Managing Organizational Culture1

Managing Organizational Culture

[Hina Lakhani]

Greenwich University
 Managing Organizational Culture2

Organization culture is referred to a system of shared meanings, which includes the language,

dress, patterns of behavior, value system, feelings, attitudes, interactions and group norms of the

members (Kotter, John: 1992). It is responsibility of the top management or the leader of any

organization to build a strong organizational culture, as stated by B.F. Skinner “it is not the

behavior of the people living in it; it is rather the ‘it’ in which they live”. This is one of the most

important elements that a manager needs to understand as it affects the overall efficiency of the

organization, provides stability and is a building block in determining the success for an

organization. The influence of culture on the organization’s overall success is not something new

and this has been studied time and again by various researchers over the years, and the interest

and importance on the subject matter seems to be growing in the recent times, different

researches have given different conclusions, that is if a culture can prove to be the basis for an

organizational success as it develops it to adapt to the changes according to the changing

environment, then at times it can also prove to be the barrier in adapting to the changing

environment and be competitive in some organizations. An organization’s vision, mission and

strategy play a strong role in developing the culture. Culture of many organizations is not

planned, they are based on the working styles of the employees which over the time had become

the practice of that organization (Pitagorsky, George: 2001).

Yes, in order to be successful, culture is the most important thing. A culture is developed in an

organization to cater to a number of things, firstly it is concerned with the human side of the

organization, it gives a clear system and guidelines to help employees work together to achieve a

common goal, the impact of employees behavior is acknowledged by the management (Haimes,

Gervanse :2001). An organization’s culture not only affects the effectiveness and success of the

company but it also contributes to the image of the organization in the corporate world, this also
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helps the organization in employer branding and become the employer of choice. Every

organization has its own culture, for example Starbucks has its own culture which shows a strong

internal culture, this is evident when the CEO of the company Howard Schultz said, “I want to

work with people who don’t leave their values at home but bring them to work….”, and this

culture has shown a massive growth in the sales of Starbucks which clearly indicates the

importance of a culture in a productive, efficient and successful organization, many researches

have supported the relationship between the organization culture and its performance. Various

factors determines the culture of any organization, this includes the degree to which employees

are empowered, how employees identify themselves with the organization as a whole on their

jobs, the extent of important laid on team work, the coordination between different departments,

the level of control over employees behavior and the extent to which employees are encouraged

and empowered to experiment, innovate and take risk (Migliore Henry:2006). I agree that it is

possible for management to address culture, and one means of doing so is by effectively

recruiting the right person who’s not only fit for the job but would also adapt to the

organization’s culture, however at times when employees are recruited they are unaware of the

culture of the organization, and they likely to disagree with or question the norms of the

organization therefore it is important for the management to assist in the socialization process of

the new employees so that they can well adjust and adapt to the culture of the organization.

Management and the organization itself, both derive the culture, they are the central focus for the

growth of any company, as they set the tone for the whole organization and based on this relies

the level of communication, the extent to which decision making is empowered, the employees

approach towards a problem, how customers are treated, the level of competition with their rival

firms, the leadership style and how various activities are carried out in the entire company
 Managing Organizational Culture4

(Schein, E.H :1992). There is no one best culture that would prove to be best for all

organizations, various factors in different organizations combine to form the culture, these

factors would include the beliefs, values and the principles of the key members of the company.

The management drives through their actions, and by defining a philosophy of how employees

are treated, and the same way the organization the way it utilizes its technology will influence

the culture, it gives the employees the guidelines to behave in different situations. Analyzing

different companies in the corporate world has helped in identifying the fact that the reason

behind the success of most of the organizations are because of their leaders who founded the

company with a strong value system which has taken them through this journey and has given

them the success, examples of such companies are Walt Disney, 3M, Hewlett-Packard, Wall

Mart and General Motors are just a few names. Companies working in different environments

will have different culture, and it is not necessary that a culture which has proved to be effective

and raised the morale of a particular company would prove to be as good for the other company

as well. The way any organization is structured will influence the development of the culture, as

they set the tone for the whole organization and also affects the way of communication, decision

making and leadership styles in that particular organization. A culture also affects the approach

of the employees and the management towards a problem, it always has an impact how decisions

are made, and how employees react to competition, and also how they deal with their customers.

