The culture( Values & norms) and the artifacts culture of United Nation Environment Program (UNEP ) - Essay Example

The culture (Values & norms) and the "artifacts culture" of United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) The culture (Values & norms) and the "artifacts culture" of United Nation Environment Program (UNEP)
Organizational culture may be termed as the principles and beliefs of a given organization (Shafritz & Ott, 1996). In this context, the culture of UNEP has a huge impact on its employees and the interaction amongst them. Since the first session held by UNEP in 1973, this organizations Governing Council has continued emphasizing the necessity of a more holistic approach to ensure sustainable development and environment protection. The Council recognizes that environmental changes have economic, social and cultural impacts, thus eco-development should adopt cultural, social, political, technological, and dimensions directly linked to the environment. UNEP documented the "Cultural and Spiritual Values of Diversity" in 1999 in which the organization put forward that biodiversity must be recognized in terms of employee diversity since different people and cultures view and appreciate it exclusively because of their unique experiences and heritages.
Every employee in UNEP must put in mind that, for the organization to conserve the natural gifts, he or she must learn more about it and how best to interact with the same environment. In addition, the faith of employees play a major role in promoting responsible behavior, encouraging individual discipline, maintaining high morals, that supersede the need for instant gratification with no self-interest and responsibility in order to achieve comprehensive and long-term benefits for the environment as well as for humanity. Ethical values, solidarity, justice, tolerance, equality, respect for human rights, and protecting the environment are the building blocks for UNEP.
Some norms and values give guidance in the daily operations of UNEP. Communication activities must respect the charter of the organization and its core values of professionalism, integrity, and diversified respect. All stakeholder needs such as regionalization must be fully integrated into the whole process of communications delivery and planning, which ought to be service-oriented. In one spirit, UNEP members should support all the strategies and policies laid down and offer cross-divisional support and collaboration towards achieving a conducive environment. Most importantly, UNEP aims at attaining the highest quality of editorial levels, accessibility and relevance for all its members, thus all member states should corporate through having ethical values regarding the surroundings.
It is against the policies of UNEP for any staff member or nation to be unresponsive, lack knowledge and information, or fail to share important issues that may be of help to environmental conservation or that, which may hinder objective achievement. Staff and operational efficiency are essential for effective communication as well as for exemplary external information delivery.
Artifacts in any given organizational culture may be simply called the visible components of culture. They may be in form of stories, symbols and slogans, or rituals and ceremonies (Tompkins, 2004). For instance, it has been through the logo slogan adopted by UNEP that employees have been motivated and encouraged to behave as expected and to achieve the goals of the organization. In 2012, UNEP celebrated the 40th centenary that marked tens of years of service and achievements, thanks to the slogan "Serving People and the Planet." The circular symbol of the organization always reminds the employees that they are doing everything for the good of the environment for the whole globe. All these have helped in evolving and catalyzing the environment as an integrated part of the sustainable development plan important for the social well-being of close to 8 billion people.
References
Shafritz, J., & Ott, S. (1996). Classics of organization theory, 6th Edition. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace College Publications.
Tompkins, J. (2004). Organization theory and public management. London: Wadsworth Publishing. Read More