The Influence of the Paradigm Perspective upon Legos Organizational Culture - Essay Example

? Analyzing Organization Introduction Organization acts as a social entity that holds within it a collective goal that is related as well as linked with the external environment. In the modern day context, organizations can be formed in various types such as governmental, non-governmental, cooperatives, universities, charities and many more. In this context, the various types of organization are often argued to be following different organizational cultures and organizational structures owing to their diverse need for operational progresses. However, from a generalized perspective, organizational structures commonly followed by these organizations can be segregated into four types which include hierarchies, committees, matrix and ecologies. It is also worth mentioning in this context that in accordance with which the organizations differ from each other. Additionally, humans frame an important role within the organizational setting. These factors accumulatively design organizational behavior which reflects upon the study that investigates about the impact which an individual, structure and groups render upon the directives and performances with respect to interpersonal and inter-divisional roles within the premises of the organization. It is in this context that the behavioral approach determines the application of the knowledge in the attainment of the organizational objectives (Schein, 1985). With reference this context, the objective of the study is to brief the interpretive paradigm with respect to The Lego Group (Lego). The report will comprise of the details with regard to the various perspectives of the paradigm taking into account both theoretical and evidence based perspectives towards the aspect. The influence of the paradigm perspective upon Lego’s organizational culture and the analysis of such influence will also be assessed within the discussion henceforth. Paradigms Perspectives Paradigms reflect upon the description of all the interactions taking place within the society or organization or any other cluster as performed by the human participants. The broader view point or the perspectives that enable the social scientists to include tools that further help in describing the society and then framing hypothesis and theories accordingly reflect the paradigm perspective. The paradigms perspective, being mutually exclusive, offers alternative views with respect to the society, which in turn infers the reality of the society (Asiamah & Patel, 2009). This particular notion comprises within it the four important paradigm perspectives. The perspectives includes within it two major dimensions that are objective versus subjective and regulation versus radical change. In accordance with the objective versus subjective, it principally comprises the assumptions and the methodologies describing the social science and the nature of the human which is the first dimension in the paradigm. Correspondingly, the regulation versus radical change paradigm emphasized on the methods of treating the organization as a society on the basis of the assumptions concluded from the applied methodologies. To be precise, the four paradigm perspectives include functionalist sociology, interpretive sociology, radical humanism dimension and radical structuralism dimensions as can be observed from the pictorial diagram below (Asiamah & Patel, 2009). Source: (Asiamah & Patel, 2009) The functionalist sociology reflects the rational explanation to that of the social affairs. It also states the models and the methods that have been applied during the study of the human affairs. In this context, it assumes that the society is made up of concrete and materialistic aspirations as well as relationships. The interpretive sociology further reflects the understanding of the world on the basis of subjective experiences. Correspondingly, the radical humanism dimension is concerned with the social constraints that limit the potentialities of the human activities. The radical perspective further justifies the radical change observed within a particular organizational behavioral context. The radical structuralism paradigm hence explains about the structural conflicts that arise within the society and usually generate continuous change due to the political and economic crisis (Asiamah & Patel, 2009). Interpretive paradigm In accordance with the interpretive paradigm, majority of theorists believe that reality is true only in the minds of the people. Contextually, it can be affirmed that the internally experienced as well as socially constructed organizational behavior through the interpretations and the interactions is explained as reality. The notion behind interpretive paradigm further states that reality is subjective by nature. Theoretically, the approach that has been applied reflects the inductive-proceedings from a specific approach towards a generalized approach and from concrete data towards the abstract data. The interpretive paradigm hence reflects the qualitative aspects of the analysis that has been conducted in relation to a particular society, in this context, the organizational setting. Interpretive paradigm in this regard postulates a framework that comprises of philosophy, ontology, epistemology and methodology. According to Blanche and Durrheim (1999), the process of the research analysis depends upon the major three dimensions which include ontology, epistemology and the methodology. As stated by Small (2003), the term paradigm explains about the research culture that stands upon certain standard set of beliefs, values and the assumptions in accordance with the nature as well as the conduct of research. The ontological and the epistemological dimensions which form the main as well as an important part of the