Organisational Culture and the Role of the Manager - Coursework Example

Organisational Culture and the Role of the Manager Introduction The type of culture that exists in an organisation has an impact on the role played by the human resource manager in organisational functioning, and improving employees’ creativity and workers’ satisfaction. The multidimensional strategy employed by the manager includes improving the organisational culture which is composed of “the basic assumptions and beliefs of members of an organisation, that operate unconsciously, and define an organisation’s view of itself and its environment” (Rothwell et al 2005, p.24). Management practices influence the culture which underlies the organisation’s identity, cohesiveness and distinctive competence; while reciprocally the corporate culture impacts the role of the manager (Bass & Riggio 2006). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects that the different concepts of organisational culture have on the role of the manager. Discussion According to Schein (2004), organisational culture and leadership are two sides of the same coin. The processes of culture creation and management form the essential core of leadership. Organisational culture can be defined as a dynamic phenomenon that exists at all times, constantly enacted and created through mutual interactions, and shaped by structures, routines, rules and norms that guide and limit behaviour. Culture evolves from three sources: the beliefs, values and assumptions of founders of organisations, the learning experiences of group members as their organisation evolves, and new values, beliefs and assumptions brought in by new members and leaders (Schein, 2004: 226). The key components of corporate culture are: a set of values, perceptions and assumptions on the procedures to be followed, decision-making norms and overt behaviour patterns such as information collection, idea presentation, evaluation, cooperation, loyalty to the organization and enthusiasm (Vasu et al 1998). Organisational culture has significant influence on the management’s and employees’ attitudes and behaviour (Reigle 2001; Shepherd & Kolb 1994; Chen et al 1998). Significantly, the culture now defines the leadership or management. When the organisation runs into adaptive difficulties, when some of its assumptions become invalid due to organisational environment changes, the management’s responsibility is to step out of the culture that created the leader, and start evolutionary change processes that are more adaptive. Hence, the ultimate challenge and role of leadership is this ability to identify the “limitations of one’s own culture, and to evolve the culture adaptively” (Schein 2004, p.2). To study the role of the manager, it is necessary to understand the different types of corporate culture. Sarrio et al (2000) identified four types of organisational cultures: traditional/ hierarchical; profit-driven/ pursuing corporate goals; creative/ entrepreneurial and a networking/ consensus seeking culture. With gradual change over recent years, the role of present-day managers has become increasingly empowered, with a more networking, consensus-seeking approach. Three dimensions of corporate culture based on the effectiveness of organisations, are: innovative versus conservative, analytical versus intuitive, and small versus large social distance. From two levels of the three dimensions are constructed five types of corporate culture: “1) Innovation oriented 2) Innovation oriented and following the leader 3) Procedures and rules oriented 4) Tradition oriented and 5) Tradition oriented and following the leader” (Kono & Clegg 1998, p. 26). In the organizational culture of Type 1, innovative and analytical qualities combine with a small social distance vertically in the hierarchy. In Type 2 culture, organisations pursue ways of being innovative and intuitive, while at the same time, employees follow what they are told to do, and a large social distance exists between members, vertically in the hierarchy. The organizational culture of Type 3 is procedure-oriented and is a bureaucratic culture (Kono & Clegg 1998). Here, the role of the manager is to change the organisational culture to a more innovative one, by accelerating the effectiveness of management and leadership activities (Maister 2001; Lambert 1991). Types 4 and 5 are relatively thin subcultures as found in creative organizations, where members may not share the common values of the organization, cohesiveness is not high, but decision making is aggressive (Kono & Clegg 1998). In the London Borough of Redbridge Council, re-organization of the entire council was undertaken (Redbridge Council 2008). Workplace stress was focused on, because of the high rates of employee absence related to stress. The earlier organisational culture was of Type 4, a thin stagnant culture, with aggressive decision making believed to be the cause of raised levels of stress in the workplace. Here the manager’s role of implementer was undertaken, and changes were brought about throughout the council. He worked with the sponsor who had authority to implement the changes and control over resources, directed responsibilities to the sponsor, and provided live feedback from the organization to the sponsor (Cameron & Green, 2004: 138). The manager met the demands of the environment through methodical steps (Cameron & Quinn 2005). After implementing changes, the organisational culture changed to Type 2, with a vitalized, thick