Strong Cultural Cohesion: Organizational Norms And Behavior Patterns (Research Paper Sample)

Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date: Case Study Report Contents  TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc303015960"
Executive Summary  PAGEREF _Toc303015960 \h
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Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc303015961 \h
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Organizational culture  PAGEREF _Toc303015962 \h
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Strong Versus weak organizational culture  PAGEREF _Toc303015963 \h
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Cohesive organizational culture  PAGEREF _Toc303015964 \h
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Benefits of a strong cohesive culture  PAGEREF _Toc303015965 \h
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Current values and practices in BSG Ltd  PAGEREF _Toc303015966 \h
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Changes Needed in the Organization  PAGEREF _Toc303015967 \h
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Recommendations  PAGEREF _Toc303015968 \h
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Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc303015969 \h
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Bibliography  PAGEREF _Toc303015970 \h
9  Executive Summary BSG Ltd is an organization that has faced a lot of problems related to the organizational culture that they exhibit. Organizational culture includes such elements as norms and behavior patterns which are unique to the given organization. The research has shown that cultural cohesion in the organization can be very beneficial to an organization more so for those that have experienced problems in the past. The cohesion helps in the bonding between the employees, reduces conflicts and stress. The research has also shown that strong cultural cohesion will also bring such indirect benefits as the reduction of the need to supervise the employees as they will be well aware of what is expected of them by the organization. Some changes to the organizations culture have been proposed for instance encouragement of teamwork and trust, staff retention policies and cultures relating to the use of innovation and new ideas. The above changes can be implemented by shedding of the excess bureaucracies, better working conditions and strong leadership in the organizations. The report begins with an introduction that contains an overview of the problems facing the company. The body of the report contains the definitions of organizational culture according to a variety of scholars, an overview of the differences between strong and weak cultures is give followed by the definition of a cohesive organizational culture and the benefits that an organization can derive from it. Towards the end of the report, proposed changes to the organizational culture are given. The body ends with practical recommendations on how the changes can be implemented. A conclusion is then given as a summary of the argument of the report. Introduction BSG Ltd is a company that is currently facing an array of problems which have greatly reduced the profitability of the company in two consecutive years. A recent survey of the culture and attitude of the employees of the organization showed a myriad of problems. The problems included low levels of employee job satisfaction and commitment to the organization, lack of cohesion and trust among the employees and the management. In addition, a strong belief by the staff that there was little opportunity for advancement was also noted. The above issues led to high staff turnover and an increase of pilfering. The purpose of the report is to find out the benefits of a strong cohesive culture in the organization and to identify what the management of BSG Ltd need to do in order to reverse the current trends in the company. The report will also give recommendations on workforce acceptable changes that the management will need to implement. The structure of the report will follow the same order as shown in the purpose of the report. Organizational culture Organizational Culture refers to the way of thinking in an organization which considers the symbolic phenomena and culture of the people which include their norm systems and behavior patterns which are informal (Alvesson, 2002, p. 3). Frost et al. (cited in Alvesson, 2002, p. 3) also defined organizational culture as the importance that people attach to symbolism for instance the myths, stories, rituals and legends and finally how the groups where people live influence how they interpret experiences, ideas and events. Organizational culture includes aspects of assumptions and values which people uphold in relation to a social reality. Organization culture also refers to the complete systems of values and behavior which are important for the creation of a distinctive psychological and social environment (Business Dictionary, Online edition, 2011, para. 1). It goes ahead to state that the organizational culture includes the current and past suppositions, philosophies, experiences and values that bind the organization. The culture of the organization involves the rules, image and the beliefs that have developed over time in the organization. Hill & Jones (2010, p. 394-5) argued that an organizational culture refers to the precise values and norms which a group of people who work for an organization share. The actions of the people and the group in ...