The Role of Culture in an Organization - Coursework Example

Student’s Name: Course Code: Lecture’s Name: Date of presentation How culture is expressed in your organization Researchers dealing with organizational culture have been debating on the meaning and impact of organization culture; however a concrete relationship between the culture and performance in an organization has not been fully understood. (Judge, 2006), concludes that according to convectional knowledge it is expected that a strong organizational culture that aligns all members in an organization with the inherent objectives should automatically boost performance. However, according to (Chatman & J, 2012), a more recent point of view is that since strong organizational culture are related to the wider adherence to both behavioral routines and uniformity, they tend to be less effective than firms with weaker organizational culture when it comes to dynamic environments. However (Moon, 2012), notes that the two assumptions fail to identify that fact that culture encompasses three dimensions: the intensity (how strong they are up-held in the company), the content (i.e. teamwork, integrity), and consensus (how widely the members of the organization agree with the values and norms upheld by the culture). It is prudent to hypothesize that higher performance can be realized in dynamic situations if the values and norms enshrined in the culture are intensely held and widely believed in by all the members in an organization. The main aim of this paper is to highlight the role of culture in an organization and its way of manifestation within an organization, for its management, employees and the partners and competitors. Organization culture is no double the most fashionable part of management, with quite a recent history. The main aim of this paper is to sensitize the readers on the significance of organizational culture for the benefit and success of a business enterprise, as well as elaborating the various roles of its components in a business entity wholly and for its main stakeholders. Diversity involves all the characteristics and experiences that help to define a person. There is a misconception on what cultural diversity entails. Diversity can include among other things race, ethnicity, age gender, religion, sexual orientation and disability. An ideal workplace show aim at creating an inclusive diversity of culture that respects and values the talents inherent within all employees. In order to foster and enhance the development of more diverse organizational cultures, most companies are providing training programs intended to valuing diversity. In order for a company to progress effectively in a community that is diverse ethically and culturally; it is imperative that the management needs to understand each ethnic and racial grouping in that organization. Introduction Organization culture imparts employees directly making them to behave according to according to certain principles and values particular to the company and to comprehend what is good, bad and ugly about it. Organizational culture refers to a set of either written or unwritten concepts, rules, ways of thinking that internally distinguish an organization from another and are manifested in all interactions with both internal and external environment. It is basically a set of rules, beliefs and traditions common to all members of a particular group. The organization culture is shaped by the culture of its members. Therefore an organization is basically defined according to the structure of the particular members involved. Review of the Literature This section looks at the literature concerning culture in an organization. It discusses a number of definitions, about culture and subcultures with a given organizational culture. The section also explores the various cultural dimensions of culture, as well as case study on cultural strength, effectiveness, leadership, and congruence. It also points out the apparent gaps that exist in a particular organizational culture. Organizations do not exist alone in a vacuum, but rather are founded in specific socio- cultural environment and hence the culture (Flynn, 2001). This culture basically explains the natural social order of coexistence. According to (Abe, H., & Wiseman, R. (1983), culture refers to a set of shared values and norms of a societal system which are key aspects of a society. In this essay culture is conceptualized as a combination of norms, values, attitudes and general view of the world; its expression, perception and utility by a group of individuals to distinguish and diversify them from other people. According to (Ravasi, 2006), organizational culture refers to a set of beliefs and norms that impact the manner in which members in a given organizational set up exhibit, feel and behave. It is created by means if rites and rituals practiced regularly over duration of time and also through communication networks. The underlying symbols of organization culture include beliefs, core values and shared assumption of every employee to wider cause for the mutual benefit of all. An organization culture involves outcomes that the organization hopes to achieve, i.e. terminal values and the behavioral modes encouraged in the quest to achieve the values, i.e. instrumental values. Case Study This paper discusses how culture is expressed in Southern Engineering Company; a construction and ship building company in South Africa. The company is an international firm consisting of employees from Europe, Asia, India and Africa. Nationally, Southern Engineering workforce cuts across all the regions of South Africa. The diverse workforce has positioned the company in a good position to tap into the minority markets that most international firms would find hard unattainable. Employees people from across the world with different cultures, educational background, origins making it possible for them to be relevant in all caliber of customers. By walking through the company Yard, you will not fail to take note of the differences in general employees of the company; a variety of staff with dissimilarities in gender, ethnicity race, age and even personality. The diversity manifested here translates into a cultural diversity. An organizations success, accomplishment and competitiveness are squarely dependent upon its capacity to embrace the diverse to realize utmost benefits. These benefits include high employees esteem and morale, market competitiveness, increased employee retention and a potential for reduced claims for discrimination. Managing employee diversity is one of the trickiest parts of management in a company. Although most organization is founded on a platform of equality and respect for all ideologies, it is still necessary to manage employee diversity in the workplace and within the workforce in order to fully address effectively all the diverse races, ethnic groups and age groups. This principle serves as a guide to the top management, potential managers and all employees at large. It is important to note that at any single instance, a typical workforce with be made up of diverse population of people which stretches