How leading scholars view organizational culture business essay

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How Leading Scholars View Organizational Culture

When one walks into an organization, there is that automatic feeling that one feels about the entity. Whether the feeling is responsive and fast moving or old and antique, this is what qualifies to as organizational culture. Culture revolves around how an organization organizes itself, procedures it follows, rules and beliefs it treasures (Miller 232). There are various types of cultures that an organization can adopt. The ideal culture depends on the organization, its objectives and conditions of the market. Organization culture influences the behavior of employees and the opinion people hold about the entity. A common understanding of organizational culture is the way things are seen and done in an organization. Through tradition, structure and history, entities are able to build their own distinct and unique cultures. This culture presents the organization with a sense of identity. The culture gives, in a nut shell, who we are, what we do and what we stand for”. The culture determines the way things are done within it through its beliefs, meanings, rituals, values, norms, language and legends. Chaubroeck notes that organizational culture encapsulates what it is excellent in and how this has worked out in the past. These values are accepted easily without queries by long serving organizational members. One core thing that a new employee learns after joining an organization is its founding legends. The employee learns how the founders worked tirelessly for long hours despising training and formal education to achieve laid down goals and objectives. It is because of this reason that some legends can remain in an institution, becoming part of how things are run. The founders view for education and formal training may remain current in the institution (Aditya and Cullen 83). However, with time, there may be a shift in culture as the new breed of managers tries to change the old ways of carrying out business within the organization. Despite this, a large number of legends will be embraced and remain fundamental determinants of how things are run in an entity.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and Views

Hofstede shows that cultural variations between nations are often present on the deepest level. This is on the level of values. In comparison, cultural differences among entities are identified on the practice level. It is vital to note that practices are tangible in comparison to values. According to Hofstede, organizational culture is the collective programming of the mind to distinguish members of one organization from those of others. The organizational cultural model encompasses six autonomous dimensions and two semi-autonomous dimensions. Means leaning against goal oriented objectivesThe means leaning vs. goal oriented dimension is closely connected with an organization’s effectiveness. In a means oriented culture, the key features of an organization is in the way in which chores are carried out. People tend to identify with the ” how”. On the other hand, in a goal oriented culture, the workforce is principally engraved in achieving specified internal results and goals. This is even when substantial risks are involved. The workforce pays interest to the ” what”. In an enormously means oriented culture, employees perceive themselves as avoiding risks and making only limited effort in their chores despite the work days being pretty the same (Sabir and Masood 677). Similarly, in an extremely goal oriented culture; employees are primarily set to achieve notable goals despite this involving considerable risks. Internally motivated vs. externally driven objectivesFor an extremely internally driven culture, the workforce considers their tasks towards the outside world as totally given. They do this by basing the idea that honesty and business ethics plays a vital role, and they know best what the customers need and the world as a whole. An extremely externally driven culture pays more emphasis on satisfying the needs of the customers. Results are most fundamental and pragmatic rather than the prevailing of ethical attitudes. This dimension is distinguishable in comparison to means and goal orientation since in this case, impersonal results are not at stake, but satisfaction of clients carries more weight (Uddih et al 71). stern work discipline against even-tempered work disciplineThe above element refers to the sum of internal structuring, discipline and control. An easy going culture reveals loose internal structure, absence of predictability, and little or no discipline or control. In addition, there is a lot of surprises and improvisation Miller (123). An intensely strict work discipline, on the other hand, reveals the reverse. People are extremely cost conscious, are serious and punctual. Local vs. professionalIn a local entity, employees identify with the boss or their respective units. On the other hand, in a professional organization, employees’ identity is determined by the content of the job or profession. An extremely local culture employees are short term directed, are internally focused and social control is strong. However, the opposite is evident in a professional culture (Aditya and Cullen 93).

