How Culture Can Be Expressed in an Organization - Coursework Example

Running Head: Organizational Culture Organizational Culture Customer’s name: Institution: Customer’s Course Tutor’s Name 15th August, 2014 Introduction The main aim of this paper is to explain what organizational culture is and the ways that it is expressed within an organization. Organizational culture is currently seen as being among the trendy areas of management with a relatively recent history. This essay will act as a guide to scholars in defining organizational culture and in understanding the role it plays in the success of an organization. In practical terms, the heightened interest in studying organizational culture dates, but to a number of years, and this interest were greatly sparked by the performance of Japanese companies since their performance was better explained by the culture that was being applied in the organization. Though the concept of organizational culture is of interest to both local and international academics, it lacks practical implementation due to lack of adequate research on company level. Organizational culture Organizational culture is a term that is widely used, but which has also given rise to a lot of ambiguity. According to Watson 2006, the concept of culture was originally derived from an allegory of the organization being something that is being cultivated on. For a number of decades, most scholars who study organizations suggest that, the concept of culture as being the practices and climate that organizations are able to develop; and mostly when it comes to issues related to handling people, or the statement of beliefs as well as the values of a particular organization (Schein, 2004). Therefore, culture offers organizations with a sense of identity and determines, through the organizational beliefs, legends, rituals, norms, values, language and meaning, the manner in which things are done in the organization. Therefore, an organizational culture summarizes what an organization has been good at and what has seemed to be productive in the past. There is no proper, correct or standard organizational culture. The culture of an organization is usually derived from an organization’s history and for it to be considered healthy; it must make sure that the organizational mission is achieved. Based on the fact that, the external environment plays a leading and an important role in the failure and success of an organization, its culture need to be compatible so as to allow the organization to adapt and relate to its surrounding community. The stronger the culture of an organization, the more integrated the values and beliefs are within the organization (Zhang, 2009). In instances when culture seems to have a great number of values which are not clear, or have chaotic rituals, then, the culture of that organization can be termed as weak and it is more likely that the organization will be in great trouble. An organization having a weak culture is one that is inwardly focused, short sighted, suffers from low morale and is divided. For organizations with stronger cultures, they find it easier to remain united and steady even in trying periods. While aspects such as organizational workflow, structure, and mission can be easily understood, identified and studied, the concept of organizational culture usually falls out the coherent sphere of organizational study. How culture can be expressed in an organization Organizational culture is usually derived from aspects in the external environment, an organization’s day to day activity and also from the history of the organization. Organizational culture is more often than not taught. It starts in the hiring process and later carried to other areas such as in the training workshops, employee stories, HR programs and also in organizational ceremonies. Organizations usually express their organizational culture in various ways, such as symbols, rites and rituals, sagas, myths stories and so through norms and values (Zhang, 2009). Expression of organizational culture through rites and rituals Rituals and rites are regularly seen as integral parts of each organization’s culture. Rituals usually contribute a lot to how the organization operates, but in a way it also has some symbolic function which symbolizes the values of a particular organization. The rites and rituals are of great importance since they in a way reinforce certain values of the organization, for example, through the active participation by employees and other members of the organization. Rituals are generally pre-planned and are usually varied socially, formally and have both latent and manifest purposes. While the manifest purpose of the rites and rituals contributes a lot to how the organizations work, it plays a great role in assisting the organization in achieving its stated mission and also in the accomplishment of its daily tasks (McGuire, 2003). The latent purpose on the other hand is where celebrations of the scared typically occur. In this manner, the rites and rituals create order and it can be used in instilling or adding new values to the already existing culture or an ultimate change to the organizational culture. The rites and rituals are commonly seen as being the best expression and most important artifact of an organizational culture. This is based on the fact that they tend to have a greater level of influence on the organizational culture when compared to other symbols and this is mainly based on the fact that the rites and rituals characteristically require the active participation of organizational members. Rites and rituals perpetuate and reinforce the acceptable culture norms and values and outline the role of the participants in the social structure. And in this way, the organization is maintained. The rites and rituals also create order within an organization since they take place at regular intervals, conform to certain procedures and practices and also draw upon the history of the organization (Parker, 2000). When members of an organization are united in a ritual, the rituals unite them emotionally and most of the energy is usually focused towards what is sacred for the organization that is; to the values and culture of the organizations. By doing so, the rites and rituals create a community within an organization. Through the community, order, meaning and inspirations brought about by the rites and ritual transformation is achieved (Boyle & Odonnell, 2008). Through the power associated with the rituals, non-members of a certain culture becomes members, conflict in an organization usually turns into peace and those who are habitually scared of change are able to embrace it fully. Symbols as an expression of organizational culture Scholars of organizational culture try to reveal the shared system meaning that creates organizational life and at the same time provide organizational structure and strength. When understanding the cultural system of a particular organization. People need to understand the interpretations, reactions as well as the actions of the members of the organization and how their thoughts, actions and feelings are typically shaped by the collectivity. A symbol seems to be integral part of an organization’s life (Dean, Ramirez, & Ottensmeyer, 1997). They ought not to be viewed as by products rather as elements that configure the members’ active construction of knowledge, sense as well as behavior. A symbol is also important, even for other organizational members who may be seen as being outsiders. It has been argued that, even when you are a customer or a visitor, you are a partial employee of an organization. Zhang (2009) further argues that, the notion of membership is a complex one and it has competing and overlapping dimensions. According to him, membership in an organization may be based on contractual relationships, temporal relationships, production relationship or also through cultural relationship. A symbol is termed as a thing that stands for a certain idea, for example, when a dove stands for peace (Chevalier & Cheerbrant, 1994). Organizational