Organizational Culture
Organizational
culture, also known as corporate culture, represents the common perception
shared by the employees of an organization. In other words, organizational
culture consists of norms, values, and unwritten codes of conduct of an
organization. The culture of each organization is unique and distinct. It
guides the behaviour of organization’s employees by defining the standards of
acceptable behaviour.
Since,
organizational culture helps in shaping the behaviour of employees working in
the organization; therefore, it becomes important to understand the
relationship that exists between organizational culture and organizational behaviour.
Organizational
culture can be defined as the group norms, values, beliefs and assumptions
practiced in an organization. It brings stability and control within the firm.
The organization is more stable and its objective can be understood more
clearly.
Organizational
culture helps the group members to resolve their differences, overcome the
barriers and also helps them in tackling risks.
Definitions
of OC
OC refers to “the
set of values beliefs and norms together with symbols like dramatized events
and personalities that represent the unique character of an organisation”.
“Culture is
the set of important understandings that members of a community share in common.
It consists of patterned ways of thinking, feeling, and reacting that are
acquired by language and symbols that create a distinctiveness among human
groups. A system of shared values is the building block of culture.” — Vijay
Sathe
“Organisational
culture is concerned with how employees perceive the basic characteristics like
individual autonomy, structure, reward, conflict and consideration. Every
organisation has a unique and distinct culture of its own. Therefore, one
organisation can be distinguished from others in terms of culture.” — J.P.
Campbell
Organisational
Culture – Nature
(i) Like an individual, every
organisation has its own personality.
(ii) The personality of the organisation
defines the internal environment of an organisation.
(iii) It
differentiates an organisation from the others.
(iv) It is
relatively enduring or stable over time.
(v) It is
perceived by the members and the outsiders.
(vi) It
exercises a significant influence on the attitudes, behaviour and performance
of organisational members.
Elements of Organizational Culture
The two key
elements seen in organizational culture are −
·
Visible
elements − These
elements are seen by the outer world. Example, dress code, activities, setup,
etc.
·
Invisible
elements − These
inner elements of the group cannot be seen by people outside the group or firm.
Example, values, norms, assumptions, etc. Now let us discuss some other
elements of organizational culture. They are −
· Stories − Stories regarding the history of
the firm, or founder.
· Rituals − Precise practices an
organization follows as a habit.
· Symbol − The logo or signature or the
style statement of a company.
· Language − A common language that can be
followed by all, like English.
· Practice − Discipline, daily routine or say
the tight schedule everyone follows without any failure.
· Values
and Norms − The
idea over which a company is based or the thought of the firm is considered as
its value and the condition to adopt them are called norms.
· Assumptions − It means we consider something
to be true without any facts. Assumptions can be used as the standard of
working, means the employees prepare themselves to remain above standard.
Relationship
between Organizational Culture and Organizational Behaviour:
Organizational
Culture:
1. Definition – It
refers to the study of an organization’s values, beliefs, attitudes,
psychology, behaviour, and experiences.
2. Purpose – It
communicates the ethical expectations, builds the strengths of employees, and
lays emphasis on growth.
3. Interdependence
– It guides the behaviour of employees through its shared actions, beliefs, and
values.
Organizational Behaviour:
1. Definition – It
helps in understanding the perception, learning capabilities, values, and beliefs
of an individual in an organization.
2. Purpose – It
helps in improving quality, productivity, and customer service; manages
workforce diversity; improves ethical behaviour of employees and their
interpersonal skills; and balances the work-life by minimizing conflicts.
3. Interdependence
– It studies the behavioural pattern of employees in an organization, which
contributes to the creation and updating of the organizational culture to a
great extent.
How to Create an Organizational Culture
An
organizational culture is created with the combination of certain criteria that
are mentioned below −
·
The
founder of the organization may partly set a culture.
· The
environment within which the organization standards may influence its
activities to set a culture.
· Sometimes
interchange of culture in between different organizations create different new
cultures.
· The
members of the organization may set a culture that is flexible to adapt.
· New
cultures are also created in an organization due to demand of time and
situation.
The culture of
an organizational can change due to composition of workforce, merger and
acquisition, planned organizational change, and influence of other
organizational culture.
6
Organizational Culture Examples Worth Following
Organizational culture is a hot topic these days, and
for good reason. With big names like Google and Facebook setting examples for
what a healthy company culture looks
like, many others are following suit and fostering cultures that align with
their values and needs. Here are 6 organizational culture examples worth
following!
Read on to see what makes these corporations and
startups alike great places to work.
1. L.L. Bean
Ranked in
Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, L.L. Bean’s dedication to customers
through offerings like lifetime warranties and free shipping is reflected in
its internal culture. The 103-year-old retail company with a focus on outdoor
apparel has a low turnover rate of just 3%, and employees enjoy perks like
discounted gym memberships, employee discounts, paid time off for volunteering
and even college tuition reimbursement.
Those aren’t the only benefits of working at L.L.
Bean, though. The company sponsors excursions like kayaking and camping for the
whole team, and employees can even borrow outdoor gear and take advantage of
camping around Rangeley Lake, where HQ is based, with their families.
