Organisational Culture and How It Is Expressed within Organisations - Literature review Example

Organisational culture and how it is expressed within organisations Introduction Organisational culture is central to the overall performance of an organisation. Also, it is widely recognised that the leadership of an organisation plays an important role in not only developing the cultural values of an organisation but also maintaining the culture that has been developed in the course of time. Since this is so, it is important for organisations to maintain a strong sense of culture in their members. The purpose of this paper is twofold: one, to define what organisational culture is and two, to explain ways in which culture can be expressed within organizations. This is done in two parts; the first one gives different definitions of organizational culture together with different components that constitute the culture of an organisation while at the same time exploring different ways in which a cultural system is expressed within an organisational setting. In the second part, different typologies of organisational culture are explored. These form the basis of how members of an organisation express the culture of the organisation. Although there are many such typologies, the paper examines only a few common typologies which include the following: Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture model, the seven cultural dimensions model as developed by Trompenaar, the Goffee and Jones model of organizational culture and lastly, Schein’s three levels of organisational culture. The three elements of culture as proposed by Schein (artefacts, espoused values and underlying assumptions) are examined in light of how they are used to express the culture of organisations. Organisational culture: Definitions There have been many definitions of the term organisational culture. The basic tenet of these definitions is that they attempt to apply the definitions of culture from a historical and social perspective, to the corporate setting. For instance, Schein (2010, p. 13), defines organisational culture as a pattern of basic assumptions which have either been invented, discovered or developed by a group of individuals who are in the process of learning to cope with problems resulting from the need to cope with internal disintegration within the organisation and external adaptation needs. The pattern of basic assumptions is proven to be the best way to react to such problems after being tried and tested over time. As a result, it is taught to new members who are joining the organisation as the correct way to perceive, think and relate to problems of a similar nature (Adler & Gundersen, 2008, p. 66). On the other hand, Schneider (cited by Brinkman, 2001, p. 675), defined organisational culture as a system that has three basic tenets; one, values that lie deep within what an organisation offers in terms of rewards, supports and expects from its stakeholders; two, the norms that underpin the basic policies and procedures of an organisation and three, the meaning that the current group of employers hold together as the definition of values and norms of the organisation. Three important deductions about organisational culture can be made from these basic definitions. The first one is that organisational culture is a shared phenomenon (Brinkman, 2001, p. 676). This means that culture is developed by a group of individuals who share common phenomena and are defined by particular historical aspects of their existence. The second one is associated with the conception that culture exists in two levels: the visible and the invisible one. The visible level of culture entails different aspects such as common patterns of behaviour within the group, the social environment that defines the group and the spoken as well as the written language that members of the group employ in communicating with each other (Wilson, 2001, p. 358). On the other hand, aspects such as the values, goals and basic assumptions of an organisation comprise its visible level of culture. These aspects remain conscious in the group members as they give the group a common sense of identity, unity of purpose and a shared agenda (Wilson, 2001, p. 359). In organisations, this invisible aspect of culture may be evident in their mission statements, philosophies and general objectives (Adler & Gundersen, 2008, p. 66). The last aspect about organisational culture that can be deduced from these definitions is that culture is transferred to new members joining the organisation through a complex process of social interaction (Brinkman, 2001, p. 678). The cultural values of the organisation are transferred to new employees through informal social interactions as well as during formal induction and training programmes. The processes of cultural socialisation take into account the fact that the culture of the organisation itself experiences gradual changes over time. Such changes are as a result of internal turnover of employees, changes in the market environment in which the organisation operates and general societal changes (Ahlstrom & Bruton, 2009, p. 55). How culture is expressed within organisations It has already been stated that culture is dynamic and continuous (Brinkman 2001, p. 678). This means that the cultural values of an organisation are not static but rather keep on changing with changes that occur both within the organisation as well as in the social and environmental setting in which the organisation operates. All organisations have a culture of their own and this culture determines how they respond to external challenges, internal performance and cohesion. Also, there are different ways in which organisational culture is expressed within organisations. According to Schein (2010, p. 68), organisations have different cultural perspectives that characterise their entire operations (also known as corporate culture), or a set of values and assumptions that characterise particular subunits of the entire organisation (subcultures). It is observed that in order for organisations to attain efficiency and effectiveness in their operations, there is need for all the subcultures to be aligned with each other in three levels: design, operations and the