The Culture in Organization and How It Helps or Hinders Organizations Performance - Literature review Example

Describe the culture in your organization and explain how it helps or hinders your organization’s performance. Name Institution Date Organizational culture is the climate and practice an organization adopts in dealing with people including beliefs and values withheld within an organization. Culture in an organization is created and managed by leaders. Thus, the ability of leaders to understand and work with culture determines their uniqueness (Center for Creative Leadership, 2012). Culture gives the organization a sense of identity. It determines the way the organization conducts its activities through beliefs, values, meanings, legends, norms, rituals and language (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). Organizational culture according to Watson (2006) summarizes what the organization has often performed well and what has worked for it in the past. This is why employees who have served long in the organization always readily accept such practices. On the other hand, new employees start by learning the legends of the organization since they are accepted ways of doing things. Over time, an organization develops norms; the established patterns of behaviour (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). Importantly, the way in which culture is expressed in an organization influences its performance. This essay discusses how culture in my organization is expressed and how it affects the performance of the organization. According to Gregory, Harris, Armenakis & Shook (2009), there is no single organizational culture. Similar to my organization, different organizations have divergent cultures. In deed, organizations may possess more single culture. However, the most important part of organizational culture is how individuals express it within their work settings. My organization has various types of cultural expressions that bind us together as employees. These can be classified as the support orientation, the role orientation, clan culture, and the achievement orientation culture (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). The important aspect of these cultures is that they co-exist in the organization. Additionally, the organization express these cultural typologies differently based on various human values, and they also affect the performance of the organization in different ways. The first culture present in my organization is the support orientation culture (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). In fact, the organization is effective in its performance because it has developed mutual trust between employees. The support culture in the organization has enabled employees develop the feeling that they are worth to the organization, not simply contributors to the organization’s mission. Exercising the support culture has helped the organization create a warm and caring atmosphere for employees to work to their best (Yiing & Ahmad, 2009). This has in turn helped employees develop a sense of belonging, making them committed to the organization hence contributing to improved performance. The support culture has and continues to work in the best interest of the organization as concerns improved performance and effectiveness. Maintaining a supportive and caring environment motivates employees to made sacrifices for one another and display team loyalty, hence increasing organization’s morale and performance (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). Additionally, support organizational culture increases employee enthusiasm, solidarity and motivation which positively affect quality of work and organization performance (Doina, Mirela & Constantin, 2008). The implication for this is that support culture should exist in an organization to make employees committed to their work and the organization. Although the support culture has contributed greatly to the improved performance of the organization, in one way or another it is likely to hinder the performance of the organization (van Stuyvesant, 2008). In attempt to be more supportive to employees, the organization sometimes ignores difficult issues that arise. Such acts have adversely affected the performance of the organization. In addition, because of increased concern for equal treatment for employees, there is likelihood to for the organization to ignore differences in abilities and skills of employees, hence making decisions subjectively (Gregory et al., 2009). This also negatively affects the performance of the organization. Therefore, though the organization has embraced a support culture, it needs to be careful not to become a victim of the weaknesses of this culture orientation. The organization also upholds the role orientation as part of its culture. The role culture in the organization functions on the basis of clearly established procedures, rules, and job descriptions (van Stuyvesant, 2008). Most programs and activities that run in the organization are controlled by set rules. The inspiration from these rules is that the organizing principles that guide employees in the organization are order, rationality and dependability (Mozaffari, 2008). The organization’s management is responsible for ensuring that responsibility, authority and bureaucratic working atmosphere is delegated downwards. Consequently, every organizational level exercises some degree of authority to facilitate ongoing work performance without relying on order from top management (Sharkey & Eccher, 2011). As such, employees are able to work independently because of management trust. The