Chapter - 4
Organizational Culture and Communication
What is organizational culture?
Organizational culture is the collection of rules, values, expectations, and practices that guide and inform the actions of all team members. They are shared by members of the group and learnt by new members of the group in organization. They are also called underlying principles of organization. Think of it as the collection of traits that make our company what it is. A great culture exemplifies positive traits that lead to improved performance, while a dysfunctional company culture brings out qualities that can hinder even the most successful organizations. (rules- reward criteria, salary increases, promotion etc. Values- outcome, related within result or achievement. people orientation, related with tolerance and respect for the individual. stability, related with security. innovaton, related with encouraging experiment and risk taking). Business leaders are vital to the creation and communication of their workplace culture. Culture also includes the organization’s vision, values, norms, systems, symbols, language, assumptions, beliefs, and habits (Needle, 2004).
Simply stated, organizational culture is “the way things are done around here” (Deal & Kennedy, 2000).
In other way we can say an organization's culture defines the proper way to behave within the organization. This culture consists of shared beliefs and values established by leaders and then communicated and reinforced through various methods, ultimately shaping employee perceptions, behaviors and understanding. Organizational culture sets the context for everything an enterprise does. Because industries and situations vary significantly, there is not a one-size-fits-all culture template that meets the needs of all organizations.
Don’t confuse culture with organizational goals or a mission statement, although both can help define it. Culture is created through consistent and authentic behaviors, not press releases or policy documents. You can watch company culture in action when you see how a CEO responds to a crisis, how a team adapts to new customer demands, or how a manager corrects an employee who makes a mistake.
The importance of culture to our company
Organizational culture affects all aspects of our business, from punctuality and tone to contract terms and employee benefits. When workplace culture aligns with our employees, they’re more likely to feel more comfortable, supported, and valued. Companies that prioritize culture can also weather difficult times and changes in the business environment and come out stronger.
Some reasons why organizational culture is important are given below :-
It defines your company’s internal and external identity
Our organizational culture “defines for you and for all others, how our organization does business, how our organization interacts with one another and how the team interacts with the outside world, specifically our customers, employees, partners, suppliers, media and all other stakeholders.”
In other words, our organizational culture will reverberate across all aspects of our business because it represents the way we do business. It’s simultaneously our identity and your image, which means it determines how our people and customers perceive us.
Organizational culture is about living your company’s core values
Our culture can be a reflection of our company’s core values. The ways in which we conduct business, manage workflow, interact as a team, and treat our customers all add up to an experience that should represent who we are as an organization and how we believe a company should be run. In short, our culture is the sum of your company’s beliefs in action.
But if our espoused values don’t match our culture, that’s a problem. It could mean that our “core values” are a list of meaningless buzzwords, and our people know it.
A strong organizational culture keeps our company’s core values front and center in all aspects of its day-to-day operations and organizational structure. The value of doing so is incalculable.
Culture can transform employees into advocates (or critics)
One of the greatest advantages of a strong organizational culture is that it has the power to turn employees into advocates.
Our people want more than a steady paycheck and good benefits; they want to feel like what they do matters. And when our people feel like they matter, they’re more likely to become culture advocates—that is, people who not only contribute to your organization’s culture, but also promote it and live it internally and externally.
How do you achieve this? One way is to recognize good work. A culture that celebrates individual and team successes, that gives credit when credit is due, is a culture that offers a sense of accomplishment. And that’s one way to turn employees into advocates.
Then again, if our company culture doesn’t do this, you may be inviting criticism.
A strong organizational culture helps us keep our best people
It should come as no surprise that employees who feel like they’re part of a community, rather than a cog in a wheel, are more likely to stay at your company. In fact, that’s what most job applicants are looking for in a company.
Ask any top performer what keeps them at their company and you’re bound to hear this answer: the people. It’s because a workplace culture focused on people has profound appeal. It helps improve engagement, deliver a unique employee experience, and makes your people feel more connected.
One way to attract top performers that are natural culture champions is to hire for cultural fit.
