Organisational Culture and Ways of Managing It Effectively

Task culture is an explanation of businesses which value high importance of the tasks in hand and make every effort of the company to complete tasks set. There is less control and influence from sub ordinates as employees work in team based groups to ensure completion of work. An example of this culture would be seen in more research based businesses where more team working is required with different skills to implement within the business surroundings.

There are many definitions of organisational culture available in the literature, many of which are based on the fact that culture consists of values, beliefs, and assumptions shared by the majority of members of an organisation. These characteristics and shared views are then translated into common and repeated patterns of behaviour. Although it is difficult to come up with a single definition that would cover

Lesley Willcoxson & Bruce Millett ABSTRACT Culture is a term that is used regularly in workplace discussions. It is taken for granted that we understand what it means. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss some of the significant issues relating to the management of an organisation’s culture. As organisational cultures are born within the context of broader cultural contexts such as national or ethic groupings, the paper will commence by defining ‘culture’ in the wider social context. This definition will subsequently form the basis for discussion of definitions of organisational culture and the paradigms and perspectives that underpin these. The paper will then discuss the issue of

Organisational cultural is in every sense just that, a culture. So not only does it act as an internal binding force which keeps the organisation together and in harmony, but it also defines how an individual should present himself and his organisation when he represents it. For example Price Waterhouse Coopers takes pride in the ever increasing diversity of its workforce and works to instil the idea of flexible but diligent working. This ideology could be considered as values forming part of PWC’s organisational culture. So whenever an employee comes in touch with a client these values will be automatically be reflected in

An organizational culture can be defined as a group of different features that differentiates an organization from another organization. A number of researchers have defined the organizational culture as a beliefs, values and customs of an organization. These values and customs are delivered to each employee by the management of an organization. In this modern era of globalization, organizations are competing with each other and in this war of competition, maintaining an organizational culture is highly imperative. There are multiple reasons for this and one of the most significant reasons is to achieve effectiveness (Daft, pg. 34,2010).

Every business has its own organisational culture. It is very significant to the organisation because well-developed culture will guide the successful business model. According to Tharp (2009, p.2) claims that “for some, culture is considered the “glue” that holds an organisation together and for others, the “compass” that provides directions”. The organisational culture is the system of shared actions, values, beliefs, norms, working language, systems, symbols and habits that develops and guides human behaviour in the organisation (Shermerhorn et al., 2012). According to Mullins (2010) states, that organisational culture is developing through long-term

The organizational culture plays a big part in defining the competitive positive of the organization in its environment, and play a crucial role in shaping behavior in the organization and the way in which an organization is perceived by external stakeholders.The culture of an organization has a strong influence on new organization tackles problems and questions, sets strategy and creates the structures that determine the work activities and relationship of organization members and also on new members behave when carrying out their

Whilst there are many definitions of organisational culture, within this context, culture generally refers to the organisational values communicated through norms, artifacts, and observed behavioural patterns (Schein, 1992). It is the interplay between ** that , such as the *** Seel (2000, p.3) defined organisational culture “as the emergent results of the continuing negotiations about values, meanings and properties between the members of that organisation and its environment”.

“Organisational culture is the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered, or developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, and that have worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems” (Schein, 1984). This definition elaborates the key characteristics of an organisational culture such as group, problems, perpetuation and interpretation. Deal and Kennedy (1982) provides a shorthand definition of Organisational culture as “the way things get done around here”. Every organisation is unique, some with more distinct cultures than the others. Furthermore, firms with the ‘right’ set of attributes can obtain sustained superior financial performance from their cultures (Barney, 1986). In this essay, we will critically analyse how culture affects an organisation’s business performance and also will elucidate on the concept of cultural evolution by studying various aspects of cultural perpetuation. We will also analyse the role of executives in managing an organisation’s culture and further, these propositions will be discussed with relevant examples.

Organisational culture became popular in the 1980’s after the publication of Peter and Waterman’s best-selling book “In search of excellence”. It was made evident that company success had a strong correlation with organisational culture, thus competitive advantage for business. The concept of organisational culture is vastly growing in management and a subject of various research. According to the “Business dictionary” Organisational culture is defined as “The values and behaviours that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organisation.”

The study of organisational culture is important and significant because it helps shape right decisions for the organisation and outlines the behavioural expectations from employees and also helps them interact with each other. Organisational culture also helps individual employees, groups and the organisation as a whole to manage the assigned work and tasks and meet deadlines. The attitude of stake holders towards the organisation, the organisations ability to accept change and the efficiency of work within the organisation is well understood with the study of organisational culture (Kenneth Desson & Joseph Clouthier, 2010)

Organisational culture is the behaviour of humans who are part of an organisation and the meanings that the people attach to their actions. Culture includes the organisation values, visions, norms, working language, systems, symbols, beliefs and habits. It is also the pattern of such collective behaviours and assumptions that are taught to new organisational members as a way of perceiving, and even thinking and feeling. Organisational culture affects the way people and groups interact with each other, with clients, and with stakeholders. Inside organisations power inequality of the "boss-subordinates relationships" is functional and reflects inequality according to Hofstede. (1980) Power can be located within the individuals and their relationships; it is also based in the context, situation or environment

Usually, to be able to change the culture in an organization, leaders must modify the organization’s structure. However, it is possible to retain the organizational structure while changing the culture if modifications are made to the assigned rules employees (Bianca, 2015). The culture of the organization has a strong effect on the quality of work, as well as how employees feel about their job (Janićijević, 2013).

This essay will argue that organizational culture can and, should be managed. Increased business competition, amalgamations, globalization, acquisitions, business alliances, and other developments have created the need for management of organizational culture. The context of management of organizational culture is fundamental to much of the successive work on organizational efficiency.

In detail, how organizational culture impacts people and organizational outcomes begins with developing a model of effectiveness. As we have discussed in earlier work, trait theory in leadership, the four traits of organizational cultures are adaptability, consistency, involvement and mission. “Two of the traits, involvement and adaptability, are indicators of flexibility, openness, and responsiveness, and were strong predictors of growth. The other two traits, consistency and mission, are indicators of integration, direction, and vision, and were better predictors of profitability. Each of the four traits were also significant predictors of other effectiveness criteria such as quality, employee satisfaction, and overall performance.” (Banto). These traits represent the culture that breed’s success for an organization; As stated above each trait plays a significant role in organizations; beginning with a mission- it informs a collective identity that influences the group to communicate and understand the goal for the organization. Next, adaptability, which prescribes behavior that is made cleared to each group member the “do’s and don’ts” by knowing the policies for the situation at hand. As we continue, consistency, which helps the group, work together to meet the vision of the direction of the organization. Lastly, involvement, being accountable for the role given, it provides structure with in-group that creates trust and develops motivation with each person to