ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

Organisational culture is defined as as the underlying beliefs, values, assumptions, attitudes, written and unwritten rules and behaviour established by the leaders which have been developed over a period of time that characterise and contribute to an organisation's unique social and psychological work environment. It includes an organisation's experiences, philosophy, expectations and values which guide member behaviour and is expressed in member's self-image, interactions with outside world, inner workings as well as future expectations. Employers play a critical role in perpetuating a strong culture, starting with recruiting and selecting applicants who share the organisation's beliefs and thrive in that culture, developing orientation, training and performance management programs which reinforce and outline the organisation's core values ensuring that appropriate recognition and rewards are given to employees who truly embody the values. 

Furthermore, if the culture of an organisation is going to improve its overall performance, the culture must provide a strategic competitive advantage, and beliefs as well as values must be firmly upheld and widely shared.A strong culture results in enhanced trust and cooperation, efficient decision making, fewer disagreements, a strong sense of identification with the organisation, shared understanding among employees regarding what is important and an informal control mechanism. A few of the commonly used terms for describing culture include customer-focussed, ethical, research-driven, process oriented, family friendly, risk-taking, aggressive, innovative, fun and hierarchal. They can manifest itself in a variety of methods like communication styles, internally distributed messages, leadership behaviour and corporate celebrations. Culture also includes the organisation's values, vision, system, symbol, norms, language, beliefs and habits.

Several tools are utilised for developing and sustaining a high-performance organisational culture. Some of them are stated below:

1. Hiring Practices: An employee will be more likely to deliver superior performance when the hire's personality fits with the organisational culture. They tend to feel more comfortable, supported and valued. During interviews, questions should be asked regarding the cultural fit but that should not be the sole determining factor as the best organisations generally keep an open mind to diverse perspectives thus keeping their culture fresh.
2. Onboarding Programs: It teaches newcomers in the organisation about the employer's value system, desired behaviour and norms. They must help newcomers to become a part of social networks and make sure that they have early job experiences which reinforce the culture.
3. Reward and Recognition Programs: Giving proper recognition to the employees of an organisation helps in developing employee engagement, fulfilment, retention as well as improvement in productivity. They should be encouraged to practice frequent social recognition alongside monetary recognition. Creating culture which values employee feedback and their voice is essential as failing to do so can result in lost revenue and demotivated employees.
4. Performance Management Programs: Employees who share their values and aspirations tend to outperform those environments which lack cohesiveness and common purpose. It can affect corporate culture by clearly informing the employees what is expected from them and maintaining proper behaviour at the workplace.

Moreover, teamwork encompasses communication, collaboration and respect between team members. We must look for and encourage shared personal interests between team members which create new pathways for empathy and understanding which play a vital role in improving communication, conflict resolution and creativity. Great workplace cultures are often created by employees who are regularly learning and companies which invest in staff development. Training initiatives, providing employees with new responsibilities and coaching are all measures to indicate that you have invested in their success.

On the other hand, an ineffective culture can bring down the organisation and its leadership. High turnover, poor customer relations, disengaged employees and lower profits are several examples of how a wrong culture can negatively affect the bottom line. Conflicting messages about the corporate culture may create cynicism and distrust, which can prompt employees justify, actions as deleterious as embezzlement. Furthermore, it may cause workers to grow discouraged, doubt statements from higher-ups, to believe that the management is disingenuous as well as become less inclined to give their best effort. Negative attitudes and ego are a few big threats towards organisational culture. Employees who carry their ego may find it difficult to adjust with their fellow workers. They need to realise that working together as a single unit along with effective communication can lead to better results and innovative solutions for problems.

Additionally, there are a few workplace cultural differences witnessed in an organisation. Given below is a brief summary of the same: 

• Person culture and Market culture: It states how the members of an organisation conduct their business, treat customers, employees and the wider community. Here, each individual is seen as more valuable than the organisation itself. It may be difficult to maintain as the organisation may suffer due to priorities and competing people. Market cultures are result-oriented, with a focus on competition, getting the job done and achievement. 
• Adaptive culture and Adhocracy culture: The extent to which freedom is allowed in decision making, framing new ideas and personal expression are its important parts. They value change and are action-oriented, increasing the likelihood of survival through time.
• Task culture and Clan culture: It states how committed the employees are towards collective objectives. In this, teams are created with expert members to solve particular problems. Clan culture are family-like, whose primary focus is on nurturing, mentoring and doing things together.
• Power culture, Role culture and Hierarchy culture: It represents how power and information flow through the organisational hierarchy and system. Power cultures generally have one leader who makes rapid decisions and controls the strategy. Role culture are where functional structures are created, where individuals know their jobs, report to their superiors and value efficiency above all else. Furthermore, hierarchy cultures focus on efficiency, doing things right and stability.

Well, this brings us to the end of the blog. I hope you guys liked it and must have gained a lot of information by reading the same. In the next blog, we will talk about social groups, their role and status along with their impact on our personality.

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