Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the organizational culture and its role in obtaining the
objectives of an organization. Light is shed on the important aspects of organizational culture like why it
is important, and how to change an established culture so that it is better aligned with achieving the
desire organizational outcomes.

Define the concept of organizational culture

Organizational culture is a commonly used term, yet it is still ambiguous in its meaning. According to
Watson, the idea of organization culture was basically derived from a metaphor of the organization as
‘something cultivated’. Over previous decades, the researchers studying organizational culture suggest
that it is the environment and practices created by an organization to handle the people involved or to
promote and maintain the vision and mission of the company (Schein, 2004). Schein (2004) emphasizes
that one of the important things a leader can do for his/her organization is to create and manage the
culture of his/her organization and destroy the same culture when as dysfunctional’. Therefore, Culture
can be called the soul and personality of an organization which giving it a sense of identity and
determines, the way things are done in the particular organization.

An organisations’ culture highlights its the achievements, strengths and all that has been good in the
past. These practices become a part of the organization and are accepted mostly without any question
by the members of an organisation. When it comes to new employees, they look upto the legends of the
organization who have served the company for long time and one of the first things a new employee
learns is some of the organisation’s legends. Legends can stay with an organisation and become part of
the established way of doing things. Over time the organisation will develop ‘norms’ i.e. established
(normal) expected behaviour patterns within the organisation. A norm is defined as an established
behaviour pattern that is part of a culture.

2) Discuss the contributors to organisational culture

Here are five factors that affect organizational

culture:
1. Top Leadership Principles

How the leadership team of a company manages the corporation influences employees ' regulations,
practices and processes. and practices. Look at any great head and you will find that the leader's ideals
and concepts trickle down to staff to attain the organization's expire results.
Howard Schultz, Starbucks ' executive chairman and previous CEO, is a visionary with a straightforward
philosophy of leadership: treating people who have dignity and respect. That one principle emerges
every once in awhile in the organizational lifestyle of Starbucks, and a person experience could be
calculated in the standard of service.
2. Nature Of The Business

An organization's mission, actions and competition impact the actions of employees. Does your business
make a big change in the life span of your employees and customers through your services and
products? This influences the organizational culture and how your employees feel about working with
you specifically.

3. Company Values, Policies and Work Ambiance

Employees build the principles reflected in the work policies,

environment and procedures and environment. At TruPath, we
challenged our workers to recognize and describe the basic truths
that serve as the basis of our philosophy and action framework.

Our staff created five "TruPrinciples" and provided their

interpretations for every one: the TruPrinciples, or concepts of the
combined group, immediate our practices and activities to help
expand promote a culture of enterprise that people all desire to be
part of.

4. Clients and External Parties

A very important factor is who you will work with, but another is
normally who you will work for. The clients the company serves are a
factor that is overlooked and impacts the culture of the organization
often.

Why are consumers portion of the culture? Because they are the
people that affect the well-being of the worker directly. If a person
gets upset and will take it from an employee, the behavior of that
employee directly impacts those around them. If an ongoing company
includes a great achievement and praises the worker for a well
performed function, the worker shall raise their entire group.

5. Recruitment and Selection

To organizational culture, perhaps no aspect is more critical than

selecting and hiring the right types of workers. An organization's
design of worker has the most significant effect on its environment -
particularly if a business is normally in high development phase and
is more and more adding new workers.

3) Discuss the link between the organisation’s culture and its capacity to meet its objectives
Culture is socially learned and transmitted by members; it provides
the rules for behavior within organizations [18]. The definition of
organizational culture is of the belief that can guide staff in
knowing what to do and what not to do, including practices, values,
and assumptions about their work [19]. The core values of an
organization begin with its leadership, which will then evolve to a
leadership style. Subordinates will be led by these values and the
behavior of leaders, such that the behavior of both parties should
become increasingly in line. When strong unified behavior, values
and beliefs have been developed, a strong organizational culture
emerges. Leaders have to appreciate their function in maintaining
an organization's culture. This would in return ensure consistent
behavior between members of the organization, reducing conflicts
and creating a healthy working environment for employees [20].
Relationship between leadership behavior and job satisfaction
Job satisfaction has been associated with nurses who perceive their managers
as supportive and caring. A supportive manager shares values, believes in a
balance of power, and provides opportunities for open dialogue with nurses
[21], which in turn reduces the chances of internal conflicts. This type of
leader is successful in his or her role and is supportive and responsive to
clinical nurses, thereby preserving power and status within the hospital
system. Such leaders are valued throughout the organization and have
executive power to do what they see as necessary to create a positive
environment for nursing [22]. Accordingly, they have a measurable effect on
the morale and job satisfaction of nurses [23].