interpretive paradigm reflects the person’s world view which further implies a significant influence over the perceived comparative importance of the various aspects of reality. According to Asiamah & Patel (2009), the researchers can access the reality only through the examination of the social construction that comprises of the language, shared meanings and the consciousness. Interpretive paradigm can further be explained by observation as well as interpretation. In this respect, the researchers need information to observe and then interpret the information to draw relevant meaning out of it (Aikenhead & Jegede, 1997). Hence, it can be affirmed that the interpretive paradigm reflects the understanding of the world with respect to the experiences of the individuals. In relation with the interpretive approach, it aims at the explanation of the subjective reasons and the meanings that accelerate the social actions. Company Background The Lego Group is a renowned private company based in Denmark. The company was founded by Kirk Kristiansen family in the year 1932. Since then, it has been engaged in manufacturing innovative toys with the vision of developing children’s creativity by means of playing and learning. Currently, the company manufactures toys and children’s teaching materials in more than around 130 countries with strength of almost 10,000 employees. As often argued, the heritage and brand reputation of Lego has been largely based upon its innovation of the world famous LEGO® brick. The brand mission of Lego attempts to set a guarantee to the customers with respect to quality and the originality. As mentioned above, Lego operates with a vision to develop creativity among the children which shall further provide them with further scope to come up with new, surprising and valuable ideas. The products in Lego are also manufactured with due concentration towards providing the children with better opportunities related to learning in accordance with their age and skills. During the process of learning they expand their thinking criteria which increases their competencies and efficiency which in the long-run is envisioned to support greater potentialities among the next generation people. Hence, it can be affirmed that Lego holds its brand loyalty within the customers for manufacturing quality and creative products for the children. Contextually, the quality aspects further reflect the challenge of improving the products on a continuous basis through innovation (Lego, 2012). Lego works upon certain organizational goals and targets for the development as well as the success of the company. The organizational goals and the targets of Lego comprises of major five factors which incorporate zero product recall, to be in the top ten on the context of employee safety, to support learning facilities and equipment to more than 101 million children and renewal of the energy used within the company (Lego, 2012). Methodology The determined methodology, in this study involves the various sources of the research study to critically analyze the organizational culture of Lego with respect to the interpretive paradigm as presented by Burrell and Morgan. Based on these attributes, the aforesaid research study will involve the subjective type method rather than focusing on an objective oriented process. This is owing to the fact that the research problem in concern is related with the qualitative aspect of organizational culture which in itself is a vivid notion and thus is quite challenging to the framed under specific terms as per the objective type method. The research methodology, being based on a subjective method will reflect the qualitative aspect analyzing as well as uncovering the deeper meaning within the study to provide a clear and analytical understanding of the issue in concern. The subjective type of the study can also help in analyzing the reports critically availing a wider range of data required. However, an objective oriented approach will also be taken into account for the purpose of analyzing the gathered data with the inclusion of charts and the graphs when determining the subjective assumptions more accurately. Correspondingly, secondary sources have been used in this study which includes peer-reviewed articles, news and academic journals that reflect the subject of the research study very clearly. The relevant information related to the company has also been gathered from the secondary sources such as company reports that focus its aim over the subject of the study. The articles and the journal used as the secondary sources of information in this study provide theoretical as well as the qualitative understanding of the company includes the basics and the inherent aim of this particular study. In the similar context, the news articles provided updated information related to the company’s organizational behavior, from a critical and third person point of view which can be quite beneficial to obtain an unbiased understanding of the research issue. The company websites, company reports and the industry reports also form important secondary sources. The information obtained from such varied sources can also help in comparing the company with its competitors by identifying its position in the modern market scenario with respect to the organizational culture. Additionally, the information obtained from the company website can also provide certain relevant information about the past and the future performances of Lego from a managerial perspective that directly coincides with the inscribed objective of the study. Based on this belief, the company website has been used to obtain relevant information regarding the company history and the organizational culture in Lego. Literature Review In the modern scenario, businesses are often categorized on the basis of its rapid development with