline to local consumers, thus giving in petrol plus extra services in the form of window cleaning, fuel gauge checks and so on and so forth. A company or an organization needs sound management framework at its top so that the staff and the employees working at different levels feel at ease with the job as well as the working environment. This indeed is very important as it builds long-term credibility of the organization that it cares about its employees and not just the customers and in cases profits and revenues only. National culture within organizations gets its basis in a number of ways. (Hatch & Cunliff, 2005) This could be due to their interest and potential in the growth environment of the new country which could have a good impression on the target audiences of the new country. This increases the sales potential of the organization’s products and/or services and in the end everyone is a winner. However the local organizations face a lot of problems in the whole setting since they are the ones who have a cut down on their share of spending and revenue coming from the similar set of target audiences. Furthermore, there is a race to cut through the clutter and make the organization heard amongst the different firms which are present with respect to their own respective offerings, services and products. The mergers and alliances are made with different companies and hence they are forced to come into a region where they never thought of even entering in the past. This is made more discouraging by the fact that this new company which is entering an alien market has to face challenges much like the companies which are already in the business and are facing barriers on a regular basis. (Yates, 2001) Therefore it would not be wrong here to state that the initial basis is wrong for these new entrants and hence they have to face pressure right from the very beginning which is a serious concern for them. Since the mergers and alliances are held so as to make the product and/or service available to a select set of audience, the need is to find out what will make the organization stand out from the pressure that it has to deal with, with the passage of time. Then there is the discussion of the different conglomerates and international franchises which make their entry into a nation so that they could capture the relevant market. With the introduction of a new business within a country, many new and unseen things start to take place. People have a chance to interact with this new business and earn innovative and stable yet better means of livelihood. The growth is there for each and everyone to see for themselves, be that in the field of research, jobs, better services in the respective fields (of business) and not to forget the overall well-being of the society which is in direct proportion with the smooth functioning of the business. In essence there is a complete shift in cultural attitude which the new nation brings with it and this indeed is the whole dictum of having a national culture in place. Foreign presence brings about new and unknown delegates to the country who impart their style of working and knowledge prevalent abroad. It would not be wrong here to suggest that this change is a sign in the right direction, at least for a country, which is not so developed. Developing countries can take a leaf out of this and learn to live shoulder to shoulder with the developed ones, as a minimum in the field the business is investing in. The growth objective which can be summarized here of any company with overseas presence is for providing better and inexpensive services. The company can live on this very issue with pride and dignity. (Silverstein, 2007) No matter how strong the opposition is within a region or how violent the rivalry is amongst the competitors, the company can only make it big if it sticks with its pre-set objectives of serving the region and its customers with all its might and not gaining profits and sums at their expense. It is very easy to get new customers and clients but indeed a very difficult suggestion to sustain with those people, for good. Formulating organizational strategies in such a manner that it boosts international trade is an important concept in the present times and it must be stuck on to no matter how trying the circumstances are, with respect to the changing environmental and industrial regimes in the wake of the political and economic systems in place. Global organizations need to evolve over a period of time to remain one step ahead of where they are presently and for doing the same, there is a need to do what has been the norm, however creativity is one such aspect that must be considered in the whole scheme of thing too. The hierarchical systems of these organizations are something that must be understood in the proper perspectives before one move on further towards the relevant understanding criterion, which sadly has been different in differing circumstances, times and regimes. The decentralized and centralized approaches have not helped the whole discussion and there is a lot of room for improving the present day inefficiencies that have risen out of nowhere. A serious effort is needed by people who are at the top positions to give in their best and all said and done, it is the duty of these very people to bring about a change when the going has got real tough. Influence of Leadership on Organizational Culture It is a reality that organizations win and lose due to different strategies and policies that they adopt. This means that the long term as well as the short-term basis owes strongly on the part of the leaders that are leading the team within an organization. However there are certain instances where problems do arise and hiccups are created due to mismanagement or lack of leadership qualities. One of the biggest problems that the organizational theories of present day regimes show is that they try to be over complex in nature and attempt at doing many tasks at the same time. (Schein, 2004) What this does is to make sure that there is a lot of trouble with regards to various processes and activities working within the realms of the different strategies and tactics employed by the organization in the first place. In the present day settings, the organizational theories