Hypothesis 2 - Leadership behavior is positively correlated with job

satisfaction.

Relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction

Organizational culture expresses shared assumptions, values and beliefs, and
is the social glue holding an organization together [24]. A strong culture is a
system of rules that spells out how people should behave [25]. An organization
with a strong culture has common values and codes of conduct for its
employees, which should help them accomplish their missions and goals.
Work recognition and job satisfaction can be achieved when employees can
complete the tasks assigned to them by the organization.

Hypothesis 3 -.Organizational culture is positively correlated with job

satisfaction.
The measurement of organizational culture, leadership behavior and job
satisfaction
A structured questionnaire was compiled based on similar studies published
in international journals [26, 27]. Twenty-three factors regarding
organizational culture were taken from Tsui et al. [26], a study based on two
groups of MBA students from two universities in Beijing, China. Our research
was focused on clinical nurses in hospitals; therefore, refinements were made
to the questionnaire designed by Tsui et al. [26] to cater for our particular
research objective. The study invited three directors or supervisors from the
medical center to validate the questionnaire. Lastly, there were 22 questions in
the organizational culture section.

Thirty items regarding leadership behavior were taken from Strange &
Mumford [27], and the questions structured using this literature. However,
the proposed test was not empirically studied. Nurses from hospital A were
used as a pilot study sample. Four question items were deleted to improve the
validity of the questionnaire: "People will have an extreme reaction to the
leader"; "Followers will sacrifice themselves for the leader and/or the leader's
vision"; "The leader is motivated by the accomplishment of his vision"; and
"The leader will take into account the needs of the organization in his decision
making."

Vroom [28] classified job satisfaction into 7 dimensions: organizational,

promotion, job content, superior, reward, working environment and working
partners. We took into consideration that nurses' salary increases are based on
promotion. Furthermore, a large number of variables in organization culture
and leadership behavior were covered by this research. To prevent too few
number nurses from responding to the questionnaires, we asked only 4 job
satisfaction dimensions out of a total of 12 items: job recognition, reward and
welfare, superior and working partners.

4) Discuss the link between various organisational elements (e.g., structure and strategy) and the
organisation’s culture.

Organizational culture generates its impact on organizational structure both through its design and its
implementation. Organizational culture realizes its impact on shaping organizational structure through
forming the interpretative schemes of the top management, which selects the organizational structure
model (James, James, Ashe, 1990). The culture creates a frame of reference in which the organization
management’s considerations and reasoning circulate in the process of decision-making concerning the
organizational structure model. The word ‘organization’ originates from the Greek word ‘organon’,
meaning ‘tool’. From a managerial perspective, organizational structure is a sort of tool in the hands of
management, who uses it in order to accomplish the organization’s goals. What that tool should be like
depends on the managers’ ideas regarding what the organization is, what its role is, what its meaning is,
and what it should be like. Culture shapes the interpretative schemes of the majority of the
organization’s members, and even the management’s interpretative schemes. Culture thus imposes on
the leader and his associates a specific view on the organization, its meaning, its purpose, and also a
suitable mode of its structuring. Thus the conscious and planned shaping and formal sanctioning of
relations between individuals and groups in an organization will be strongly influenced by the meaning
that the management assigns to the said relations, which has been imposed on them by organizational
culture (Ranson, Hinings, Greenwood, 1980). Organizational culture thus creates the frame of reference
in which organizational structure is designed. The organizational structure model formed in an
organization must, therefore, be in accordance with the dominant cultural assumptions, values, and
norms. If, for instance, an assumption of unequal distribution of power and the necessity to concentrate
power at the top prevails in an organizational culture, then it is very likely that a centralized
organizational structure will occur. If organizational culture imposes on employees and managers the
metaphor of the organization as a machine, i.e., as a systematized, standardized, and regulated system
which minimizes uncertainties in its functioning, then the organizational structure is very likely to turn
out as highly formalized and specialized and having functional departmentalization.

