Organizational Culture
This lesson explores what organizational culture is, and why understanding culture is important in your role as a supervisor/manager. It also provides guidance on how to create a positive workplace culture.
Lesson 3
What is Organizational Culture?
Organizational Culture is the internal environment of an organization which is sometimes described as the character and personality of the organization. It is a combination of the stories about the organization’s history, its values and beliefs, daily rituals, structures, systems, and procedures and very importantly, the behavior and attitudes of its people.
Understanding culture is important because the type of culture an organization has is significantly influenced and shaped by its leader(s) values and beliefs, how effectively they communicate and emphasize the organization’s mission and values, the systems they implement, and their ability to lead by example. Therefore, as a supervisor/manager, you are in a position to significantly contribute to maintaining and/or shaping the desired culture of your department/organization.
Below, the Cultural Web illustrates the various elements that makes up an organization’s culture.
Values and Beliefs
Relates to what the organization considers to be important and provides guidance on what behaviours are acceptable, including the way employees and customers are treated.
To be meaningful and effective, espoused organizational values should be reflected in the way leaders conduct themselves, and in the day to day behaviour of employees.
Stories Stories are primarily about the organization’s history, how it came about, who was it founder/leaders, and their value and beliefs. Stories that are positive tend to have a motivational and inspiring effect especially on new recruits. Stories also affect behavior, for example, if the stories about the founder/leader is that he/she has high moral standards and operates with integrity. This sends a message to people in the organization about how to behave to be accepted.
Rituals and Routines How do people behave on a day to day basis? What is acceptable or unacceptable and what behaviors are valued and rewarded by management. For example, does the hotel place a high value on Food Safety and is this value reflected in its policies, decisions, and daily practices.
Symbols This is the visible brand image of the organization in the form of logos, the way people are required to dress, location of offices etc. For example, Successful brands tend to have large premises and plush offices in prestigious locations.
Organizational Structure The way work is organized and the different positions in the organizational chart. For example, the organization may be very hierarchical with many layers of management and clearly defined roles, or relatively flat with overlapping roles and responsibilities.
Control Systems Are there control systems in place and what do they include. For example, human resources systems and procedures, financial systems, quality systems etc. that guide behavior.
Power Structures Who holds the power in the organization? For example, is it centralized (the owner or a few top executives) or is power distributed throughout the various levels of management/departments.
Analyzing the various elements of the Cultural Web helps to identify areas of the organization that reflect the desired culture, as well as those areas that are not working in the best interest of the department/organization. As a manager/supervisor, you can then take the appropriate steps to address any deficiencies that may be having a negative impact on the performance of the business.
Understanding Culture
Why is it Important to Understand Culture?
Research has shown that culture has a significant impact on organizational success or failure. As a leader, it is important to be clear about the kind of culture that you want to create in your department/organization and make every effort to actively shape and nurture it.
Organizations that have a strong, positive, well communicated culture, in terms of the way it handles both employees and customers are more likely to achieve employee engagement where people are willing to go the extra mile. The organization is also more likely to attract high caliber candidates looking for a career in a healthy environment that fits more closely with their own personal values.
Conversely, if the organization has a culture where leaders do not demonstrate the values they espouse and systems and procedures do not support the desired culture, this will lead to low employee morale which negatively impacts customer service and consequently undermines business success.
How to Create a Positive Workplace Culture?
Creating a positive workplace culture does not automatically happen. It is an ongoing process which requires you to spend time and effort taking actions that will support and reinforce the preferred culture. You will need to:
Communicate the Mission, Vision, and Values Formulate and communicate the mission, vision, and values of your organization in an inspiring way. Remember also that employee involvement in defining organizational values enables them to feel a sense of ownership and they are consequently more likely to “live” them.
Be a Role Model Analyze your own behavior and the messages (positive and negative) that you are sending out. Employees respect leaders who “walk the talk” and are much more likely to go the extra mile willingly for leaders whose espoused values do not conflict with their behavior.
Review and Implement Systems/Procedures Review and implement systems, processes and procedures that supports a positive workplace culture. If one of your most important values is to provide excellent customer service, consider if your recruitment and selection policy and practices reflect this. For example, are you actively selecting people with warm and friendly personalities and helpful, ‘can do’ attitudes that will fit more easily into the organization and help you achieve the desired culture?
Clarify your Expectations Clarify your expectations in terms of team working, sharing information, showing respect, and having a shared sense of purpose, etc. Hold people accountable whilst being supportive in the way you handle performance and other issues.
Reinforce the Desired Culture Reinforce the desired culture through promotional materials, training and development, performance management, and empowerment. For example, the Ritz Carlton treats their employees with dignity and respect by referring to them as ladies and gentlemen. They also empower staff to take certain decisions without having to seek authorization from management. The rationale is that employees who feel a sense of pride in who they are and what they do, are much more likely to offer higher standards of service that will create customer loyalty.
Implement a Recognition & Reward Systems Consider implementing a recognition and reward system for employees who go the extra mile for you. Remember it does not always have to be solely financial.
Actively Manage Behavior Deal promptly with employees whose (often subtle) behavior threatens the existing culture or the desired culture of the department/organization. Ignoring the problem, hoping it would go away will only makes the situation worse.
Activity
Using a pen and notepad, write down in your own words why it is important to understand organizational culture.
Analyze the culture in your department. Is there anything that you would like to change?
What action(s) do you think you will need to take to create a more positive workplace culture?
Key Learning Points
- Organizational Culture can be described as the character and personality of an organization.
- Key elements of culture include how people behave on a day to day basis, as well as the values and beliefs, stories, symbols, and structure of the organization.
- Culture is important because it has a significant impact on organizational performance.
- Research has shown that a strong, positive workplace culture promotes employee engagement where employees are willing to go the extra mile. This is turn leads to increased productivity and enhances the quality of service provision.
- To create a positive workplace culture it is important to clarify and communicate the organization’s vision, analyze your own behavior and be aware of the messages that you are sending out, ensure that your espoused values are reflected in your behavior, implement structures, systems and procedures that supports the desired culture, and reinforce the desired culture through training and development, recognition and reward, and the effective management of employee’s behavior and performance.
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