Management-wise, L.L. Bean takes care of the team by
having regular one-on-one meetings with employees to discuss career development
and offering regular classes and workshops. Their “Bean’s Best” program praises
teammates who go the extra mile with an annual celebration, and teammates
acknowledge one another through peer recognition programs.
Why we love it: As L.L. Bean wrote in its culture deck, “Every employee is the most important ever in
this company.” That’s a great mindset to have, which is why it ranks first
amongst our organizational culture examples.
2. Adobe
Also earning a spot in Fortune’s Top 100,
Adobe offers perks like discounted gym memberships and tuition reimbursement,
plus paid sabbatical and subsidies for commuters. Employees even receive patents
for their ideas and are awarded bonuses for those creations at an annual
banquet. Product releases are celebrated with events and recognition for the
teammates responsible with rewards like bonuses and swag.
What really sets Adobe apart, though, is how it
values communication across the company between departments. Regular team
events, like a speed networking event, encourage employees to get to know one
another. A company-wide community for LGBTQ employees is a place for members of
those communities to socialize and have discussions, and several Adobe
employees even contributed videos to the popular “It Gets Better” movement
aimed toward LGBTQ teens.
Why we love it: Adobe not only encourages creativity and
communication, it rewards and provides outlets for them.
3. DogVacay
The “Airbnb for dogs,” DogVacay, is a
startup with an office culture any animal lover would covet. Every day is
bring-your-dog-to-work day, and the team regularly volunteers at a local animal
shelter. Frequent happy hours, karaoke nights and catered lunches are nice
added bonuses, plus HQ is just a few minutes from the beaches of Santa Monica.
Employees even have access to free rental bikes to take out for a spin when
they need to take a break and move around.
As head of communications Rachael King told us: “Our
office culture is all about creativity and collaboration, and our open floor
plan and fun decor provide a pleasing and comfortable workspace for our teams
to work together. DogVacay’s employees come from all different backgrounds,
which contributes to our unique and open office culture, but we all have one
important thing in common: our love of dogs!”
Check out our exclusive interview with
DogVacay’s Office Manager for more details on how they build the DogVacay
company culture.
Why we love it: Besides the dogs, it’s a playful
environment with passionate people working toward a cause the whole team
believes in. Plus, the dogs.
4. Wrike
Wrike is another company that puts a
great deal of emphasis on hiring for culture, which is likely why it has
glowing reviews on Glassdoor and was named one of the best places to work by
the San Francisco Business Times. The project management software company does
cross-team interviews to ensure a good fit and regularly blogs about
culture. The entire team even got to take a trip to Mexico for four days of
team-building and learning.
Creativity and feedback are encouraged at Wrike,
where the attitude is “if you think it’s a good idea, go for it.” The team also
makes a point of celebrating successes. As founder and CEO Andrew Filev tells
Enplug:
“We always make sure to take the time to celebrate
each other’s wins. In sales, it’s obvious: closing a big deal means bringing in
money for the company. But other teams have different measures of success and
we are careful to recognize those too,” and that includes personal
accomplishments.
Why we love it: Wrike gives employees the autonomy to
create a culture they love. Andrew’s advice on doing just that: “Make sure your
employees know that being a great workplace is one of your goals as a business
leader. They’ll be more than happy to help you create it.” Well said!
5. Zappos
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh once famously said,
“Zappos is a customer service company that just happens to sell shoes.” It also
just happens to be famous for its wonderful (and sometimes wacky) culture.
Amongst these six organizational culture examples, Zappos is probably the
best-known. Zappos hires for culture first, treats employees to a three-day
culture camp training event, and regularly features employee contributors in a
culture series for its blog.
In fact, the company is so focused on culture that it
has its own culture book, which has hundreds of unedited testimonials from
employees and is updated every year. Their core values are clearly defined and
include tenets like delivering customers “wow” through service, embracing and
driving change, and creating fun and “a little weirdness” in the office.
Managers are responsible for creating career paths
within their departments for all employees, with an emphasis on those who
excel. Zappos even offers new hires $2,000 and up to quit if they feel the job
isn’t right for them.
Why we love it: Few companies manage to embrace
individuality (or “weirdness”) as well as Zappos does, and the company’s
unapologetic commitment to a culture-first attitude ensures that never changes.
6. Quora
Quora is all
about learning, conversation, and discovery. So it only makes sense, then, that
the question-and-answer website’s employees are constantly learning and
improving. At Quora, new hires are paired with mentors, and by the end of the
first week, engineers and designers are reviewing one another’s code and
deploying their creations.
In fact,
continuous deployment—where new code is shipped out constantly—is the norm.
Constant feedback from peers helps ensure the code keeps improving, and it
helps employees learn from one another. Employees get regular one-on-ones with
managers starting from day one, and everyone on the team has the chance to work
with one another as teams vary by project.
Quora
employees are also treated regularly to yoga sessions, free meals and company
swag, and movie nights and morale events keep the team happy and engaged. On
“one-hour project days,” everyone on the team spends their day doing a set list
of tasks—like bug fixes—that can each be accomplished within an hour. The team
races to complete each task, listening to music all the time, and celebrating
at the end.
Why we love
it: Quora’s philosophy of
continually learning and improving is right in line with their product, meaning
employees always have the chance to take on new and exciting challenges.
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