Organisational culture - Week 9

Organisational Culture

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As culture plays a major role in any society it plays a significant role in an organisation. Culture differs from one organisation to another and it may have different cultures in two different departments within one organisation (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Public sector culture will be completely different from the private sector. In the Public sector, emergency services culture will be different from the administration section. Culture is present in all the department of the organisation.

Definition of the Organisational culture

Organisational or corporate culture is the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that may not have been articulated but shapes the ways in which people in organisations behave and things get done (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).


According to the Chartered Management Institute (2018) organisational culture is the way that things are done in an organisation, the unwritten rules that influence individual and group behaviour and attitudes.

Factors which can influence organisational culture include:

* The organisation's structure

* The system and processes by which work is carried out

* The behaviour and attitudes of employees

* The organisation’s values and traditions

* The management and leadership styles adopted

(Chartered Management Institute, 2018)

Types of organisational culture.

According to Armstrong & Taylor (2014) there are four types of organisational cultures.

Power Culture	Role Culture
* Associated with autocratic leadership      * Power is in the centre of the organisation      * Managers are judged by results      * Competitive	* Power is associated with the position not people      * Controlled by procedures and rules      * Decision making is slow      * No creativity
Task Culture	Person Culture
* Teamwork      * Creativity is encouraged      * The culture is adaptable      * Empowered to make decisions	* Most creative type of culture      * Individual centred      * Maximum support is given by the organisation      * There is no emphasis on teamwork

Components of culture

According to Armstrong & Taylor (2014) organisational culture can be described in terms of values, norms, artefacts, and management or leadership style.

Values:

Values are beliefs about what is best or good for the organisation and what should or ought to happen.

Norms:

Informal guidelines on how to behave. These are the rules which are not documented but it is expected to follow.

Artefacts:

Visible structure and practices which includes policies and procedures, which can be seen, heard and felt by the people to get an understanding of the organisation.

Management or Leadership style:

The style managers use to deal with people. This is an important part of the culture in an organisation.

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Culture gives organisations a sense of identity and determines, through the organisation’s legends, rituals, beliefs, meanings, values, norms, and language. An organisations’ culture encapsulates what it has been good at and what has worked in the past. These practices can often be accepted without question by long-serving members of an organisation (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008).

Organisational culture is vital, It must be given importance as any area other of the organisation. People make an organisation run and the culture will guide the people on the path they have to be. Even it will guide new employees how to behave in a particular organisation. The culture should come from the top management and it must be spread among the rest. If the culture is not positive then all the efforts must be taken to change the existing culture. Culture should be positive and should have a culture that makes the employees engaged with the organisation.

"Culture is to organisations what character is to individuals" (Schein, 2004)

References:

Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S., 2014. ARMSTRONG’S HANDBOOK OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE. 13th ed. London: koganpage.

Chartered Management Institute, 2018. CMI. [Online] Available at: https://www.managers.org.uk/~/media/Files/PDF/Checklists/CHK-232-Understanding-organisational-culture.pdf [Accessed 26 September 2018].

O’Donnell, O. & Boyle, R., 2008. In Understanding and Managing Organisational Culture. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration.

Schein, E.H., 2004. In Organizational Culture and Leadership. 3rd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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Image 1: https://www.alphagamma.eu/entrepreneurship/organizational-culture-competitive-weapon/

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