To What Extent Can Management Control Organizational Culture - Essay Example

To what extent can management control organizational culture? Introduction Organisational culture de s the beliefs, values, organisation structure and behaviours embraced by workers in an organisation, for instance. Organisational culture plays an important role in influencing the success or failure of an organisation (Meek, 1988). On the other hand, the management in an organisation, for example, is charged with the responsibility of facilitating the development of an effective organisational culture. The culture in an organisation is important because it helps to determine where an organisation is heading with its strategic plans. As such, the management in an organisation needs to provide direction regarding the beliefs, values and behaviours adopted by workers in an organisation. Further, the organisation structure as part of the organisational culture denotes the type of structure that organisations prefer to use in order to achieve their desired goals. A structure in an organisation helps to define authority and can either be vertical or horizontal structure. In a vertical structure, power emanates from the top downwards while, in a horizontal structure, responsibility is divided among teams in an organisation and power is less defined compared to the vertical structure. Consequently, the type of structure adopted by an organisation depends on what they want to achieve in both the short term and long-term basis. However, in any form of organisational culture, the management has a critical role in ensuring the beliefs, values, behaviours and organisation structure is in line with the organisation’s vision and mission. In this sense, the extent which the management can control organisational culture depends on the cooperation that exist between the management and other employees at the workplace (Alavi et al. 2006). Controlling organisational culture In most organisations, controlling the organisational culture is not an easy task because of the diversified culture in at workplace for instance (Ackroyd & Crowdy, 1990). As such, in order for the management to provide direction in terms of adopting an effective organisational culture, it is important that they understand the needs of their employees. Developing a culture that resonates with all employees in an organisation is a challenging task for the management and thus it is important that the management learn and understand the needs of their employees (Ackroyd & Crowdy, 1990). Further, despite the type of organisation structure used, employees’ cooperation is still necessary to achieve success with various plans in an organisation. Whether an organisation adopts a vertical or horizontal structure, the management needs to work closely with their workers to cultivate the desired organisational culture. While the management has the last word regarding the decisions that take place in the organisation, these decisions cannot be forced on employees in case they disagree. In some instances, the employees in an organisation may feel short-changed as a result of introduction new plans. However, because the management is the final authority in the organisation, they tend to force such plans in an organisation’s culture despite the protest from the majority of workers (Jones et al., 2004). The principal-agent relationship Controlling organisational culture does not require the principal-agent relationship that some authoritarian managers apply with their employees. Instead, controlling organisational culture by the management require listening to other employees and accommodating their input in the organisational culture (Fleming & Sturdy, 2009). Some managers do not like the idea of involving the junior staff in the decision-making process because it appears to reduce their authority level in the organisation. As such, most decisions are made in the boardrooms and other workers only become aware of such decisions during their implementation process. On another note, the conflicts that often arise in an organisation are because of the management trying to go to the extreme in terms of dictating what employees need to do in the organisation (Fleming & Sturdy, 2009). Organisational behaviour In controlling the behaviours of employees at the workplace, the management needs to embrace a consultative process. This helps to discuss with other employees the issues that need to be changed and how such change should take place. However, taking a direct action where other employees are seen to be inconsequential often lead to failures in the culture adopted by an organisation (Smircich, 1983). To some extent, dictatorial managers often contribute to the negative attitude of employees in an organisation. Trying to dictate behaviours to other workers who also have their interests often lead to demoralisation and some extent, high employee turnover. Where the management is over controlling, employees tend to leave in search of work in other organisations where their needs can be addressed rather than shelved by the management (Braton et al. 2010). Despite the size of an organisation, it is a challenging task to convince people to change their values and beliefs. However, in terms of controlling organisational culture, the management can play a role in convincing their staff to accommodate other values and beliefs at the workplace. This can be possible by developing a working alliance with employees to enhance a collaborative environment in terms of sharing and accommodating values and beliefs of the workers and the organisation in general. The management should not be extreme in terms of controlling the behaviours of their workers. This will create an environment where there is mistrust of one another and thus affecting the overall performance of the organisation (Braton et al. 2010). Communication skills Controlling organisational culture by the management requires a two-way communication with other employees and explaining the importance of the