Management of Human and Organisation - Essay Example

?Define Organizational Culture And Discuss How Employees May Be Motivated To Behave In Desired Ways In Different Types Of Cultures. Identify The Culture Of Your Chosen Organization, And Map A Strategy For Employee Motivation In That Culture. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Literature Review 4 2.1 Definition of Organisational Culture 4 2.2 Motivating Employees in Different Cultures 6 3.0 Research & Discussion 9 3.1 Research Method 9 3.2 Research Findings 10 3.3 Discussion 13 4.0 Conclusion & Recommendations 15 4.1 Conclusion 15 4.2 Recommendations 17 References 19 1.0 Introduction The concept of organisational culture has evolved to be one of the most major and controversial issues in the 21st century management approach. It has frequently been envisaged to play a crucial role in shaping the organisational structure and has a significant influence upon the policies and performances of the company. It is further stated to be a key success factor for corporate in the modern day scenario. As stated by the experts, organisational culture of a specific company differs from one market area to another, influencing the structure of the organisation to a large extent. Thus, it tends to consider almost every factor embraced within the organisational structure which defines the concept to be complex and theoretical at times (Black, 2003). Considering the various aspects of organisational culture, the main objective of the paper will be to comprehend an appropriate definition of the concept with references to the studies conducted by various experts. Due to the fact that organisational culture influences every facet of the entire organisational structure, it is quite certain that differing cultures will also have diverse impacts on the performances of the employees (Black, 2003). This will require different motivating schemes for every particular business unit which will be analysed in the further discussion of the paper. The facts obtained from the research will be related to a global business organisation, i.e. Nokia Corporation so as to provide a pragmatic portrayal of the research findings. To be mentioned, the research will be conducted through a qualitative approach based on the secondary data and descriptive analysis intending to answer the identified research problem. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Definition of Organisational Culture The introduction of the concept, ‘Organisational Culture’ can be identified in the late 1980s. Thus, it has been in frequent use in managerial theories for decades. However, the concept evidently lacks in a synchronised definition. Studies reveal that the sole meaning of the concept differs for particular individual and organisation. Where few experts state the meaning of organisational culture to be the operating psychology of an organisation, few others depict it as the determined values of an organisation (Reiman & Oedewald, 2002). Since the introduction of the concept, authors have deliberately intended to define it. But there were few major flaws witnessed in the definitions provided by authors in 1990s. For instance, most of the definitions lacked providing an unambiguous description regarding the components of organisational culture, aim of the concept, and the probable strategies to achieve the aims. It is in this context that the modern day studies have revealed various aspects which provide an in-depth description about the motive and the major attributes of the concept considering economic along with social perspectives of culture (Willcoxson & Millett, 2003). In the modern day phenomenon, with the growing importance of the concept various authors have intended to provide a well-defined meaning of ‘Organisational Culture’. According to Serrat (2009), culture in an organisation signifies the mode of interaction exercised within the organisation among the employees and also with the external parties. As defined by the author, “Organizational culture comprises the attitudes, experiences, beliefs, and values of the organization, acquired through social learning, that control the way individuals and groups in the organization interact with one another and with parties outside it” (Serrat, 2009). Furthermore, Schein (2009) defined the concept as “......a pattern of shared tacit assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems” (Schein, 2009). The definition provided by Schein was further elaborated in various other studies conducted by different authors. Christensen (2006), in his study referred the concept to be multifaceted considering the various attributes of the modern organisational structure. It includes the behavioural regularities observed in an organisation, the values of an organisation which are dominant in the work place, the customs that are developed between close operational groups while interacting in the organisation, and the organisational philosophy which directs the policy measures and organisational structures as well. Based on this thought the author concluded that employees in an organisation share common values and experiences which in turn stimulates their skills (Christensen, 2006). Therefore, organisational culture can be defined as the concept which is based on the organisational values, philosophy, objectives, behaviour of individuals working in the organisation and other similar attributes. It further relates to the style of interaction taking place between the individuals within the organisation as well as with the external parties. Hence, it directs the overall performance of the organisation strongly related to the human resources. 