Describe
The Relevance Of Work Values For An Effective Organisation. Discuss The Culture
Differences Of Values .Organizational culture is a significant component of organizationwhich
not only determines the behavior of its employees, it also reflects upon the
vision, mission and norms of the organization. Each organization has its own
culture which may be similar to that of other organizations or unique in
itself. In the present unit, you will be introduced about the concept of
organizational culture. With the help of this unit, you will come to know about
the components and models of organizational culture. Work Values For An
Effective Organisation. Discuss The Culture Differences Of Values .
Though
the term society and culture is used today as a scientific concept by most of
the social sciences, its most comprehensive definition has been provided in
anthropology. Values For An Effective Organisation. Discuss The Culture
Differences Of Values Describe The Relevance Of Work Values For An Effective
Organisation .
Humans
are social beings. That is why we live together in societies. Day-to-day we
interact with each other and develop social relationships. Every society has a
culture, no matter how simple that culture may be. Culture is shared. The
members of every society share a common culture which they have to learn.
Culture is not inherited it is transmitted from one generation to the other
through the vehicle of language. Like societies, cultures differ all over the world.
Discuss The Culture Differences Of Values. The two concepts society and culture
are closely related and sometimes can be used interchangeably. Discuss The
Culture Differences Of Values
This
unit discusses the meaning and definition of society and culture in
anthropological perspective. The unit also discusses some of the
characteristics and elements of society and culture.
Elliott
Jaques first introduced the concept of culture in the organizational context in
his 1951 book The Changing Culture of a Factory. The culture of an organization
defines it. Organizational culture is important not only for the existence of
an organization but it also determines how people (employee and customers) will
feel and behave in organizations, as it can turn them into advocates or
critics. The Relevance Of Work Values For An Effective Organization. Discuss
The Culture Differences Of Values Studies have suggested that a good
organizational culture leads to increased employee engagement, decrease
turnover, a healthy team environment and develops a strong brand identity.
When
an organization takes on a life of its own, apart from any of its members, and
acquires immortality, the organization is said to be institutionalized. When an
organization takes on institutional permanence, acceptable modes of behaviour
become largely self-evident to its members. So an understanding of what makes
up an organization’s culture, and how is it created, sustained, and learnt will
enhance our ability to explain and predict the behaviour of people at work. Organizational
culture is described as the set of important understandings, such as norms,
values, attitudes, and beliefs, shared by organizational members. According to
the recent understanding about organizational culture system of shared meaning
among members’, is the essential core of organizational culture. According to
Eliott Jacques, an organizational culture is the customary or traditional ways
of thinking and doing things, which are shared to a greater or lesser extent by
all members of the organization, which new members must learn and at least
partially accept in order to be accepted into the service of the firm.
According to various studies, following are the primary characteristics of an organization’s
culture: Innovation and Risk Taking The
degree to which employees are encouraged to take innovative steps and to take
calculated risk; Attention to Detail The degree to which employees are expected
to pay attention to detail; Outcome Orientation The degree to which management
focuses outcome rather than on process to achieve outcome People Orientation:
The degree to which management gives attention to effect of decisions on people
working in the organisation and on its shareholders; Team Orientation The
degree to which works are organized around team rather than individuals
Aggressiveness The degree to which people are aggressive or competitive rather
than easygoing; Stability The degree to which maintaining status quo is emphasized
in contrast to growth Individual Autonomy: The degree of responsibility,
independence, and opportunities for exercising initiative that individuals in
an organisation have Structure The degree of rules and regulations and the
amount of direct supervision that is used to oversee and control behaviour;
Support The degree of assistance and warmth managers provide for their
subordinates; Identity: The degree to which members identify with the
organisation as a whole rather than with their particular work group or field
of professional expertise; Performance-Reward: The degree to which reward in
the organisation are based on employee work performance; Conflict Tolerance:
The degree of conflict present in relationships between peers and work groups
as well as the willingness to be honest and open about differences; Attitude
Towards Change: The response given to new methods, ways, and values; Focus: the
vision of the goals and objectives of an organisation’s operations as
communicated by those in control; Standard and Values: The levels of
performance and behaviour considered to be acceptable by formal and informal
criteria; Rituals: Expressive events that support and reinforce organisational
standards and values; Openness, Communication, and Supervision The amount and
type of interchange permitted; the communication flow can be downward, upward,
across the organisation, and in other directions as spelled out by the culture Market
and Customer Orientation The extent to which the organisation is responsive to
its markets and customers; Excitement, Pride, and esprit de corps A tangibly
good feeling about the organisation and its activities; Commitment The willingness
of the individuals to work toward goals on a continuing basis Work Values For
An Effective Organisation. Discuss The Culture Differences Of Values .