Culture transforms our company into a team
A successful organizational culture brings together the people at our company and keeps them aligned. When our culture is clear, different perspectives can gather behind it with common purpose. The culture at our organization sets expectations for how people behave and work together, and how well they function as a team.
In this way, culture can break down the boundaries between siloed teams, guide decision-making, and improve workflow overall. On the flip side, a toxic organizational culture has the capacity to do just the opposite.
Culture impacts performance and employee wellbeing
Reports show that organizational culture has a direct impact on performance and, more importantly, our employees’ wellbeing. A healthy culture addresses both of these areas by finding an appropriate balance based on company values.
Paul Barrett sums it up nicely, writing that “Employee wellbeing strategies have the potential to bring huge benefits to employees and employers alike but they need to be introduced in the right way for the right reasons, and at the right time. To be properly effective they need to be developed in a holistic way, consistent with a business culture that is conducive to their success. That means supportive management behaviours, flexible working options and an open culture that allows employees a voice and some say in shaping the working environment.”
Level of organizational culture
There are several models of organizational culture to examine the level of culture in organization. One of the best models is the model of Edgar Schein. His model is a method which aims at explaining the concept of culture and the way it affects organizations. He suggests the three levels of organizational culture.
Artifact:-
It is the most manifest level of culture, consisting of the constructed physical and social environment of an organization. These mark the surface of the culture and they are the visible elements in the organization. Physical artifacts are presented in the architecture and interior arrangements, physical space and office design. Besides, language gives away culture through modes of speaking, slogans and expressions. Technology is also a part of the culture, since it reflects the values through operations, materials and knowledge. As it also is social practices, leadership practices and work traditions. They can be recognized by people not part of the culture but can be difficult to understand easily by everyone since they can be confusing.
Espoused values:-
It is a less visible level than behaviours and artifacts. The constituents of this level of culture provide the underlying meanings and interrelations by which the patterns of behaviours and artifacts may be deciphered. Espoused values are the organization's stated values and rules of behaviours. They are often found in company's websites. It is how the members represent the organization both to themselves and to others. This is often expressed in official philosophies and public statements of identity. It can sometimes often be a projection for the future, of what the members hope to become.
Basic underlying assumptions:-
They represent an unconscious level of culture, at which the underlying values have, over a period of time, been transformed and are taken for granted as an organizationally acceptable way of perceiving the world. By this definition, basic assumptions are also the most difficult to relearn and change. Besides, the underlying assumptions are often difficult to describe and are only really understood by people who have become accustomed to the way the organization works. Those are usually invisible. They are not written down anywhere and people may not want to talk about them, but they exist and are often powerful.
Harrison's cultural model
Harrison proposed this model in the 1970s and later popularized in the work of Charles Handy. Charles Handy was born in 1932 in Ireland is a well-known philosopher who has specialized in organization culture. According to Charles Handy’s model, there are four types of culture which the organizations follow:
1.Power
There are some organizations where the power remains in the hands of only few people and only they are authorized to take decisions. They are the ones who enjoy special privileges at the workplace. They are the most important people at the workplace and are the major decision makers. These individuals further delegate responsibilities to the other employees. In such a culture the subordinates have no option but to strictly follow their superior’s instructions. The employees do not have the liberty to express their views or share their ideas on an open forum and have to follow what their superior says. The managers in such a type of culture sometimes can be partial to someone or the other leading to major unrest among others.
2.Achievement Culture
The typical example of this culture is the small family business, such as local shop which is owned or run by a family group. In this culture people are directly involved in the work. The main focus is on getting the work done. The person who does the work is responsible for the quality of what they do. Control is not achieved by regulation or specified procedures.
3.Support Culture
In this culture, an organization is based on mutual support and commitment. The members feel that they have a personal stake in the organization and are prepared to work hard to maintain it. For example, a worker's co-operative where every individual has an equal share in the organization. In such organization, the members feel responsible to each other and accountable for their contribution.
