The document discusses organizational culture, describing it as the shared meanings and values among members of an organization. It identifies seven primary characteristics of organizational culture: innovation and risk taking, attention to detail, outcome orientation, people orientation, team orientation, aggressiveness, and stability. Subcultures within departments are also discussed. Strong organizational cultures with high levels of shared values and commitment can influence member behavior but also present barriers to change, diversity, and mergers. The document concludes with sections on creating an ethical culture, positive organizational culture, and the growing interest in spirituality in organizations.
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Organization Culture: By: Dr. Teena Bharti
The document discusses organizational culture, describing it as the shared meanings and values among members of an organization. It identifies seven primary characteristics of organizational culture: innovation and risk taking, attention to detail, outcome orientation, people orientation, team orientation, aggressiveness, and stability. Subcultures within departments are also discussed. Strong organizational cultures with high levels of shared values and commitment can influence member behavior but also present barriers to change, diversity, and mergers. The document concludes with sections on creating an ethical culture, positive organizational culture, and the growing interest in spirituality in organizations.
Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members
that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZATION CULTURE Seven primary characteristics seem to capture 4. People orientation. The degree to which the essence of an organization’s culture: management decisions take into consideration the 1. Innovation and risk taking. The degree to effect of outcomes on people within the organization. which employees are encouraged to be 5. Team orientation. The degree to which work innovative and take risks. activities are organized around teams rather than individuals. 2. Attention to detail. The degree to which 6. Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing. 7. Stability. The degree to which organizational 3. Outcome orientation. The degree to which activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in management focuses on results or outcomes contrast to growth. rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them. For example: The purchasing department can have a subculture that includes the core values of the dominant culture plus additional values unique to members of that department. Explanation: The more members who accept the core values and the greater their commitment, the stronger the culture and the greater its influence on member behavior, because the high degree of sharedness and intensity creates a climate of high behavioral control. Note: Today’s trend toward decentralized organizations makes culture more important than ever, but ironically it also makes establishing a strong culture more difficult. When formal authority and control systems are reduced, culture’s shared meaning can point everyone in the same direction.
Example: Facebook company fosters
a fun loving, casual, and collegial identity in its employees. The vast majority of the company’s employees are under 40 and enjoy the excitement of working in a fast-paced environment with considerable change and ambiguity. Facebook encourages employees to interact in a creative climate that encourages experimentation and tolerates conflict and risk. CULTURE AS A LIABILITY Culture can enhance organizational commitment and increase the consistency of employee behavior, clearly benefits to an organization. Culture is valuable to employees too, because it spells out how things are done and what’s important. Institutionalization When an organization undergoes institutionalization and becomes institutionalized —that is, it is valued for itself and not for the goods or services it produces—it takes on a life of its own, apart from its founders or Members. Barriers to Change Culture is a liability when the shared values don’t agree with those that further the organization’s effectiveness. For example: Consistency of behavior, an asset in a stable environment, may then burden the organization and make it difficult to espond to changes. Barriers to Diversity Hiring new employees who differ from the majority in race, age, gender, disability, or other characteristics creates a paradoxical situation as in when newcomers who wish to fit in are expected to accept the organization’s core cultural values. Barriers to Acquisitions and Mergers: In recent years, cultural compatibility has become the primary concern. All things being equal, whether the acquisition actually works seems to have more to do with how well the two organizations’ cultures match up. WHAT CAN MANAGERS DO TO CREATE A MORE ETHICAL CULTURE? They can adhere to the following principles: ● Be a visible role model. Employees will look to the actions of top management as a benchmark for appropriate behavior. Send a positive message. ● Communicate ethical expectations. Minimize ethical ambiguities by sharing an organizational code of ethics that states the organization’s primary values and ethical rules employees must follow. ● Provide ethical training. Set up seminars, workshops, and training programs to reinforce the organization’s standards of conduct, clarify what practices are permissible, and address potential ethical dilemmas. ● Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones. Appraise managers on how their decisions measure up against the organization’s code of ethics. Review the means as well as the ends. Visibly reward those who act ethically and conspicuously punish those who don’t. ● Provide protective mechanisms. Provide formal mechanisms so employees can discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behavior without fear of reprimand. These might include ethical counselors, ombudsmen, or ethical officers. POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE A positive organizational culture emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more than it punishes, and emphasizes individual vitality and growth. Example: Employees of Pricewaterhouse Coopers work within a positive organizational culture that emphasizes individuals’ vitality and growth. Consider the following areas to build a positive Organizational Culture: Building on Employee Strengths: it does emphasize showing workers how they can capitalize on their strengths. Rewarding More Than Punishing: Many managers withhold praise because they’re afraid employees will coast or because they think praise is not valued. Employees generally don’t ask for praise, and managers usually don’t realize the costs of failing to give it. Emphasizing Vitality and Growth No organization will get the best from employees who see themselves as mere machine. positive culture recognizes the difference between a job and a career. It supports not only what the employee contributes to organizational effectiveness but also how the organization can make the employee more effective—personally and professionally. REASONS FOR THE GROWING INTEREST IN SPIRITUALITY
Note: Organizations that provided
their employees with opportunities for spiritual development have outperformed those that didn’t. Thank You