respect to the technology, competitive scenario and the self-changing values. It has often been argued in this context that an organization can sustain within the competitive market scenario only if it complies with the continuous alterations in the external business environment. The existing structure of any organization and the prevailing culture within it imposes strong influences on its overall efficiency and effectiveness, which ultimately affects the organization’s success and development over a long run period. As stated by Schein (1984), the design and the analysis of the organizational behavior, are mainly based upon the elements of the corporate culture. In this context, it was further observed that the various aspects that imposes crucial impact on the organizational culture comprises of five main components including environmental aspects, reality aspects, employees, human actions, and interpersonal relationship. Contextually, environmental aspects that reflect the threats and opportunities that the company faces. Notably, the reality aspect incorporates within it the facts and the creativity which is related to the organization. The other aspect of employees working within the organization reflects independent or dependant behavior of the organization on the whole. The human action which is based upon the control and trust also plays a vital role in affecting the organizational culture. The interpersonal relationship between the peers and the higher level authorities further reflects a considerable impact influenced by the prevailing organizational culture. Last but not the least; the interpersonal relationship also tends to greatly affect the organizational development by influencing its overall organizational culture. In this context, it was further revealed by Schein (1984) that a strong and a covalent relationship within the management as well as the employees increase the efficiency of the overall operational process which ultimately helps in the successful accomplishment of the pre-determined organizational goals. According to Morgan, Frost and Pondy (1983), the organization is inferred as the patterns that holds meanings, behaviors and values. As stated by Pfeffer (2012), culture is generally defined as the unique characteristics that differ between the organizations as well as the groups. It has been further stated by Geertz (1973), that culture prevailing within an organization can be defined as an integrating mechanism to bind operational procedures with organizational objectives. According to Schall (1983) and Ouchi & Wilkins (1981), organizational culture focuses mainly on the formal as well as informal practices within the organization such as decision making norms or the communication process performed within the various dimensions of the organizational setting. As stated by Jard & et. al. (2010), Rose & et. al. (2008) and Rashid & et. al. (2004), a strong relationship exists between organizational culture and performance of employees on the whole. In this context, it was further revealed that there exists a positive relationship between the organizational culture and the corporate performance. This reflects that both the standards of employee performances and corporate performances of the organization are directly proportional to each other. Vandenberghe (1999), Willcoxson & Millett (1994), Lorsch (1985) and Davis (1984) stated that the concept of organizational culture reflects a pattern of basic assumption that has been shared within the group which helps them to learn accordingly as they solve the problems of external adaptation as well as the internal integration. In this context, it has been further revealed that it is difficult to construct quantitative dimensions to provide valid as well as reliable measurement to the organizational culture. In addition, shared values, persisting within the organization team, also play a vital role in shaping organizational culture creating cohesion within the team framework and employee commitment. According to Winer & Vardi (1990), culture, in an organizational setting, is defined as the pattern of the shared values as well as the beliefs that has been developed within the organization across the time frame. Based on a similar context, Toyohiro (1990) stated that the culture prevailing within the organization comprises of shared values, shared behaviors, shared thoughts and shared methods exhibited and inculcated within the organizational setting. It was further revealed by Dernsion (1984) that culture provides reference to the set of values, beliefs and behavior that frames the core identity of the organization. As stated by Aycan & et. al., (1999), the internal environment prevailing within the organizational setting can be represented in the form of organizational culture which is framed by assumptions and beliefs that dwell within the managers as well as the employees of the particular company. Armstrong & Baron (1998) in this regard affirmed that beliefs and aspiration with respect to organizational culture, where the immense significance of performance management is inevitable. Theoretically, performance management reflects a strategically integrated approach that delivers success to the organization in accordance with the improved performance of its employees. In this context, the aspect of performance management also attempts to ensure the development of the competencies as well as the capabilities of team and the individual contributor. As stated by Reynolds & Ablett (1998), effective performance management supports the foundation that the employees and not the capital, provides the organization with a competitive advantage within the midst of a highly challenging market scenario. Hence, it can be affirmed that the basis of good performance lies upon the strong culture that prevails within the