executive function (Martin, 2002, p. 70). Although every organisation has different and unique cultural values, the way in which these values and assumptions are expressed follows particular patterns that can be categorised into different dimensions of organisational culture, a number of which are examined in the sections that follow. The first way in which organisational culture is expressed in organisations is based on Schein’s model of three levels of culture (Adler & Gundersen, 2008, p. 86). According to this model; organisational culture is expressed in three different levels: through values that are espoused in the organisation, through physical artefacts in the organisation and lastly, through underlying assumptions that exist within the organisation. Artefacts entail the most visible and tangible aspects of culture and include things like the jargon used in the organisation, the physical surroundings of the organisation, information technology systems, architecture and stories about past leaders of the organisation (Alvesson, 2012, p. 66). Also, organisational culture is expressed through the values that are espoused in the organisation. These include the strategic plan, goals and philosophies of the organisation (Ahlstrom & Bruton, 2009, p. 58). Lastly, organisational culture is expressed through the assumptions that are held by the members. It is observed that all members in an organisation develop unconscious beliefs and perceptions about the organisation (Alvesson, 2012, p. 69). These perceptions, though being able to change over time, remain an integral way in which the culture of the organisation is expressed. According to Goffee and Jones (cited by Luger, 2002, p. 54), organisations express their culture in four different ways. This model is based upon two basic concepts and how organisations respond to them in managing their internal needs for cohesion, approach to work and communication as well as how they manage problems from outside (Luger, 2002, p. 55). Organisations base their cultures on two concepts as follows: one, sociability, which is the tendency for members of an organisation to be friendly with each other; and solidarity, which is the measure to which members of an organisation are like-minded and show mutual interest in handling specific tasks (Luger, 2002, p. 59). According to this typology, there are four types of organisational culture: fragmented, mercenary, communal and networked. These types form the different ways in which culture is expressed in organisations. For instance, in organisations which practice the fragmented type of culture, members exhibit low levels of both sociability and solidarity in their interactions with each other. This is in contrast with communal organisations in which members are highly social and exhibit high solidarity in their interaction with each other (Parker, 2000, p. 191). Also, organisations which have a networked type of culture exhibit a high degree of sociability between its members, which contrasts with low levels of solidarity in pursuing specific goals of the organisation. This type of culture is the opposite of the mercenary type of culture which is characterised by low sociability and high solidarity between the members of an organisation (Ahlstrom & Bruton, 2009, p. 68). Another typology of ways in which organisations express their culture in their operations was developed by Hofstede (2001). Hofstede identified five dimensions of culture as follows: avoidance of uncertainty, power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity and lastly, long-term versus short-term orientation (Hofstede, 2001, p. 31). According to Gutterman (2009, p. 3), this typology differentiates between six different types of cultures in organisations. The first type is the process oriented versus result oriented type of organisational culture. Whereas organisations that have a process-oriented type of culture lay much emphasis on elaborate technical and bureaucratic routines in their operations, result-oriented organisations lay much emphasis on achieving particular goals and results without emphasising on particular processes used to achieve them (Alvesson, 2012, p. 62). As well, organisations may adopt a culture that is either job-oriented or employee-oriented. Job-oriented organisations focus on the performance of the employees in their responsibilities while employee-oriented organisations seek to address all the needs of employees beyond their professional responsibilities (Gutterman, 2009, p. 4). Special emphasis is laid on helping the employees achieve general wellbeing that is beyond their performance at work (Alvesson, 2012, p. 68). The third type of organisational culture under this typology is based on the methods and styles that are employed within the organisation when admitting and integrating new members into the organisation. Organisations may either have open or closed systems of communication with new members (Gutterman, 2009, p. 3). Further, it is observed that organisational culture may exhibit either tight or loose control systems in its members. Whereas tight control organisations lay much emphasis on the need to adhere to formality, punctuality and well-established practices within the organisation, loosely controlled organisations depend much on the flexibility and individual preferences of the members in carrying out their responsibilities (Alvesson, 2012, p. 72). Another typology of organisational culture was developed by Cameron and Quinn (2011, n.pag), and categorises organisational cultures based on structural parameters such as stability, flexibility, internal orientation and external orientation. According to Schein (2010, p. 168), this typology is based on the theoretical idea that the poles of the different dimensions are at conflict with each other and that it is, therefore, the role of the culture of the organisation to reconcile them. Four dimensions of organisational culture are identified in this model as follows. The first one is the hierarchy type of organisational culture in which the organisations focus much on their internal processes, are stable, highly structured and well coordinated. The second type of organisational culture is the clan type in which organisations have internal