Individual Relating to the Organisational Level - Essay Example

Running header: Organizational culture Student’s name: Instructor’s name Subject code: Date of submission: ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD STRIVE TO CREATE A POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE INTRODUCTION Organizations should strive to create a positive organizational culture. This is due to the fact that the benefits that accrue from the creation of such are many and the results are far reaching to the business. It is the role of the management and other stakeholders in a company to see to it that a positive culture is developed amongst the existing employees and those who are enrolled into the system. (Middleton, 2002).)Positive organizational culture has made it easy for business ventures to not only achieve their set goals and targets ad also in record times. Business managers who have put into use the development of positive organizational culture have borne witness to the fact that efficiency of the operations of the company has improved to great levels as a result of this. Also, the levels of motivation of the employees have risen to very high levels. Al this have been due to the practice of employee recognition and acceptance which is one attribute of positive organizational culture. (Middleton, 2002).)Due to this also, the levels of employee turnover in businesses have greatly reduced because the employees feel appreciated and respected. Organizational culture has also resulted to the maximum utilization of the resources at the disposal of the business. This means that the levels of wastages have greatly reduced significantly and this has made goal attainment of companies a possible thing for them. As a result of this, all organizations should strive to their level best to create a positive organizational culture due to the benefits that accrue from doing this. (Burke, Rollwagen and Aguilar, 1990). Organizational culture refers to any act regardless of whether it is a written statement, spoken by mouth or a mere understanding which describes and governs the ways a company’s owners and employees think, feel and act in the organizational set up. It may be dependent on the beliefs of the individuals in the organization which are embodied in the mission statements of the company. (Burke, Rollwagen and Aguilar, 1990).The organizational culture of a business determines a lot how the business will perform and how it will deal with the competition which exists in the market. A culture of an organization can either be strong or weak. A strong culture is said to exist where the workers respond to stimulus due to their alignment to the organizational values and norms. In such environments as this, strong cultures help the firms to operate like well-oiled machines, engaging in outstanding execution with little or no adjustments being made to the procedures as required. (Lessem, 1990).According to research, the organizations that foster strong cultures have clear and well defined values which in a way give the employees enough reason to embrace the culture. Mostly so in service oriented firms, strong cultures help in the improvement of the service levels and the quality levels of such services are improved. Some of the benefits that are derived from the presence of strong cultures include among others; a. Better alignment of the company towards the achievement of the visions, the missions and the set gials and targets of the business venture. (Lessem, 1990).)Through this, the business will make greater returns from their investments and ensure better use of the resources at hand. b. High employee motivation. This is beneficial in that motivated employees have been proved to provide better quality of work and their strength to work even better comes from an internal drive to achieve better results. This also results to the growth and the development of employee loyalty to the business. This is beneficial to the business in that the rate of employee turnover is reduced by great levels. With reduced turn overs, there is a reduction is such costs incurred such as the cost of recruiting new employees to the business and also the costs of training such employees. (Sherriton and Stern, 1997) c. There is increased team cohesiveness among the various departments of the company. Team work results to the existence of better working relationships between the employees. Team work is also crucial to a business in that it results to faster attainment of set goals and targets of a business. Improved relation between the departments and the divisions of the company results to even better levels of performance and better quality of goods and services in the company. (Denison, 1990) d. The promotion of consistency and encouraging coordination and control within the company. Coordination also leads to increased service levels and also increased speed and efficiency in the business. Through maximum coordination, a company is able to achieve its targets in very fast speeds and this can result to even greater returns to the business venture. Consistency leads to stabilized efficiency in the operations. More stable operations are known to provide better results and returns as compared to unstable ones. This will make the company to be well able to align itself with the vision and its mission statement. (Denison, 1990) e. The shaping of the employee behavior at the work place and enabling the organization to be more efficient. Research has proved that the image of a business is shown by the behavior of the employees. How they behave in front of the customers and other stakeholders in a business determines a lot how the business will be perceived by them. As such, if the behavior of the employees is improved, then it becomes easy for the business to achieve is set goals and objectives. Efficiency refers to how the business uses its resources. Resources are comprised of human resources and other resources. Strong cultures facilitates maximum utilization of the resources of the company and hence results to little or no wastages in the business. (Sherriton and Stern, 1997) The culture of a business is comprised of such things as the vision, the mission, the norms, symbols, the language, the assumptions, the beliefs and the habits in the workplace. These are the values that are passed to the new members of the organization such as the employees and is put into daily practice. The culture of an organization determines the way people in the business interact with each other, with the clients and with other stakeholders in the business. (Yamashita, 1998) A positive culture refers to an intentional way of giving support to all people within the business set up and the community at large with the sole aim of creating a positive relationship among the people and acknowledging the unique traits which are possessed by the people and which are to the benefit of those relationships. It involves