How Culture Can Be Expressed within an Organization - Coursework Example

Organizational culture Name Date Course Organizational Culture Introduction An organization is a continuously coordinated social entity that functions continuously for the purposes of achieving targeted goals. Culture, on the other hand, is a way of life for a group of people and it is composed of behaviors, beliefs, values and symbols that are generally accepted and passed from one generation to the other. Each organization therefore has its own unique culture that it can be identified with. Organizational culture can therefore be defined as the behavior of humans within an organization and the meaning that the people in the organization attach to those behaviors (Quinn, 2011). The organizational culture involves aspects like visions, mission, values, norms, symbols, beliefs and habits within the organization. The organizational culture plays an important role in influencing the way people within the organization interacts with each other. This includes the interaction with the stakeholders, clients and the employees. The identification of the employees is closely associated with the organizational culture. Each of the organization is usually composed of its own unique culture that is useful in terms of ensuring that the organization is able to meet its own goals and objectives. Different layers of cultures are also present within an organization and this plays an essential role in ensuring that the values of the organization are upheld by its members. It is also important to note that the organizational culture can be altered or manipulated depending on the leadership or members. This means that the organizational culture is not fixed. The paper thus discusses the concepts of organizational culture and how it can be expressed within an organization. How culture can be expressed within an organization The culture within an organization is not static and it can be expressed through various ways in response to the organizational needs. The culture within the organization can be expressed through the mission. This involves the strategic goals that the organization is taking in order to meet its goals and objectives. The strategic direction of an organization is also important in terms of expressing the culture of an organization. This means that the culture of the organization can be expressed through its mission statement. The expression of the culture through the mission of the organization can be described further through the use of Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner theory. According to this theory, seven indicators can be used for the purposes of expressing the culture within an organization (Alvesson, 2012). The rule within the organization can be used to express the organizational culture according to this theory. The rules are also for the purposes of supporting the mission of the organization. In some cultures, the rules are more important than the obligations while in some organizations it is the opposite. The organizational culture can also be described in terms of communitarianism or individualism. This means that the organization culture may encourage the people to work individually or as a group within the organization. The culture of an organization can also be expressed in terms of the leadership according to this theory. The leaders may be allowed to express emotions or to be neutral in terms of crisis. This is also dependant on the mission of the organization. The organizational culture can also be expressed through trust that the organization has on the individuals in terms of ensuring that they are able to achieve the mission of the organization. The business relationship in such organizations may be non-personal. This means that the organization may not have strict rules and policies to guide its operations. The organizational culture can also be expressed through the achievements of the organization in terms of its goals and objectives. This may also involve the achievements of the leaders within an organization. It is thus possible to determine the organizational culture of such organization through its achievements. The attitude of an organization towards time is also important in terms of expressing the culture of an organization. This is usually achieved through linking the past to the present in terms of the organizational achievements of its goals and objectives (Kinicki, 2011). The strategic direction of the organization can also be determined through analyzing its past to predict the future. The attitude to the environment is also a concept that can be used to express the culture of the organization. This involves how the concepts of control of nature are carried out within the organization. The expression of the culture of the organization is thus important in terms of creating an identity of an organization. The concepts of Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner are thus useful in terms of establishing how the culture of an organization is expressed in terms of its mission. Consistency can also be used in terms of expressing the organizational culture. Consistency mainly involves the core values of the organization. This also determines how agreements and coordination of activities is carried out within the organization. The theory of Geert Hofstedes is important in terms of establishing the expression of organizational culture through the organizational values. The use of individualism and collectivism can be used to express the organizational cultures. Individualism is common is common in some organizations while collectivism is encouraged in terms of groupwork within the organization. Uncertainty avoidance is also an important concept of the theory. Some of the organizational cultures tolerate the unconventional behaviors and risks. Other organizations do not tolerate uncertainties and puts in place measures to predict the future and hence avoiding the uncertainties. The culture of an organization can therefore be expressed in terms of how it deals with uncertainty. Most of the organizations that are based in Japan usually put in place measures to predict the future in order to avoid uncertainties (Cook, 2011). Uncertainty therefore determines how the coordination of the activities is carried out. The uncertainty avoidance is also important for organizations in terms of avoiding losses. The risk mechanism that has been put in place by an organization is mainly aimed at ensuring that the uncertainty is avoided and hence impacting positively on the prevention of losses. Uncertainty avoidance is thus useful in terms of influencing the core values within an organization and it is also useful in expressing the culture within an organization. According to the theory of Greet Hofstedes, power distance is also an important concept that is used to express the culture within an organization. This is considering that the people within an organization have different positions which determine their powers. High power distance mainly involves the authority related to different hierarchies. In the low power distance, the employees may not readily accept the power hierarchy. Masculinity and feminity also plays an important role in determining how the culture of an organization is expressed (Nica, 2013). Some of the organizations do not treat the male and female employees equally. This may involve the men being given higher positions in the organization. On the other hand, women may be given higher positions in the organizations. This expression of organizational culture determines how the organization treats its members in terms of gender. It is also important to note that the issues of masculinity and feminism have always been of contention in most of the organizations. Most of the organizations in African and Asian Countries prefer giving the men higher positions as compared to the women (McLean, 2010). The long term and short term investments is also important in terms of expressing the organizational culture. Some of the organizations demand immediate returns while others do not. The focus of the organization in terms of its long term or short term demands is useful in expressing the organizational culture. The theory of Geert Hofstedes is thus important in establishing how the values are expressed in the organizations in relation to its culture. Involvement is an important concept that is useful in terms of expressing the organizational culture. The