Question

Write out each question and answer them separately.

Strong cultures can have powerful effects on employee behavior. How does this create inadvertent control mechanisms? That is, are strong cultures an ethical way to control behavior? In what ways do rules and regulations help reduce unethical behavior in organizations? What other systems, mechanisms and processes are necessary to effectively do so?

Answer 1

Organizational culture is a system of shared values and beliefs and has great role in shaping the people, structure and control systems to produce behavioral norms. A strong culture sets the boundaries that determine the accepted behavior within the organization including dressing, ethical behavior and the way of doing business. Strong culture encourages the stakeholders to follow organizational values and act within the framework of shared values which in turn control the behavior. Employee behavior gets aligned according to the culture and thus creating inadvertent control mechanisms.

Strong cultures are an ethical way to control behavior because strong cultures control the workplace behavior by encouraging the employees to follow the shared values and beliefs and avoid acting against them. When the employees act within the cultural framework, they tend to avoid unethical practices. Employees develop their behavior according to the unwritten rules of the organizational culture and stay away from practices that are considered against the cultural values.

Rules and regulations set the guidelines that limit the behavior in the organization and are written guidelines. The rules and regulations specify the desired behavior in a detailed manner and ensure strict actions against the violators. The unethical practices are clearly prohibited through the guidelines set and all the employees are required to follow the same.

Another method organization can implement is to hire candidates whose values and beliefs are consistent with the organizational culture. One more method is to provide training and guidance for the employees to understand the values and the importance of implementing them in work life to achieve success. A good leader also can ensure ethical behavior from the employees and influence them to follow the organizational culture. The other systems that would help to avoid unethical practices and control the behavior would include implementing rewards and incentives for the best employees who perform well within the guidelines set by the organization. Rewards would motivate the employees to act according to the culture and drive the organization towards success.