Deal and Kennedy’s ” Strong Cultures”

Deal and Kennedy assert that the success of an entity is based on coming up with a strong culture. There are four components of strong cultures; values, heroes, rites and rituals and cultural network. Values denote to the visions and beliefs that members within an organization hold dearly. Heroes, on the other hand, refer to the people or individuals who come to exemplify the values of an organization. According to Pirjol and Maxim (375), rites and rituals are also components of a strong culture in an organization. Rituals and rites are ceremonies through which an organization celebrates its values. As a result of value innovation, a ritualistic way may develop, and thus rewarding fresh and new ideas originating from employees. Cultural network denotes the communication system through which cultural values are reinforced and initiated in an organization. Organizational culture is complicated. This is often a reflection of the wide markets that form an organization’s market.

Peters and Waterman’s ” Excellent Cultures”

According to Peters and Waterman’s excellent cultures, the values prescribed in view of the organizational culture are in large part those that can and do make positive contributions to the performance of an entity and to the lives of the organizational members. However, these assumptions have their own shortcomings. For instance, it is naïve to assert that there exist single cultural formulas that can be employed to achieve organizational success. In addition, it is wrong to treat culture as a thing that an entity possesses. Some of themes for excellent cultures in organizations are; a bias for action, close relations to the clients, autonomy and entrepreneurship. There is also productivity through people, hands-on value driven and stick to the knitting. In addition, other themes include comprehensible form lean staff and simultaneous loose-tight properties. It is crucial to note that excellent entities react fast and not waste a lot of time analyzing and planning. According to Peters and Waterman, excellent organizations gear their decisions and actions to their clients’ needs. Excellent organizations are those that encourage human resources to take risks in development of fresh ideas (Mihaela 150). There is the creation of respectful and positive relationships among management and employees in excellent organizations. Similarly, excellent organizations are made up of managers and employees who share the same core values in regard to performance and productivity.

Schien’s Model of Organizational Culture

Edgar H Schein’s model describes and explains the core elements of culture. This model resembles the functionalism model originating from cultural theorists such as Fons Trompenaars and Geert Hofstede. In addition, this model can be fundamental in analyzing all kinds of cultures such as national and corporate cultures. According to Schein, core values are essential in shaping the visible elements within an organization’s culture such as dress code and expected behaviors. According to Schein, these visible cultural elements are artifacts and espoused values (Fakhar et al 979). Artifacts are the visible in a culture. Artifacts are recognizable by people, and are not an ingredient of the culture. Artifacts include furniture, dress code, work climate, art, work processes and organizational structures. It is easy for an outsider to note these artifacts, but he may not be able to fully comprehend why these artifacts have been established. In order for them to comprehend, outsiders are forced to look into the entity’s espoused values present in the culture (Sabir and Masood 673). Espoused values are defined as the values espoused by the culture’s leading figures. Some of the representations of espoused values include strategies, philosophies and goals sought after or realized by leaders. It is essential for values sought after by leaders to be supported by some core and shared assumptions. For instance, how to run entity of employees are values that should be shared by all in an entity regardless of the position occupied. In case leaders’ espoused values are not in line with the general culture assumptions, trouble might be signaled. According to Shein, assumptions are a representation of the shared values within a specified culture. It is common for ill-defining these values, and are most of the time not visible to members. Espoused values and assumptions may not be correlated, and the espoused values may not be deep rooted in the actual values of the culture. As a result of this, problems may be ignited, especially when the differences between espoused values and actual values leads to frustrations, inefficiency and absence of morale.

