Importance Of Organizational Culture

The intensification of research on organizational effectiveness has led to the identification of several organizational factors that have an influential role in the determination of organizational performance. Organizational culture is one such factor that has received much attention in organizational behavior literatures, because of the key role it plays in determining levels of organizational outcomes. A common hypothesis about the role of organizational culture is that if an organization possesses a strong culture by exhibiting a well-integrated and effective set of specific values, beliefs, and behaviors, then it will perform at a higher level of productivity Given the influence of an organization 's culture on its productivity, the development

It has been found that, it is not the presence of the diversity itself that determines the effects of the diversity within an organization but, rather, the level of openness to dissimilarity characteristic of the organization 's members, work groups and culture.ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: The way we do things around here is a common sense definition of culture. But it over simplifies the concept and misses powerful underlying concepts and processes. It is better to regard culture as referring to the shared assumptions, beliefs, values and norms, actions as well as artifacts and language patterns. It is an acquired body of knowledge about how to behave and shared meanings and symbols which facilitate everyone 's interpretation and understanding of how to act within an organization. Culture is the unique whole, the heart and soul that determines how a group of people will behave. Cultures are collective beliefs that in turn shape behavior. They can include BASIC ASSUMPTIONS, VALUES AND NORMS DRIVE PRACTICES AND BEHAVIORS: The culture of an organization operates at both a conscious and unconscious

If the culture is already firmly established when the CEO assumed leadership and he/she simply inherited a strong set of traditions, then he/she may play the role of the guardian of the old culture. On the other hand, CEOs such as Lou Gerstner at IBM, or Lee Iococca at Chrysler were brought in to be a change agent charged with dramatically transforming the organizational culture.IMPORTANCE OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE: Interpreting and understanding organizational culture is an important activity for managers and consultants because it affects strategic development, productivity and learning at all levels. Cultural assumptions can both enable and constrain what organizations are able to do. The job of the consultant is often to provide a method and a structure for organizations to be able to surface the most relevant cultural assumptions. Those that will assist change and those that will hinder the process.WHY ASSESS CULTURE? CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN THE REAL AND IDEAL CULTURE: Cultural assessment can enable a company to analyze the gap between the current and desired