Culture and Social Structure of an Organization - Essay Example

Culture and Social Structure of an Organization This paper will seek to conduct a sociological analysis of the social structure and culture of Green Rangers Soccer team of which I am part of. In sports teams, it is essential to harness all the resources that are at the organization’s disposal, while making maximum use of them. Some of the important elements in such an organization include discipline, encouragement, and motivation (Poole 42). Moreover, the organization is expected to follow best practice in player recruitment, mental and physical preparation, team talks, building team spirit, fitness, and handling problem players. It is imperative for the organization to ensure they adopt the organizational structure, culture, and socialization process that best enables it to deal with these issues (Poole 42). The culture of the football team will be discussed, particularly with regards to the symbols, values, and/or norms of the organization. In addition, socialization in the organization will also be discussed with regards how new members of the organization are socialized into the group, as well as the sanctions that are invoked in case there is non-compliance. In addition, the organization’s social structure will be examined in relation to the statuses and roles of different members of the team and how they interrelate. Finally, a comparison of formal and informal interactions, structure, and norms will also be carried out. Organizational Culture Organization culture refers to a set of symbols, norms, beliefs, and values shared among members of the organization that govern acceptable behavior and understanding the organization’s culture aids members in understanding how the organization functions, as well as how things should be done for one to fit in (Beach 54). For the Green Rangers soccer team, fit within the organization’s culture is one of the most important aspect that recruiters use when recruiting players, which involves players with a shared understanding about the organization’s identity. Since teams form strong and special bonds, sports team culture creates an additional special dimension to the culture of organizations (Beach 57). For example, the bond between team members at Green Rangers comes with a special determination to win, special ways to behave, and ways to deal with either losing or winning. This special way of doing things at sports teams means that all the aspects of organizational culture are on show (Beach 54). Most members at the soccer club voluntarily comply with sports team culture like entertainment life, ceremony, spirit, and a common faith. Three components of culture that are visible at Green Rangers include symbols, values, and norms. With regards to symbols, Beach (p. 54) defines these as observable actions that are the result of the team members’ behavior and include material objects, dress, and spoken language. Some examples at the club include stories about past success in championships, heroes who have helped the team to success in the past, ceremonies to celebrate wins, and rites conducted after games, such as the unique dance performed for the fans. Coaches also portend a strong influence on the club and past coaches who have achieved success are remembered as legends and have become symbols at the club. Fans and players relish anecdotes and tales about these coaches, and their enduring personalities are symbols for the club. Coming to values at the club, these represent the way members think they should behave, as well as identify what they think they must do in order to achieve holistic success (Beach 55). At the club, values are observed indirectly through the decisions and behaviors that they drive and have been described in the club’s mission statements. For instance, Green Rangers believes in giving to charity through its players who give personal time and play charity matches for money to give to the local pediatric cancer hospital. Finally, the organization’s culture is also defined by its norms, which are deeply ingrained beliefs and values that the team members never question and are rarely discussed (Beach 56). At the club, for example, some norms include not drinking alcohol before or during practice, as well as embracing fan participation both during games and during practice. Organizational Socialization Also referred to as team-member on-boarding, socialization is an increasingly important process for organizations that are financially cash-strapped and rely mainly on their talented staff to be successful (Yamashita 36). Green Rangers is in a similar position where the club attempts to ensure that all new recruits will become productive and stay with the club by making their socialization process in a manner that enhances their integration into the club. Socialization at the club is approached as an ongoing and gradual process for new and incumbent members to retain talent. The process begins before recruitment (Yamashita 36); between just after the new recruit accepts the offer to play for the club and reporting for the first day. This includes providing new recruits with information about the workplace culture for them to adapt mentally. When the players report for the first day of practice, the club seeks to socialize them into the culture and ensure that, they feel they made the right move in their soccer career. The players are given a tour of the clubs facilities and assigned a senior member of the team to introduce the player to other players, reducing first day awkwardness (Yamashita 37). The coaches conduct daily