The Definition of Organizational Culture

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Culture and Structure
Organizational structure and culture are important elements in a company. Why are these important and how do they affect each other within an organization? The culture is created when the company founders establish a vision or mission (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013). This is their dream and the future of what they have created. The values are traits that are learned from the first employees hired, which then creates the culture or the personality of the business.
The definition of organizational culture is ‘The shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act’ (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013, p. 39). Structures can be some form of either a Mechanistic or an Organic formation. Mechanistic structures are a top down organization, which is more formal, using the traditional chain of command decision making process. Organic structures are informal, flatter organizations using limited rules. How do these interact with the culture? The company strategy, size, technology and environment all play a role in the development of the structure.
The structure of a company should enhance and expedite the attainment of the company goals (Robbins, et al., 2013). . When companies are new and young, the structure can be organic to enable a small organization to make quick decisions. As companies grow in size, more rules must be put into place to control costs and regulations. When a company is around 2,000 employees, it has probably already become mechanistic. Technology plays a role in this as well. When a company is using ordinary technology, they have a tendency to become mechanistic as they grow. In opposition, companies wi...

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..., it could have a devastating outcome. Employee behavior, attitude and future commitment will change when they do not believe in the values and structure. Successful companies have a combination of many factors, a defined culture, structure and employees that are committed to both elements.

References
Gutierrez, A. P., Candela, L. L., & Carver, L. (2012). The structural relationships between organizational commitment, global job satisfaction, developmental experiences, work values, organizational support, and person-organization fit among nursing faculty. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 68(7), 1601-1614. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2012.05990.
Robbins, S. P., Decenzo, D. A., & Coulter. M. (2013). Fundamentals of Management (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Wulf, J. (2012). The flattened firm: Not as advertised. California Management Review, 55(1), 5-23.

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