beyond age and gender. Improved Customers Relations Customers are the key drivers of any business. It is understandable that customers will be more loyal and free in dealing with a company that understands their individual values and needs. It is in line with this understanding that Southern engineering has engaged the services of diverse workforce that makes any potential customer to feel comfortable when communicating various points of view, through the generation of larger pool of ideas, experiences and concepts to focus on when focusing at business strategies that effectively meet customer’s needs and aspirations. The cultural diversity has helped the company to understand the clients from various backgrounds. For instance; although not from the rule of the thumb, it is common for a client to be assigned a project coordinator who closely shares cultural background with him. Through effective diversity training, Southern Engineering has been able to eradicate and cultural profiling or customer stereotyping and instead thinking openly about customer needs. The management of Southern Engineering is on the forefront in embracing cultural diversity and has offered opportunity for foreigners to train on issues that are geared towards acceptance of strategic business alterations thus increasing profitability. In most situation and especially dealing with the local population, Southern Engineering is striving to develop a diverse workforce in which individual employee differences are not only accepted by rather valued. Understanding Diversity Southern Engineering has recognized and understood the diversity of the employees and other stakeholders thus trying in all times to avoid situations that could generate discrimination claims. For instance since there are different religions represented within the workforce, the company has set aside different times and day offs to various religious groupings. For instance all Muslims are allowed to attend their prayers on Fridays. Christians are usually off-duty during Sundays. This also applies to religious holidays such as Idd-ul-Fitri, Christmas, and Diwali cerebrations. This has gone a long way in minimizing any discomfort and exposure to claims of religious discriminations. This accommodation of individual differences has been designed also to minimize potential hardship to the company thus effectively lessening discomfort as a result of discrimination utterances, thus improving employee morale and retention. Employee Retention Unlike decades ago, the face of modern workplace is transforming. Southern Engineering has not been left behind; within its nominal roll, more employees and minorities are now becoming part of the workforce. It evident now concerning employee retention, the more diverse the personnel is, the more diverse the preferences in form of benefits, job flexibility, working conditions etc. The company has actively educated the employees on the importance of respecting and understanding each other’s individuals’ differences and has also offer a variety of incentives and benefits that has attracted as well as retained a wide range of staff thus creating a workforce where individuals work together in more productive manner. Minority groups and women ratio has been rising day by day. By making effort that entices a wide range of qualified applicants, Southern Engineering has actively created a highly diverse and varied group of personnel. Providing employee training on the manner of respecting individuals diversity, and offering tools for working amicably, has make the company to be an environment where workers feel treasured and through cooperation move to the ahead. With these incentives through organization- wide strategies, the company has realized increased productivity, return on investment, and higher profit margins on investment. It is now clear that as employees feel valued, they grow committed to their employers and this motivates them to perform better in their respective assignments. Managing Organization Culture for Effective Communication When a company cultural diversity is well managed, effective communication is promoted. This in turn makes it possible for the company’s goals and objectives to be realized. Southern Engineering has realized that the organizational goals and objectives are driving force of the culture- propelling the whole organization towards a definite direction. In the company, the top managers and directors have been obligated with tasks that involve interacting with the external environment. It is through this that they come up with ideas and concepts that enrich the organizational culture as well as pruning down some backward behaviors for better productive beliefs and values (Cameron, 1991). Effective Communication Documents and document control According to the objectives of Southern Engineering, record management necessitates ta system that is efficient to take control over the creation, use and disposal. This includes the ability to capture the indication and maintain integral documents for the purpose of future project transactions. The management is therefore responsible of all the project document custody through system control and monitoring. Alldocuments are created as per the company policies which mean that the top management and all employees regardless of their cultural background are involved in passing the final draft. Document review for the project is carried out if the period corresponding with the yearly review. Obsolete documents are replaced with the reviewed documents and the adjustments communicated to the parties that are affiliated to the project development. These documents are declared as obsolete and destroyed or eliminated from the usable lot and serials. All the documents shall contain a title, the purpose, signatories, content, performance criterion, references, guidance notes and further assistance. The basis of the new documents shall be based on the requirements of the new site and the work place. Approval of documents shall be done once all the procedures have been released for publishing. The custodians usually store the documents in a manner that is orderly and retrievable for reference purposes. Meetings Procedure The chairmen of departments are usually mandated to convene and chair meetings on behalf of the administration. The meetings are started on time and organize for any introductions to be carried out prior to welcoming the members. The project manager shall also read the apologies on behalf of the absentees as appropriately advised. The house keeping details such as site facilities usage and time keeping shall be a mandatory preamble of the meeting. Communication and Information Control Oral and printed information are part of the corporate strategy to maintain a good relationship among employees as well as client relation. As such the company management uses the right modes and channels to pass information concerning the daily site undertakings in accordance to the data protection and freedom of information legislations. The project manager shall be the only site member to communicate to any person interested in the work done whether on grounds