the shift from the ways of power, control and coercion in language and actions, and towards the affirmation, unceasing acceptance and encouragement. (Yamashita, 1998) Some of the concepts that make up positive culture include such things as the provision of goods services and the maintenance of good health and safety standards. It is also comprised of such things as the offering of utmost care to all parties. It is very crucial for businesses to incorporate the trait of positive culture early on in the business operations due to the fact that its further development are characterized by components of culture ingrained from the start and which is very beneficial to the business. The management has a key role which it plays in the development of a business culture. It is through their actions that such things as trust, engagement and general participation are developed. Positive culture has the following unique traits; a. An atmosphere of confidence whereby all the staff are interested in each other, support each other and transfer this confidence towards the clients of the business and the customers. b. A clear unambiguous purpose, expressed as a simple idea which all the staff relate to closely and are proud to discuss with their friends and their colleagues. c. Employees and staff who behave with utmost respect towards each other, value the views and the opinions of the others, work in teams which act as places of mutual support and who take the issues of the business and their compatriots seriously.( Deal and Kennedy, 1986). d. Staff who try their very best to see to it that they continuously provide unsolicited ideas, thoughts, stimulus to each other and where their interest to their customers is high and that they offer exemplary service delivery. It is not only services that can be offered at high levels but also, they offer attentiveness and personal interest to all the concerned parties. (Deal and Kennedy, 1986). Challenges for the staff which provide unique opportunities for personal development and through new experiences and which treat everyone with utmost fairness and understanding (Robbio and Garner, 2007). Staff who are personally driven towards the organizational and personal success in ways such as intellectually, financially, socially and also emotionally Research has shown that job satisfaction is arrived at through putting in place sessions of employee empowerment. (Schein, 1999).This refers to a situation whereby the managers give the employees the liberty to make their day to day decisions about the job related activities. It has also indicated that good culture is that which goes far and wide beyond the known service delivery to the clients and the customers. (Daft, 1997).This can be well referred to as service- oriented organizational citizenship behavior. This is where the employees offer services that extend beyond the formal role requirements. These are factors that raise the job satisfaction of the employees. In this context, job satisfaction can be defined as a pleasurable or a positive emotional state that results from the evaluation of one’s job. It can also be understood as a reflection of the general attitudes of an individual towards a particular job. This arises from the satisfaction of his needs and wants. (Stoner, 1982).The highest levels of satisfaction are achieved only when the abilities, values and experiences can be utilized in the working environment and when their expectations are met. It is through this that the relationship between the organizational culture and job satisfaction emerge. (Schein, 1999).When there is a positive organizational culture in a business, job satisfaction for the employees is achieved. As a result of this, their quality of work is said to improve. This hence in turn increases the competitive advantage of the firm among the competitors. This hence helps to raise the returns that are made by a business. (Kotter and Heskett, 1992). A positive culture can be in other words defined as a healthy culture for the improvement of the employee welfare. A healthy culture is said to be put into use so as to see to it that maximum productivity has been attained, growth has been fostered, efficiency has been improved in the operations and that there is a reduction in the counterproductive behavior and there is a reduced turnover rate of the employees. The benefits that accrue from the enhancement of a healthy culture are many and far reaching to the business. (Robbio and Garner, 2007). Some of the characteristics of healthy cultures include; The acceptance and also the appreciation of employee diversity and all the benefits that accrue from it. Regard for and fair treatment of each employee as well as respect for their individual contributions towards the affairs of the company Employee pride and enthusiasm for the organization and for the work performed Equal opportunity for each employee to realize their full potential within the company and being the best they can be. (Hatch and Schultz, 2008).) Strong levels of communication between the employees regarding the policies of the company and other company issues. Communication in this case is amongst the employee themselves and also with the management and customers Strong company leaders with a strong sense of direction and purpose. These are leaders who are goal oriented and who try to the best of their ability to see to it that the set targets are achieved (Hatch and Schultz, (2008).) The ability of the company to compete with industry innovation and customer service as well as prices charged for the commodities, goods and services of the company (Kotter and Heskett, 1992). Investment in learning, knowledge and also in employee training There has over time been developed guidelines essential for cultural change in a business. They include the following among others; 1. The formulation of a clear strategic vision of the business. In order to make cultural change effective in a business, it is crucial to put in place a very clear vision of the firm’s new strategies, the shared value and the behavior to be adopted. This is mostly due to the fact that a vision of a business provides the intention and direction for the culture change. (Carr, 2006).) 2. Put to display the top level management commitment in this. It is crucial to keep in mind that culture change must be managed from the top most level of the management chain. This is due to the fact that this is a clear indication of the seriousness of the management to see to it that the changes are implemented. The top level management should greatly support the cultural change in order to actually implement the change in the whole organization. (Carr, 2006). 