Different Approaches to Culture

There are different types of cultures that an organization adopts in running its daily chores; power, role and task (Pirjol and Maxim 372). Control is the key element for any power culture organization. Decision making is done by one individual or a small group of people. Power cultures are often present in small organizations, or departments within a large organization. This is because it is tough and almost impossible to run large organizations where decisions are made by a small group of persons. In a power culture organization, decision making is fast since there is minimal or no consultation (Gehman et al 111). The success of a power culture firm relies heavily decisions made by the founders or decision makers. Role culture refers to assigning specified jobs or roles to individuals. Job descriptions that lists all tasks one is responsible for is a common sight. Through role culture, an organization is able to spread its tasks among its employees making sure that core tasks and chores are completed without any hiccups. Role culture is fundamental in specialists’ chores such as sales, marketing, legal and project management. Through delegation of distinct roles, there is an increase in productivity since employees are assigned chores that they are well trained in and experienced to carry out. Role culture is not advisable for entities with a small number of employees (Chaubroeck et al 1059). In addition, it is difficult for individuals to adapt to role cultured organizations since most people are controlled by stringed procedures and systems. Task culture implies to the use of teams to accomplish tasks. Task culture is fundamental in instances where tasks are to be completed in various levels. An example of task culture is the establishment of project teams to carry out specific plans or objectives (Bryan, Gregory and Jan 4). Specific tasks are assigned to different teams and are expected to complete them within a set budget and timeline. There are a number of benefits associated with task culture. For instance, the staff feels motivated since it is empowered to make decisions necessary in completing the tasks assigned within the team. In addition, the staff may feel valued since they are selected for a team. Similarly, when the team completes the tasks assigned, there is a sense of achievement among the members of the team. Task culture also allows employees to be more creative and imaginative in problem solving (Safarpoor and Siadat 152). Person culture entities focus on the people working within the organization. This is because the entity entirely relies on the specialized knowledge possessed by the workforce. Person culture is present in organizations where an opportunity for employees to develop and grow their own skills and career exists. Some of these organizations include universities where the staff is presented with an opportunity to continue with studies during their employment. Person cultures also involve accountancy and legal firms. These organizations sell the specialist skill of its staff and thus creating the need for the workforce to undergo constant professional development and growth (Khan 91).

Important Theories of Organizational Culture

Schein’s Model of Organizational CultureThe most common organization framework in use today is that of Edgar Schein (Mihaela 149). Schein adopts the view of functionalism and describes the culture as a pattern consisting of basic assumptions, discovered, invented or developed a by a team as it tries to cope with arising problems. Schein pays a lot of interest in the role of leaders in the maintenance and development of organizational culture. According to Schein, culture is defined as a pattern of basic assumptions, group of the phenomenon and an emergent and development process (Mandan 219). Apart from this, Schein classifies the meaning and role of organizational culture to its members into different categories; behaviors and artifacts, values and assumptions. Deal and Kennedy ModelAccording to these two scholars, organizational culture refers to the way things are done around the entity. Deal and Kennedy’s organizational culture theory is based on four different types of entities. Each focuses on how fast an entity receives feedback, how members are rewarded and the level of risks taken. There is work hard, tough guy macho culture, play hard culture, process culture and be the company culture. Hofstede TheoryAccording to Hofstede, there is a need to change mental programs with a change in behavior. This change will result to value change. However, there are other groups of people that cannot change their culture no matter the circumstances. According to Hofstede, there are national and regional cultural groupings, which affect an organization’s behavior (Bryan, Gregory and Jan 9). These are classified into four dimensions. The four are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs. collectivism and masculinity vs. femininity. O’Reilly, Chatman and Caldwell ModelThis model relies on the assertion that cultures are distinguishable by values reinforced in an organization. Their organizational profile model is considered a self reporting tool that creates distinctions according to seven categories. The categories are innovation, respect for people, stability, outcome orientation, team orientation, attention to detail and aggressiveness. The model does not intend to measure the effect of organizational culture in performance. Instead, it measures associations between individual personalities in the entity and the organization’s culture (Fakhar et al 979).

