Contemporary Human Resource (HR) Challenges - 09

Organizational Culture;

Introduction of organizational culture.

As people working in an organization are in a fast-moving word, the organizational culture is also getting changed accordingly. In fact the culture of an organization affects the way in which people behave and has to be taken into account as a contingency factor in any programme for developing organizations and HR policies and practices. This is why it is important for HR specialists as well.

The Organizational culture

The pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions are known as organizational culture. In fact ‘Values’ refer to what is believed to be important about how people and organizations behave. ‘Norms’ are the unwritten rules of behavior.

According to Eldridge and Crombie (1974), he says that the culture of an organization refers to the unique configuration of norms, values, beliefs and ways of behaving.

Significance of culture, Furnham and Gunter (1993)

Organizational culture offers a shared system of meanings which is the basis for communications and mutual understanding. If these functions are not taking place in a satisfactory way, culture could significantly reduce the efficiency of an organization.

Problems with the concept

Furnham and Gunter (1993) refer to a number of problems with the concept, which include:

Ø   How to categorize culture (what terminology to use);

Ø   When and why corporate culture should be changed and how this takes place;

Ø   What is the healthiest, most optimal or desirable culture.

Definition of Organizational climate

According to Ivancevitch et al (2008), organizational climate has been defined as   ‘A set of properties of the work environment, perceived directly or indirectly by the employees, that is assumed to be a major force in influencing employee behavior.’ Meanwhile Denison (1996) suggested that ‘culture’ refers to the deep structure of organizations, which is rooted in the values, beliefs and assumptions held by organizational members.

How organizational culture develops

When it comes to the development of culture, the values and norms that are the basis of culture are formed in four ways; first, by the leaders in the organization, Schein (1990) indicates that people identify with visionary leaders – how they behave and what they expect. Second, as Schein also points out, culture is formed around critical incidents Third, as suggested by Furnham and Gunter (1993) culture develops from the need to maintain effective working relationships among organization members finally, culture is influenced by the organization’s environment.

  

REFERENCES;

v   Armstrong M.(2009),Human Resource management practice 11^th ed. UK;Kogan – Pg. 393

v     Eldridge, J and Crombie, A (1974) The Sociology of Organizations, Allen & Unwin, London

v     Furnham, A and Gunter, B (1993) Corporate Assessment, Routledge, London

v     Ivancevich, J M, Konopaske, R and Matteson, M T (2008) Organizational Behaviour and Management, 8th edn, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York