According to (Organic Workspaces, n. d) an organization’s culture refers to the observable, powerful forces in any organization, usually constituted by the employees’ shared values, beliefs, symbols, and behaviors. The organizational culture ideally influences its decisions and actions (Tharp, n. d). (Watkins, 2013) also defines organizational culture as a consistent and observable pattern of behavior in organizations. An organization’s culture channelizes individual decisions and actions at a subconscious level, and thus, can have a potent effect on an organization’s success. Organizational cultures facilitate the existence of a common ground for all stakeholders, particularly the employees and managers in addressing various issues within an organization. It reduces uncertainty thus providing a sense of direction and vision for the organization. Organization’s cultures can be observable in its people, processes and products as well as leadership’s embraced values in shaping its operations.
The (Harvard Business Review, 2013) states that an essential intent of an organization’s culture is to help orientate its employees to realism in a manner that provides a basis for alignment of purpose and shared action. Individual organizations formulate their own culture partially grounded on the values its top leadership exhibits within the organization.
Enron’s sense of business ethics and operations in the context of its culture
According to (Gruble, 2011), business ethics refers to a set of organizational values and codes of principles, by which it evaluates its actions and business-related decisions. It can be regarded as the proclivity to differentiate right from wrong, and the rebounding urge to opt to do what’s right in terms of ac...
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...ron’s Downfall. Corporate Governance, 9(2)
Meisinger, S. R., (2012). Examining Organizational Ethics. Human Resource Executive Online. [online] available at http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=533348507, accessed March 10, 2014.
Tharp, B. M. (n. d). Defining “Culture” and “Organizational Culture”: From Anthropology to the Office. [Online] available at http://www.thercfgroup.com/files/resources/Defining Culture-and-Organizationa-Culture_5.pdf accessed March 10, 2014.
Organic Workspaces, (n. d). The One Page [online] available at < http://www.organicworkspaces.com/pdf/What_is_Organizational_Culture.pdf> accessed March 11, 2014
Watkins, M. (2013). What Is Organizational Culture? And Why Should We Care? HBR Blog Network, Harvard Business Review. [online] available at
This, in turn, enhances their level of motivation and causes the employees to be more committed to their company. Culture is a sense-making device for organization members. It provides a way for employees to interpret the meaning of organizational events and reinforces the values in the organization. Culture also serves as a control mechanism for
Business ethics are a the codes of conduct and company lays out so it's employees follow a righteous moral compass that's in the same direction as the company's.
(Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, & Langvardt, 2010) Business ethics is when ethical behavior is applied in a business environment, or by a business. There are many situations that can arise in which a person is experiencing an ethical dilemma. They have to choose between standing by their own personal ethical standards or complying with their companies ethical standards. In some instances, some have to choose whether to serve their own personal interests, or the interests of the company.
Organizational culture is the system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members, while organizational structure is an expression of social and economic principles of hierarchy and specialization (Kinicki, 2015). Both the culture and the structure of an organization are important things for management to understand in order to successfully set and achieve an organization’s goals. Companies who excel in highly competitive fields can attribute their successful economic performance to a cohesive corporate culture that increases competitiveness and profitability. This culture is best utilized in an organization that has the necessary structure to allow its employees to coordinate their actions to achieve its goals.
Business ethics simply can be defined as the application of business values in the business practice of a company (Seawell 2010, p. 2). For a multinational company, business ethics is one of the critical aspects need to be taken into account in business decision-making processes. Failure to give attention on ethics may bring consequences on company’s reputation (Meyer & Jebe 2010, p. 159). The company is expected not only to pursue its own profits but also contributing to the environmental and social welfare of the community where it operates (Svensson & Wood 2008, p. 308).
Organizational culture is imperative to the success of the organization. The strength and core values of the organization is supported by the organizational culture. This allows for organization to operate in a specific manner that is specific to that organization and can pave the path for success. Company founders are passionate about their vision and mission and they elude that passion into their employees. When that passion and mission is successfully implied to the employees the company strives in it 's path to success.