culture has been made as a system of shared experiences or meanings as well as interpretations that offers the members with an accepted or shared reality. The core idea of symbols is to reflect the underlying realities and values. Schein (1990) has identified a symbol as being the first layer of culture and it is comprised of certain observable artifacts that make up the sensory familiarity of a particular organization (Gagliardi, 1990). Symbols plays a great role in that, they enable us to aspire directly at culture since it reveals and represents that which is known but it is difficult to be communicated by the organizational members. A major association between culture and symbol are clearly evident in the use of toys as symbols in the workplace. Eva Bunker a web site developer was easily persuaded by a 3-foot toy blimp to take up a job opportunity at a startup company in Dallas as a substitute of joining an already established business (Aubrey, 1998). In this case, Eva read and the same time interpreted the toy blimp as being a symbol that will reflect the values of the organization. This symbol is said to have tipped the scale in making her employment decision. Thus, in a way, symbols to a large extent tell us more about an organization. As a main component of organizational culture, symbols offers a common meaning to the members of an organization when relating to some organizational element and this allows them to communicate and harmonize (Parker, 2000). Cultural symbols of organizations in a way convey a meaning that reflects the values and philosophies, beliefs, ideas as well as the shared expectations of the employees. For example, a symbol of an organization can be its name. The names of major competitive companies over time become symbols of what they are representing in the economy. For example Mercedes and Philips are top quality products in their respective categories. As the sensory, tangible feel experiences in an organization, the symbols act as a way of understanding the organizations which they reflect. Through the sensing of the symbols, we in a way feel as if we know the organization better. This may suggest a symbol usually acts as a bridge between the feeling and the thought in the organization. Symbols have also been said to spark feelings and work towards making the feeling objectively real and outwardly discussible. Because of the processes of aesthetic interpretation as well as sense making, the emotional experience that is sparked by the symbols, leads to a better and cognitive understanding of an organization (Dean, Ramirez, & Ottensmeyer, 1997; Gagliardi, 1990). Expression of organizational culture through stories, myths and sagas Myths, sagas and stories are among the most basic and most enduring aspects of the human culture. Sagas are crucial when it comes to the studying as well as understanding of organizational culture since they in a way allow a quick look into the history of a particular organization (Boyle & Odonnell, 2008). Sagas are termed as stories that blend both the heritage and history of a particular organization in the aim of explaining the beliefs and norms of the members of that organization. Sagas generally portray the humble beginning, the hardships and also the rising into prominence through the spirit of hard work and perseverance (McGuire, 2003). While sagas are typically attributed to a great number of benefits, they can also have negative aspects if so much emphasis is placed in the past and they can act as a hindering block to focusing on the future of the organization. Stories are also rich carriers of the organizational culture and it gives identify and meaning to the organization and also help with the orientation of new employees into the organization (Gerald & Driskill, 2005). Organizations have stories about the boss, stories related to getting fired, stories related to relocation of employees and also stories of employee who have moved from lower levels and have been promoted to the top positions, stories relating to how to tackle crisis within the organization. This helps the newer employees to associate well with the culture of the organization. Expression of organizational culture through norms and values Norms are termed as the behaviors and attitudes that are common to the members of a certain institution or organization. Values, on the other hand refer to a deeper level of culture that deals with the underlying beliefs. An organization that operates ethically can be seen as one that holds up on its organizational culture. Cultural symbols are used so as to portray certain views and at the same time promote a number of values as well as behavior within an organization. The norms and values play an important role in focusing the behavior, actions and the thinking of employees towards the crystallization of the typical and prevailing organizational behaviors (Gerald & Driskill, 2005). Culture expresses the manner in which the employees are seen and the behavior they need to adopt. Most people may support the notion that all the successful organization has similar cultures, but this is not true. The difference in organizational culture is typically due to aspects such as the founders, the national culture, size and age of organization, nature of work and the characteristic of human factors. These elements present an organization with certain values in addition to the perception of reality. In order to appreciate organizational culture, it seems important to view some successful companies and the core norms and values they promote (Black, 2003). For example, McDonald is a well renowned company all over the world. The company has over the years achieved a lot of success and this is based on the quality of food it offers. Also at McDonald nothing is generally left to chance from the equipment, employee behavior and the interior design. This acts as the operating manual of the employees, each of the employees has the skills of making hamburgers and they adhere to a certain dress code. The dress code and how to deal with customers acts as values that demonstrates their organizational culture. Conclusion Almost all organizations have their own unique culture or set of values and dissimilar organizations may have their own understanding of culture meaning. Mostly, the culture of an organization is usually created instinctively, and mostly based on the values of the founders of the organization or based on the values of the top management team. So as to achieve the benefits associated with a strong organizational culture, managers need to place more emphasis on organizational culture as well as its theme. Based on these, they will be able to use culture as a tool of gain competitive advantage over their competitors and mostly during organizational development. Also, a strong culture is usually associated with a number of advantages such as control, communication, cooperation and commitment. Based on the above discussion, it is clearly evident that organizations make good use of symbols, stories, myths, sagas and values and norms so as to express their organizational culture. Thus, organizational culture is therefore seen as a concept that is making room in modern day companies, but it seems that they have a lot to make up to since they have a certain mentality and a vision that has been built in a competitive and stable environment. More often than not, this view typically makes, the more proficient, through the people they select to fill certain positions in their organizations and also the values they adopt. In relation to this, organizational culture can make a noticeable difference between those companies that are successful and those that are struggling to survive. References Aubrey, R. (1998, July 7). Toy time: Child's playthings help relieve tension at work. The Ann Arbor News, pp. A8. Black, R. (2003). Organizational Culture: Creating the Influence Needed for Strategic Success, London UK. Boyle, R. & Odonnell, O. (2008).Understanding and Managing Organizational Culture. 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