Organizational Culture - Essay Example

Running head: organizational culture Organizational culture a. Discuss the layers and functions of organizational culture and the types of organizational culture and their associated characteristics. The three fundamental layers of organizational culture include observable artifacts, espoused values and basic assumptions. Observable artifacts present the organizational culture through physical manifestations like dress code, awards, myths and stories about the organization, values, observable rituals and ceremonies, decorations etc.

espoused values include concepts or beliefs, desirable behaviors, transcend situations etc. enacted values represent values and norms that are demonstrated through employee behavior. Organizational culture helps in adaptation to organization’s external environment and coordination of internal systems and processes. The four main functions include providing organizational identity to its employees; foster commitment to organizational values and goals; promote and sustain positive reinforcement of performance and manage change; and shape employee behavior by aligning their expectations to organizational goals.

Organizational culture is divided into four types namely, clan, adhocracy, market and hierarchical cultures. The clan culture encourages flexibility of control and fosters collaboration between employees of different groups or functions. Adhocracy culture encourages innovation by being flexible, adaptive and in pace with market changes. Market culture adopt stability and control in order to keep up pace with external competitors and changing customer demands. This culture focuses more on customer needs and profits than on employee growth and development.

The hierarchy culture embraces internal control and structured work environment to create strong processes that control, measure and drive desired results. b. Summarize the methods used by organizations to embed their cultures and also describe the Three Phases in Feldman?s model of organizational socialization. Organizational culture formed on the basis of organizational values, vision and mission need to be distilled into its employees. For this organizations adopt specific practices. Firstly, formulating statements of organizational vision, mission and goals helps in educating the wider masses about organizational culture.

Secondly, physical space and work environment can be designed in a manner that depicts organizational culture. For example, an open culture would not have separate cabins for employees, but common places where all employees are seated together as teams. Thirdly, displaying slogans and acronyms of organizational philosophies can also help in educating the employees and reminding them of the culture every now and then. Fourth includes designing formal or informal training and sessions on organizational culture and philosophies.

Employees can be informed about the key people involved in organization formation or growth in the form of stories and legends. Organizational socialization refers to the process that helps employees learn about organizational values, norms, and philosophies. Feldman proposes a 3-phase model of organizational socialization: first phase includes anticipatory socialization during which employees learn about the organization by word of mouth from others associated with the organization. Second phase involves encounter with the organization through employment contract and induction to the organization.

The third phase involves changing and adjusting to the workplace requirements and job roles. c. Discuss the various socialization tactics used to socialize employees and explain the Four Types of Development Networks derived from mentoring. Different socialization tactics are used by organizations. Collective socialization involves introducing the employees in groups to the organizational philosophies. Formal socialization involves introducing a group member to separate experiences. Sequential socialization introduces the individuals to the work in a sequence of steps before they start working on their own.

Fixed socialization tactic involves introducing the individual to fixed schedule for their role. Serial socialization tactic involves introduction of a new comer by an experienced employee. The four development networks derived from mentoring include receptive, traditional, entrepreneurial and opportunistic. These networks are defined based on the strength of their network ties, which strengthen from receptive and progress to become opportunistic. d. How would you describe the organizational culture that exists at Apple Organizational culture at Apple can be described as a mix of clan, adhocracy, and market cultures.

At Apple, different departments closely coordinate to achieve their goals. Secondly, Apple encourages innovation of new products and services. Apple focuses on leading the market through its innovative and sustainable products. Apple encourages entrepreneurship and customer satisfaction.