2.2 Motivating Employees in Different Cultures A major challenge in controlling organisational culture is its multifaceted nature and dependency on various attributes existing in the internal as well as in the external environment of the organisation. It is due to this reason that cultural aspects differ largely from one organisation to another and from one geographic region to another as well. For instance, the organisational culture that can be witnessed in a wholesaling organisation largely differs from that of a manufacturing organisation. It is due to the reason that two organisations differ in size and structure which influences the organisational culture to be different too (Wilkins & Dyer Jr., 1988). On the similar context, culture in organisations also differs according to the social divergences in the external business environment. For example, units of a multinational company operating in United Kingdom is most likely to be based on a different culture from that possessed by the units located in California or Japan and even China (Burt & Et. Al., 2002). In these circumstances it becomes quite challenging for the organisational leaders to motivate the employees belonging to different cultures. Notably, due to the growing impact of globalisation, employees belonging to different cultures, ethnic society and geographical region can be witnessed to work in a particular organisation which fuels up the difficulty in executing standardised motivational strategies (Willcoxson & Millett, 2000). According to the study of Schein (2009), “Culture is deep, extensive, and stable.......”. Therefore, the strategies undertaken by the organisational leaders with an aim to motivate the employees should be strictly based on their cultural perceptions, social demands and personal values. The managers often face difficulty in this regard as the cultural dimensions of an organisation are indeterminate but strong. Managers in the modern era has also been witnessed to use technologies for monitoring the task force, however, these technologies also lack in providing an insight upon the communication among the individuals which limits the effectivity of the strategy for motivating people in diverse cultures (Schein, 2009). Thus, leaders should be more concerned regarding their values of people in the organisation. In this regard, authors have often suggested the leaders to consider cultural factors which determine the need and demand of the employees. Furthermore, the modern day studies also argue to value humans as resources for the organisational development. In such state of affairs, the leaders are suggested to implement hybrid strategies focussing on both intrinsic needs and extrinsic needs of the employees (Jackson, 2002). The framework can be well-depicted from the diagrammatic representation below. Source: (Jackson, 2002) 3.0 Research & Discussion 3.1 Research Method The various facets of organisational culture and its impact on the motivational strategies which are directed to enhance the productivity of the employees belonging to different cultures shall be better recognised with the illustration of a real life example. In this regard the paper concentrates on the cultural problems faced by Nokia Corporation in motivating employees with the purpose to attain the ultimate organisational goal. Thereby, the research approach applied in this paper is based on the qualitative research method. The data has been gathered with the assistance of secondary data sources, i.e. the organisational website and articles related to the organisational culture of Nokia. It is due to the reason that organisational culture is related to the theoretical concept that signifies the social and demographic preferences of people and their perceptions which regulate their lifestyles. With this concern, the paper will emphasise on collecting sufficient amount of data from the company’s official website regarding its corporate philosophy, organisational objective and HR policies which play a major role in shaping the organisational culture of a company (Jackson, 2002). The data will be further analysed based on the descriptive analysis method with an intention to respond to the research question (Creswell, 2003). 3.2 Research Findings Nokia was established by Fredrik Idestam in 1865 in the Southern region of Finland and was incorporated as a paper producing mill. In the year 1967, the company was merged with other two organisations related to two different industries, i.e. rubber business and electronics which rewarded the title of Nokia Corporation. The organisation penetrated into the telecom industry in 1979 and initiated manufacturing mobile phones and equipments for other industry members by the year 1991. It was in the year 1998 that the organisation gained the fame of world’s leading mobile manufacturer and marketer with frequent examples of innovation (Nokia, 2011). Therefore, it is quite apparent that the organisation holds a unique and ancient heritage which plays a crucial role in determining the organisational structure at present. For instance, innovation plays an imperative role in the organisation which can be apparently related to the past performances of the company. Currently, the organisation operates in three major sectors of the telecom industry worldwide, i.e. research & development, production and marketing. It operates its research & development units in 16 different countries and markets its products in more than 160 countries. Furthermore, the organisation employs over 132,427 employees worldwide belonging to different cultures (Nokia, 