Although culture is cited as one of the major reasons behind an organization’s success, but this

success is only possible if the employee’s values are aligned with the organization’s values. It is

also very important for an organization to have an adaptive culture in order to perform better that

is by initiating change as and when it is required (Kotter:1992). However there may be

difficulties that management will have to face if they want to bring a change in the culture. The
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structure also has an impact on the culture, different structures portrays different culture in the

organization, the human resource practices that an organization follows also defines the culture,

such as performance measures, promotions, how are people treated. These areas can also create

issues for an organization; people might feel as a misfit in the organization because of the

difficulty in adjusting in their culture. It is however important for management to assess areas

which can cause cultural issues, these areas includes the people as well, employees often find the

culture of an organization unclear, confusing and restrictive, and this makes them react in

different ways, therefore it is recommended for an organization to develop such a culture that is

appropriate to both, the mission of the organization itself and the employees, one way for

management to address this is by assigning current employees to act as mentors to new

employees. A strong culture also improves the level of motivation and loyalty of employees, it

builds positive teams which works productively. Changing an organizational culture is a difficult

task if not managed properly, because the culture is the basic foundation of any organization and

it had a strong existence and it just can not change overnight, it takes time and requires planned

steps to be taken as employees are comfortable working in that current culture and so they might

resist any changes brought in the culture. However at time it is important to bring changes in the

culture as it helps in the transformation and adapting to the dynamic competitive environment as

a static culture would not add value to the business. In order to bring about any changes in the

organization one should start with the changes in the culture and to do this the management not

only requires the top managements commitment and support but also requires support and

willingness from the employees to change in order to create a winning culture. The way

management can address this issue is by identifying the need to bring a change in the culture.

Then the management or the professional must understand the current culture of the
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organization, its weaknesses and its strengths, also identify what cultural competencies are

required for the organization’s growth and a strategy that supports the changing culture should

also be developed, take employees feedback and inputs on the matter as their commitment,

involvement and support in changing the culture is very important (Barney, J:1986). This can be

done through training and development of the employees and ensuring that the goals of the

individuals working and the overall goals of the organization are aligned. A strong culture would

give the organization the competitive edge over its rival firms. According to Terry Cross cultural

competency is individuals, organizations and the networks ability to perform effectively across

cultures. It involves an individual’s, organizations and systems behavior, practices, policies, and

skills. A culture develops an understanding among employees this is done on the basis of rites,

ceremonial, rituals, myths, sagas, legends, story, folktale, symbols, languages, gestures, physical

and artifacts. Culture also plays a vital role in shaping up a new organization. It gives the

organization a direction. In order to effectively address the culture and issues related to it, it is

very important for the new employees and the existing one to be well aware of the norms, the

importance laid on it in that particular organization. A culture always provides a route to

employees on how to get along, if the culture is not clear in an organization employees might

react in different ways in different situation which might appose the norms. However it is

important to understand that conformity to the organization’s culture would bring a stagnant

position, therefore it is healthy for an organization to recruit employees who would accept those

norms which is the key to organizational success that is which supports its vision and mission

and would question the rest and bring innovative and positive change in the working

environment of the organization. Only those organizations allow such an input from their

employees who term themselves as a learning organization, those organizations strongly believes
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that change is the only thing which is constant and in order to survive in the dynamic global

business environment an organization must encourage and support positive change. Such

organizations encourage their employees to critically examine the culture and give positive

feedback on it (Brown, D.R. & Harvey, D: 2006). Therefore in order to be successful it is crucial

for the culture of any organization to keep on evolving according to the needs of the various

internal and external factors directly or indirectly affecting the business.

References
 Managing Organizational Culture8

Barney, J (1986) Organizational Culture: Can it be a source of sustained competitive advantage:

Academy of Management Review.

Brown, D.R. & Harvey, D. (2006).experiential approach to , 7 Organizational development

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Haimes, Gervanse. Project Culture: A Paradigm Shift in Project Management: 2001 Proceedings

of the Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium. Nashville, TN, USA

Kotter, John. 1992 Corporate Culture and Performance, Free Press; (April 7, 1992).

Migliore Henry:2006.

Pitagorsky, George. Implementing PM Improvement-A Cultural and Organizational Change

Initiative. 2001, USA.

Schein, E.H, 1992. Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Terry Cross (co-author of Toward a System of Care, Volume 1)