concepts of involvement include the empowerment, team orientation and capability development. This is for the purposes of ensuring that the organization is efficient in its operations. The theory of Goffee and Jones play an important role in terms of expressing the organizational culture. Sociability is an important concept of the theory and it is also useful in explaining the expression of culture in terms of involvement. Sociability is mainly the measure of friendliness among the members of the organization (Lukas, 2013). The level of friendliness of the staff members varies within different organizations and it is important in expressing the organizational culture. Solidarity is also an important concept of organizational culture according to the theory of Goffee and Jones. Solidarity mainly involves the relationship between the members in the organization. This also involves common tasks, mutual interest and an understanding of the shared interests. Solidarity also influences the involvement of the members and hence influencing the involvement of the members within the organization. Solidarity also plays an important role in ensuring that the members assist each other in terms of carrying out different tasks within the organization. On the other hand, it is also important to note that solidarity enables the knowledge sharing process. Both sociability and solidarity are thus important in expression the culture of an organization. The interaction between sociability and solidarity is also important in determining the organizational culture. A networked culture is usually expressed when there is a high sociability and a low level of solidarity. This usually involves a high level of friendliness among the members of the organization and a low level of teamwork. A fragmented culture on the other hand is expressed when the level of solidarity and sociability is low. This means that the members of the organization have a hostile attitude and the level of teamwork is also low. This is usually expressed in some of the security organizations in developing countries (Iivari, 2011). This is usually impacts negatively on the trust of the people towards the organization. High levels of sociability and solidarity results to a communal culture. This has a positive impact on the public image of the organization as well as the working relationship between the members of the organization. The chances of success for such organizations are usually high. Low levels of sociability and high levels of solidarity also results to a mercenary culture. The organizations that express a mercenary culture always have a negative public image. This may also include the security forces in some countries (Lam, 2012). This culture may also lead to dictatorship and mistrusts. It is thus important to note that the expression of the organizational culture is important in determining the public image of the organization. Solidarity and scalability are thus important to an organization when it comes to the expression of the organizational culture. Different organizational cultures can also emerge as a result of solidarity and sociability. Adaptability is also an important concept that can be used in terms of expressing an organizational culture. Adaptability involves creating change, customer focus and organizational learning. This is considering that the organizational culture is subject to change from time to time depending on the leadership and members. The theory of Schein’s three levels of culture is important in terms of establishing the expression of organizational culture. According to this theory, the artifacts within the organization play an essential role in terms of expressing the organizational culture (Schein, 2010). The artifacts include the organizational structure, office landscape, information technology infrastructure and leadership within organizations. The expression of the organizational culture in terms of the artifacts is usually common in most of the organizations that unique. Through the use of the artifacts, it is easy to establish an identity of an organization. Some religious organizations have unique artifacts which makes it easy to identify them. The expression of the organizational culture is thus important in terms of creating an identity and uniqueness. The theory also highlights that the espoused values are important in terms of expressing the organizational culture. The espoused values within an organization involve the plans and the goals of the organization. The espoused values are important for the organizations and this has positive impacts on the ability of the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. The theory of Schein’s three levels is important in describing the expression of organizational culture. The underlying assumptions are also important in terms of expressing the organizational culture according to Schein’s three level theory. This includes the perceptions of the people towards the culture within an organization. It is also important to note that the culture of an organization may not be discussed or questioned over a period of time. It is for this reason that creating change may be important in terms of ensuring that the organization is able to meet its demands over a period of time. It is also important to note that the expression of the organizational culture affects other core areas of the organization like the human resources department. The expression of the organizational culture is important in determining how the attractive the organization is in terms of employability (Linnenluecke, 2010). Organizations that express a good organization culture are usually on high demand when it comes to employment. It is also important to note that the organization culture may focus on the customers for the purposes of ensuring that it meets the demands of the customers. This is usually common in the organizations that are in business and they intend to attract more customers. The focus on customers plays an important role in terms of increasing the efficiency of the organization. The organizational culture that is friendly also plays an important role in encouraging the employees to give their best. The culture of an organization may also change from time to time. This is because the leadership within the organization may change and hence giving rise to new demands. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that different methods are used to express culture within an organization. The mission of the organization can be used for the purposes of expressing its culture. This is also supported by the Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner theory. It is also evident that the consistency which involves the core values of the organization can be used for the purposes of expressing the culture of the organization. The theory of Greete Hofstedes highlights five ways in which the organizational culture is expressed. The theory also highlights important issues that determine the efficiency of the organization. It is also evident that the theory of Goffee and Jones plays an important roe in highlighting how the organizations express their cultures. Some of the organizations are actively involved in sociability and solidarity. This plays an important role in determining the culture of the organization and the perception by the people. The theory of Schein’s three levels of culture is important in explaining the concepts of organizational culture. It outlines some of the physical aspects of the organizations that can be compared with certain organizations. It is also evident that the expression of organizational culture affects the ability of the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. The public image of the company is also influenced by the organizational culture. It is also possible to determine the efficiency of an organization in terms of the culture expressed. References Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons. Quinn, R. E. (2011). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. John Wiley & Sons. Alvesson, M. (2012). Understanding organizational culture. Sage. Kinicki, A. (2011). 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The relationship between organizational culture and the deployment of agile methods. Information and Software Technology, 53(5), 509-520. Nica, E. (2013). Organizational Culture in the Public Sector. Economics, Management, and Financial Markets, (2), 179-184. Read More