Importance of Organizational Culture in the work force - Term Paper Example

?Importance of Organizational Culture in the work force Executive Summary The current project is not defining, analyzing and measuring organizationalculture and its influence in the overall performance in the workplace. This report has analyzed the existing empirical researches and various models linked with organizational performance and organizational culture. The objective of the study is to examine measure and conceptualize the various theories and concepts of organizational culture. After evaluation and analysis of literature it has been found that organizational culture creates a deep influence on various processes in an organization. It was identified that the initial area of concern for the employees is to adjust with the culture and environment of the organization. Even experience employees take time to adjust with the norms of the new organization because this is one element with makes every organization unique in its own way. In such situations, effective communication play significant role. Communication, whether formal or informal assist the employees to adapt the culture and vice-versa. In this study various theories and analysis have been presented to support the ideas stated above. This study has also evaluates how these theories can be applied in modern day organizations. Implications for managers as well as top management have been given in the analysis. More research can be conducted in this field in order to gain a deeper understanding on the ability of organizational culture in improving the overall performance in an organization. Contents Introduction 4 Literature Review 5 Analysis 9 Conclusion 11 Works Cited 13 Name of the Student Name of the Professor Course Number Date Importance of Organizational Culture in the Work Force Introduction In an environment which is rapidly changing, organizations have started giving a serious thought on how to increase effectiveness within firms. In order to accomplish objectives and goals, organizations are evaluating ways and strategies both for internal and well as external management. Once goals are perfectly aligned with the vision of the company, addressing the cultural type of the organization is essential in order to advance these objectives and goals into actions. A well defined organizational culture also helps in ensuring that necessary changes are successfully implemented. An organization is a platform shared by individuals and teams who perform in a united way with the objective of earning profits for the company as well as livelihood for them. The working style of each organization is unique and this often ends up contributing to the culture. The beliefs, principles, values and ideologies of an organization constitute its culture. A workplace culture controls employee behavior within and outside the organization. The overall effectiveness of an organization can be determined through various indicators. Organizational orientation, employee satisfaction, organizational growth performance and organizational culture are few of them. As a result of its influence, organizational culture has started getting importance in business terms and is currently the one of the most analyzed subject for researchers and analysts. In the present study organizational culture will be studied with respect to its various dimensions. Few of the organizational behavior and cultural theories will be discussed in detail. This will helping the overall evaluation will be the base for strategy implementations for managers and business. Culture is known as a wide concept and the various elements differ according to the area of business. Thus, understanding its dimensions and purpose is important for proper implementation of organizational culture in any organization. Many of the success stories link performance with culture of the organization. Organizational culture can be referred as a pattern of shared beliefs and values demonstrated by company employees in their daily behaviors and activities. An organizational culture is influenced by the industry peculiarities or occupations associated with the organization as well as the official or national culture of the region. Organizational culture can be regarded as a fascinating process blending different values and linking individuals. The importance of organizational culture can be understood from its influence in establishing acceptable behavior standards and making people understand the various operating styles of the organization. Guiding, sustaining and changing are characters of organizational culture of high performance which needs fortified engagement and rigor from leaders. It also required the leaders to be able to measure variations in order to correct courses whenever needed. Through rigorous research, development and evaluations of success stories of organizations, a variety of benchmarks and best practices are available in order to facilitate management culture. A proper implementation of these practices can help an organization to remain competitive and its employees healthier and happier. Linking strategies and policies required commitment as well as everyday activities and expectations. The objective of the study is to evaluate the importance of organizational culture in workplace. The above review of organizational culture has made it clear that to be successful an organization must implement strategic and desirable organizational culture which fits with the objective and goals of the organization. The current review of organizational culture throws light on many facts. Organizational culture is essential for both maximization of human capital value and organizational change. It is management competency and critical for the success of any organization. While right organizational culture is necessary for the overall growth and success of an organization, the definition of right culture does not confide to one practice or one success story. Therefore determining the most suitable organizational culture and conditions will be an important challenge for managers in the human resource departments. Literature Review Organizational culture is a broad field of study which focuses on the behaviors and values of an organization as well as people working there, in order to establish a unique psychological and social environment which is compatible with the organization as well as employees working there. An organizational culture essentially consists of the experiences, expectations, values and philosophies ingrained in it and the fundamental brinks which hold an organization together (Ahmed 35-40). In a broader term organizational culture comprises of norms, visions, working languages, symbols, systems, habits and beliefs. As