Organizational Culture Profile - Essay Example

Your Lecturer's of 20 August Organizational Culture Profile Analysis of Imperator Slovakia Ltd Imperator is located in Drietoma in the heart of Slovakia. It is involved in the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. It owns a huge manufacturing system that produces alcoholic beverages for both the local and international markets. Imperator exports its beverages to different international organizations like Tesco, Carrefour, Hypernova and Metro. Imperator was established after the collapse of Communism in Slovakia in 1994 and it began operations in 1995. It sought to continue the manufacture of traditional brands that were known in the region, like the Vodkas and other specialized products like Kosher whiskey which was in demand in specialized niches around the world. Currently, Imperator manufactures 120 assorted brands. It has over 90 employees and the company continues to develop from time to time. It has maintained ISO standards since 2003. The company has been successful in the development and sale of different products around the world. Imperator has won numerous awards throughout the world and it continues to maintain high performance standards in the face of high level competition from brands from Russia and other parts of the world. The organizational vision is tied with the attainment of the best results on the international front. This is because Slovakia's location makes it a geo-strategic point. The writer of this article seeks to blend his role as a manager in the industry with the internal structures of Imperator. This paper will use organizational culture profile methodologies and tools to match the corporate systems and structures of Imperator Slovakia and how it impacts on the individual activities and capabilities of the writer and other individuals in the organization. The paper will use the models of O'Reilley et al as well as Cable and Judge. This will attempt to examine the linkages between the corporate view and the individual expectations of the company. Organizational Culture Profile Models O'Reilly et al identify that there are three core themes of organizational behavior (487). First of all, research into organizational behavior has renewed focus on person-situation constraints. In other words, organizational behavior is based on the relationship between the people of the organization and what they organizational rules, regulations and culture permit them to do or not to do at different points in time. The second emphasis is on the quantitative assessment of organizational culture. This implies that the organization uses a collective approach to identify the extent to which different features exist within an organization. This is done through the attribution of values or figures to various components of organizations to ascertain the important structures that define and shape up an organization. Finally, there is the use of statistical methods to aggregate and provide definitive cultural features within organizations. In their journal, O'Reilly et al identified through longitudinal data, the components of organizational culture (487). This provided the dimensions within which different organizational cultures could be defined and predicted. This model is known as the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP). The OCP provides the fit of organizations and predicts organizational commitment and job satisfaction that exists within the organization. This paper will apply the OCP to Imperator and attempt to define the organizational culture and system. Cable and Judge on the other hand, defined the relationship between individual persons and the organizational culture or system (548). In their analysis, they identified that the person-organizational fit is important. And individuals apply to organizations based on their personal qualities. These applicants are selected based on their unique personality and how well that personality fits into the organization (Cable and Judge 551). This paper will also use the P-O model of Imperator to define my personal linkage with Imperator and how I fit my personal agendas and goal into the organization as a whole. Organizational Culture Profile of Imperator 24. Achievement Oriented 26 Result Oriented 1, Adaptability 19 Tolerance 27 High Perf. Expect. 3. Reflective 30 Security of Employees 37 Working Long Hours 4. Innovative. 31 Offers Praise to Employees 10 Being Rule Oriented 2. Stability 7. Risk taking 34. Developing Friends 11. Being Analytical 12 Paying Attention to Detail 5. Quick to take Advantage of Opportunities 6. Taking individual responsibility 11. Being Analytical 33. Being Calm 17. Fairness 16. Being People Oriented 10. Being Rule Oriented 12. Paying Attention to Detail 13. Confronting Conflict Directly 28. Being Aggressive 30. Security of Employment. 20. Informality. 14. Being Team Oriented 8. Opportunity for Professional Growth 17. Sharing Info Freely 22. Being Competitive 23. Being Highly Organized. 25 Clear Guiding Philosophy 29. High Pay for good performance 32. Being Supportinve 21.Decisiveness. 