The Impact of Organizational Culture on Performance

Unit Title: Shape organizational culture and values:

1.1 Define the scope of organizational culture and effect on individual organizational behavior.

Organizational culture is a system of shared values, assumptions and beliefs governing the behavior of people in an organization. The values, beliefs and basic assumptions are guided by leaders and followed by employees. They determine how things are done in an organisations. Organisational culture is an internal phenomenon and impacts the staff behavior and attitudes ultimately influencing the performance of the organization. Organizational cultures vary from organization to organization. Organizational culture is the shared understanding of the beliefs, values, norms and philosophies of how things work (Wallach, 1983). The organizational culture of an organization should consider the needs of the organization and the needs of stakeholders. Robins, 2007, says that organizational culture serves as a maker mechanism of meaning and obstacle that guides the attitudes and behavior of its members as well as set rules of game.

Effects of organizational culture of individual and organizational behavior.

A healthy organizational culture enhances motivation and loyalty of employees towards the management.

Organizational culture determines how individuals interact at their work place.

The culture promotes healthy competition at the work place as employees try their level best to perform better than their fellow workers.

The culture of an organization gives workers a sense of direction as it represents certain policies and guidelines. The policies and guidelines set roles and responsibility of workers and how to accomplish their tasks within the given timelines.

The culture of an organization makes it distinct from other organisations, creates its brand image and identity.

The culture brings the employees in an organisation to a common platform thus ensuring equality and ensures that they deliver their level best.

A healthy organizational culture promotes unity among workers despite their different backgrounds, attitudes and mentalities.

Due to a healthy organizational culture, there are healthy relationships between employees and the management of the organization.

Organizational culture ensures that each employee is fully utilized as it extracts the bets out of them.

At Encore Care Group of Homes, there is an organizational culture which must be upheld by every worker. The culture upholds equality of every individual. This has in turn led to positive effects on individuals and the organization in general. There is unity at Encore Care, motivation of employees and a great sense of direction of workers and the organization in general. It has also given Encore Care a distinctive image from other organizations in the care homes industry.

References

Robins Stephen 2007, ‘Organizational behavior’, Prentice Hall, vol.12e.

Wallach Ellen J. 1983, ‘Individuals and organizations: the cultural match’, Training and Development Journal, vol., 37, ed.2, pp.28-36.

1.2, 1.3: Evaluate

(a) Theories and models of organizational cultures and values.

Harrison’s culture model

In 1972, Harrison defined four different ideologies and termed them as power orientation, role orientation, task orientation and person orientation. In 1982, he used the word culture instead of orientation. According to him, a power oriented enterprise tends to dominate its environment and vanquish all opposition. Power orientation is normally found in organisations with a background of family ownership or those that are newly established. A role oriented organisation aspires to be as rational and orderly as possible. Competition and conflicts are regulated or replaced by agreements, rules and procedures. To an organisation that is task oriented, the achievement of a certain superordinate goal is the highest value. A person oriented organisation exists primarily to serve the needs of its members. In 1987, he redefined it as an organisational climate based on mutual trust between the individual and the organisation.

Deal and Kennedy’s culture model

According to them, the environment in which an organisation operates determines what it must do to be a success. The process culture is defined as “a world of little or no feedback where employees find it hard to measure what they do; instead they concentrate on how it is done” (p.208). The work hard/play hard culture is described as a “world of small risks and quick often intensive feedback. Activity in this world is everything. Success comes with persistence” (p.113). They define the tough guy/macho/stars culture as the most grueling of all business culture” (p.108). People in such a culture require a tough attitude as the internal competition is quite high. Bet -your –company cultures have to endure “high risk, but slow feedback” (p.116). The values of the bet-your-company culture focuses on the future and the importance of investing in it.

