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The set of assumptions, values, beliefs and moral do’s and don’ts that the people in an organization share together, comprises the organizational culture. The organizational culture is the behavior and values that make up the unique environment of an organization. The organizational expectations, philosophies, values and experiences that bring the people together and create a unique social environment of the organization together make up the culture of the organization. The organizational culture is exclusive to every organization and there are multiple factors that contribute to making and shaping the culture of an organization. It impacts not only, the employee behavior and bonding, but also the organizational productivity and performance. The collective values, principles and beliefs that run in the organization and dictate its working comprise the organizational culture. The culture of an organization is often defined by the way things get done and everything that an organization stands by. The organizational culture shapes the working of the organization and shapes the entire behavior and future of the organization and its employees. The observable patterns of the behavior that run consistently in an organization, together form their culture (Spencer-Oatey, 2012). The organizational culture binds the organization and its employees into one single unit and provides each of them with a sense of identity. The organizational culture makes the organization stand apart and differentiates it from all its competitors. It generates a feeling of belongingness and gives them a purpose that is above their personal interests and motives. The organizational culture also defines the organizational behavior and provides the members with a ready reckoner in case of a dilemma. Since the organizational culture guides the behavior and all the decision making in an organization, it also provides the employees with the guidelines to follow for making any important decision in the organization. The organizational culture creation is not just a one time task that needs to be completed and checked off the list, it is a continuous process that defines the organization and its work culture. It helps the organization in decision making and guides the employees towards the achievement of their set goals and objectives (McNee, 2013). The infographic below gives a glimpse of the cultural diversity in Australia.
Since the people today are spending more and more time in their workplaces and organizations, it has become important for the organizations to maintain a healthy organizational culture . The culture of an organization defines its practices and also speaks of the organization as a social entity. A culture that is clearly defined and shared among the employees of an organization unites them and gives them a sense of understanding for each other.
The culture of an organization and its abidance makes the organization a fair place to work in, that provides equal opportunity to all its members. The organizational culture and its communication among the employees makes them feel connected to the organization and makes them feel valued. This helps in building trust and makes the employees contribute more to the growth and development of the organization. It is thus a win-win situation for the organization. Maintaining a healthy work culture and abiding by it makes the employees more loyal and consequently decreases the employee turnover rate (Schen, 2004). The employees are motivated to work for the organization that prioritizes and takes steps to maintain a healthy work culture. A work culture that is equal for all and provides every individual with equal opportunities, promotes among the employees a feeling of healthy competition. The employees work to the best of their abilities and thus the work quality and efficiency of the organization increases eventually. The culture provides the members with a direction and gives clear instruction about what to do and what not to do. This brings about transparency in the organization and improves the decision making process for the organization at the same time. The employees have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the organization and they are thus more likely to follow them and fulfill their responsibilities (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). An organization is identified by the culture it promotes and practices. Any organization is more likely to attract great talent if it hosts good organizational culture. The organizations are known and respected in the industry for the culture that they possess.
A healthy work culture is able to provide fair and equal opportunity to each member of the organization and is thus able to make the most out of the people that it has. It brings about a feeling of oneness among the employees that may hail from different backgrounds and geographic locations. It created a positive or a negative brand image of the organization and contributes to the word of mouth publicity of the organization. The organizational culture not only impacts the organization and its performance, but also the behavior and abilities of its members. Thus we see that the organization’s culture plays a very crucial and defining role in the organizational functioning and promotions. This makes it important for the organization to create and maintain a healthy organizational culture for its efficient functioning.
While most of the attempts at accurately rating and defining the culture of an organization have failed, the authors Williams, Dobson and Walters have classified the organizational cultures into four categories. The four major categories of organizational culture as defined by these authors are Power oriented, Role oriented, Target oriented and People oriented. The organization having culture oriented towards power venerate dominance and power. The people in the organization that have power, automatically command more respect and adulation in such an environment. Role oriented culture have accountability, legality and organizational hierarchy on the focus of all things. The status and designation is very important in such an organization. The target oriented organizational culture is the culture in which the authority and respect is based on task orientation and target achievement. The organizations, having target oriented culture have task completion as their prime focus and the other factors are all treated as secondary (CMI, 2012). The organizations that have people orientated cultures focus on individual growth and development of their employees and their existence is based on need fulfillment of the people. The employees are expected to support and guide each other and the same is provided by the management.
Another model for the analysis of organizational culture was provided by G. Hofstede. In this model, Hofstede classified the organizational culture based on two major criteria. The first one being the degree of power centralization and the second being the degree of standardization and formalization of roles. Based on the level of these two factors, he has classified the cultures of all the organizations. Apart from these, there are numerous other characteristics that define an organizational culture and shape it in the desired form. The culture is learnt and passed on from one person to the other in the organization (Waisfisz, 2011). It is not created in one moment or meeting, but is inherited from the former and current members of the organization. It is not something that is taught specifically, but is passed on unintentionally by our choices, activities and decisions. The culture in an organization is shared among all its members. There is no individuality or a distinct personal culture, but a common shared culture that is practiced across the organization or people. The phenomenon of culture is a social one and not restricted to an individual. It distinguishes the people that follow or belong to one culture to the ones that practice the other. The culture is passed on from one person to the other and is a social phenomenon. The society produces and carries forward the culture for a group and differentiates them on the basis of the same. Growing a culture and following it is not a one time process (CAP Members, 2013). It is a continuous practice and it learns from the past and the present to shape the future course of actions. Another very important point towards the understanding and study of culture is that it varies across time and organizational functions. The culture of an organization at this point of time is not what it was a few years back and it is going to be very different from its present self few years from now. Just like food preferences, languages and ways of dressing up, culture keeps changing and evolving to become a reflection of the societal norms and habits. Some of the common and easily identifiable cultures in the societies today are dress culture, food culture, material culture, educational culture, family practices, religion being followed etc. It serves as an identifier for the group being analyzed for its culture and speaks of various traits of the people belonging to it. The culture is a representative of the people it belongs to and helps in the study and prediction of their common behavior and practices. The culture and its norms are first given away to the new members of the organization or social group and then it is accepted and carried forward by them. Thus, culture is acceptance and transfer of the shared values, beliefs and principles of a society that define their behavior (Tharp, 2009).