5) Discuss the reasons why organisational culture has become so important in modern organisations.

4 Why is culture important? Some researchers’ findings show that certain kinds of cultures correlate with
economic performance (Denison, 1990; Kotter and Heskett, 1992; Sorensen, 2002). Boyne (2003)
suggests a link between organisational culture change and public service improvement. Similarly, Ban
(1995) in a study of the US Environmental Protection UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING
ORGANISATIONALCULTURE Agency, found that the b agency was more adept than other federal agencies
in mitigating the effects of centralised federal human resource policy constraints. This was linked to the
agency’s status as an adhocracy with an open culture, focusing on change and flexibility, and
characterised by creative problem solving and risk taking. Understanding of organisational culture and
cultural types also helps our understanding of why managerial reforms may impact differently within and
between organisations. An organisation with a predominantly internal process culture, for example, may
be more resistant to reforms aimed at promoting innovation. Pollitt and Bouckaert (2004, p.55) note:
‘We would also expect staff in high uncertainty avoidance cultures to be more concerned with rule-
following and more reluctant to risk changing jobs - both factors of some importance for those reformers
who want to deregulate bureaucracies and encourage more rapid job change in the public service’.
Practitioners in both the private and public sectors have come to realise that organisational change often
requires changing the organisation’s culture and learning. For example, in terms of improving career
progression arrangements in the civil service, O’Riordan and Humphreys (2002) suggest a need for a
change in organisational culture in many areas of a department (p.83). In particular, O’Riordan (2004)
says that ‘developing a culture in which career progression and development of staff is prioritised
represents an important retention and motivation tool’ (p.77). Zalami (2005) notes that culture can
either facilitate or inhibit institutional transformation depending on whether or not the existing culture is
aligned with the goals of the proposed change. This is also noted by O’Donnell (2006) in terms of culture
facilitating innovative initiatives in the public sector and providing a supportive environment for
developing ‘enterprising leaders’ (p.98). The issue of culture emerged as a recurring theme throughout
the CPMR study on Innovation in the Irish Public Sector and suggests that 10 ORGANISATIONAL
CULTURE: LESSONS FROM THE LITERATURE 11 ‘management attitudes to risk management and tolerance
towards failure merit further research in terms of their impact on developing an entrepreneurial culture
in the public sector’ (p.96). The academic literature suggests that traditional organisational cultures in
the public sector are likely to impede public service modernisation unless they themselves are changed
to become aligned with the modern role of government as an engine of economic growth (private sector
development, ownership of state enterprises). Zalami (2005), as summarised in Table 2.1, notes that
change proponents have identified attributes of public sector culture focused on its authorities and
controls, rulesdriven, bureaucratic nature, inefficient use of resources, unaccountable for results, and
suggests a new paradigm more responsive to citizen needs. Table 2.1 Paradigms Source: Zalami, 2005 Du
Gay (2000) argues that undermining the bureaucratic ethos is an avowed intention of contemporary
reformers, but their understanding of ‘bureaucracy’ and their conception of ‘efficiency’ he feels leaves a
lot to be desired (Osborne and Gaebler, 1992; Peters, 1987). He suggests that rather than referring to a
