preview

'What is an organizational culture? Explain both how the culture of an organization might evolve and why an understanding of organizational culture is important?

Good Essays
Open Document

A culture is a pattern of assumptions and beliefs deeply held in common by members of an organization (Schein, 1985).

Culture comprised of assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs such as artifacts of organization members, slogans, logos and observable behaviors. It is difficult to express culture distinctly but you can tell the culture of an organization by looking at the member 's clothes, the arrangement of the furniture and how they communicate with each other. Different organization has different culture. Culture is vital in an organization as it laid the foundation of the organizational internal environment and it also plays a significant role in shaping managerial behavior. Organizational culture can be defined as the set of …show more content…

They can do this by breaking free from their old approach and change to a new approach. For instance, Schwinn has changed its motto- "Established 1895.Re-established 1994". This represent an attempt to create a new culture that reflects today 's competitive environment in bicycle market. Similarly, Continental Airlines "re-invented" itself few years ago. The employees were taken outside the Headquarters building in Houston to watch the firm 's old policies and procedures set afire. The firm 's new strategy is known as "Go Forward" plan. This plan is to avoid people from remembering the firm 's troubled past and to focus on the future.

An understanding of the organizational culture is very important for many reasons. First, culture is a powerful force in the organization. It shaped the overall effectiveness and the long term success of the organization. Company 's that develop a strong culture are likely to succeed. For that reason, managers need to have a clear understanding and appreciation of the importance of the organization 's culture. Managers must understand the culture and then decide if the culture should be maintained and changed. Only by understanding the organization 's current culture can managers take appropriate actions.

Next, culture is seen as the context for control. Culture was described as facilitating control when the control system is consistent with

Get Access