Organizational
culture also called corporate culture has been defined as the pattern of
values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that may not have been
articulated but shape the ways in which people in organizations behave and
things get done Work Values For An Effective Organisation.
In other words, how things are done and how
employees interact with each other in an organization is a reflection of its
culture. The following are some other definitions of organizational culture:
•
The culture of an organization refers to the unique configuration of norms, values,
beliefs and ways of behaving that characterize the manner in which groups and
individuals combine to get things done, Eldridge and Crombie (1974).
•
Culture is a system of informal rules that spells out how people are to behave
most of the time, Deal and Kennedy (1982).
•
A pattern of basic assumptions – invented, discovered or developed by a given
group as it learns to cope with the 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 these problems, Schein (1985).
•
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.
Organizational
Founders: Founders of an organization are the ultimate source of their culture.
These founders create a culture in three ways;
(a) By hiring only those employees who share
similar ideas, views and values,
(b)
By socializing these employees to their way of thinking and feeling, and
(c) Employees identify with visionary leaders
and their values.
2.
Selection: The aim of the employee selection process is not limited to
identifying and selecting knowledgeable people but also involves recruiting
people with values and ethics similar to the organization. This selection
process also provides applicants with an opportunity to assess the match
between their values with an organization’s values.
3.
Top Management: Through their words and behavior, top management levels are
responsible for establishing cultural norms.
4.
Socialization: It is the process through which new employees learn about and
adjust to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, expectations, and behaviors needed
for a new role within an organization.
The
culture of an organization can be transmitted to employees through various
channels. However, majority of studies identify four forms of transmission
namely; stories, rituals, material symbols, and language. Let us take a look at
these forms one by one:
•
Stories: Every organization has some stories of their founders, success or
failure. These stories of past, help new comers to understand the expectations,
beliefs and values of their organization.
• Rituals:
These are repetitive patterns of activity that represent an organizations
‘values. It further informs employees what goals are most important and which
people are important in their organization.
•
Material symbols: These are physical or visible aspects of an organizational
culture. It deals with questions such as, “How does corporate headquarter look
like? How do organizations treat CEO’s and fellow employees? What kinds of
perks are given or what attire is acceptable in office. Describe The Relevance Of Work Values For An
Effective Organisation.
The
answer to these questions can “convey to employees who is important, the degree
of egalitarianism top management desires, and the kinds of behavior that are
appropriate, such as risk taking, conservative, authoritarian, participative,
individualistic, or social 2013 .
•
Language: Language play vital role in identifying with cultural expectations of
organization. In every organization, unique terms describe equipment, officers,
key individuals, suppliers, customers, or products that relate to the business.
At first, new employees may find these new terms overwhelming but the use of
common language help uniting members of an organization.
Culture
is basically not a subject of evaluative study rather is basically a
descriptive study. Every type of culture has its functional as well as
dysfunctional aspects. It would be interesting to see that different types of
culture suit to different types of person. Study of Goffee and Jones suggest
that there are two factors, which determine organisational culture. The first
is sociability. It is consistent with a high people orientation, high team
orientation, and focus on processes rather than outcomes. The second is
solidarity. It is a measure of task orientation, and is consistent with high
attention to detail and high aggressiveness. The two dimensions may be either
high or low in a particular culture .
•
Networked culture (high on sociability low on solidarity): Positive aspect of
this culture is open sharing of information; negative aspect includes tolerance
for poor performance and creation of political clique. You might fit into
networked culture if you possess good social skills and empathy; you like to
develop close work-related friendships; you thrive in a relaxed and convivial
atmosphere; and you are not obsessed with efficiency and task performance.
• Mercenary culture (low on sociability high
on solidarity Positive aspect is strong focus on goal and objectivity; negative
aspect includes inhuman treatment to people who are perceived as low
performers. You are likely to fit in well in mercenary culture if you are goal
oriented; thrive on competition, like clearly structured work tasks, enjoy risk
taking, and are able to deal openly with conflict.
•
Fragmented culture (low on sociability low on solidarity Employees are judged
solely on individual’s productivity; negative aspect include excessive
critiquing of others and absence of team spirit. Perhaps you are made for
fragmented culture if you are independent have a low need to be part of a group
are analytical rather than intuitive; and have a strong sense of self which is
not easily perturbed.
• Communal culture (high on sociability high
on solidarity Positive aspect is a feeling of belonging yet a ruthless focus on
goal achievement; negative aspect includes hyper intervention of the leader who
tends to create disciples rather than followers Values For An Effective
Organization.
The
Culture Differences of Values Relevance of Work Values for an Effective organization.
Discuss The Culture Differences Of Values You may fit into communal culture if you have
a strong need to identify with something bigger than yourself enjoy working in
teams, and are willing to give first priority to the organization.