meetings with the players, in which new players are advised on competencies expected of them at the club and share the club’s strategic vision, while also soliciting for feedback on what they may need. Finally, the club also carries out shadowing of new recruits by senior players, who also involve them in social events and mentor them. However, socialization methods are also custom-made for specific players (Yamashita 37), in which the socialization process cultivates distinct talents through appraisal methods that take player ability and learning style into consideration. By doing this, the club is able to solicit the player’s advice on how they feel they can contribute best to the club’s objectives. Organizational Structure Earley (p. 34) describes organizational structure as the way in which the organization’s workforce is organized into particular responsibilities and roles to undertake the work required to accomplish the mission of the organization. At Green Rangers, the organizational structure is of a hierarchical nature. The structure’s top layer is composed of the management committee that has people with the ultimate authority at the club, such as the owner and other major stakeholder representatives of the community. Some of them are elected, such as the President, VP, treasurer, and secretary of the club. Others are community volunteers who make up the board and are not paid. The second layer is made up of the club’s salaried officers, including the players. However, within this layer, there is further distinction between the players on one hand, and the coaching director, development officer, and executive director (Earley 34). The latter group carries out most of the work at the club. In turn, they are the highest paid members of the executive committee. Finally, the third layer is composed of most of the people at the club who carry out voluntary responsibilities and roles (Earley 36). Some of these roles could involve only two to three hours every week. Some of these people include individuals with limited coaching mandate and officiating duties, those who help the sports team to raise funds and run the events, those running the club’s website, run the canteen at the club, and look after facilities at the club. Management of the soccer club involves dealing with player and staff problems, as well as hiring new players and staff (Earley 37). As a result, the team’s head coach is placed at a level in the structure that is an intermediary of the first and second levels as a conduit between the players and staff and the team’s management board. Formal vs. Informal Norms, Structure, and Interactions Formal organizations have their own specific functions that, while promoting the objectives of the organization, also promote other interests of its members (Lounsbury & Ventresca 21). For example, at Green Rangers, the principal function involves being successful on the pitch and ensuring that the club does not run into debt doing so. However, there is also a need to promote the social and cultural interests of individual players. Thus, the soccer club as a formal organization has both latent and manifest functions. As a formal organization, Green Rangers has specific norms that include prohibition of alcohol and smoking, which are unspoken, but followed. The different members of the club also have different responsibilities informed by the organizational structure (Lounsbury & Ventresca 21), which is made possible by division of labor and specialization, in turn leading to specialization. The head coach also has total authority with the objective of ensuring that the club runs efficiently and that all members of the club support one another. Rationality also informs the formal nature of clubs, based on the predominance rules to achieve definite results and systematically relying on knowledge about how the club should run (Lounsbury & Ventresca 24). However, the club also has informal rules and processes. This, for example, enables the perpetuation of social and cultural values held dear by the club, such as giving back to the community and embracing diversity. In addition, it also provides social satisfaction and status that may be impossible in the formal structure, enabling players work together, eat together, share jokes, and become friends, which contributes to a feeling of worth and personal esteem. The informal group also develops channels of communication that ensure players are informed about the effects that management actions will have on them, normally referred to at the club as the grapevine, which deals with club rumors. Finally, the informal part of the club also provides social control by regulating and influencing group behavior outside and inside the team (Lounsbury & Ventresca 25). For instance, the internal control persuades players to conform to the club’s lifestyle, such as dressing formally to practice. Works Cited Beach, Lee R. Making the Right Decision: Organizational Culture, Vision, and Planning. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall, 2013. Print. Earley, Peter C. Face, Harmony, and Social Structure: An Analysis of Organizational Behavior across Cultures. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print. Lounsbury, Michael & Ventresca, Marc J. Social Structure and Organizations Revisited. Amsterdam: JAI, 2012. Print. Poole, Marshall S. Handbook of Organizational Change and Innovation. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2011. Internet resource Yamashita, Hideo. Healthy Culture and Unhealthy Culture. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2010. Print. Read More