Unveiling Organizational Culture: Key Features and Their Impact on Modern Businesses

Organizational Culture 

Organisational culture describes all the unwritten rules, practices, attitudes and beliefs that affect the way in which business is done and underpins the interactions of staff and customers. It is the personality of the organization. Culture is comprised of the assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs (artifacts) of organization members and their behaviours. Members of an organization soon come to sense the particular culture of an organization. Culture is one of those terms that are difficult to express distinctly, but everyone knows it when they sense it. For example, you can tell the culture of an organization by looking at the arrangement of furniture, what they brag about, what members wear, etc. similar to what you can use to get a feeling about someone's personality. It is also known as organizational values.

Definition of organizational culture

It has been defined as Organizational Culture "the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization."

“Organisation Culture is the set of assumptions, beliefs, values and norms that are shared by an organizational member” Culture makes every organization unique and it distinguishes it from other organization. For example, companies expand, except liquor.

The various terms used in the context of organizational culture include: values, ethics, beliefs, ethos, culture and climate. Ethics refers to the normative, to what is socially desirable. Values, beliefs and norms are interrelated. Interactions between beliefs and values result in attitude formation (attitude= beliefs + values), which then produces norms. Values and beliefs are the core of an individual’s self, while attitudes are the next layer followed by norms of behavior. When all these get institutionalized or are assimilated and integrated, social phenomena are formed.

These can be seen as multi-level cultural concept.

1. The core (first level) consists of values, which gives a distinct identity to a group. This is the ethos of the group.
2. At the second level is the Climate that is perceived as the attributes of an organization and its sub systems as reflected in the way it deals and treats its members, associated groups and issues
3. The third concept is Culture-the cumulative beliefs, values and assumptions as reflected in artifacts, rituals etc.

Features of Organization Culture

It differentiates an organization from the others which provide an identity to the organization. It is relatively stable over time. It exercises significant influence on the attitude, behaviour and performance of employees.

1. The degree of responsibility and freedom and opportunities of exercising initiative that individuals in the organization have.
2. The rules and regulations, and the amount of direct supervision that is used to oversee and control employee behaviour.
3. The degree of assistance and warmth provided by managers to their subordinates.
4. The degree to which members identify with the organization as a whole rather than with their particular workgroup or field of professional expertise.
5. The degree to which reward system in the organization (i.e., salary increases, promotions) is based on employee performance criteria.
6. The degree of conflict present in relationships between peers and workgroups as well as the willingness to be honest and open about differences.
7. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and risk taking.

Organisational culture impact

Organisational culture being unique and distinctive influences the behaviour of its members. This influence on behaviour, ultimately creates impact on following –

1. Objective setting – culture moulds people and people are the basic building blocks of the organization. Therefore, it must reflect at least in part, the objective of its members particularly those who are the key decision makers.
2. Work Ethics – Work ethics in an organization is derived from its culture. Thus, organization culture determines the ethical standards for organization as a whole and its individual members.
3. Motivational Pattern – Culture determines the way people approach their jobs and even life in general. If organizational culture is geared towards achievement people will find it quite motivating and put their outmost energies for the work. 
4. Organisational process – Various organizational processes like planning, decision making, controlling etc. are determined by the organizational culture because these processes are carried out by the people in the organization. 

Impact of Culture on modern organisations

1. Equality: This value states that all people are equal, having equal rights. However, this value gives due recognition to different mental, emotional and social differences and hence different rewards. Another associated idea is equity which states that there should be justice in rewarding performance. The rewards should be based on performance which should be measured objectively.
2. Security: People seek security of job and personal life. Some sort of mental tension prevails in the mind of an employee as long as he feels unsecure.
3. Freedom: It represents a basic cultural value that affects work in modern organisations. Freedom here refers to freedom from authority and freedom to do as one feel like, of course, subject to the constraints imposed by the society. That is to say, this freedom is within some prescribed limits. Freedom may mean different things to different people. For instance, for an employee freedom may be having a voice in the joint council meeting, for another it may mean right to work without restrictions etc.
4. Opportunity: Another value that affects people in organisations is the opportunity. People expect many opportunities to climb the ladder in organisation.

Organisational Culture process – (creating an organizational culture)

Establishing value → creating vision → operationalising value & vision → socialisation of employees 

Establishing value

Establishment of values which will govern members of the organization. Value defines what is right, what is wrong, what is desirable and what is undesirable and soon 

Value of an organization is created by those who establish the organisation and in one-way, organisational values depend on the values of the founders and others key personnel who are responsible for managing the organisation. It also determines how organizational activities will be carried out that is what type of practice will be followed. 

Creating Vision

Vision represents the imagination of future events and prepares the organization for the same. It implies that organisation should create projections about where it should go in the future and what major challenges lie ahead.

Operationalising Values and vision

It means putting the value and vision in action. The organization can undertake the following activities:

• Writing values and vision in statement
• Designing structure and organisation process
• During selection process management should try to select candidates whose values match with the organisational values 
• Encourage new as well as existing employees whose activities are compatible with organisational value and culture.

Socialisation of employees

To ensure that culture of an organisation is adopted by its employees, socialisation of employees is required. Socialisation is an adaptive process that takes place as new employees attempt to learn and inculcate values and norms that are part of the organisational culture.

Organisational Ethos

Ethos can be defined as the underlying spirit or character of an entity or groups and is made of its beliefs, customs and practices. At the base of ethos are the core values. The eight important values relevant to an organization are:

• Openness – Willingness to share ideas, information, and feedback honestly across all levels of the organization.
• Confrontation – Addressing issues directly and constructively instead of avoiding problems or conflicts.
• Trust – Confidence in colleagues’ intentions, abilities, and reliability, enabling smooth teamwork.
• Authenticity – Being genuine and consistent in words and actions, without hidden agendas.
• Proactivity – Taking initiative to anticipate challenges and act before issues arise.
• Autonomy – Giving individuals the freedom and responsibility to make decisions in their roles.
• Collaboration – Working together across teams to achieve shared goals rather than operating in silos.
• Experimentation – Encouraging innovation by trying new ideas and learning from both success and failure.

In addition to being an acronym for these values OCTAPACE is a term indicating the 8 (Octa) steps (Pace) needed to create a functional ethos.

Factors influencing climate and culture

Organizational climate can be defined as the perceived attributes of an organization and its sub - systems as reflected in the way an organization deals with its members, groups, and issues. The emphasis is on perceived attributes and the working of sub -systems. One conceptual framework of climate emphasizes motivational linkages. There are six motives for organizational climate are as such:

1. Achievement: This motive is characterized by a concern for excellence, competition against standards set by others or by oneself, the setting of challenging goals for oneself and persistence in trying alternative path to one’s goals.
2. Influence: This motive is characterized by a concern for making an impact on others, a desire to make people to do what one thinks is right and an urge to change situations and develop people.
3. Control: This is characterized by a concern for orderliness, a desire to be and stay informed, an urge to monitor events and to take corrective action when needed and a need to display personal power.
4. Extension: this is characterized by a concern for others, an interest in superordinate goals, an urge to be relevant and useful to large groups including society as a whole.
5. Dependency: This is characterized by a desire for the assistance of others in developing oneself, a need to check with significant others (those who are more knowledgeable or have higher status, experts, close associates and so on), a tendency to submit ideas or proposals for approval and an urge to maintain a relationship based on the other person’s approval.
6. Affiliation: This is characterized by a concern for establishing and maintaining close personal relationships, an emphasis on friendship and tendency to express one’s emotions.

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Sandeep Ghatuary

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