Question

Briefly describe how organizational cultures form?

Answer 1

Organizational culture is defined as the underlying beliefs, assumptions, values and ways of interacting that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization. Organizational culture is a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs, which governs how people behave in organizations. Organizational culture includes an organization’s expectations, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and is expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations.

                     Organizational culture includes an organization’s expectations, experiences, philosophy, as well as the values that guide member behavior, and is expressed in member self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. Culture is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid

Characteristics of organizational culture are;

1. Innovation (Risk Orientation).

2. Attention to Detail (Precision Orientation).

3. Emphasis on Outcome (Achievement Orientation).

4. Emphasis on People (Fairness Orientation).

5. Teamwork (Collaboration Orientation).

6. Aggressiveness (Competitive Orientation).

7. Stability (Rule Orientation)

HOW IS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE CREATED AND COMMUNICATED?

An organization’s culture is shaped as the organization faces external and internal challenges and learns how to deal with them. When the organization’s way of doing business provides a successful adaptation to environmental challenges and ensures success, those values are retained.

                       Business leaders are vital to the creation and communication of their workplace culture. However, the relationship between leadership and culture is not one-sided. While leaders are the principal architects of culture, an established culture influences what kind of leadership is possible

                           Leaders must appreciate their role in maintaining or evolving an organization’s culture. A deeply embedded and established culture illustrates how people should behave, which can help employees achieve their goals. This behavioral framework, in turn, ensures higher job satisfaction when an employee feels a leader is helping him or her complete a goal. From this perspective, organizational culture, leadership, and job satisfaction are all inextricably linked.

As a company matures, its cultural values are refined and strengthened. The early values of a company’s culture exert influence over its future values. It is possible to think of organizational culture as an organism that protects itself from external forces. Organizational culture determines what types of people are hired by an organization and what types of people are left out. Moreover, once new employees are hired, the company assimilates new employees and teaches them the way things are done in the organization. We call these processes attraction-selection-attrition and onboarding processes. We will also examine the role of leaders and reward systems in shaping and maintaining an organization’s culture.