organization (Kandula, 2006). In this context, it was further revealed that in accordance with the different organizational cultural perspectives, the similar strategies within the organization yields different results. A positive as well as a strong culture can thus accelerate the average performance of an individual whereas a negative as well as weak culture drastically de-motivates the employees and consequently inhibiting the organizational potentials. Hence, it can be inferred that organizational culture provides a strong impact over the performance of the employees working within the organization. Notably, Murphy & Cleveland (1995) stated that the research as well as other operational procedures practiced within the organizational culture contributes towards the importance of performance management within the organization by a large extent. With a similar concern, Denison (1990) explained that an organization can perform effectively if the organizational culture prevailing is consistent, well integrated and well-coordinated with its predetermined goals (Block, 1991). Organizational Culture of Lego Mr. McKinsey, the founder of Lego defined culture as the assumptions that comprise of values, norms as well as tangible signs of the employees and their behavioral traits deciphered within the organization. Correspondingly, Lego stands on the strong belief that ‘only the best is good enough’ with due significance and recognition to the value that the company brings to its stakeholders. Lego depends upon the five values that prevail within the company. These values comprise creativity, fun, quality, care and learning. A team building culture also apparently prevails within the organizational environment of Lego (Lego, 2012). The company being a family business follows a culture of decentralization. In accordance to this, even if they form certain separate groups for performing the operations, ultimately the decisions are finalized by the managers of the corporate level which denotes a mixed for of formal and informal culture. With reference to the interpretive paradigm, it can be affirmed that Lego follows four types of the cultural pillars, i.e. Family, Eiffel tower, Guided Missile and the Incubator. The notion of family reflects the organizational focus over the individual relationships and the hierarchical framework with regard to the authoritarian structure prevailing within the family tree. In this context, it reflects that the structure prevailing within a particular family helps the organization to frame the strategies accordingly for the better management of its labor force (PW, 2012). Following its cultural rudiments, Lego has created a team known as CED which is bestowed with the sole responsibility to look after the aspects of community development which indicates its high degree of commitment towards it stakeholders. The organization further provides details to the new entrants with respect to the organizational workings. In accordance with the other cultural pillar, Eiffel Tower, the higher authority focuses on the allotment of the work force and the coordination within the workforce. This particular cultural pillar also emphasizes on the effective incorporation of creative planning to achieve the organizational goals. Subsequently, the cultural notion towards Guided Missile reflects that the company follows an independent culture within the organization which is based upon the power allocation that is further controlled by a central entity with the help of the corporate level management. This particular cultural notion further helps the management in the attainment of the organizational goals developing better alignment between its employees’ skills and organizational growth requirements. Last but not the least; the pillar of Incubator reflects the organizational structure that Lego follows. The company follows a vertical organizational structure in which the importance is given to the creativity and innovation with regard to its current hierarchical structure (PW, 2012). Notably, Lego encourages a cultural stand over its core values and spirit of Lego which tends to increase the awareness with respect to the significance of accelerated standards to that of personal behavior. The culture prevailing within the organization also reflects four characteristics that include power, people, interpersonal role and delegated tasks. In this context, the company puts more effort over the characteristics comprising power and role which apparently reflects that the interpretive paradigm helps in the enhancement of the organizational effectiveness (PW, 2012). Conclusion Undoubtedly, organizational culture plays an important role in maintaining the performance of Lego where the performance of the employees working within Lego is directly proportional to organizational culture. Notably, Lego’s culture comprises a set of values, rituals, beliefs and norms deciphered in the form of employees’ behavior, commitment, organizational structure and stakeholder engagement. The culture that comprises of involvement, consistency, adaptability and the mission cultures, as witnessed in the case of Lego, provide clear as well as measurable goals, increase the effectiveness of the training and also prepare stand for compensation on the basis of the performance based by a substantial extent. Conclusively, it can be stated that the presence of strong culture within the organization helps the management in attaining the organizational goals. References Asiamah, F. N. & Patel, N. (2009). Research Methods and Methodologies for Studying Organizational Learning. European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems, pp. 1-15. Aikenhead, G. S. & Jegede, O. J. (1999). Cross-Cultural Science Education: A Cognitive Explanation of a Cultural Phenomenon. 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