The collective values, principles and beliefs that run in the country and dictate its working comprise the national culture. The culture of a country is often defined by the way things get done and everything that their people stand by. The culture of different nations is as varied as their preferences, values and beliefs. In this section, we have compared and contrasted the cultures of four nations and their common beliefs and practices. Geert Hofstede has given six major factors that define the culture of any nation, industry or organization (Sandiego, 2008).
The first analysis we did was for Australia and the culture being followed here. The Australian culture ranks low on the power distance. This means that the difference between people from different hierarchies is low in Australia. The power is distributed equally and the top tier is approachable. The ways of communication practiced in Australia are informal and participative. The Australian culture ranks high on individualism. There is a high degree of independence among the Australian nationals and the society is not very close knit. The fact that the nation ranks moderately high on masculinity speaks of the country’s practice of rating the achievements and success very high and low preference is given to the values like caring for others. Australia scores moderately in the uncertainty avoidance criteria. The Australians are therefore defined as moderate risk takers. The low rating on long term orientation of the Australian public speaks of the normative culture of the nation. They do not accept change that easily and are happy with the time tested methods and practices. Australia ranks high in indulgence which indicates that the nation has a low control over their desires and impulses. They prioritize leisure time over working hard and are easy going (ITIM, 2016)
The next nation that we studied was The United States of America. The nation ranks low on power distance and is a nation that promotes equality and power sharing. The country boasts of equal rights and fair treatment for all. The US is one of the highest ranking states on the individualism. Americans are highly individualistic and loosely knit society. They are generally seen taking care of only themselves and their immediate family. They rate high on the masculinity as well and focus on monetary rewards and success. They don’t generally work for pleasure and the monetary benefits are the only motivating factors for them. They rank low on uncertainty avoidance. The USA has a bigger appetite for risks and uncertainties. They do not believe in working exactly by the rules and are not scared to try new things and innovate. The fact that the USA ranks low on long term orientation says that the country is not very pragmatic and the business is rated on its short term performance and rewards rather than their long term orientation. The Americans just like the Australians rate high on the indulgence scale. They are fun loving people who like to spend the money on leisure. The Americans are known across the world for their Work Hard, Play Hard mentality and this is evident in their culture analysis as well (Hofstede, 2014).
The Japanese culture study has highlighted some very interesting points about their world famous business practices. The power difference and distribution of power in the Japanese culture is moderate. This indicated that the senior and hierarchical positions are of medium importance to the Japanese (Hofstede, 2011). The individualism in the Japanese is also moderately ranked. The Japanese are therefore equally group and individual oriented and they are more indirect while dealing in business as they want to avoid disturbances among the groups. Japan is extremely competitive and thus rates very high on the masculinity. Success and money are the biggest motivation factor for the Japanese. The Japanese are risk averse and therefore their uncertainty avoidance rating for them is very high. The Japanese get increasingly uncomfortable when facing ambiguity. They do not accept changes that easily and are reluctant to incorporate changes in the work or in general. The Japanese are however highly long term oriented society. They focus on long term investment and do not believe in short term profits. They are more future oriented and lay less stress on the present. The Japanese are therefore rated highly on the long term orientation.
The next nation that we studied was The Republic of China. The Chinese culture is highly collective and they score very low on individualism. The people in this country believe in team work and groups are rated higher than the individual benefits and preferences. The Chinese have a high masculinity score. This indicates that the Chinese are driven by competition. They are success oriented and caring for others and quality of life is not a major determinant in their decision making. They score very low on uncertainty avoidance. This makes the Chinese high risk takers and do not believe in living by the rules (Podrug, et al., 2015). They work comfortably with ambiguity and are adaptable to the ever changing work environment. A majority of Chinese businesses are therefore medium and small businesses. This country ranks very low on indulgence. The Chinese are not very indulgent society and have good control over their desires. They consider an indulgence to be wrong and the people spending on leisure and their desires are looked down in the people of China and the Chinese society.
This research report consists of a detailed study of culture and its impact on the organization. The collective values, principles and beliefs that run in the organization and dictate its working comprise the organizational culture.
In this research report, we have studied in depth about the organizational culture and all that goes into its making. The first section of the report consists of the importance of culture and how it impacts the organizational working. The culture of an organization can contribute to its success or failure in various ways. We have also studied these modes by which the organizational working is affected by its culture and the practices. In the next part of the report, we have studied about the dimensions of the organization that together make up their culture. The last section of the report comprises of the study and comparison of culture of Australia, USA, Japan and China on the basis of Geert Hofstede’s model of cultural study. This compares and contrasts the culture of these nations and measures them up against each other. This is a comprehensive study of the culture and the cultural study form an organizational and national perspective.
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