The Concept of Organizational Culture (Essay Sample)

The Concept of Organizational Culture
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The Concept of Organizational Culture
An organization refers to an entity that consists of a group of people, such as an institution or a corporation with a collective goal. Culture, on the other hand, refers to a pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group of people who consider it to be the right way of perceiving, thinking and feeling in relation to their problems. Organizational culture is in this way the beliefs, values, norms and assumptions shared among people in an organization, which govern the way they behave. They usually influence how people in an organization perform their duties.
Actually, organizational culture is a complex factor that needs to be well understood because it widely affects an organization’s performance. In addition, different organizations usually have different culture. For instance, the way people in one organization dress might not be the same as that of another organization.
According to Schein (2010), leaders who try to make their organizations more effective are sometimes amazed at the degree to which the individuals and groups behave in unusual ways that threaten the survival of the organizations. That is why it means that lack of a better understanding to organizational culture causes threats to an organization’s survival. Members of different occupations are usually aware that being a doctor, an engineer or even a lawyer does not only require the learning technical skills, but also adopting certain values and norms that define their occupations. They know that when they violate some of these norms they can be thrown out of their occupation. (Schein, 2010, p. 8)
There are usually stronger or weaker cultures, better or worse cultures and the right culture influences how effective organizations are. That is why it takes us to the next level of discussing why organizational culture is important.
Organizational culture is important because it ensures effective performance. The stronger the culture the more effective the organization is. Organizational culture points us to the phenomena that are below the surface which are very powerful in their impact but are invisible in the organization. Culture guides and constrains the behavior of members of an organization through the shared norms. In other words, culture is important because, firstly, it shapes what organizations consider to be effective. Secondly, it shapes what employees consider to be appropriate behaviors and their interactions with each other in the organization.
Organizational culture shapes how work groups, individuals and organizations deal with work delegated to them. It also controls the speed and efficiency within which things are done. Apart from these, culture shapes the capacity of the organization and its receptiveness to change. In addition, it shapes the attitudes of outside stakeholders to the organization.
In some circumstances, we find cultures of organizations changing. That is why there are some factors that lead to these changes. First, in organizations, new technologies are usually deployed. This changes organizational culture since the new technologies require new culture attitudes to meet the stated objectives. Another reason is the changes in the organization’s demographics. For instance, when large number of new employees arrives, it requires new approaches to knowledge transfer.
According to Desson and Clouthier (2010), culture might also change due to ingrained attitudes that produce negative outcomes. In addition to that, culture might also change due to changes in the organization’s objectives, requiring new attitudes and skills to meet those objectives. (Desson and Clouthier, 2010, p. 4)
Understanding organizational culture is important because as stated above, cultures are dynamic in nature. They keep on changing in response to the internal and external changes of the organization. According to Watkins (2013), Organization’s cultures are never monolithic since vary many factors usually drive the internal variations in the culture of the business functions. Understanding organizational culture enables one to have a culture that suits the demands of a company’s environment. (Watkins, 2013, p. 1)
When we understand organizational culture, it will enable as to have a culture that encourages adaptability and innovativeness. Understanding this issue also enables managers to control employees’ behavior, as culture powerfully cont...