Understanding organisational culture

‘Power’ culture (Handy, 1985) is described as a similar infrastructure to that of a spider’s web, where the “boss” is in the centre of an ever widening web of others involved in the organisation. Role culture (Handy, 1985) is best explained as an image of a pyramid of boxes, each box containing a job title and role. The boxes still stand and the structure remains secure, even if one of the individuals fulfilling a role departs. Role cultures are best operated by a manager at the top of the pyramid, as suggested by Ronald White (1988). Role cultures operate best in large organisations where roles are clearly defined, evaluation of their progress is continually assessed and feedback is given. Task culture (Handy, 1985) is predominantly used in a field where team work is of paramount importance to ensure a task is completed. People culture

With shifts in the product strategy and the recent collaborations came the difficult task of changing aspects of the cultural values of the organisation. The company traditionally embraced what theorists would generally refer to as a role culture. This referred to organisations operating in relatively stable environments with more of a focus on procedure, hierarchy and bureaucracy rather than dynamism (Amstrong, 2000 citing the works of Harrison, 1972; Handy, 1976; Schein, 1985 and Williams et al, 1989). For the organisation to succeed in the more volatile

All Organisations posses a distinct form of culture with some having more than a single culture. This culture is usually very difficult to measure, change and most especially change.

for the oversight of delegating processes and expected outcomes. Without structure there is a potential for chaos to ensue, communication to be inhibited, thereby preventing goals from getting accomplished. Organizational structure is an important tool managers use to increase efficiency within the departments (Sullivan, 2013) and is an important line of communication for employees at the department level as well as throughout the organization. Every

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

Within the field of management, the success and failure of the modern business organisation has been largely depicted by the intricate concept of culture. Organisational culture, a concept borrowed from borrowed mostly from anthropology typically is defined as a complex set of values, beliefs, assumptions and symbols that define the way in which an organisation conducts and manages its business (Barney 1986). Management is not just an act of change, but the responsibility for and control of a company or similar organisation (Willmott 1983). It is the management of organisational culture that merely drives the

British gas has designed the organisation structure as tall structure. It is based on the clients and the number of the staff. Most of the time tall structure has a role culture. British gas has the same because steady organisational process, long decision making. Normally when organisation have a tall structure it is followed by a role culture. A good example is British gas many levels of management hierarchy, where all the staff are given certain roles to play. This role culture expect a proper channel reporting with proper line of command.

Organisation culture can be described as “the way we do things around here”. It considers the

The relationship between structure, culture, and people has a huge effect on an organisation’s performance. It can boost employee’s moral, help set the guidelines and ethics of a company and increase the efficiency of the company’s workload.

The business dictionary (Business Dictionary 2014) defines organisational culture as the ‘values and behaviours that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization’. An organisation's culture is important in ensuring that the performance of the business meets or exceeds the expectations of all aspects of their business, from management to the wider community as a whole. The culture dictates the ways employees interact and brings all the employees on a common platform to extract the best of each member. An organisations culture should be in line with the predefined goals, visions and values outlined in the mission statement.

The main idea behind the concept of organisational culture is a set of shared assumptions and values, the working life and the relationships. Organisational culture in a layman’s words would simply mean, ‘way things get done’. It is an informal way of working. It is these values that influences the way people behave with their customers or with each other. This also influence the way they relate their work. I would like to contextualise this with two examples:

OPENNESS. Openness can be defined as a spontaneous expression of feelings and thoughts, and the sharing of these without defensiveness. Openness is in both directions, receiving and giving. Both these may relate to ideas (including suggestions), feedback (including criticism), and feelings. For example, openness means receiving without reservation, and taking steps to encourage more feedback and suggestions from customers, colleagues and others. Similarly, it means giving, without hesitation, ideas, information, feedback, feelings, etc. Openness may also mean spatial openness, in terms of accessibility. Installing internal E-mailing may be a step in this direction: everyone having a computer terminal has access to information which he may

Organisational culture, which is defined by Handy (1993) as the concepts and ideas which govern the behaviour of people and organisations, has a significant impact on the effectiveness of an organisation. Handy listed over sixty different variables which contribute towards an organisation’s culture including the style of leadership evident, the systems and structures which support the organisation and how the different sub groups within the organisation relate and work

The key in helping to form and provide an identity for an organisation is in its organisational culture. Northcote and Trevelyan (1853) sought to provide the Civil Service with a distinctive character. Their vision based on four principal recommendations (merit through examination, educational level, graded into a hierarchy and promotion through achievement) has meant the Civil Service has invested heavily in training programmes despite long development times. These circumstances are categorised by Deal and Kennedy (2000) as a “Bet-your-company” type culture.

Organizational culture is a system of shared meanings and common beliefs held by organization member that determine in large degree how they act towards each other. Conveyed through rituals, stories, and social indoctrination.