culture and a strong leader. The management and the employees developed a culture of shared values with all members working in harmony in a more employee-oriented corporate philosophy; whereby members were determined to stay with the organization (Redbridge Council 2008). In the case of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council (Wigan Council 2008), the HRM culture that existed before the changes were made, was of Type 5, which was tradition-oriented and following the leader, with a thin stagnant culture. Large distances existed between the levels in the hierarchy and low values in other dimensions, with relatively little common values among the members. Through the leadership model and role of advocate, the organization’s manager brought about the required changes in organisational culture. The advocate leader was highly motivated with several ideas that he wished to implement. In the various areas that needed change such as flexibility of working hours, managers’ stress management training, provision of counseling to the employees for managing stress and increasing productivity, the leader as advocate was able to successfully implement his ideas. It was essential that he convinced the sponsor who had authority and responsibility for providing the resources (Cameron & Green, 2004: 137). After changes in organisational culture took place, the HRM culture transformed to Type 1, innovation oriented with improved attendance levels, introductions to facilitate appropriate work life balance for staff, and increased drive for quality and efficiency. Greater awareness of workplace hazards and action to prevent them, interventions based on policies for stress management and flexible working opportunities helped to improve service delivery in the organization. This is in line with Labour Government’s policy since 1997, based on “encouraging employment flexibility, protecting minimum employment standards in the workplace, promoting family-friendly policies at work, and supporting union recognition” (Marchington & Wilkinson 2005, p. 50). Besides legislation and the social chapters of the European Union, The Employment Act 2002 requires flexibility in working hours, and equal status for part-time and full-time employees. A research study conducted by de Jong & Hartog (2007) found that there were thirteen relevant leadership behaviours expected from managers, which impacts organisational culture. One of the crucial leadership roles is to influence employees’ innovative behaviour through deliberate actions aiming to stimulate idea generation and application, as well as by general, daily behaviour. Reciprocally, organisational culture impacts management’s roles of providing innovative role modelling, intellectual stimulation, stimulating knowledge diffusion, providing vision, consulting, delegating, support for innovation, organizing feedback, giving recognition, rewards, providing resources, task assignment and monitoring. The effect of culture on leadership roles is seen in the difference between the managerial role in western firms and that in eastern firms as in China. In the former, organisational culture is more structured and innovative, as seen earlier. In the latter, leadership is more consensus-oriented and transactional, not transformational. Managers use informal ways to circumvent conflicting governmental regulations; advance planning and appointments are rare, as managers constantly seek to fulfill their various obligations while at the same time making themselves available to meet the requirements of their higher authorities. Delegation is not possible since each employee expects the manager to resolve his problem personally (Ashkanasy et al, 2000). During the 1980s, the growth of highly successful Japanese companies was attributed to their corporate culture. The decreasing performance of these companies in recent years has shifted the approach away from the impact of corporate culture on leadership and organisational progress to other more rationalist concepts. However, the impact of corporate culture cannot be minimized, especially in the present time, when the effects of mutual interaction and sharing of knowledge are crucial to effectiveness. The increasingly international and multicultural society makes organisational culture issues highly relevant. Organisational culture creates “order, meaning, cohesion and orientation” (Alvesson 2002, p.13), thus making facilitating leadership functions. Conclusion This paper has highlighted the concept of organisational culture, the different types of corporate culture, their impact on the organisations, and their effects on the role of the manager. The existing organisational culture in real-life examples related to London Borough of Redbridge and Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council have been discussed. The manager’s roles as implementer and advocate respectively in the two organisations, for improving the existing organisational culture have been outlined. The evidence indicates that building a sound organisational culture is vital for the development of the company. Depending on the type of existing organisational culture and its positive and negative impacts on the growth of the company, the manager’s role has to adapt and meet the challenges, to ensure optimal organisational functioning. Bibliography Alvesson, M. (2002). Understanding organisational culture. The United Kingdom: Sage Publications. 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