of autonomy or collective representation. Other information such as marketing communication is usually made available in the main company offices and the online media. Communication among the company members usually follows the basic procedure which involves accurate use of terminology, correction in cases where information collected is counterchecked for correct details and service description. The approval on items to be communicated is usually carried out by the top management of the company whose decision is final based on the previous stages. For the purpose of internal communication, controlled memoranda and letters shall be used to pass information. Benefits of Promoting Cultural diversity Southern Engineering has realized the better business results gained from the diversification of cultural differences within the workforce. The management has started to feel that there is an extended influence, since diversity in the workforce begets diversity within the market place. Some of the negative effects of cultural intolerance include lower integration among the employees and hence increased level of dissatisfaction. This higher level of dissatisfaction ultimately leads to miscommunication. Also, negative diverse environments can be connected to increased employee turn-over, regular absenteeism, reduced quality of performance, and high rates of conflicts (Chatman J. A., 2010) Benefits of Embracing Diversity Although there are situation where adoption of principles that recognize diversity have led to some negative backlash, evidence over the years within the company circles have shown that as a result of the management and the company as a whole embracing diversity, there has been more creativity and innovation with minimal conflicts and employee turnover. The departments have shown remarkable range of perspectives, which has promoted optimum quality solutions in earlier days when diversity was not entertained. The same department have transformed into constructive groups and are now positively associated with the success of the company as a business entity. This has ultimately increased market share, more clients, increased revenue sales and higher profits. The management of southern Engineering has realized how diversity is sensitive to its core business. As it strives to assume a global look, it has recognized that as a business imperative, cultural diversity is critical for the continued success of the company. There is now a general thrust among the stakeholders to respect, recognize and appreciate the individual diversity within the staff, clients, suppliers and partners. Diversity within the company is now about mutual respect, inclusiveness and doing good deeds to all. This has enabled the company to create teams stronger with the influence of personal differences. The company also has been pushed this far over the years by the lawsuits that has over the years been lodged against the company on matters alleging racial and gender discriminations. This has been quite often resolved out of court with the company being forced to part with millions of dollars to save face. Some of the key activities that the company has engaged in include: Becoming sponsors at local community events and activities that promote the welfare and health of the surrounding community. This has helped the company to be accepted by the locals as they now get some mutual benefits. The company has also distributed a list of major religious events and holidays that people from different cultures observe. These include most of Muslim, Christian observes. In some cases the company has engaged the services of a third party diversity consultants in helping them understand the body language of people from different cultures that they engage with, For instance, they once employed a Japanese translator when they were in joint venture with a Japanese Consortium firm dealing with piling and offshore fiber cable laying projects. Every year the human resource department conducts employee survey to monitor and assess the outcomes of the company’s commitments to cultural diversity. This is done in a friendly atmosphere so that the employees can willingly issue their sentiments regarding their reaction on the efforts done by the company. As part of new recruits’ induction, the company has established departmental employee mentoring groups. These groups assist the new employees to understand the organization culture and operations. The mentoring groups are also responsible for organizing events and activities within the company and surrounding community aiming at bonding the different people from diverse cultural backgrounds. In Southern engineering, there are cases where organization culture adopted fails significantly in meeting the expected performance. For instance the project coordinators hold regular meetings with the clients without involved the heads of department in the various floor departments. In such meeting, unrealistic targets are set without consultation thus leading to unnecessary conflicts. According to (Moon, 2012), there is an approach to production job called “the way things are done”. This is situation where the management emphasizes only on doing the job without minding how well it is executed or whether customer is is getting the value of his money. This is the case sometimes in Southern Engineering especially when a complex job has been poorly assessed leading to possible delays. A typical business practice in any organization is performance review and appraisal is done on an annual basis. This can either be done formally or informally depending on the position held by the candidate. In this organization there is no proper and consistent procedure and practice. It often depends on the individual terms of employment for instance contract and permanent terms. Most of the people lack formal employment job descriptions, and in some areas there are some workers who do not understand who they are supposed to report to. References Abe, H., & Wiseman, R. (1983). A cross-cultural confirmation of the dimensions of intercultural effectiveness. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 7, 53-67 Cameron, K. &. (1991). Culture, congruence, strength, and type: Relationship to effectiveness. Research in Organizational Change and Development . Chatman, & J. (2012). Organizational Culture And Performance In High-Technology Firms: The Effects Of Culture Content And Strength. University of California, Berkeley . Chatman, J. A. (2010). Norms in mixed race and mixed sex work groups. Academy of Management Annals . Flynn, F. J. (2001). Strong cultures and innovation: Oxymoron or opportunity? . International handbook of organizational culture and climate . Judge, T. A. (2006). Applicant personality, organizational culture, and organization attraction Personnel Psychology. Personnel Psychology . Moon, H. Q. (2012). How interpersonal motives explain the influence of organizational culture on organizational productivity, creativity and adaptation. Organizational Psychology Review . Ravasi, D. &. (2006). Responding to organizational identity threats: Exploring the role of organizational culture. Read More