Organisational Culture (Blog 9)

What is Organisational Culture..?

Culture is the commonly held beliefs, attitudes and values that exist in an organization. Put more simply, culture is ‘the way we do things around here’ (Furnham and Gunter, 1993). Brown (1998) states that “current interests in organisational culture stems from at least four different sources: climate research, national cultures, human resource management and from conviction approaches which emphasise the rational and structural nature of the organisation to be unable to offer a full explanation of organisational behaviour”.

“Organisational culture is the distinctive norms, beliefs, principles and ways of behaving that combine to give each organisation its distinct character” (Arnold, 2005). Schein (1985) also defines organisational culture 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 new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems”.

Functions of Organisational Culture

(Figure 1:Functions of Culture)

Brown (1998) states the following functions of organisational culture:

Conflict reduction - A common culture promotes consistency of perception, problem definition, evaluation of issues and opinions, and preferences for action. 

Coordination and control - Largely because culture promotes consistency of outlook it also facilitates organisational processes of coordination and control.

Reduction of uncertainty - Adopting of the cultural mind frame is an anxiety reducing device which simplifies the world of work, makes choices easier and rational action seem possible. 

Motivation - An appropriate and cohesive culture can offer employees a focus of identification and loyalty, foster beliefs and values that encourage employees to perform. 

Competitive advantage - Strong culture improves the organisation’s chances of being successful in the marketplace.

The Components of Organisational Culture

(Figure 2: key elements of organisational culture)

As per Armstrong and Taylor (2014), Organisational culture can be described in terms of values, norms, artefacts and management or leadership style.

Values

Values are beliefs in what is best or good for the organisation and what should or ought to happen. The ‘value set’ of an organisation may only be recognised at top level, or it may be shared throughout the business, in which case the business could be described as value-driven.

Norms

Norms tell people what they are supposed to be doing, saying, believing, and even wearing. They are passed on by word of mouth or behaviour and can be enforced by the reactions of people if they are violated.

Artefacts

Artefacts are the visible and tangible aspects of an organisation that people hear, see or feel and which contributes to their understanding of the organisation’s culture. Artefacts can include such things as the working environment, the tone and language used in e-mails, letters, people address each other. Artefacts can be very revealing.

Management style

The approach managers’ use to deal with people, their management or leadership style is a significant part of the culture of an organisation. Every manager has his or her own style but this will be influenced by the organisational culture, which may produce a prevailing management style that represents a behavioral norm for managers that is generally expected and adopted.

References

• Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2014) ‘Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice’, 13^th edn., London, Kogan page.

• Arnold, J. (2005) 'Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace', 4th edn., London: Prentice Hall Financial Times.

• Brown, A. (1998) 'Organisational Culture', 2nd edn., London: Financial Times Pitman Publishing.

• Furnham, A. and Gunter, B. (1993) 'Corporate Assessment', Routledge, London.

• Schein, E. H. (1985) 'Organizational Culture and Leadership', 1st edn., San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Figure 1: Functions of Culture :[online] Available at:  http://genesisventures.us/company-culture-diagram.html [Accessed on : 01 October 2018].

• Figure 2: Kaplan Financial Knowledge Bank (2012) Key elements of organisational culture: [online] Available at: http://kfknowledgebank.kaplan.co.uk/KFKB/Wiki%20Pages/Organisational%20Culture.aspx [Accessed on : 01 October 2018].