Culture can be defined as “A pattern of basic assumptions invented, discovered or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore to be taught to the new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems”. Schein (1988). Organizational culture can be defined as a system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members. It includes routine behaviors, norms, dominant values, and feelings or climates. The purpose and function of this culture is to help foster internal integration, bring staff members from all levels of the organization closer together, and enhance their performance.
These above ingredients of culture are gained from birth which means anyone is much influenced by their family, religion, school, and workplace and from friends. Culture mainly stands for supporting role for almost overall success of organization not only that but also it reflects in the outcomes of an organization such as, quality and productivity, obligation and performance. Organizational culture has always been a question for everyone on how the culture and power are associated to an organization.
The concept of organizational cultures was first raised in 1970s, and soon became a fashionable topic. Organizational culture is the shared beliefs, values and behaviours of the group. Theorists of organizations believe that organizational culture represents the pattern of behaviours, values, and beliefs of an organization. Hence, studies around organizational culture have been seen as great helpful and essential for understanding organizations and their behaviours. Additionally, organizational culture has been considered to be an important determinant of organizational success. Therefore, leaders and managers pay more than more attentions on this topic, focusing on constructing and managing organizational cultures.
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2007). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right Fourth ed., Retrieved on July 30, 2010 from www.ecampus.phoenix.edu
House et al. (2007) discovers that leadership and Organisational culture are closely linked together as leaders influence the culture of their organisations. Researches talk about a range of leadership definitions but it is not easy to define. (E.g. Western, 2008; Yukl, 2010). However, Cohen (2009) critically analyses definitions from Dracker (1996), Eisenhower (1969), Northouse (2004) and finally summarised the definition of leadership constitutes five elements. First of all, ask question to set direction, which means effective leaders need to listen to followers’ voice respectfully and then share the common goals and ideas with them. In addition, leaders need to seek insights and allocate resources optimally; act ethically; allow their employees to work in a conformable and most effective way. This essay will explain different leadership styles and how they influence the organisations with examples of organisations and leaders with main focus on well-known entrepreneur: Sir Alan Sugar. He grows from nothing to incredible success (£ 730 million), is a legend in the UK business history; his reality TV show “The Apprentice”, a great entertainment for recruitment appeals to the public without reasons. However, he as a person is controversial amongst people, probably due to his leadership style as bullying or harassment (destructive). There are four schools of leadership styles: Trait, behavioural, contingency and transformational. Nevertheless, in the case of Alan Sugar, trait and transactional styles match him which will be illustrated following in detail.
The concept of organizational culture is one of the most debated topics for researchers and theorists. There is no one accepted definition of culture. People even said that it is hard to define culture and even more change it. It is considered a complex part of an organization although many have believed that culture influences employee behavior and organizational effectiveness (Kilmann, Saxton, & Serpa 1985; Marcoulides & Heck, 1993; Schein, 1985a, 1990).
In the business world there are many fundamental aspects and situations that can lead to several issues. In order to find an optimal and professional solution, business decision makers need to apply moral and ethical standards. And it is at that moment in which business ethics perform its role. Business ethics, which is in charge of examine how companies and individuals should act in business situations, is very essential in order to reach a common agreement and to work within the laws of business and solve an arisen dilemma. Working of the hand of ethical business companies, employees, investors, directors, and even individual officers can be beneficiated and obtain most favorable outcomes.
The textbook defines business ethics as “the accepted principles of right or wrong governing the conduct of business people.” Business ethics also govern the members of a profession and the actions of an organization. Many organizations put into place an ethical strategy which is “a course of action that does not violate accepted principles.” These principles are used to guide organizations and employees to make the right decisions.
Business ethics are a set of moral rules that govern how a business operates, how people should be treated within an organization, and how business decisions are made. They are a crucial part of employment and in managing a sustainable business, mainly because of the serious consequences that can result from decisions made with a lack of regard to ethics. Even if you don’t believe that good ethics don’t contribute to profit levels, you should realize those poor ethics have a negative effect on your bottom line in the long-run. Every business in every industry has certain guidelines to which its employees must stick to, and regularly outline such aspects in employee handbooks.