Examination and Comparison of Two Organisations Culture - Assignment Example

Critically Examine and Compare Two or More Organisations Cultures With Reference To History and Structure of the Companies/Organisations Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Examination and Comparison of two Organisations’ Culture 3 Conclusion 6 References 8 Introduction In the theoretical prospect, organisational or business culture is regarded as the behaviour or attitude of the workforce of an organisation that forms a common behaviour in the employees. Additionally, organisational culture has been defined differently by various authors, but the common view reflected that organisational common assumptions and behaviour are effectively in different scenarios. Thus, the organisational culture governs the behaviour of the employees over the collective assumptions, values, perceptions and beliefs. Every organization has its different culture that defines the employees and the stakeholders’ behaviour (Alvesson, 2012; Schein, 2010). Correspondingly, this paper intends to address the difference of two different organisations i.e. Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil by critically examining and comparing their organisations culture. In this respect, the aspect of history and structure of the organisations ascertain the procedure based on which the employees are managed effectively in the organisations. Examination and Comparison of two Organisations’ Culture Royal Dutch Shell is a UK based multinational company established in 1907 with headquarter in Netherland. Additionally, the organisation deals in petroleum, natural gas, along with other petrochemical business in the international environment (Shell Dlobal, 2015a). On the other hand, Exxon Mobil Corporation is the American oil and gas multinational corporation founded in the year 1999. Besides, ExxonMobil over the last 125 years performing its operation in the US kerosene market has been presently identified to be evolving as one of the largest traders of petroleum as well as petrochemical in the international market (Exxon Mobil Corporation, 2015a). In relation to the organisational structure of the corporation, it has been highlighted that ExxonMobil makes rectification, election of shareholders and necessary amendments in the articles of the business in Annual meetings. Besides, the board consist of 12 members of which 10 are independent, which has been supported by seven different committees including Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Board Affairs Committee, Contributions Committee, Finance Committee, Public Issues Committee and Executive Committee. On the other hand, ExxonMobil having the unique culture in organising the structure through assignment of responsibilities to Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board position (OWT, 2007). Royal Dutch Shell Corporation established with the amalgamation of the two UK companies that include Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and Shell Transport and Trading Company Ltd. From 1907 to 2005, Royal Dutch Petroleum Corporation and Shell Transport and Trading Corporation are collectively working under the single parent company i.e. Royal Dutch Group. Since incorporation with its unique style of working, Royal Dutch Shell became one of largest Oil and Gas Corporations in terms of cash flow and capitalisation. Besides, the company focuses towards having a strong and productive operational performance in the international marketplace (Shell Dlobal, 2015a). Ownership of Royal Dutch Shell is highly been centralised and the key decisions are majorly taken by higher authorities of the company. Moreover, a highly bureaucratic culture is been followed in the company. Notably, Shell Oil Company maintained its competitive position in the market as one of the leading producers of oil, gas, as well as petrochemicals and the company is identified to be highly committed towards innovation (Priest, 2009). The organisation supported its workforce to remain highly engaged in enhancing productivity with the assistance of new technologies, production to maintain its competitive position and environment sustainability. In this relation, the company constantly work over enhancing the operational process by using required resources and knowledge to satisfy the stakeholders. Besides, the company work with diversified workforce of around 94,000 employees in around 70 nations by having their prior focus over the use of advanced technologies and innovative approach (Shell Dlobal, 2015). ExxonMobil corporate culture focuses towards “Taking on the worlds toughest energy challenges, by fuelling it the brightest minds from a variety of disciplines…” (Exxon Mobil Corporation, 2015b). Additionally, the corporate culture of the company focuses over the approach of informal communication, so that every member of the organisation can be able to communicate with each other and enhance overall productivity. Besides, the organisation emphasizes supervising the employees in the best possible manner