CULTURE IN ORGANIZATION

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.

Simply stated, organizational culture is “the way things are done around here”
(Deal & Kennedy, 2000).

Under this set of definitions, organizational culture is a set of shared assumptions

that guide what happens in organizations by defining appropriate behavior for various
situations (Ravasi & Schultz, 2006). Organizational culture affects the way people and
groups interact with each other, with clients, and with stakeholders. Also,
organizational culture may influence how much employees identify with their
organization (Schrodt, 2002).

is a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs, which governs how people
behave in organizations. These shared values have a strong influence on the people in
the organization and dictate how they dress, act, and perform their jobs. Every
organization develops and maintains a unique culture, which provides guidelines and
boundaries for the behavior of the members of the organization. Let's explore what
elements make up an organization's culture.

MULTICULTURALISM AND GENDER ISSUES; RACIAL AND ETHICS ISSUES

In sociology, multiculturalism describes the manner in which a given

society deals with cultural diversity.

Historically, race has been defined as a biological classification of human features and
characteristics. In the context of the United States, race has also been recognized as a
social construct, a concept of complex and inconstant meaning, influenced by social
conflict and political struggle. Race is often also used to differentiate among human
beings in social structure and cultural representation and can lead to distortions in
self-image and perception of and by others.

Ethnicity generally describes a group’s sense of possessing a shared identity informed

by a common language, culture, or religion. Racial and ethnic identities often overlap.
One person may be Caucasian by race and Anglo-Saxon or Jewish by ethnic group;
another may be Latino by ethnic and linguistic group but of African, Caucasian, or
Native American racial heritage. As with race, our ethnicity plays a major role in how
we are viewed by others, in who we believe we are, and in who we may or may not
want to be.

Multiculturalism

 Where many types of culture exists in a particular area

 Places that are usually being called as a “melting pot” of certain area.

Diversity

A characteristic of a group of people where differences exist on one or more

relevant dimensions such as gender.

Diversity is a group characteristic, not an individual characteristic.

Common Dimensions:

 Gender
 Race
 Ethnicity
 Age
 Religion
 Social Class
 Sexual Orientation
 Personality
 Functional Experience
 Geographical Background

Strategic Importance of Organizational Diversity

 Improves
 Corporate culture
 Recruitment
 Relationships with clients and customers
 Builds competitive advantage
 Understand and serve diverse customer base
 Heterogeneous teams deal better with complex problems and
challenging tasks
 More commitment to organization’s mission

Stereotypes

 A generalized set of beliefs about the characteristics of a group of individuals

Structural Integration

The degree to which minorities and women are represented in all occupations
within an organization.

Challenges to Structural Integration

• Poor integration creates power and status differentials – become associated

with gender and race
• Poor integration fosters negative stereotypes
• Women and minorities who are successful may be perceived to have token
status
• Women and minorities perception – impossible to move up