Difference between Organizational Culture and Organizational Climate

Organizational culture is a set of values, understandings, assumptions and norms that members of an entity cherish and share. Organization culture is the foundation upon which an entity is built. Organizational culture governs the organization and how it does its business, and the accepted behavior of its workers. Culture is the deeper shared tactic assumptions that many people within an organization hold. The culture describes the people’s mindset regarding how the organization works. The scope can be more than just the working conditions. It can include the strategy, assumptions and how money is utilized. Culture denotes the deep structure of an organization and how deep rooted its values, beliefs are, and how much they are embraced by workers. Similarly, organizational culture describes the social context of the working environment. Organizational culture develops freely. It describes what is right distinguishing it from wrong. Organizational culture is what influences employee behavior toward a colleague, subordinate, supervisor, clients, mangers and competitors (Gehman et al 104). On the other hand, organizational climate refers to the state of health of an organization. Organization climate denotes to how employees feel about their jobs, their peers, employers and many other factors that may affect their individual productivity. This collectively affects the organization’s ability to achieve its goals and objectives. Organization climate has more to do with prevailing atmosphere or mood within an organization. Safarpoor and Siadat (149) note that organizational climate is more prone to short term fluctuations, and a number of factors dictate it such as structure, leadership, recognition and reward. Organizational climate denotes the values about the working relationships within an entity. Climate inquires on the espoused values of the entity and to what extent members’ behavior is in alignment to the firm’s values. Climate asserts organizational environment to being rooted in the values of the entity, but tends to represent these social environment in relative static terms. Similarly, psychological impact of the work environment is a description of organizational climate.

Leadership Roles in Organizational Culture

Culture is deep rooted and tough to change. However, leaders can manage and influence an entity’s culture. It is not easy, and cannot be done rapidly, but leaders have an effect on culture. There is nothing that can replace leaders walking their talk. Personal example of a leader sends a strong message to its members especially if it is consistent and ethical. Leaders need to reinforce their followers with coaching and teaching in order to internalize the desired values. There is often a consequence that follows behavior. What behavior is punished and which one is rewarded significantly influences culture within an entity. If an entity ridicules new ideas every time they come up, it will not take long before people believe that new ideas are not desired or welcome in the entity. As a leader, it is essential to note that every step one takes influences an organization’s culture. The creation of culture is not static and an initiative. All basic constructs of an entity culture are based on past experiences. The culture is always adjusting based on actions, examples and situations of each person in the entity especially the leaders (Khan 87). A person owns his or her behavior, and a leader, it is crucial to note that people are paying a lot of attention than you might realize. A leader should ensure that his behavior reflects the culture he wants reinforced. In addition, attitude is fundamental in organizational culture. Whatever vision the leader has for the organization culture, his attitude pays a significant part in it. Leader should make culture part of their decision making process. Bothe large and small decisions impact on an entity, it is, therefore, crucial for these decisions to reflect on the organization’s culture.

Benefits, Impacts and What Is Learned From Organizational Culture

Culture revolves around how things are done within an entity. No one can do chores alone, each person no matter the position occupies, influences the culture of an organization. As a leader, your role revolves around nurturing, maintaining and creating an organizational culture. To employees, the leader in a number of ways represents the face of the culture in the organization and he is the biggest contributing factor to it. Because of this, the leader should get a clear vision of the culture, and behave intentionally. It is trying to be the change you want to see (Mandan 220). Forward/ entrepreneurial looking culture refers to entities that have an entrepreneurial spirit. In addition, it refers to organizations that embrace change and is ready to take risks. Such entities may have short life-spans since they take risks and venture in areas where others tread. Similarly, the organizations may expand rapidly in case their innovative approach becomes successful (Mihaela 152). Entrepreneurial entities are centered on margins and make most of its workforce through a task culture approach. A backward or bureaucratic looking culture is an enemy of change. Such organizations do not embrace change and they are governed by procedures and systems. The organizations are not interested in taking risks, and are thus less adaptable. Bureaucratic entities are often hierarchical and are most likely to constitute non-commercial aims (Uddih et al 69). The absence of risk taking and flexibility increases their longevity especially if the entity is a public service organization. However, this can also be the cause for long standing commercial business going into administration.