existing organisational culture (Al-Alawi et al. 2007). This allows employees to understand why they are required to behave in a particular way or to carry out other tasks not included in their job description. In essence, the extent of management’s control of organisational culture should only focus in ensuring that employees are comfortable with the organisational culture in place (Senage, 1999). Change management process in an organisation often experiences challenges because the employees disagree with how the management is implementing organisational changes. Any change at workplace affects other employees directly and it is necessary that they are included in such change process. This helps to reach a consensus regarding the right direction that an organisation should take when implementing changes (Deal, 1999). Change management On the other hand, controlling organisational culture should not aim at maintaining the status quo. The management, for instance, can go to an extreme length by ensuring that any change in the organisation does not affect their positions. As a result, this can create dissatisfaction with the implemented changes and employees may take sides depending on loyalties (Paine, 1994). On the same note, the management should not control organisational culture to the extent where they create division in the organisation by favouring a few individuals at the expense of the entire workforce in an organisation. As such, every person in an organisation should have an equal chance to apply for vacant positions, for instance, rather than the management making such positions a preserve of few individuals who support their actions at the workplace (Kotter & Heskett, 1992). Participative leadership style In most organisations, the leadership style embraced by the management is important to realising success with the existing organisational culture. Since the management is at the forefront in terms of providing directions to achieve success with the established organisational culture, leadership style is critical. In this sense, the extent that the management can control organisational culture can be enforced by applying a participative leadership style, for example. This is because, a participative leadership style ensures that leaders engage the views of others in the decisions taken at the workplace (Ansari, 1990). Introducing new behaviours in an organisation is a daunting task and requires the support of every person in the organisation. As a result, a democratic leadership style ensures that the management communicates directly with their employees regarding changes that are supposed to take place in the organisation. As such, employees have an opportunity to respond to changes proposed by the management rather than the management implementing new changes from the boardroom. In addition, a participative process allows other employees to challenge the management in a constructive criticism regarding how the organisation should move forward. Consequently, the management is in a position to identify their strength and weakness and make changes accordingly to ensure that the leadership they provide leads to the success of the organisation (Ansari, 1990). Organisational conflict Conflicts that normally arise during implementation of new changes in an organisation are as a result of lack of a participative process. In this regard, a participative leadership style enhances the management’s control of organisational culture because any change is derived from a consultative process rather than a few individuals in the organisation. On the same note, any change made by the management reflects the views of other employees and thus making it easier to implement such changes in an organisation. Effective control of organisational culture requires teamwork and this is possible through a participative leadership process. The management can control organisational culture by working closely with other employees in teams. As such, they are in a position to make the final decision after listening to the views of other team members and reaching a consensus on the best alternative decision (Bhal & Ansari, 2000). Leading leaders A leadership process where the leader works with his or her followers also creates an environment of understanding and accommodating different views or beliefs. This enables the management to make informed choices regarding what is suitable or unsuitable for employees in an organisation. Most behaviour adopted by employees in an organisation that leads to the success of the desired goals results from effective leadership from the management. In this case, the extent that the management needs to go in terms of controlling organisational culture should be participatory. Through a participative process, the importance of the intended organisational culture becomes clear to everyone and he/she work towards enhancing the appropriate culture in place. For instance, positive attitude in an organisation is created as a result of a participative process where everyone’s view is important. However, the negative attitude at the workplace often results from a process where the management is the domineering figure and other employee’s voices are ignored (Bhal & Ansari, 2000). Conclusion The extent that the management controls organisational culture should depend on the cooperation they have with other employees at the workplace. This is because, providing directions with regard to organisational culture require the management also to understand the needs of other employees in the organisation. This understanding is critical in terms of ensuring that the decisions made by the management do not affect negatively on the activities of other employees in the organisation. Various factors contribute to the management going to extreme level to control organisational culture. Such factors, for instance, include the need to maintain the status quo and prevent any emerging opposition to their leadership. 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