we grow up, we learn and imitate many of our behaviors and habits from people around us. Although every individual is born with unique personal preferences and talents, the beliefs and behaviors of individual in one organization show some common preferences. This helps organizations in creating their own unique cultural properties. Since individuals in an organization work together as a team with a common goal of finishing the job, the culture created in the organization will help the members in understanding each other more effectively (Kreitner and Kinicki 75-106). According to Schein (62-104), the core aspects of organizational culture are constituted in fundamental assumptions. He has given a formal definition for organizational culture. Organizational culture can be defined as “A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned 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” Culture is a system which distinguishes one organization from another through a shared meaning. Seven characteristics of organizational culture have been identified which are expected to capture the overall essence of it. Measured on a scale of low to high, these characteristics offer a composite picture of the overall culture of an organization. These seven characteristics can be understood as follows; 1. Risk Taking and Innovation- it is characterized by the degree or extent to which employees and teams are encouraged to take risks and be innovative. 2. Detailed Attention- it is characterized by the degree or extent to which employees and teams are expected to showcase analysis, precision and knack of details. 3. Outcome Orientation- it is characterized by the degree or extent to which focus of the management is oriented towards outcome or results rather than processes and techniques in order to achieve the objectives and goals 4. People Orientation- the degree or extent to which decisions of the management are oriented towards the people and effect on employees due to results. 5. Team Orientation- organizations are more oriented towards team work and activities related to groups and less orientation towards individuals. 6. Aggressiveness- The degree to which individuals and teams are competitive and aggressive and not easy going. 7. Stability- The degree or extent to which activities of the organization expects status quo instead of continuous growth. Organizational culture typologies In order to understand organizational culture, a specific typology was developed by Harrison and Stokes (13). According to this theory, organizational culture can be discussed in four different orientations. These orientations are: 1. Power Orientation 2. Role Orientation 3. Task Orientation 4. Person Orientation The Power Orientation: Found usually in smaller organizations, in this type of orientation most of the decision making process revolves around the head of the firm (Martin 493). It is dominated by a central person or a leaders and approach is single mindedness. This type of orientation lacks operational bureaucracy and streamlined business flow (Martin 590). However, the biggest strength of this culture is quick reaction even though personality and attitude of the leader has an influential effect on overall success of the organization. The Role Orientation: Role orientation is based on existing set of rules, job descriptions and positions as opposite to power culture. Responsibility, authority and working environment are delegated downwards having defined authority area in each level. Work is performed without any direct supervision from management. The Support Orientation: Culture of support orientation relies on mutual trust and understanding among employees and the firm. Employees performing in a culture which is support oriented are valued as true contributors to the organization’s growth and development (Harrison, 37; Harrison and Stokes, 13). The culture is characterized by caring and warm atmosphere with a sense of belonging and commitment. Therefore, this type of orientation sees more contribution from the employees. Organizational culture and communication Communication between employees as well as different departments can occur through different channels. On a broader concept, communication can be categorized into formal and information communication. Both types of communication occur within an organization. A communication which takes place through formal channels in an organization is termed as formal communication. These communications occur along the lines of organizational authority set by the management. Informal communication occurs when channels other than those assigned by line of authority are used for exchange of message. Information communication is generally created around the societal relationships of the members of the firm. While formal communication generally occurs during formalized meeting and in writings, informal communication occurs due to personal needs. While in formal communication the information to be send is predetermined and analyzed, in case of informal communication the accuracy of the message or information cannot be predicted, as they may be transferred orally or though simple gestures (Kyndt, Dochy and Nijs, 2009). Organizational culture and leadership The competitive environment for business has changed drastically in last two decades due to various reasons like resource contingency, globalization and increase in buyer power etc. leadership as a concept of organizational culture has grown to great extent and has been the research topic of interest. The formation of culture through leadership and organization has been deeply researched and found to be a successful component for organization. Academic scholars have pointed out that organizations need right form of leadership in order to survive in the changing competitive environment. Research scholars like Vardiman, Houghton and Jinkerson (93-105) have stated that capable leaders help the organization to innovate, address existing challenges, respond to changing dynamics of market and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Alas, Tafel and Tuulik (50-60), have stated that leadership depends on personal traits of an individual such as behavior, relationship with subordinates, interaction pattern with subordinates, influencing capability, ability to motivate people to perform well, influence on culture of the organization etc. Morrison, Rha and Helfman (11-17) have stated that leadership is basically the ability of individuals to understand and implement contemporary management theories to real life problems. Various research scholars such as Johnson (11-17) and Howell and Costley (50-70) have stated that organizations need to develop leadership skill among employees in order to provide direction, commitment