role orientation culture plays a significant role in enhancing the performance of the organization (van Stuyvesant, 2008). Since employees are controlled by work structures and rules, they often allocate more energy to doing their work to ensure achievement of organizational objectives. In this regard, employees register high performance and they often meet their targets, which in turn boost organization’s performance (van Stuyvesant, 2008). However, not all employees are given individual autonomy and discretion at work since all employees may not be trusted in the organization, particularly employees at the lower level. Normally, such employees have to be supervised to work well, but they may not be allowed to work under absolute autonomy. According to Sharkey & Eccher (2011), although employees are often grateful for individual autonomy at work, some may not realize that the existing rules control them to the extent that they limited in making the right choices and being innovative. This is a challenge to the organization since employees are denied creativity and innovativeness in the workplace because they are controlled by existing rules. Additionally, overemphasis one rules sometimes makes it hard for the organization to swiftly adapt to rapid changes in the environment. Thus, according to Boyle (2008) it is difficult to adjust existing rules, in the interest of order and rationality. Yes, it is good that the role culture in the organization allows for freedom at work motivating employees to work hard and improve organization’s performance. However, it has also created an atmosphere characterized by rigidity which is likely to hinder organization’s performance. Clan culture is also evident in the organization and it is communicated differently among individuals. This culture is expressed in the form of employee loyalty, teamwork, personal commitment and self-management (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). Although the organization’s center of attention in internal, it also maintains a flexible formal control in order to realize the best performance. Clan culture in my organization has made employees to perform obligation beyond their job description. Employees strive to contribute to the organization success beyond their contractual agreements (Doina et al., 2008). Additionally, they express long-term commitment to the organization through loyalty and they expect the organization to assure them of job security. The commitment from both ends enables the organization to retain competent employees which helps to improve organization’s performance. The clan culture has helped the organization to create unity among its workforce through long and appropriate socialization process. Normally, older employees in the organization act as mentors and role models for newly recruited employees (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). In this case, younger employees are directed on what they are supposed to do in order to help the organization improve its performance. Nevertheless, sometimes strong peer pressure originates from older employees influencing new employees to hold on important norms within the organization. Consequently, this creates a situation whereby some departments in the organization are exempted from normative pressure which leads to risk-taking behaviour by some employees. According to Mozaffari (2008), organization’s success is thought to occur due to consensus decision making, teamwork, employee participation, concern for people and sensitivity to customers. However, despite the appealing aspects of how clan culture is expressed in the organization, it is likely that older employees may fail to direct new employees rightly, in accordance to the norms of the organization. As such, new entrants may be led the wrong direction, hence making them less productive to the organization. The achievement orientation culture also exists in my organization and it is expressed differently from the other culture orientations. Nevertheless, it does not exist is exclusion, but operates alongside the previous culture orientations so as to enhance organization’s effectiveness (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). Based on the achievement orientation culture, employees in the organization are aligned with a common vision in order to help achieve organization’s goals. This culture acknowledges organization’s common vision and through its mission, the management attracts and optimizes individual energy of employees to achieve common purpose (Zheng, Yang, & McLean, 2010). In deed, the organization has a clear mission whose center of attention is on the individual energy of its workforce. Besides, the organization created structures and systems which serve its mission. Unlike the rules established with the role orientation, structures and systems created within the organization are more flexible. As such, they can easily be altered whenever changes are made in the organization’s mission (Boyle, 2008). Ultimately, the organization brings all employees on board through existing structures and systems to ensure they do their best to effectively achieve organization’s goals. The exercise of achievement-oriented culture within the organization has provided employees the opportunity to demonstrate their competencies through improved work performance. Additionally, employees have and continue to contribute to organization’s goals willingly in response to their commitment toward common purpose (O'Donnell & Boyle, 2008). The organization has actually prospered because of employees’ commitment and increased acceptance of achievement-oriented