focus and are flexible in their approach to operations. Also, members in organisations that exhibit this type of organisational culture are collaborative in their interactions and show a high degree of friendliness and family-like atmosphere within the organisation. The third type of organisational culture is the market dimension, in which organisations are much focused on the external environment, are highly stable, competitive and inclined on achieving results (Cameron & Quinn 2011, n.pag). Lastly, organisations may express their culture through an adhocracy dimension which entails focusing on the external environment and having a high degree of flexibility, innovation and dependence on the entrepreneurial process (Martin, 2002, p. 54). This typology categorises the way organisations express their culture by basing on their structural approaches to stability, flexibility, focus on internal processes and to what extent emphasis is laid on competition and the need to achieve performance results (Cameron & Quinn, 2011, n.pag). Another typology that depicts how organisational culture is expressed within organisations is the seven dimensions of culture model (Gutterman, 2009, p. 8). This typology was developed by Fons Trompenaar who, expanding on Hofstede’s five dimensions model, developed five dimensions which differentiate different cultural organisations as follows: individualism versus collectivism, universalism versus particularism, time orientation, specific versus diffuse, neutral versus affective, achievement versus ascription and lastly, the relationship to nature (Ahlstrom & Bruton, 2009, p. 56). In essence, universalism versus particularism differentiates social groups (in this case organisations) based on how they value rules and laws as opposed to relationships between individuals. In an organisation where universalism is practised, rules, codes, values and procedures are taken to be more important than interpersonal relationships (Martin, 2002, p. 66). Such rules and regulations determine the conduct of business, management of human resources, and are used to determine what is right in all the operations of the organisation (Parker, 2000, p. 188). More so, organisational cultures may take the dimension of being either individualistic or collectivistic (depending on the relative importance placed on individual and group interests); achievement as opposed to ascription (which distinguishes cultural societies depending on whether they base the distribution of status and authority on one’s history of achievement or on the social position of individuals); internal versus external focus (which differentiates between organisations that are focused on living in harmony with the external environment from those that are focused on changing the environment in which they operate) and finally, specific versus diffuse cultural dimension which differentiates organisations based on how members separate their personal lives from professional responsibilities when interacting with each other within the organisation (Parker, 2000, p. 190). Further, this model differentiates organisational cultures based on how they interact with the progression of time in their operations (Adler & Gundersen 2008, p. 68). Whereas synchronous organisations take the approach of tackling many tasks at the same time, sequential organisations prefer to tackle one assignment at a time. Also, according to Parker (2000, p. 191), organisations may either lay much emphasis on the past (seeking to replicate past successes), concentrate on the present (focusing on accomplishing the tasks at hand) or be future-oriented (seeking future potentials and exploiting the present situation for future advantage). Conclusion This assignment has examined the definition of organisational culture and how organisations can express culture in their operations. From the discussion, several issues can be concluded. Based the definition of organisational culture, it can be concluded that the term encompasses three basic elements. One is that culture entails both visible aspects (such as behavioural practices, the social environment and the language), as well as the invisible aspects (values, assumptions and goals). Two, organisational culture is transferred to new members through two key processes: informal social interaction and formal orientation programmes. Lastly, it can be seen that the culture of an organisation is not static but rather experiences progressive changes in the course of time which corresponds with internal changes in the organisation and wider social changes in the environment in which the organisation operates. Further, different organisations express their cultural values and assumptions in different ways. These are outlined in different typologies of cultural dimensions that have been developed to show how members of an organisation express both the subculture and corporate culture of the organisation in their interaction with each other within the organisation. For instance, the Goffee and Jones model differentiates organisations based on their level of sociability and solidarity. As well, Trompenaar’s model identifies seven dimensions of organisational culture as time orientation, level of flexibility, how members separate their personal lives from professional responsibilities, among other factors. Lastly, Hofstede’s model categorises organisational culture based on dimensions such as power distance, long-term versus short-term orientation, individualism versus collectivism, avoidance of uncertainty and whether members of an organisation take a masculine or feminine approach in their interactions. References Adler, N. J. & Gundersen, A. (2008). International dimensions of organizational behaviour. Mason: Thomson South-Western. Ahlstrom, D. & Bruton, G. D. (2009). International management: Strategy and culture in the emerging world. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning. Alvesson, M. (2012). Understanding organizational culture. 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Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. Wilson, A. M. (2001). Understanding organizational culture and the implications for corporate marketing. European Journal for Marketing, 35 (3/4): 353 – 367. Read More