should adopt more and more on the buzzword of simplicity and they should attempt at doing things as and when they come. From the contemporary organizational theories discussion, management is an art and it needs to be practiced in a manner that the company’s different departments work in a cohesive and unified fashion than the other way round. The organizations that are falling way behind their expected marks that they had set for their own selves have started to realize that over-management is not an art rather the same comes to haunt them at some point in time. (Mills, 2002) Subcultures Employee motivation as a sub-cultural basis works to the advantage of the firm and the people at the helm of it since they know for sure that their employees would give in their best no matter how trying or tough the circumstances are. This means that they are assured of their commitment levels and the intensity of the hard work that they will put in, even under the most strenuous of routines. But this raises an interesting proposition, a stance which needs to be discussed by everyone. Over work can reduce employee motivation as well as add to the stress on the part of the employees’ physical and mental domains. (Hofstede, 2004) If there is no privacy for the employees, they would not feel motivated to do their tasks and activities in an effective and efficient manner and it is ultimately the firm which will lose out on the productivity angle nonetheless. Frankly put, the top line personnel present in offices delegate jobs and assignments to their sub-ordinates without even thinking that the same might not be the correct manner and mode of action as to go about carrying out the tasks and responsibilities. This is another sub-cultural tenet that is discussed upon at length. They think that delegation would prosper a sense of getting more work within the sub-ordinates who themselves are pretty much occupied with their already assigned tasks and jobs. This is hence not the correct manner in which things should be done and hence a need has to be chalked out to ramify the very same problem. The best possible diversity that could be made in this regard is to appoint top line managers who understand the psyche of the people working under him or her or on the same level as his so that he or she can get a grasp as to what employees usually are best suited at and what they do not prefer under certain strenuous conditions in the office place environment. (Davidson, 2003) As a consequence, being able to do more work is definitely considered a plus and an added advantage for an employee but this should not, under any level, exceed his capabilities and skill sets. He must be assigned the amount of work which is proportionate with his pay, already set working conditions and more so the skills on the basis of which he was selected in the first place. Thus the diverse workforce issue gets its resolve from the fact that people work as a team rather than working alone yet they perform their own respective tasks and duties in their own capacities within the office environment for which there is no direct or indirect connection as concerns the groups and teams that they are working under from time to time. (Estlund, 2003) Changing Organizational Culture and Resistance to Change The cultural change aspect needs to be embedded in a clear and concise manner within the realms of an organization so as to extract the best possible results, both in the short term as well as in the long run. Organization structure impacts the manner in which work is basically carried out. More than anything else it adheres to the different purposes of the discrete services and the related achievements with the passage of time. This brings to light the notion of discussing the structural basis of the organizations themselves. For starters, these organizations might not be that easy to understand at the very beginning. These can encompass a variety of different aspects, features and traditional mindsets which make up their structures. Different scenarios and short term plans thus provide for a lot of cushion as far as vital tactical planning on the part of the said company is concerned and this indeed forms up as an important ingredient of the different processes that are running within the company. It might also be possible that the different departments present within a company have their own respective agendas that they have to meet and thus the long term planning can take a back seat in this equation. (Berkowitz, 2003) The administrative, decisional, interpersonal and other skills present within the repertoire of the management of the company have to understand that the long term planning has to make way for the tactical moves that are introduced within the company every now and then and which is for the betterment of all concerned, more than anything else, for the company and its stability in the long run itself. Bibliography BERKOWITZ, Perry. (2003). The Heart of Change. School Administrator, Vol. 60 BRENTON, Angela Laird. (2005). Organizational Culture in Action: A Cultural Analysis Workbook. Sage Publications, 1st Edition CERULO, Karen A. (2001). Culture in Mind: Toward a Sociology of Culture and Cognition. Routledge DAVIDSON, J. (2003). Individual Diversity and Psychology in Organizations. Wiley ESTLUND, Cynthia. (2003). Working Together: How Workplace Bonds Strengthen a Diverse Democracy. Oxford University Press HATCH, M. J. & A. Cunliff. (2005). Organizational Theory. Oxford University Press. HOFSTEDE, Gert Jan. (2004). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. McGraw-Hill, 2nd Edition LEE, Rebecca K. (2006). The Organization as a Gendered Entity: A Response to Professor Schultzs the Sanitized Workplace. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, Vol. 15 MILLS, Albert J. (2002). Gender, Identity, and the Culture of Organizations. Routledge SCHEIN, Edgar H. (2004). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass, 3rd Edition SILVERSTEIN, Barry. (2007). Best Practices: Motivating Employees: Bringing Out the Best in Your People. Collins QUINN, Robert E. (2005). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. Jossey-Bass YATES, Jacquelyn. (2001). The Real World of Employee Ownership. Cornell University Press Word Count: 3,181 Read More