culture. Equally, the expression of this culture orientation as observe Naranjo-Valencia, Jiménez-Jiménez, & Sanz-Valle (2011) leads to increased enthusiasm, personal energy and employee involvement. This is good for the organization as it is able to increase its performance because of having employees with such attributes. Nevertheless, although achievement-oriented culture has helped the organization perform better, it may be a challenge to sustain such motivated employees (van Stuyvesant, 2008). This is because employees are likely to experience burnout and disillusionment, especially when they realize that they energy is not producing tangible results. In the circumstances where the organization is under-organized, employees do not have enough time to plan for individual objectives. This, according to Gregory et al. (2009) means that employees would simply depend on the common organization’s mission to manage their work. There is a risk of the organization’s mission taking on different forms based on the various departments of the organization. This is so in a sense that an organization may lose unity of effort hence hindering the achievement of organization’s goals (Yiing, & Ahmad, 2009). However, my organization have always tried to align the workforce with its common vision which has helped it achieve the benefits of achievement orientation culture as concern improved organization’s performance. In general, my organizational culture is based on exceptional model of shared beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, norms, socialization, symbols, and employee expectations. Employees have always believed to be connected by the shared assumptions in the organization. Similarly, these attributes of organizational culture guide the views, emotions and feelings of employees concerning different aspects and how they function within the organization (Naranjo-Valencia et al., 2011). The organization uses the assumptions to impart knowledge into new employees since they explain how individuals within the organization are supposed to perceive, think and feel about issues. The organization uses shared values to ensure employees embrace socially and ethically acceptable behaviour in business (Yiing & Ahmad, 2009). The values are closely associated with moral and ethical codes which determine how employees behave within and outside the organization. There are also shared norms in the organization. These define right behaviors and attitudes which employees must observe while in the organization. Usually, when new people join the organization, they are highly appreciated and introduced to existing norms. Accordingly, they are expected to observe those norms to later (O'Donnell & Boyle, 2008). Equally, the organization has shared symbols, practices and language which connect individuals together as a team hence enabling them to work towards achieving the goal of the organization. The organization also uses symbols to express its culture. Symbols, such as company logo and office layout are basic observable attributes of organizational culture and communicates a lot about the organization (Gregory et al., 2009). Shared practices within the organization comprise of ceremonies and rights and they are highly recognized by employees as part of their day-to-day activities. All in all the organization is able to improve on its performance because it has consciously aligned employees’ values with the values of organizational strategy and culture. Conclusively, my organization has different culture orientations which are expressed differently. The organization balances these cultures to ensure that they support new values and practices. The culture orientations that exist in the organization include the support-oriented culture, the role-oriented culture, clan culture, and achievement-oriented culture. The way in which employees perform their work expresses these culture orientations. The organization has also established system, structures and practices which define expected behavior among employees. Therefore, all employees in the organization act in accordance to the existing culture. Through these cultural expressions, the organization is able to achieve improved performance. Nevertheless, in certain situations, the way in which culture is expressed within the organization tends to hinder the organization’s performance. Still, this has not prevented the organization from using its culture to prosper in terms of performance. References Boyle, R. (2008). Understanding and managing organisational culture. Institute of Public Administration. Center for Creative Leadership, (2012). Leader Effectiveness and Culture: The GLOBE Study. Doina, R., Mirela, S., & Constantin, R. (2008). The organisational culture and the factors of its formation. ANALELE UNIVERSITĂŢII DIN ORADEA, 561. Gregory, B. T., Harris, S. G., Armenakis, A. A., & Shook, C. L. (2009). Organizational culture and effectiveness: A study of values, attitudes, and organizational outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 62(7), 673-679. Mozaffari, F. A. (2008). A Study of Relationship between Organizational Culture and Leadership. In International Conference on Applied Economics–ICOAE (p. 679). Naranjo-Valencia, J. C., Jiménez-Jiménez, D., & Sanz-Valle, R. (2011). Innovation or imitation? The role of organizational culture. Management Decision, 49(1), 55-72. O'Donnell, O., & Boyle, R. (2008). Understanding and managing organisational culture. Sharkey, L. D. & Eccher, P. H. (2011). Optimizing talent : What every leader and manager needs to know to sustain the ultimate workforce. 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