EFFECTS OF AN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE PERFORMANCE OF AN ORGANIZATION

EFFECTS OF AN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE PERFORMANCE OF AN ORGANIZATION.

Definition of culture

Organizational or corporate culture is the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that may not have been articulated but shape the way in which people behave and things get done.

Organizational culture is extremely fixed with the social control that may cause to make influence on the employee decisions and behavior.

Organizational culture works as a social glue to bond the employees together and make them feel a strong part of the corporate experience which is useful to attract new staff and retain best performers.

Organizational culture is very useful to assist the sense making process which helps employees to understand the organizational events and objectives which enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the employees.

Strong culture acts as a driven force to improve the performance of the employees and enhance self-confidence and commitment of employees and reduces job stress and improves the ethical behavior of the employees.

Organizational culture can have varying impacts on employee performance and motivation levels, often times employees work harder to achieve organizational goals if they consider themselves to be part of the corporate culture.

Values:

This refers to what is believed to be important about how people and the organizations behave. Implicit values that are deeply embedded in the culture of an organization and are reinforced by the behaviour of management can be highly influential, while espoused values that are idealistic and are not reflected in managerial behaviour may have little or no effect. Some of the typical areas in which values can he expressed, implicitly or explicitly are;

              i.            Performance,

           ii.            Competence,

         iii.            Competitiveness,

         iv.            Innovation,

            v.            Quality,

         vi.            Customer service,

       vii.            Teamwork,

    viii.            Care and consideration for people.

Norms:

These are unwritten rules of behaviour, the ‘rules of the game’ that provide informal guideline on how to behave. Norms tell people what they are supposed to be doing, saying, believing, and even wearing. They are never written. They are passed on by word of mouth or behaviour and can be enforced by reactions of people if they are violated. They are very strong in controlling behaviour. They refer to such aspects as:

                      i.            How managers treat members of their teams and how the latter relate to their managers.

                   ii.            The prevailing work ethic-come early, leave late, look busy all the time

                 iii.            Status-how much importance is attached to it

                 iv.            Ambition-naked ambition is approved or vice verse

                    v.            Performance

                 vi.            Power-dependent on expertise position shared?

               vii.            Politics-rife throughout the organization and treated as normal;

            viii.            Loyalty-expected, a cradle to grave approach to careers; discounted, the emphasis is on results and contributions in the short run

                 ix.            Anger-openly expressed; hidden, but expressed through other, possibly political means

                    x.            Approachability-managers are expected to be approachable and visible; everything happens behind closed doors

                 xi.            Formality-a cool, formal approach is the norm; forenames are/are not used at all levels; there are unwritten but clearly understood rules about dress.

Artefacts:

These are the visible and tangible aspects of an organization that people hear, see or feel. They include such things as the working environment, the tone and language used in letters or memoranda. the manner in which people address each other at meetings or over the telephone, the welcome or lack of it given to visitors and the way in which telephonists deal with calls. They can be very revealing.

 Functions of culture

        i.            Give members of an organization identity.

     ii.            Facilitate collective commitment.

   iii.            Promote social system stability.

   iv.            Shape behaviour by helping members make sense of their surroundings.

Cu1ture can be a liability where the shared values are not in agreement with those that will further the organization’s effectiveness especially in a dynamic environment.

a)     History:

The reason and manner in which, the organization was originally formed, its age and philosophy and values of its owners and first senior managers will affect culture.

b)     The organizations founders:

A strong set of values and assumptions is set up by the organization’s founder, and even after he or she retires, these values have their own momentum.

c)     Nature of the business and its tasks:

The type of technology used in different forms of business create the pace and priorities associated with different forms of work. There may also be task-related cultural differences between departments.

d)     Leadership style: The approach used in exercising authority will determine the extent to which subordinates feel alienated and uninterested or involved and important

e)     Policies and practices. The level of trust and understanding which exists between members of organization can often be seen in the way policies and objectives are achieved

f)      Structure. The way, in which work is organized, authority exercised and people rewarded will reflect an emphasis on freedom or control, flexibility or rigidity.

g)     Characteristic of the workforce. Organization culture will be affected by demographic nature of the workforce, for example manual/clerical division, age, sex, personality

h)     Recruitment. An organization culture with a strong culture recruits employees and manager will naturally conform to it.

i)        Size. Usually larger organizations have more formalized structures and cultures. A rapid expansion, or decline, in size and rate of growth, and resultant changes in staffing will influence structure and culture

j)       Location. Geographical location and physical characteristics can have a major influence on culture -for example, whether an organization is located in quiet rural location or a busy city centre. This can influence the type of customers and staff employed.

k)     The environment. To be effective an organization must respond to the external environment influences. If it operates in a dynamic environment it requires a structure and culture that is sensitive to change.

Types of culture

        i.            Power culture is one with a central power source that exercises control. There are few rules or procedures and the atmosphere is competitive, power-oriented and political.

     ii.            Role culture is one in which work is controlled by procedures and rules and the role, or just description, is more important than the person who fills it. Power is associated with positions, not people.

   iii.            The task culture is one in which the aim is to bring together the right people and let them get on with it. Influence is based more on expert power than on the position or personal power. The culture is adaptable and teamwork is important.

   iv.            The person culture is one in which individual is the central point. The organization exists only to serve and assist the individuals in it.

Importance of culture

        i.            Culture helps to account for variations among organizations and managers. It helps to explain why different groups of people perceive things in their own way and perform things differently from other groups.

     ii.            Culture can also help reduce complexity and uncertainly. It provides a consistency in outlook and values, and makes possible the processes of decision making, co-ordination and control.

   iii.            Culture is also an important ingredient of effective organizational performance. There is a relationship between an organizations culture and its performance.

   iv.            Culture is also an important organizational control system which dictates how people can or cannot do. It lays down norms for social system.

      v.            The pervasive nature of culture have a significant effect on organizational processes such as decision making design of structure, group behaviour, work organization, motivation and job satisfaction, and management control.

CONCLUSION

Every person or employee in the organizational has own different values and beliefs that he or she works with them.

Whenever one join any organization one is allowed to internalize first with the organizational culture to know whether he or she can cope up with them or not.

Hence we can say that organizational culture has a positive impact on the employee job performance.