An organization is the means by which human and other resources are deployed so that work gets done (Price, 2011). Edward Taylor defined Culture as the ‘knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits’ acquired through membership of society’ (Price a. c., 2011). Bower simply defined organizational culture as ‘the way we do things around here’. (Price a. c., Human Resource Management Fourth edition, 2011). Researchers have determined that culture is one variable that adds to the organization as a whole. Culture can be altered depending on the organization’s leadership and its members.
Part one of this paper focuses on the theoretical aspects of organizational culture.
Part two focuses on organizational culture in a South African context.
Part three focuses on the challenges of culture and ways to overcome it.
PART ONE
Nowadays, organizations operate in extremely dynamic environments characterised by constant changes in technology, stringent government regulations and the unpredictability of the economy. These external factors restrict organizations from making abnormal profits and gaining a competitive advantage. Therefore, organizations should move their attention from overcoming external factors to maintaining the internal aspects of the organization. Building an organizational culture within an organization can unite its employees resulting in an increase in productivity, company image and evidently help the organization build a competitive advantage.
Historical research conducted on culture dates back to the Human Relations movement. The studies conducted at the Western Electric Hawthorn plant launched this movement. Hawthorn researchers conducted an experiment where two groups (a tes...
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Kazi, T. B. (2013). Organizational transformation and workplace diversity in South Africa. 47-51.
Price. (2011). Human Resource Management, Fourth Edition. Brendan George.
Price, a. c. (2011). In Human Resource Management Fourth edition (p. 218). Brendan George.
Price, a. c. (2011). Human Resource Management Fourth Edition. Brendan George.
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Just as there are cultures in larger human society, there seem to be cultures within organizations. These cultures are similar to societal cultures. They are shared, communicated through symbols, and passed down from generation to generation of employees. Many definitions of organizational culture have been proposed. Most of them agree that there are several levels of culture and that these levels differ in terms of their visibility and their ability to be changed.
Aspects of the perceived culture in an o organization, such as, level of communication among members, the level of support in regard for new innovations and technology, as well as the amount of support by upper level management all have a positive influence on the manner employees behave and interact with each other as well as how they treat consumers and suppliers. If employees emulate a manager that does not share the same values and beliefs of others within the organization, or that does not share a good work ethic, employees will not complete tasks and fail to be productive. It works as well in the opposite manner; when employees see a manager who supports a company’s mission, its goals, and business strategy, the organizational culture of the company will aide in providing a clear direction for employees to follow and strive towards. Ultimately, the culture supports desire business strategies and the overall mission of an organization, and the capacity of the culture is dependent on just how intensely employees share the values and basic assumption of the
The essay will describe the concept of organizational culture and national culture. In the course of trying to describe both types of culture; subcultures and socialization examples will be discussed. A few real world examples will be mentioned in an attempt to further explain the topics in the essay. There are many similarities to how organizations and nations are structured and shaped by culture. The concept of cross-cultured management and multinational corporations are also a concept that organizations use to explain the behavior of their culture. Finally the essay will discuss how organizational and national cultures are interrelated. The interrelationship can be explained in the cultural dimensions and how the influence behavior and management.
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.
Triandis, H., & Wasti, S. (2008). Culture. In D. Stone, & E. Stone-Romeo, The influence of culture on human resource management processes and practices (pp. 1-24). Psychology Press
Culture is a shared philosophy. Accordingly, a corporate culture is one shared within an organization. Corporate culture is instinctual, inherent, and highly immeasurable. It is an inexact science, a style of doing business comprising “beliefs, mores, customs, value systems and behavioral norms, and ways of doing business that are unique to each corporation” (Brusseau, 2012, p. 428). The author further extrapolates the philosophy as giving direction, administering advice, and recognizes the importance of its people; constantly changing, it is created, blooms, and can perish within each organization.
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.
Organizational Culture plays a crucial role in shaping employee and management behavior in an organization.
The modern workforce is constantly evolving, and it is becoming increasingly multinational. Each culture represented in the workplace brings its own set of values, beliefs, and practices to the work environment. While this diversity can be used as a source of competitive advantage, it can also present a challenge when it comes to organizational leadership. In an effort to identify what leadership means around the world, Resick, Martin, Keating, Dickson, Kwan & Peng (2011) conducted a qualitative study of managers across six societies: The People’s Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong, The Republic of China (Taiwan), The United States, Ireland, and Germany. These societies were selected for the study due to the significant role that each county
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.
Culture is “a system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organisation and guides the behaviour of its members” (Schermerhorn et al. 2011). It plays an important role in any organisation. For instance, in Woolworths we can se...
Culture is “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another” (Rodriguez, R. P. & Hechanova, R. M., 2014, as cited in Hofstede, 2001). Business is worldwide and each organization is shaped by culture and the people running the organization (Wharton, 1999). It’s very interesting to see the differences of cultural concepts of leadership skills in various countries, and how the
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.
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).
Organisational culture is one of the most valuable assets of an organization. Many studies states that the culture is one of the key elements that benefits the performance and affects the success of the company (Kerr & Slocum 2005). This can be measured by income of the company, and market share. Also, an appropriate culture within the society can bring advantages to the company which helps to perform with the de...