4.Role culture
Role culture is a culture where every employee is delegated roles and responsibilities according to his specialization, educational qualification and interest to extract the best out of him. In such a culture employees decide what best they can do and willingly accept the challenge. Every individual is accountable for something or the other and has to take ownership of the work assigned to him. organization will usually have job descriptions which define each role. There will be written rules and procedures which cover the main activities of the organization. There are also likely to be written principles which establish how much each person is paid. Senior management exercise control in a role culture by producing explicit plans and by monitoring the work which people do.
Hall's campas model
She has suggested three ingredients to a company culture, which are called ABCs.
A stands for the artefacts. It is the visible concrete elements of culture. Example of artefacts would be the language and the manners, the types of greeting, the clothing and so on. It could be the constructed physical and social environment of an organization.
B stands for the behaviours. It is the ways in which groups and individuals do what they do – this is how we do things around here. This would include how decisions are made, how problems are solved, how conflict is handled and negotiated, and the way in which people communicate. These can obviously be observed, but they need to be interpreted carefully so that we Can compare the 3 different patterns of behavior.
C refers to the core of morals, beliefs and values. This is what Hall calls the deepest level of culture. It determines what individuals and groups believe is good, fair, right or otherwise. For example, organizations may have very different views on the rights of shareholders, and those views will reflect fundamental values.
According to Hall companies can be differ in term of their styles of behavior. She identified two critical dimensions of behavior.
1.Assertiveness :- It is the degree to which a company's behaviors are seen by others as being forceful or directive. A highly assertive company is one which is quick to act, is seen as firm and decisive, and is likely to be seen as a leading force in its particular sector. Companies which are low on assertiveness will behave more slowly and more carefully. They will tend to wait before adopting a new technology or procedure. They will tend to be less aggressive in the way that they deal in the market place.
2.Responsiveness :- It is the degree to which a company's behaviors are seen by others as being emotionally expressed. A highly responsiveness will often be described as friendly or relaxed. A company with low responsiveness will behave in more serious and less open ways.
Working with these two dimensions , Hall concluded that there are four distinct company cultural styles:-
North style :- low assertiveness and low responsiveness;
A North style company is likely to be very thorough and methodical in the way it acts. It will place a lot of emphasis on checking the facts and getting details right. It will tend to avoid risks and conflict, and try to make sure it gets things right the first time.
South style :- high assertiveness and high responsiveness;
The south style company will be entrepreneurial and unpredictable. It may make decisions spontaneously and will value independent and creative behavior. It will take risks and pride itself on achieving new and different products.
East style :- low assertiveness and high responsiveness;
The East style company will emphasis the quality of personal relationships and teams. There will be an emphasis on consensus and agreement.
West style :- high assertiveness and low responsiveness;
The west style company has a very direct and professional approach which tends to keep emotions hidden. There is a strong emphasis on control and clear quantitative targets.
Communication and expression of organizational culture
Organizational culture can be expressed in various different ways. The official organizational culture is often symbolized in the organization's mission statement, which can sometimes be expressed as a set of values. We can express the organizational culture in the following way.
Create tradition :- Make our corporate culture stand a part from other workplace by creating company tradition. This could be things like welcoming new staff members in a meaning way or annual get together.
Share our success :- Don't be afraid to let the world know that we are doing well especially when it reinforces our organizational culture.
Say thanks :- Always publically thanks employees who have performed well or contributed to a successful outcome.
Educate our employees about the beliefs and norms of the company ad what things expect from the workplace. This can be done by giving them training and using emails and flyers
Tell the stories of company's successful stories, activities news etc by using different media.
We can express the values of company by sending encouraging mails.
Web site of the company also communicates the corporate culture.
Determinants of organizational culture
Here, determinants are the factors that are responsible for creating a particular culture in an organization. These factors are :-
Economic environment :- It determines the spending pattern and working style of the organization. It also determines risk taking ability of the organization and will also set a culture accordingly.
Leadership style :- It has a profound influence in determining the culture in organization. If the organization is characterized authoritarian style with high power motivation, the leader exercises authority and control, criticizes poor performance, and emphasizes cost reduction. If it is characterized by democratic style, the culture will be high reward orientation, high support and low conflict.
Physical processes
Social Processes
Political environment
Mission statement
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