2011). Thus, cultural values emerge as a significant aspect in the motivational strategies for the company. It is noteworthy, that the organisational culture in Nokia is also directed by its structure which can be well-defined by the diagram represented below. Source: (Nokia, 2011) Other major attributes that define Nokia’s corporate culture are its vision along with the strategies adapted by the organisation to attain its determined objectives. Nokia’s strategic alliances are based on three simple statements that depict the vision, mission and aim of the company. For instance, the mission of the organisation is identified to connect people through its products; and its vision is to provide greater opportunity to its community worldwide (Nokia, 2011). The strategies adapted in this purpose are adhered to its marketing and research & development operations with due consideration to the improvement in the motivational strategies concerning its employees. To be mentioned, the motivational strategies in Nokia are concerned about the accountability, outcome and speed of the employees (Nokia, 2011). Employee communication also plays a central role in designing the corporate culture. In Nokia the employees have various channels to communicate with their colleagues rewarding them the opportunity to communicate with openness and without any effect to their privacy. The communication channels used in the organisation are Nokia News Hub, Blogs, Wikis, Videos, and Discussion Forums, Sustainability Newsletters, Nokia Euro Forum, Listening to You, and others. To be precise, the organisational leaders provide due consideration to the satisfaction of the employees both in monetary as well as psychological terms. However, in the motivational strategies, the importance of psychological satisfaction can be witnessed as prior to the monetary attributes (Nokia, 2011). The motivational strategies also consider the fact that employees in the organisation belong to diverse ethnic groups and cultural backgrounds. With this purpose, the motivational strategies are directed to equally distribute accountability for inclusiveness among the employees. The strategies are developed with prime focus to the cultural values and diversity with an intention to develop respect for every individual (Nokia, 2011). 3.3 Discussion According to the experts, one of the significant attributes in managing people in multicultural organisations is the flexibility in the strategies accepting the piece of evidence that along with cultural perceptions, the values possessed by individuals differ to a large extent. In this context, developing interesting job profiles accumulated with a good pay is recognised as universal strategies to motivate employees in performing more efficiently and achieving the ultimate organisational objective. Thus, these strategies are beneficial in case of the multicultural organisations as well (Phillips & Gully, 2011). In Nokia, both these attributes can be apparently witnessed in the developed motivational strategies. Simultaneously, due consideration is provided to the individual values and skills possessed by the employees with no or minimum influence of the cultural prospects. The strategies also tend to focus on the development of respect among the working groups for every individual worker. This not only motivates the workforce to perform better, but also assists the management as well as the employees to link their objectives with that of the organisation (Nokia, 2011). It is quite apparent that Nokia’s organisational structure comprises with employees who belong to diverse cultural backgrounds and ethnic groups. The values possessed by the individual workers also differ according to their generation and lifestyles. The fact has also been considered by the strategic alliances developed by the organisation in order to motivate the employees (Nokia, 2011). Open communication between the individuals and groups working in the organisation also enhances their inclusion to the organisational diversity and motives. In other words, the strategies concerned with providing the benefit of open communication to the employees stimulates the engagement of employees in the organisational operations. This in turn enhances their performance to a large extent (Nokia, 2011). A major strength of the motivational strategies adopted by Nokia can be witnessed in terms of work diversity. Being a leading multinational corporation, the company provides with considerable diversity in the work place which assists in enhancing employees’ interest towards their work. Moreover, open communication between people belonging to different cultures also facilitates the awareness among the employees which in turn assists them to develop their working skills along with communication and other personal skills (Nokia, 2011). However, there are few limitations which can be observed in the case of Nokia. For instance, the company provides an inadequate consideration to the prospect of rewards to its employees, which can affect the organisational culture and the willingness of the individuals to work with the organisation. Moreover, the company also lacks in providing sufficient consideration to aspect of leisure time or recreational programmes which has also proved to be quite beneficial for motivating the employees. The company also attempts to standardise the motivational strategies for every cultural group which can prove to be a major constraint in motivating employees towards the determined objective. It is due to the fact that motivational needs differ largely from one individual to another in a cross-cultural organisation (Steers & Et. Al., 2010). 