Schneider’s culture model

William Schneider uses a four-square matrix to describe his culture model. He defines the cultivation culture as “one of faith that heralds a system of beliefs or expectations that the organisation and its people will accomplish what it deems valuable. This culture trusts unquestioningly in success, in its people and in the organization” (p. 82). The collaboration culture springs from the family and its way to success is to put a collection of people together, to build these people into a team, to engender their positive affective relationship with one another and to charge them with fully utilizing one another as resources”(p.44-45). “The competence culture is based on the achievement motive and defined as man’s need to compete against a standard of excellence” (p.63). In control cultures, “empiricism and the systematic examination of externally generated facts are highly valued” (p.35)

Cameron and Quinn culture model

This model has four core values; flexibility, stability, differentiation and integration. They use four quadrants from their analysis; clan, adhocracy, hierarchy and market. Hierarchy cultures emerge from a relatively stable environment thus tasks and functions could be integrated and coordinated, uniformity in products and services was maintained. In market culture, the basic assumptions are that the external environment is hostile, consumers are choosy and interested in value, the organization is in the business of increasing its competitive position and the main task is to drive the organisation towards productivity, results and profits. In a clan culture assumptions are that the environment can best be managed through teamwork and employee development, customers are seen as partners. Adhocracies are temporary, specialized and dynamic and can be found in environments that are more turbulent than those in which clan cultures thrive.

Schein’s culture model

In 1984, Edgar Schein an American management professor developed this model to make culture more visible within an organisation. Mechanisms such as exemplary behavior, opinions, status and appointments directly affect an organisation’s culture. He divided organisation culture into three different levels; artefacts and symbols, espoused values and assumptions. Artefacts mark the surface of an organisation and are visible elements such as logos, architecture, processes and corporate clothing. Espoused values concerns standards, values and rules of conduct. The basic underlying assumptions are experienced as self -evident and unconscious behavior.

At Encore Care Group of Homes all models are applied. The Harrison model is used to gain a competitive advantage over other homes and to assign tasks and roles to individuals. The Deal and Kennedy model is used to determine what must be done to become a success. The Schneider model is applied when building a team. The Cameron and Quinn model aids in promoting flexibility, stability, differentiation and integration of Encore Care Homes in the industry and market. The Schein model is used to uphold culture in the organization.

References

Cameron K. S & Quinn R. E 2005, Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: based on the competing values framework. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.

Deal T. E. & Kennedy, A.A. 1982, ‘Corporate cultures’, Reading MA, Addison-Wesley.

Schein E. H. 1984, ‘Coming to a new awareness of organizational culture’, Sloan Management Review.

Schneider B. & Reichers A. E. 1983, ‘On the etiology of climates’, Personnel Psychology, vol. 36, pp.19-39.

 (b) The drivers to the development of organizational values in different types of organizations

Organizational values are core ethics and principles which an organization abides by. The drivers to the development of organizational values are in other words the reasons or need for organizational values.

The need for decision making. Core values assist organizations in the decision making processes.

Client education. Core values educate customers on the identity of an organization and what it is all about.

Recruiting, selection and retention. Organizational values are becoming primary recruiting and retention tools. Jobseekers research on the alignment of an organizations’ values with their own.

Game changing. Values are an organizations game changer. Research has shown that employees who are allowed to express their authentic selves at work exhibit higher levels of organizational commitment, individual performance and propensity to help others.

Overall individual growth. Values lead to growth of the whole person. Employees do not just look for places to work but also places to grow. A recent Harvard Business Review blog post shows that the value of belonging to a workplace helps better oneself.

Onboarding success. Values lead to greater onboarding success. When organizations emphasize on newcomers’ authentic selves versus its identity, it contributes to greater customer satisfaction and employee retention.

Engagement. Values result in improved engagement after employees determine their strengths.

Self-awareness. As values increase self-awareness, most organizations have mechanisms to aid in increasing employees’ level of self-awareness and uncover their blind spots.

The needs/ drivers mentioned above are the key reasons for the development of values in Encore Care Homes.

References

Kegan R., Lahey L. & Fleming A. 2014, ‘Productivity: Does your company make you a better person?’ Harvard Business Review, Jan 22

Lencioni P. M 2002, ‘Organizational structure: Make your values mean something’, Harvard Business Review, July.

