Does the term organizational culture infer that an organization has a healthy culture

Organization cultures can be positive or negative. Therefore, unhealthy working environment is a culture. Organizational culture can be believes, values, or principals of the organizational members that guide the organization. Although in many cases culture incorporates the organization’s vision, values, norms, systems, or subordinates beliefs, some cultures fails to dictate the direction of the organizations. For instance, workplace bullying is a common culture in different organizations (Ybema, Dvora, and Ida 67). However, while addressing issues related to organizational culture, this culture is highlighted because it affects the operations of the organizations and the way employees relate.
The term organizational culture does not imply health. Instead, it implies any behavior by the workforce in the organization. These behaviors are mainly products of the organization history, market, the style of management, or type of employees working in the organization. Some organizations that have a negative history of poor management or handling of employees find it very hard to eradicate the negative cultures that erupted during these times (Alvesson 13). However, even when elements of these cultures are remaining, the organization cannot be said to be healthy. Therefore, an organization with a healthy culture is one that has been able to eliminate negative culture either through introducing change or replacing a generation of employees with new ones. Some of the positive cultures that makes the organization to be referred as healthy include; innovation, emphasis on outcome, emphasis on customers, teamwork, etc. However, these can be tarnished by negative cultures such as discrimination. Therefore, the top managers have a role of ensuring that the organization has a positive culture.
Works Cited
Alvesson, Mats. Understanding Organizational Culture. London: SAGE, 2002. Print.
Ybema, Sierk, Dvora Yanow, and Ida Sabelis. Organizational Culture. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2011. Print.