First Line Management

First Line Management

First Line Management

Introduction

Organizational culture is the basic pattern of shared values, assumptions, and beliefs that are considered to be the right way of dealing with opportunities and problems facing the company. It defines what is significant or insignificant to the company. An organization consists of organizational values that define the ideology or enduring character of an organization. The organizations may employ new strategies and processes, and develop new purposes but its core values remain intact throughout its life cycle. Values of organization are one of the biggest determinants of organizational behaviour. Values guide individuals in an organization in each and every interaction and decision. Organizational culture and values immensely impact the organizational behaviour. Their impact on organizational behaviour is discussed in this report.

Framework for analyzing organizational culture

Organizational culture refers to the underlying values, beliefs, and codes of practice of an organization. It describes how things are done in an organization. Organizations that possess a strong culture are capable of increasing profitability, revenue, and shareholder value. Similarly, organizations that have a weak culture find it hard to adapt to market demands. Organizational culture's crucial value makes it important for an organization to analyze its culture and bring about important changes. In 1992, a framework for analyzing organizational culture was developed by Kevan Scholes and Gerry Johnson. This framework was called the Cultural Web. This Web recognizes six elements that are interrelated to each other which help in making up the pattern of the work environment. By analyzing the factors of each element, one can analyze the culture of his organization. The elements include stories, routines and rituals, symbols, organizational culture, control systems, and power structure (Johnson, n.d., p.n.d.).

Figure 1 - The Cultural Web

Stories

Stories include the events that have taken place in the company which people inside and outside the organization talk about. Besides that, what and who the organization selects to commemorate reveals several things about what it perceives as a good behaviour.

Routines and Rituals

Routines and rituals include the daily actions and behaviour of employees of an organization which signal acceptable behaviour. This determines what is expected to happen in certain situations and what does the management value.

Symbols

Symbols refer to the visual representations of the organization that include the dress codes, logos, office outlook and so forth.

Organizational Structure

Organization structure includes the framework defined by the chart of the organization as well as the unwritten lines of authority and power which reveal whose contributions are valued the most.

Control Systems

Controls system refers to the ways in which an organization is controlled. These systems include the quality systems, financial systems, rewards systems and so forth.

Power Structures

Power structures define the authoritative people of the organization which have the highest amount of authority on operations, decision, and strategic directions.

The Cultural Web is utilized to analyze the organizational culture as it is currently, how the culture is desired to be, and to identify the differences between the current and desired culture.

Internal and external factors that could influence organizational culture

Organizational culture originates and keeps developing ...