4.0 Conclusion & Recommendations 4.1 Conclusion In the 21st century context, organisational culture plays a significant role in determining the strategies adopted by a multinational company, such as Nokia. Cultures not only influence the operational strategies, but also create a strong impact on the performances of the employees. Therefore, the organisational leaders should become more conscious regarding the matter (Jackson, 2002). It is in this context that motivational strategies are termed to be vital in the modern day perspective. It is due to the reason that these strategies intend to direct the performances of individual workers in a manner which will significantly contribute to the attainment of the ultimate organisational goal. For instance, the prime objective of Nokia was identified to be effective in rendering superior quality products to its consumers and reward beneficial life opportunities to the community it belongs to (Nokia, 2011). In order to achieve this objective, it is quite important for the company to motivate the employees in a direction which will enhance their performance and also strengthen their engagement in the organisational purpose (Schein, 2009). However, motivating people in a cross-cultural ambience can raise few major obstructions. For example, motivational strategies, such as reward and penalty systems can have differing influences on groups belonging to different cultures. Similarly, jobs with demands for continuous participation of the employees can act as a motivational factor for people belonging to a culture, while the employees belonging to another cultural background may prefer jobs with more vacation and less participation from their end (Phillips & Gully, 2011). Furthermore, different cultures specify differing individual values, perceptions, and lifestyles which in turn also influence their motivating factors. The aspect becomes more challenging in a multicultural task force where people belonging to different cultures require performing a particular task. It is due to the fact that motivating individual employees in specific manner emerges to be complex and at times creates confusion for the employees as well (Christensen, 2006). In executing beneficial motivational strategies, Nokia also faces similar challenges which will be identified in the further discussion with an intention to provide few noteworthy recommendations to the matter (Nokia, 2011). 4.2 Recommendations With reference to the research findings obtained in this case, it can be stated that motivational strategies implemented in Nokia possesses various strengths and weaknesses in terms of its practical implications. For instance, the organisational culture of Nokia emphasises on the open interaction between the employees irrespective of their cultural boundaries. This in turn promotes the awareness of employees regarding the values and perceptions of different cultures which evidently builds up integrity and respect among the working groups. The communication channels used in the organisation further intends to enhance the comfortability among the working groups in interacting with each other which fuels up the understanding between them (Nokia, 2011). Altogether these aspects facilitate the interdependency factor among the working groups which motivates them to perform better. The inclusion of innovation and free interaction of the experiences gained by the employees also enhances their engagement in the organisational purpose to a great extent. However, there are also few limitations in the motivational strategies adopted by Nokia. For instance, the strategic alliances tend to be standardised in the organisational culture which can create differing impacts on the employees. Moreover, the exclusion of good pay, incentives, recreational programmes also contribute to the shortcomings of the motivational strategies (Schein, 2009). In this regard, the organisation can initiate to develop few other strategies and/or transform the existing strategies in order to motivate the employees in a specific direction. Given the attributes of the organisational culture in Nokia, it shall be beneficial to provide more consideration to the individual values and their demands in order to motivate them effectively. Special remunerations, such as incentives, recreational vacations, and other strategies shall further motivate them to involve themselves in the attainment of the ultimate organisational goal (Wilkins & Dyer Jr., 1988). As the organisational culture in Nokia allows free interaction between the leaders and their subordinates as well as between the individual employees working in different departments, it shall be favourable to monitor their interactions regularly. This will enhance the knowledge of organisational leaders regarding the satisfaction level of the employees and also provide an in-sight to their intrinsic and extrinsic needs. These factors once identified can be used to further motivate them in a positive manner. Conclusively, it can be stated that leaders should intend to fortify the strengths of the strategies applied and grab the opportunities, such as superior mode of interaction and transparency rewarded by the organisational culture to motivate the employees (Schein, 2009). References Black, R., 2003. Organisational Culture: Creating the Influence Needed for Strategic Success. Universal-Publishers. Burt, R. S. & Et. Al., 2002. 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The Management of Organisational Culture. Australian Journal of Management & Organisational Behaviour, Vol: 3, pp. 91-99. Read More