form of organisation exhibiting many if not most of the characteristics of Max Old Paradigm New
Paradigm Government is the source of authority and control Government provides services and
solutions to common problems Government is rules-driven and resistant to changes Government is
results-oriented and changes to meet new needs Public servants are focused on themselves and their
situations Public servants are focused on meeting the needs of the citizens UNDERSTANDING AND
MANAGING ORGANISATIONALCULTURE Weber’s(1978,II,pp.978ff) classic ‘bureau’, contemporary
reformers use ‘bureaucracy’ as a composite term for the defects (waste, inertia, excessive red tape) of
large organisations. They advocate its replacement by more efficient, business-like methods. Overall,
DuGay (2000) feels that it is both misguided and remarkably premature to announce the death of the
cultural ethos of bureaucratic office. ‘Many of its key features as they came into existence a century or so
ago remain as or more essential to the provision of good government today as they did then - as a
number of recent well-publicised cases of improper conduct in government, at both national and
supranational level, indicate all to clearly. These features include the possession of enough skill, status
and independence to offer frank and fearless advice about the formulation and implementation of
distinctive public purposes and to try to achieve purposes impartially, responsibly and with energy if not
enthusiasm. Representative democracy still needs the bureaucratic ethos’ (p.146). But Litton (2006)
notes that the simple structure form favoured by bureaucracies can lead to cultural traits that limit
performance. He finds that the modus operandi of government departments ‘bears a striking
resemblance to the organisational structure identified by Mintzberg (1979) as the ‘simple’ or
‘entrepreneurial’ form’ (p.195) and these structures depend on direct supervision as a device to
coordinate its division of labour. Litton (2006) explains that it is the ‘boss’ who deals with the
environment and assigns tasks according to the products identified by him or her that will satisfy the
customer, and who with the support of one or two trusted middle managers or supervisors, oversees
their execution. He explains further that the culture that sustains this form is similar to that which Basil
Chubb (1970) used to describe Irish political culture: authoritarian, anti-intellectual and personalist. ‘The
culture is authoritarian because the boss alone has the command of the big picture that combines both
internal 12 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE: LESSONS FROM THE LITERATURE 13 and external environments.
The boss’s role is to handle the uncertainties that attend any organising endeavour. Questioning by staff
is one source of uncertainty that can be ruled out by fiat and so it is. The culture is antiintellectual
because to admit the relevance of new understandings is to greatly increase that complexity the boss
must handle. The danger of cognitive overload and the suspicion that the increase in acknowledged
complexity would not bring commensurate rewards is enough to discourage open ended analysis’
(pp.195-196, Litton,2006). He also describes the culture as personalist ‘because numbers are small, and
in the absence of detailed job descriptions workers interact as individuals, not roles’ (p.196, Litton,
2006). Culture is, therefore, a key battleground in the context of management reform in the public
service. Simplistic approaches suggest that the old bureaucratic culture of the public service must be
dismantled and replaced by a more private sector like entrepreneurial culture. But the reality is, as
suggested here, that such simplistic approaches will not work. A fuller understanding of culture and the
reasons for particular organisational cultures in the public service is central to successful management
reform.