3. Model the culture change at the highest level of the organization. This is because it is a clear indicator of the commitment of the management in seeing to it that this change is effectively incorporated in the business set up. It is very crucial that the change is at first noted at this level of the business. (Sinha, 2008). The behavior and the actions of the management should symbolize the kinds of values and the behaviors that should be realized in the rest of the company. It is very crucial that the management shows the strengths of the current culture as well. Change agents are key in the process and are the key communicators of the new values. They should have traits of courage, flexibility, excellent interpersonal skills, knowledge of the company and also patience. (Sinha, 2008). 4. Modify the organization so as to support the organizational change. This is usually through the identification of the current systems, policies, procedures and the rules to be changed in order to align with the new values and the desired culture. (Sinha, 2008). 5. Select and socialize the new comers of the business. This is usually in order to enroll and introduce and also educate them on the culture that is used in the business. This is also in order to see to it that they well fit into the new culture of the business. Motivation of the new workers should also be enhanced and facilitated. 6. Development of ethical and legal sensitivity- this is due to the fact that changes in culture can lead to tensions between the individual and the organizational interests. This is especially so relevant in the changes in the employee integrity, control, equitability in the treatment and in job security also. This helps more so in the identification of change obstacles and cases of resistance that may arise. It also sees to it the reward to good performance. (Stoner, 1982). CONCLUSION All organizations should try their very best to see to it that a positive culture has been developed in the business. This is due to the fact that a positive corporate culture lays a firm foundation for a positive workplace. It has also been proved to be an efficient and a working strategy. (Daft, 1997). Many recent studies have shown that individuals who are in a positive state of mind at work and in life lead happier, more productive and even more fulfiling lives. It has also been proved that such empowerment to the employees come from both within them and also from the outside environment or the external factors. Positive culture is developed through such things as putting in place reward techniques where the employees are rewarded to be encouraged rather than being punished to perform better. (American management association, 1988). It can be enhanced by techniques such as outsourcing inspiration so as to make the employees to feel appreciated. Outsourcing involves such things as seeking the works of motivational speakers to encourage the employees in their endeavors and to experience the empathy and also to see the impact of their work. Motivation leads to outcomes that will lead organizations to be more effective and the individuals to be more effective in their day to day activities. Cultures that ensure the development of positive cultures have such traits as high degrees of employee involvement, the existence of strong internal communications and an acceptance and the encouragement of a healthy level of risk-taking in order to achieve innovation. (Robbio and Garner, 2007). Innovation and invention facilitation are some of the drivers of employee motivation. Through their facilitation, the employees feel that they are well respected and that they are given a chance to better themselves and the levels of their service. Positive culture development is characterized by the explicit emphasis of the factors that are related to the demands that are placed on them by the industry technology and growth. This will be better performers in the industry. (Parker, 2000). Positive culture is also associated with the development of self-actualizing employees. This refers to the fulfilment of one’s talents and potentialities. This is considered as a drive that is present in every person. The employees are fostered to personally grow and develop and will fill fulfilled with the realization of their full potential. As a result of this, a desire will grow in them to learn new things and to experience new situations and to even better themselves even more. (Parker, 2000). The managers have a role in this in that they should be the ones to help grow the levels of employee motivation and their levels of self-actualization. The improvement of positive culture to the business has great benefits to both the performance of the business and also to the employees themselves. The benefits stand out for themselves. Businesses that have established and developed positive culture have made even greater progress as compared to those that have not. (Robbio and Garner, 2007). They have stood out in terms of performance, goal attainment and also in terms of the levels of the employee motivation in their setups. As such, it would be rightful and correct to state that organizations should strive to their level best to see to it that positive organizational culture is introduced and developed in their respective organizations. This is due to the fact that the benefits speak for themselves. REFERENCES Middleton, J. (2002). Culture. Oxford, Capstone pub. Carr, P. (2006). Implementing culture change organization development. Alexandria, va, Astd press. Stoner, J (1982). Management. Englewood cliffs, Prentice-Hall. Daft, R (1997). Management. Fort Worth, Dryden presses. Kotter, P& Heskett, J1992). Corporate culture and performance. New York, Free press. Sinha, J (2008). Culture and organizational behavior. New Delhi, Sage. Parker, M (2000). Organizational culture and identity unity and division at work. London, Sage. Hatch, M&, Schultz, M(2008). Taking brand initiative how companies can align strategy, culture, and identity through corporate branding. san Francisco, Jossey-bass. De Robbio, M& Garner, S. (2007). Corporate culture. Bendigo, vic, vea. Schein, e. h. (1999). The corporate culture survival guide: sense and nonsense about culture change. San Francisco, Calif, Jossey-bass. Davis, S1984. Managing corporate culture. Cambridge, mass, Ballinger pub. co Burke, j. e., Rollwagen, j., & Aguilar, f. j. (1990). Corporate culture. Boston, Harvard business school pub. div. Sherriton, J&, Stern, J1997. Corporate culture, team culture removing the hidden barriers to team success. New York, Amacom. Kilmann, H., Saxton, M& Serpa, R. (1985). Gaining control of the corporate culture. San Francisco, Jossey-bass. Lessem, R. (1990). Managing corporate culture. Aldershot, Hants, England, Gower. American management association. (1988). corporate culture. New York, American management association. Deal and Kennedy, 1986. Corporate culture. Pittsburgh, pa, American rehabilitation educational network. Denison, D. (1990). Corporate culture and organizational effectiveness. new york, Wiley. Yamashita, H. (1998). Competitiveness and corporate culture. Aldershot, Hants, England, Ashgate pub. Read More