18. Not being constrained by rules 9. Autonomy 19. Tolerance Most Characteristic Neither Characteristic Least Characteristic Nor Uncharactheristic From the pyramid in the figure above, it is apparent that the core emphasis of Imperator is on Achievement. The organization seeks to achieve recognition around the world for their export and production capabilities. The main focus is to meet targets and promote quality to the consumers of Imperator products. Hence, Imperator Ltd sets targets and does everything possible to meet those targets. All the units of the organization are result oriented. The different strategic business units are required to meet air-tight schedules and targets that are imposed upon them from above. Tolerance is very much limited and a manager is as good as his ability to meet targets. If a unit fails to meet a target, action is taken almost immediately. In most cases, the manager gets removed or he loses his job. Since there are few second chances, there is limited room for debates, discourse and adaptability. There are high performance expectations throughout Imperator. All workers and managers are required to work for long hours. This is meant to meet expectations because the Slovakian business environment is not very tolerant of missed targets. Also, there is limited room for innovation because employees are required to do what they are told from above. The top level management play the core role of taking decisions and imposing on the middle ranked management. Rules are imposed on people lower down the ladder. These rules do not encourage analytical thinking. This is because Imperator is a very centralized organization and the stability of the organization and its systems is topmost in the minds of the top level managers. As such, it is no really the best place to get analytical or ask too many questions. These are traditions that are handed down from the Communist era which obviously plays a role in Imperator. Members of the organization need to pay attention to rules and carry out rules to perfection. The rules are laid out clearly and every employee is to follow those rules to perfection. There is competition to do the right thing because those who do what is expected of them often get promotions to take up positions higher up the ladder. On the other hand, certain social elements of management are conspicuously absent in Imperator. Things like tolerance, opportunity for growth and sharing information is missing. Informality and other social pecks are not very characteristic of the organization. Imperator remains an organization where results matter and low performance is not tolerated. Person-Organization Fit As an individual manager in Imperator, there are some connections that I make directly with Imperator. First of all, it is an ideal organization for me because there is a strong value congruence between me as an individual and Imperator. The company seeks very high standards and they always work to meet them. These standards are not just local Slovakian standards. Rather, they are global standards and the company seeks to meet them in different parts of the world in the face of competition from different competitors. I am pleased to be part of such an organization because it prepares me for a leadership role on the global level. This is due to the fact that they are forced to maintain high world-class standards in everything they do due to the competition that is available on the global scale. I get the opportunity to learn and understand new things and grow my competencies in maintaining high results in a consistent manner. Also, Imperator prepares me for a role as an entrepreneur in the future. This is because the company's top management, although they take all the decision provide inspiration and a set of role models that any up and coming entrepreneur can look up to. In the absence of social elements of management, Imperator's board and management have a strong and firm control over the affairs within the organization. They make the best decisions and these decisions lead to very high results that benefit the organization and its stakeholders in different ways and forms. Also, the high standard of accountability and result orientation within Imperator keeps me motivated and prepared to attain nothing but the best results. This keeps me productive and gets me out of the trap of going the easy way and lazing about in business. It helps me to be at my best and enables me to earn the best results in everything I do. However, I would have been very pleased if some degree of democracy and participation was integrated into the affairs of Imperator. The use of social management techniques like concern for workers would have been very ideal and it would have helped to make the organization a much better place to work. Conclusion Imperator Ltd is a successful Slovakian alcoholic beverage manufacturer that exports to different countries around the world. However, Imperator has very centralized systems and structures that is steeped in the need to attain nothing but the best and the most efficient results for the organization. Due to this, the company is focused on the concern for production rather than the concern for people. The company maintains very tough and strict control from the top level management. Employees and managers in Imperator get the benefit of learning important techniques in management and entrepreneurship that they can use later in their lives. The systems of Imperator is also supportive of high performance. This ensures that everyone works at his best and the positions remain competitive. However, optimal results can be attained in Imperator if the organizational culture is varied to include some level of socially sensitive management practices Works Cited Cable Daniel & Judge Timothy. “Interviews, Perspectives of Person – Organization Fit & Organizational Selection Decisions” Journal of Applied Psychology Vol 82 No 4 pp546 – 561. 1997. Journal. O'Reilly Charles, Chatman Jennifer & Caldwell David. “People and Organizational Culture: A Profile Comparison Approach To Assessing Person-Organization Fit” Academy of Management Journal Vol 34 No 3 pp487 – 516. 1991. Journal. Read More