ORGANIZATION CULTURE
Culture is the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values and knowledge
which constitute hared basis of social action. This include a total range
of activities and ideas of a group with shared traditions, which are
transmitted and reinforced by members of the-T e.g. artistic and social
pursuit, expression and taste valued by the organization such.- accepted
and practiced manner, dress e.t.c
Culture can also be defined as the collection of traditions, values, policies,
beliefs and attitude that constitute a persuasive context for everything we
do and think in an organization.
4.4 Types of organizational culture
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Power culture - this type of culture involves a small number of senior
executive who have power to give directives. It is characterized by a
belief in a strong and decisive stance.
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Role culture - this is concerned with bureaucratic procedures such as
rules, regulations and clearly specified rules, regulations and clearly
specified roles. It is believed these procedures will stabilize the
system.
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Support culture - this type of culture is based on the belief that there
should be a group or community support for people, which will
foster integration and sharing of values.
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Achievements culture - this culture dwells on the premise that there
is an atmosphere which encourages self-expression and a yearning
for independence. Thus there is a paradigm shift from " I am working
for myself to that of "I am working for someone else," and there is
accent or emphasis on success and achievement. There is also a
recognition of and reward for positive contribution.
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Task culture - in this culture, there is utilization of knowledge and
technical competence. Thus, there is an apparent emphasis on project
teams and a job matching to skills
Factors influencing organization culture. assignment
History - this includes the reason and manner in which organization
was formed, its age, the philosophy and values of its owners and first
senior managers, major reorganizations, new generation of top
management e.t.c these can influence culture in that making changes
can be difficult.
Primary function and technology — the nature of the organization's
business and its primary function influences culture. Things that may
influence culture here include: - range and quality of products and
services provided, the importance of reputation and the type of
customers. The primary function of the organization will determine
the nature of the technological processes and the methods of work to
be undertaken, which in turn also affects structure and culture.
3. Goals and objectives - goals and objectives influences culture
because it is not very easy to determine the extent to which
emphasis is placed on long-term survival or growth and
development, how much attention is given to avoiding risks and
uncertainties and how much concern is shown for broader social
responsibilities? The combination of objectives and resultant
strategies will influence culture and may itself be influenced by
culture.
4. Size - larger organizations usually have more formalized structures
and cultures. When the size of an organization is increased separate
department and split — site operations will emerge. This may
cause difficulties in communication and poor interdepartmental coordination. This implies that, a rapid expansion or decline in size
and rate of growth, and resultant changes in staffing will influence
structure and culture.
5. Location - Geographical and physical location of an organization
can have an outstanding influence on the nature of culture. When
an organization is based in a rural or urban centre, there can be
influence on the type of customers, and the staff employed, the
nature of services provided, the sense of distinctive identity and
opportunities for development.
6. Management and staffing - usually top executive have considerable
influence on the nature of an organization's culture. However, all
members of staff help shape the dominant culture of an
organization irrespective of what the top management fell they
should do,
7. The environment - in order to be effective, the organization must
be responsible to external environmental influences. For example,
if the organization operates within a dynamic environment, it
requires a structure and culture that are sensitive and readily
adaptable to changes.
Importance of organization culture.
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Culture helps to account for variations among organizations and
managers both nationally and internationally.
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Culture helps to explain why different groups of people perceive
things in their own way and perform things differently from other
groups.
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Culture can help reduce complexity and uncertainty
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It provides a consistency in outlook and values.
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Culture makes possible the processes of decision making, coordination and control.
Impact of organizational culture on performance of personnel. -Challenge
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Organizational culture can lead to stress among many managers.
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Old cultural forms which may not be compatible with the new
ideologies may make the employees less effective.
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Leaders can lower the employees' perception of the organization
culture by doing the opposite of what the culture dictates hence
reducing credibility.
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Culture that leads to the design of organization structure where
there is a centralized structure that reflects the belief that only the
leader can determine what is best is not good because the
employees may feel they are not involved in the responsibilities of
the organization.
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Cultures can deter adoption of equitable personnel policies and
procedures.
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Cultures can also prevent members of the organization from
getting opportunities for personnel developments on career
advancement.