Better alignment of the company towards the achievement of the visions, the missions and the set gials and targets of the business venture. (Lessem, 1990).)Through this, the business will make greater returns from their investments and ensure better use of the resources at hand. b. High employee motivation. This is beneficial in that motivated employees have been proved to provide better quality of work and their strength to work even better comes from an internal drive to achieve better results.

This also results to the growth and the development of employee loyalty to the business. This is beneficial to the business in that the rate of employee turnover is reduced by great levels. With reduced turn overs, there is a reduction is such costs incurred such as the cost of recruiting new employees to the business and also the costs of training such employees. (Sherriton and Stern, 1997) c. There is increased team cohesiveness among the various departments of the company. Team work results to the existence of better working relationships between the employees.

Team work is also crucial to a business in that it results to faster attainment of set goals and targets of a business. Improved relation between the departments and the divisions of the company results to even better levels of performance and better quality of goods and services in the company. (Denison, 1990) d. The promotion of consistency and encouraging coordination and control within the company. Coordination also leads to increased service levels and also increased speed and efficiency in the business.

Through maximum coordination, a company is able to achieve its targets in very fast speeds and this can result to even greater returns to the business venture. Consistency leads to stabilized efficiency in the operations. More stable operations are known to provide better results and returns as compared to unstable ones. This will make the company to be well able to align itself with the vision and its mission statement. (Denison, 1990) e. The shaping of the employee behavior at the work place and enabling the organization to be more efficient.

Research has proved that the image of a business is shown by the behavior of the employees. How they behave in front of the customers and other stakeholders in a business determines a lot how the business will be perceived by them. As such, if the behavior of the employees is improved, then it becomes easy for the business to achieve is set goals and objectives. Efficiency refers to how the business uses its resources. Resources are comprised of human resources and other resources. Strong cultures facilitates maximum utilization of the resources of the company and hence results to little or no wastages in the business.

(Sherriton and Stern, 1997) The culture of a business is comprised of such things as the vision, the mission, the norms, symbols, the language, the assumptions, the beliefs and the habits in the workplace. These are the values that are passed to the new members of the organization such as the employees and is put into daily practice. The culture of an organization determines the way people in the business interact with each other, with the clients and with other stakeholders in the business. (Yamashita, 1998) A positive culture refers to an intentional way of giving support to all people within the business set up and the community at large with the sole aim of creating a positive relationship among the people and acknowledging the unique traits which are possessed by the people and which are to the benefit of those relationships.

It involves the shift from the ways of power, control and coercion in language and actions, and towards the affirmation, unceasing acceptance and encouragement. (Yamashita, 1998) Some of the concepts that make up positive culture include such things as the provision of goods services and the maintenance of good health and safety standards. It is also comprised of such things as the offering of utmost care to all parties.

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