ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Organizational Culture

Introduction1

Discussion2

Organizational Culture2

Layers of Culture3

Artifacts3

Espoused Values3

Underlying Assumptions4

Common Characteristics of Organizational Culture4

Risk Taking and Innovation4

Attention to Detail5

Outcome Orientation5

People Orientation5

Team Orientation6

Aggressiveness6

Stability6

Components of Organizational Culture6

The Symbol7

Behavior Norm7

Rituals and Ceremonies8

Status and Role of Personnel8

Histories and Organizational Myths10

Functional and Dysfunctional Components of Organizational Culture10

Real Life Organizational Example11

Conclusion12

References14

Organizational Culture

Introduction

The emphasis on the tangible world of attitudes and values serves the purpose of being a useful counter to the bureaucratic assumptions and also help in producing a balanced picture of the educational institutions. Culture refers to the informal aspects of the organizations instead of the official elements. It focuses on the norms, beliefs and values of the people in organizations and how the perceptions of the individuals turn into a shared meaning. It is manifested by rituals and symbols rather than on the formal structure of organizations. The ideology, values and beliefs are considered to be the heart of organizations.

The individuals hold specific value preferences and ideas that affect the way they behave and the way they perceive the behavior of others. These norms form shared traditions that are communicated in te group and are also reinforced by ritual and symbols. The development of culture is considered to be important due to the wish to operate and understand more effectively inside the informal domain of beliefs and values of the employees, support staff and various other stakeholders (www.sagepub.com).

The increase in the use of cultural descriptors in literature of the educational management is important because it shows the need for the organizations to be able to communicate the shared values in a more tangible manner and will also result in responding more effectively to the uncertain, new and threatening demands on their capabilities. Therefore, organizations communicate values for providing meaning and form for the activities of organizational members when certain organizational relationships and structures will be absent. It also shows that the influence and the analysis of the organizational culture has become an important management tool for pursuing the organizational effectiveness and growth (www.sagepub.com).

This assignment is focused on explaining organizational culture and its seven basic characteristics. It further explains the various components of the organizational culture and the way each of them can be functional or dysfunctional to the organization. It further provides a real life organizational example of an organization that has a strong organizational culture and how it has benefitted both the organiztaion and the employees.

Discussion

Organizational Culture

There are many definitions of organizational culture. The most common definition of organizational culture is the way things are done. It should be considered as the proper way of doing things which needs to be understood by the organization. According to Ogbonna (1992), they are the result of link between the community and the individual along with the collective programming of mind which distinguish the members. It is also the customs, beliefs, norms and values which a person have in common with other people of a group or unit. It is also referred as a system of shared beliefs and values which interacts with the control system, ...