Why does it matter that your organizational culture is one way rather
than another way?

It turns out it matters a lot. Organizational culture is hugely important

to the success and overall health of your company, your people, and
your customers. So it’s helpful to spend time considering why your
company’s culture is the way it is, and why it’s important that it stays
that way (or changes).

Let’s take a look at seven reasons why organizational culture is

important.

7 reasons why organizational culture is

important

1. It defines your company’s internal and external identity

Here’s a thought exercise: write down on a piece of paper five
attributes that best describe your organization’s culture. You might
write something like “good work-life balance” or “lots of meetings” or
maybe “team-oriented.”

Now, spend a few minutes thinking about why each of those attributes
is important to your organization in particular. Why is it significant that
your company has a good work-life balance? What makes these culture
attributes valuable to your people and customers?

Peter Ashworth explains that your organizational culture “defines for

you and for all others, how your organization does business, how your
organization interacts with one another and how the team interacts
with the outside world, specifically your customers, employees,
partners, suppliers, media and all other stakeholders.”

In other words, your organizational culture will reverberate across all

aspects of your business because it represents the way you do
business. It’s simultaneously your identity and your image, which
means it determines how your people and customers perceive you.

2. Organizational culture is about living your company’s core

values
Your culture can be a reflection (or a betrayal) of your company’s core
values. The ways in which you conduct business, manage workflow,
interact as a team, and treat your customers all add up to an
experience that should represent who you are as an organization and
how you believe a company should be run. In short, your culture is the
sum of your company’s beliefs in action.

But if your espoused values don’t match your culture, that’s a problem.
It could mean that your “core values” are a list of meaningless
buzzwords, and your people know it.

A strong organizational culture keeps your company’s core values front

and center in all aspects of its day-to-day operations and
organizational structure. The value of doing so is incalculable.

3. Your culture can transform employees into advocates (or

critics)
One of the greatest advantages of a strong organizational culture is
that it has the power to turn employees into advocates.

Your people want more than a steady paycheck and good benefits; they
want to feel like what they do matters. And when your people feel like
they matter, they’re more likely to become culture advocates—that is,
people who not only contribute to your organization’s culture, but also
promote it and live it internally and externally.

How do you achieve this? One way is to recognize good work. A culture
that celebrates individual and team successes, that gives credit when
credit is due, is a culture that offers a sense of accomplishment. And
that’s one way to turn employees into advocates.

Then again, if your company culture doesn’t do this, you may

be inviting criticism.

4. A strong organizational culture helps you keep your best

people
It should come as no surprise that employees who feel like they’re part
of a community, rather than a cog in a wheel, are more likely to stay at
your company. In fact, that’s what most job applicants are looking for
in a company.

Ask any top performer what keeps them at their company and you’re
bound to hear this answer: the people. It’s because a workplace
culture focused on people has profound appeal. It helps
improve engagement, deliver a unique employee experience, and
makes your people feel more connected.

One way to attract top performers that are natural culture champions
is to hire for cultural fit.

5. A well-functioning culture assists with onboarding

Organizational culture also has the potential to act as an aligning
force at your company. This is particularly the case with new hires
who, more often than not, have put some considerable thought into the
type of culture they’re entering into.

The culture at your organization is essentially a guiding force for them,

so it’s important that it starts with onboarding.

Writing in Forbes, George Bradt explains further: “People fail in new

jobs because of poor fit, poor delivery or poor adjustment to changes
down the road. Assuming you’ve aligned the organization around the
need for your new employees and acquired them in the right way, your
onboarding program should accommodate their needs (so they can do
real work), assimilate them into the organization (so they fit culturally)
and accelerate their progress (so they can deliver and adjust).”

6. Your culture transforms your company into a team

A successful organizational culture brings together the people at your
company and keeps them aligned. When your culture is clear, different
perspectives can gather behind it with common purpose. The culture
at your organization sets expectations for how people behave and work
together, and how well they function as a team.

In this way, culture can break down the boundaries between siloed
teams, guide decision-making, and improve workflow overall. On the
flip side, a toxic organizational culture has the capacity to do just the
opposite.

7. Culture impacts performance and employee wellbeing

Reports show that organizational culture has a direct impact on
performance and, more importantly, your employees’ wellbeing. A
healthy culture addresses both of these areas by finding an
appropriate balance based on company values.

Does your company stress performance to such a degree that you feel
like your physical and mental health are being overlooked?
There might be instances when that may not be a problem, but for the
vast majority of cases, it’ll have a negative effect on your company.

Paul Barrett sums it up nicely, writing that “Employee wellbeing

strategies have the potential to bring huge benefits to employees and
employers alike but they need to be introduced in the right way for the
right reasons, and at the right time. To be properly effective they need
to be developed in a holistic way, consistent with a business culture
that is conducive to their success. That means supportive
management behaviours, flexible working options and an open culture
that allows employees a voice and some say in shaping the working
environment.”

Conclusion
These are just a smattering of reasons why organizational culture is
important, but they’re a good starting point to get you thinking about
what your own organization brings to the table. What’s important at
your company might be totally different depending on the situation.

So what are your next steps? Find out what aspects of your
organizational culture are most important to your people, and think
about performing a culture audit. Your goal is to discover what your
people value most and support that. Congratulations, you’re one step
closer to creating an extraordinary workplace.