to manage its operations in a highly result oriented manner. Thus, to ensure that employees are able to perform operation in a highly productive manner, the corporation follows the practice of bottom up communication and bureaucratic culture (Rinaldi, 2008). On the other hand, from the vision statement of Royal Dutch Shell, it has been quite apparent that the company seeks towards performing in a high standard manner through building cooperation among the employees, as the key of maintaining long-term growth and succession in the current competitive environments. Besides, corporate culture of Royal Dutch Shell aims towards working in an associated manner with the customers, partners and different stakeholders to work efficiently in the competitive marketplace with sustainable use of energy as well as natural resources. The corporation understands the importance of human resources to maintain its productivity and ensures making the right decision. Moreover, improving the overall work is highly important for the company and thus, in order to ensure effective cooperation amid employees, job roles and responsibilities are bestowed on the basis of their competency level. In addition, for enhancement of skills of the employees, the employees are offered with appropriate learning and training initiatives (Pandelica & et. al., 2012). On the contrary, ExxonMobil’s corporate culture emphasizes using innovation and technology towards meeting the changing global demand of energy and petrochemical. The workforce of the company provides significant opportunity to ensure that competitive advantage of the corporation is ensured and integrated with different business operations. Apparently, the organisational culture of the business has been developed on the basis of cross culture and experiences. Moreover, ExxonMobil encourages its workforce to perform with high potentials and produces superior results. In this consideration, the company encourages it workforce to develop a common understanding and level of competency through proper training and development. On the other hand, ExxonMobil employs the workforce with enhanced skillsets that will ensure the company to maintain its competitive advantage (Exxon Mobil Corporation, 2011c). Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be concluded that organisation culture is referred as determined set of values and principles as well as norms, which ascertain the characteristics of an organisation. Additionally, a strong organisational culture enables a business to form strong organisational performance with the mean of motivating and co-ordinating the performance of the employees with the common organisational culture. Besides, in comparison to the corporate culture of ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell Corporation, it has been recognised that both the organisations are likely to work in the international environment with diversified workforce. ExxonMobil’s corporate culture focuses towards informal communication to enhance the overall productivity. On the one hand, Royal Dutch Shell focuses towards making productive operational performance through centralised communication and the decisions are taken by higher authorities of the company. References Alvesson, M., 2012. Understanding Organizational Culture. SAGE. Exxon Mobil Corporation, 2015a. Our History. History. [Online] Available at: http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/company/about-us/history/overview [Accessed May 28, 2015]. Exxon Mobil Corporation, 2015b. Corporate Culture. Career. [Online] Available at: http://exxonmobil.com/Benelux-English/careers_masters_fit_culture.aspx [Accessed May 28, 2015]. Exxon Mobil Corporation, 2011c. Corporate Citizenship Report. ExxonMobil. [Online] Available at: http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/~/media/global/Reports/Corporate%20Citizenship%20Report/2011/news_pub_ccr2011 [Accessed May 28, 2015]. OWT, 2007. ExxonMobil Corporation. Organisational Information. [Online] Available at: http://www.oneworldtrust.org/publications/doc_download/84-2006-gar-accountability-profile-exxonmobil [Accessed May 28, 2015]. Priest, T., 2009. The Offshore Imperative: Shell Oil’s Search for Petroleum in Postwar America. Texas A&M University Press. Pandelica, A. & et. al., 2012. Study Regarding the Identification of The Key Cultural Values Of Multinational Companies. A Comparative Study: Europe, Asia, USA. Scientific Bulletin-Economic Sciences, Vol. 11, pp. 63-77. Rinaldi, J., 2008. Exxon Culture May Be Tough Fit for XTO Workers. Analysis [Online] Available at: http://in.reuters.com/article/2010/03/04/idINIndia-46643420100304 [Accessed May 28, 2015]. Shell Dlobal, 2015a. About Shell. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.shell.com/global/aboutshell.html [Accessed May 28, 2015]. Shell Dlobal, 2015b. Our History About Shell. [Online] Available at: http://www.shell.com/global/aboutshell/who-we-are/our-history.html [Accessed May 28, 2015]. Schein, E. H., 2010. Organizational Culture and Leadership. John Wiley & Sons. Read More