Effect of Organizations Culture and Diversity - Essay Example

Morgan said that this perspective gives importance to the “human nature of organizations and building the organization around people rather than techniques” (Buchanan, 1997, p. 517). Baron and Greenberg (1989) said that initial culture of an organization comes from the founders who inculcate their values and vision to the staff first employed and transmitted to succeeding employees. Schein (1983) also elaborated on the strong formative influence of the founder and early senior managers in creating its culture (Buchanan, 1997).

Robbins supported the view that the company’s current top managers are the ‘culture carriers’ and set the standards for acceptable behavior (Buchanan, 1997). Organizational norms are the expected modes of behavior for individuals and groups, based on an organization’s values and beliefs (Buchanan, 1997). Norms, in turn, reinforce shared values and beliefs (Buchanan, 1997). However, the perpetuation of a culture to serve the purposes of the dominant culture is insensitivity to the diversity issue.

Flowers and Richardson (1996) observed that “existing rules and standards were labeled as manifestly biased by Eurocentrism and white male favoritism” (Stark, 2003, para. 1). This is further bolstered by Harrison (Ben Harrison Associates Inc.) in his observation that the “white male club control the resources, and probably the most misinformed group” (Challenge, n.d., p. 2). A corporate culture overshadowed by discrimination and inequality would affect communication, teamwork, and decision-making in an organization.

Baron and Greenberg (1989) defined communication as the process of transmitting information by one person, group, or organization to another through recognized channels. Reitz (1981, p. 311) argued that communication can be discouraged “by manipulating the physical and psychological distance.”