1.4, 1.5: Evaluate

(a) Ethical dimensions of organizational culture and values.

Ethics are the code of moral principles and values that govern the behaviors of an organization with respect to what is wrong or right. The ethical setting of an organisation is the shared understanding about which is the correct behavior and how ethical issues will be handled. At all levels and in all circumstances, this climate sets the tone for decision making. Schneider and Rentsch, 1991 gave some of the factors to be emphasized in different organisational climates. The factors include; personal self-interest, organizational profits, operating efficiency, individual friendships, team interests, social responsibilities, personal morality, rules and standard procedures and finally laws and professional codes. Organisations ought to provide more ethics training to strengthen sstheir workers’ personal ethical frame.

Steps an organisation should use to help its employees deal with an ethical dilemma (Schermerhorn, 1989; Otten, 1986)

Recognize and clarify the dilemma.

Get all the possible facts concerning the dilemma.

List down all your options.

Test each option by questioning its legality or benefit.

Make your decision.

Double check your decision while considering how it will affect you and others.

Take action.

An organisation or individual should;

Be realistic when setting values and goals concerning working relationships and do not promise what you cannot deliver.

Encourage values that represent the views of employees at all levels of the organisation.

Provide ethics training programs for all employees.

Integrate ethical decision making into the performance appraisal process.

Depending on the willingness of an organisation to survive and maintain a competitive edge, the organisation must meet the challenge of ethical behavior.

Ethics are highly upheld in Encore Care homes. They include; trust, perseverance, obedience, accountability, commitment, integrity, safety etc. These values determines and affects the way people in Encore Care Homes interact with each other, the management, stakeholders and clients.

References

Otten A.L 1986, ‘Ethics on the job: Companies alert employees to potential dilemmas’, The Wall Street Journal, (July 14), p.17.

Schermerhorn J.R 1989, Management for productivity, John Wiley, New York.

Schneider B. & Rentsch J. 1991, Managing climates and cultures: A futures perspective, Lexington Books, Lexington, MA.

(b) Organisational communication perspectives.

There are several perspectives of organizational communication;

Functionalistic approach or perspective; it describes what messages do and how they move through organizations. The way messages move in organizations is described by the examination of communication networks, channels, message directions, load and distortion. The perspective suggests that communication passes rules, regulations and information throughout the organization. This perspective shows organizations as dynamic communication systems with various parts of the organization’s system operating together to create and shape operational events.

Meaning- centered perspective; this approach asks what communication is and not how and why it works.it is mainly concerned with how organizational reality is generated through human interaction. In summary, the meaning – centered approach defines organizational communication as the process for generating shared realities that become organizing, decision making, sense making, influence and culture.

Critical perspective; this approach focuses attention on studies of power and abuses of power through communication and organization. “The central goal of critical theory in organizational culture has been to create a society and workplaces that are free from domination and where all the members can contribute equally to produce systems that meet human needs and lead to the progressive development of all”(Deetz, 2001). It uses the notion of hegemony which is a process of control based on a dominating group leading others to believe that their subordination is the norm.

Interpretive perspective: this approach is concerned with the process and experiences through which people construct organizational reality and meaning (Smircich, 1983). This perspective brought new conceptualizations of communication and culture as well as rich understanding of organizations.

Feminist perspective; it focuses on the marginalization and domination of women in the workplace and the value attached to women’s voices in organizational processes.

Emerging perspective: it describe organizational communication as a constitutive process and it critiques and challenge basic assumptions of message meaning and transfer, power and domination and notions of rationality associated with hierarchical and patriarchal systems.

In Encore Care Homes, all the above organizational communication perspectives are used for the betterment of individuals and the organization in general.

References

Deetz S, Jablin F. M., and Putnam L. L. 2001, Conceptual foundations in the new handbook of organizational communication: advances in theory, research and methods, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Smircich Linda 1983, ‘Concepts of culture and organizational analysis’, vol. 28, pp.339-358.