and engagement to their work effort. When an ethical culture is promoted by leaders, they are successful empowering an organizational growth. Analysis Employee performance depends on various factors like organizational culture, employee motivation, performance appraisals, employee satisfaction, training and development as well as compensation. Organizational culture aims to be positive in accomplishing the results of the organization. It helps to accelerate the development of an organizational. It is basically net satisfaction of various constituents in the process of transforming and gathering inputs. Organizational culture can be the medium though which an organization can fulfill its objectives without depleting its own resources, without placing any undue strain on the members (Heffernan and Flood 130-135) Creating an effective organizational culture is important for the success of any organization structure. The importance of culture in a workplace can be understood by describing the following points. Proper employee interaction- An organized culture in an organization encourages positive employee interaction. It is very critical to have a culture which complements the different cultural backgrounds and is not biased towards any particular culture (Kelly, 2000). A healthy and cooperative culture encourages workers to stay loyal and motivated to an organization Workplace competition- A coordinated and healthy workplace culture encourages positive competition among employees. Workers are motivated to perform better than their fellow coworkers and earn appreciation and recognition of the superiors (Holtzhausen 30-48). Workplace maintenance- For proper functioning of an organization, it is very essential to have a set of predefined rules and laws, which needs to be followed by each employee in the organization. A positive organization culture helps the employees to accept these rules in a more positive manner and comply with them without any difficulty. Creating and implementing positive organizational culture is thus an important factor in achieving success in overall organizational communication. For a positive organization culture, a company needs to set clear goals and objectives. These goals and objectives should be properly delegated to each and every member of the organization. The organization should promote a relaxing environment so that ideas can be generation and there is a free flow of creativity and overall employee interaction. Modifying day to day procedures also help in relieving employees from the daily stress (Newbold 294-304). Thus, by creating a supportive and free environment, a positive organizational culture can be achieved. Leadership has been evaluated as an important factor is bringing positive culture in an organization. When people feel that they are doing a meaningful work, they get internally motivated to do the work with precision. This strengthens the internal organizational culture. The work should be challenging and should bring the inner hidden talents of the individual. The success of the team depends on motivating skills of the leader. Providing a challenging work also helps in intrinsically motivating people. The potential of an individual needs to be challenged in order to bring out their true potential. When the team leader provides an employee with the proper environment to excel only then an employee can be effectively motivated and a culture of competitiveness and high performance can be achieved (Babbie 57-80; Bruce 10-30). Another implication which can be drawn from the literature is the importance of proper communication. It has been discussed that formal and informal communication co-exists in an organization. For the proper functioning of an organization as well as achievement of organizational culture, existence of formal as well as informal communication is both necessary and unavoidable. Formal communication between employees and various departments helps in fixing tasks and responsibilities and helps in normal flow of business functions. Thus, a culture of order and disciple is established in the organization. They also help establishing authority in the organization. From the typology theory of Harrison, it is clear that establishment of authority is important for the proper establishment of culture in the organization. Informal cultures are also important as they establish personal communication between employees. This helps in increasing a culture of openness, friendship and mutual trust among employees. A firm can utilize informal communication as a channel when formal communication channel is not working, by sending particular messages or information. Proper understanding of information communication will also help managers to understand the smaller issues in the organization and then fixing them, in order to achieve success in overall organizational culture. Conclusion On the basis of above study it can be concluded that culture of the organization has an influential effective on the overall development of a workplace. An organizational culture which is well accepted within the organization creates a positive impact on the overall job performance of the employee. According to many research studies it has been found out that while entering into an organization, the first task done by employees is adjusting within the culture of the organization. Adopting the norms and values of the organization is automatic and once it is successfully completed, there is a change in the performance of the employee. In the present report, a study of various organizational typologies and their application in the real business work was showcased. These immensify the need and importance of effective organizational culture is a workplace. Performance of employees is also the reason for increase in organizational net profit. Positive organizational culture is a cakewalk when each individual within an organization share a common path towards the goals. However, creating a common path of organizational culture which will be accepted by each individual in organization can be regarded as next to impossibile. The current study has viewed that organizational culture is extremely important in making employees more potential and effective and providing competitive advantage for the organization. The study has also analyzed that commitment of the employees towards the organization is very crucial for enhancing the overall performance of the organization. Though most of the work from this study is based on literature; further studies on research can be conducted in an empirical manner in order to understand the power and nature of organizational culture and their influence on performance of a workplace. 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