1.7, 2.2, and 2.3: Identify the factors that influence organizational culture and values and identify the way in which organizational culture and values could be enhanced. Analyse the potential for friction between organizational values and individuals’ values (Link theoretical evidence to how you facilitate this within your organization).

Factors influencing organizational cultures and values

Leaders and their principles: the way the management team leads an organization affects the policies, procedures and rules made for employees.

Nature of the business:

Clients/customers: they are part of a culture and they directly affect employee’s wellbeing. For example, a rude customer will negatively affect the mood of an employee.

Types of employees hired: through recruitment and selection, the types of workers hired have the largest impact on its culture.

Organizational structure, values, policies and practices.

The size and development stage of an organization.

The reward systems of an organisation.

The market or industry the organization operates in.

The organisation’s working environment and the nature of tasks.

The external environment of an organization e.g. legal, economic, political and social.

The organisation’s attitude to risk taking and innovation.

In one way or the other, all the above mentioned factors affect Encore Care Home’s organizational cultures and values.

References

Kotter J.P & Heskett J.L 1992, ‘Corporate culture and performance ‘, Free Press, Canada

Schein E. 1985, Organizational culture and leadership, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, Washington, London.

Ways of enhancing organizational culture and values.

New employee on-boarding; on-boarding is the process through which new employees learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills and behaviours they require to effectively function in the organisation. It is also referred to as the organisation socialising process. During on-boarding, an organisation can hold a formal orientation program and the insiders can act as mentors to the new employees. Once the new employees are fully acquainted they will feel accepted by their fellow employees thus boosting their confidence. The understanding and confidence will lead to more effective new employees with better performance and higher job satisfaction, stronger organisational commitment and longer tenure within the company (Bauer et al 2007).

Attraction-selection-attrition; organisational culture is maintained through the ASA process. Firstly, the individuals are attracted to the most suitable organisations that they will fit in. just as the individuals are looking for organisations they will fit in, companies are also looking for people who will fit in their organisational culture. After the organisation selects new employees, there might be those who do not fit its culture and their elimination is done through attrition. Through the ASA process, the organisation attracts, selects and retain people who are a perfect fit for its culture.

Leadership; leaders of an organisation are important in creating and changing its culture. The consistency between organisational policy and leaders’ actions and leader role modelling determines the degree to which the organisation’s culture emphasizes ethics (Driscoll & McKee, 2007).

Reward systems; the culture of an organisation is shaped by the kind of reward systems used in the organisation and the types of behaviours and outcomes it chooses to punish or reward. Does the company reward behaviours, results, performance or seniority? A reward system is a tool that managers can use when undertaking the controlling function.

Encore care Homes use all the above mentioned ways to enhance and uphold organizational values.

References

Bauer T.N et al 2007, ‘Newcomers adjustment during organizational socialization: A Meta analytic review of antecedents, outcomes and methods’, Journal of Applied Psychology, vol.92 (3), pp.107.

Driscoll C. & McKee M. 2007, ‘Restoring a culture of ethical and spiritual values: A role of leader story telling’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 73(2), pp. 205-217.

The potential for friction between organisational values and individuals’ values

Organisational values are carefully and logically determined after discussions with other people. A personal value is a private and purely emotional commitment (Merill E. Douglas, 1993)

Employers seek employees who are line with their values and vice versa. When employees’ personal values are aligned with those of the organisation, a productive and mutually satisfying working relationship emerges. If employees feel that their values are different from those of the organisation, they are most likely to disengage from their work.

Value frictions arise when there is a conflict between personal and organizational values. Under such circumstances, employees may have to struggle with the conflict between what they want to do and what they have to do (Diane F.Halpem, 2005)

References

Diane F. Halpem 2005, From work- family balance to work-family interaction: changing the metaphor, Routledge.

Merill E. Douglas 1993, Manage your time, your work, yourself, Amacom American Management Association.