Behavior and Organizational Culture: It’s My Party and I’ll Do What I Want

1430 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of organizational structure on culture

Introduction
This week’s critical thinking assignment, It’s My Party and I’ll Do What I want To, examines the use of organizational strategic power and politics by detailing the events occurring at two of Shoenman and Associates’ traditional annual events. The first event, the company’s annual Christmas party requires compulsory participation by all employees (Rosen, 1988). It transpires after hours the Friday before Christmas (Rosen, 1988). It excludes spousal participation, and takes place outside the work environment at a bar (Rosen, 1988). The second event is a formal breakfast. It occurs the week before Christmas during working hours (Conrad & Poole, 2012). However, the setting is much different from that of the Christmas party. The chosen venue is an extravagant hotel, where even the wait staff dresses in black tie formal attire (Conrad & Poole, 2012). Although the two different company events involve group gatherings of the same company and its employees, this case study provides readers the ability to compare and contrast the two events to gain insight in to the use of power and politics within Shoenman and Associates organization.
Behavior and Organizational Culture
Organizational culture as defined by Kreitner (2008) “is the collection of shared (stated or implied) beliefs, values, rituals, stories, myths, and specialized language that foster a feeling of community among members” (pg. 184). As a ritual, the Christmas party offers employees the opportunity to remove themselves from the confines of the work environment. It takes place in a laid back and informal environment, which allows employees and management to intermingle as equals, free of class and/or positional status (Rosen, 1988). The display of camaraderie arou...

... middle of paper ...

...ironment. I never considered that venue selection, as well as date and time might send a subtle message as to how I am to act and behave. It is clear that both management and its employees have the ability to gain power in these types of situations. The secret to capitalizing on any particular situation is being educated regarding the employment of such power and political strategies, and being capable of acting appropriately.

Works Cited

Conrad, C. R., & Poole, M. S. (2012). Strategic organizational communication in a global economy. Chichester, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell.
Kreitner, R. (2008). Foundations of management: Basics and best practices. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Rosen, M. (1988, September 5). You Asked For It: Christmas at the Bosses' Expense. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from http://www.mymaster.com.au/files.upload/20130401_1252301/1364792413_3.pdf

Show More
Related

  • Customer Service at Southwest Air

    1652 Words  | 4 Pages

    Poole, c. a. (2005). strategic organizational communications in a global economy. belmont ca: wadsworth cengage learning.

    Read More

  • Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...se of pride, participated in deviant acts to reward themselves and the company. All of this behavior occurred under a veil of fantasy imagery, so employees neutralized feelings about unethical behavior allowing them to accept and reproduce it. Facilitated by organizational conditions such as the ‘rank-and yank' system and the wider political economy, this unique configuration of ritualized practices contributed to the company's implosion.

    Read More

  • Impact of Power Imbalance in Conflicts

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fast, N., & Chen, S. (2009). When the boss feels inadequate: power, incompetence, and aggression. Psychological Science, 20(11), 1406-1413. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02452.x

    Read More

  • Flight Centre's Culture And Organizational Culture

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    Organizational cultural is the system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members, while organizational structure is an expression of social and economic principles of hierarchy and specialization (Kinicki, 2015). Both the culture and the structure of an organization are important things for management to understand in order to successfully set and achieve an organization’s goals. Companies who excel in highly competitive fields can attribute their successful economic performance to a cohesive corporate culture that increases competiveness and profitability. This culture is best utilized in an organization that has the necessary structure to allow its employees to coordinate their

    Read More

  • Organizational Change Within The Police Department

    2008 Words  | 5 Pages

    O'Reilly III, C. A., Chatman, J., & Caldwell, D. F. (1991). People and organizational culture: a

    Read More

  • Organizational Culture

    2435 Words  | 5 Pages

    This essay gives a basic idea of what organizational culture is, and emphasis on the controversial issues of managing organizational cultures. As there are various definitions for organizational culture, and none of them are universally agreed. Therefore, for an easier understanding by readers, the definition of organizational culture given in this essay focusing on levels of culture, and will be discussed t together with Schein's(1983) framework. Before talking about managing organizational cultures, the types will be introduced first. Because, there are some descriptions about managing different types of organizational cultures, in the following content.

    Read More

  • Leadership and Organizational Culture

    1813 Words  | 4 Pages

    House et al. (2007) discovers that leadership and Organisational culture are closely linked together as leaders influence the culture of their organisations. Researches talk about a range of leadership definitions but it is not easy to define. (E.g. Western, 2008; Yukl, 2010). However, Cohen (2009) critically analyses definitions from Dracker (1996), Eisenhower (1969), Northouse (2004) and finally summarised the definition of leadership constitutes five elements. First of all, ask question to set direction, which means effective leaders need to listen to followers’ voice respectfully and then share the common goals and ideas with them. In addition, leaders need to seek insights and allocate resources optimally; act ethically; allow their employees to work in a conformable and most effective way. This essay will explain different leadership styles and how they influence the organisations with examples of organisations and leaders with main focus on well-known entrepreneur: Sir Alan Sugar. He grows from nothing to incredible success (£ 730 million), is a legend in the UK business history; his reality TV show “The Apprentice”, a great entertainment for recruitment appeals to the public without reasons. However, he as a person is controversial amongst people, probably due to his leadership style as bullying or harassment (destructive). There are four schools of leadership styles: Trait, behavioural, contingency and transformational. Nevertheless, in the case of Alan Sugar, trait and transactional styles match him which will be illustrated following in detail.

    Read More

  • The Google Case: Aiming for an Evolutionary Advantage

    1812 Words  | 4 Pages

    Culture can be defined as “A pattern of basic assumptions invented, discovered or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore to be taught to the new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems”. Schein (1988). Organizational culture can be defined as a system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members. It includes routine behaviors, norms, dominant values, and feelings or climates. The purpose and function of this culture is to help foster internal integration, bring staff members from all levels of the organization closer together, and enhance their performance.

    Read More

  • The Application Of Culture And Culture In Woolworths

    2396 Words  | 5 Pages

    Culture is “a system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organisation and guides the behaviour of its members” (Schermerhorn et al. 2011). It plays an important role in any organisation. For instance, in Woolworths we can se...

    Read More

  • Marcel Mauss The Gift Analysis

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The office: Not so secret Santa” is a modern day situation exemplifying Marcel Mauss’ theories on the rituals of gift giving in his book “ The Gift”. Marcel Mauss’ refers to the ritual as potlatch that binds the recipient and the giver in a continuous bond of commitment, which both, the recipient and the donor cannot escape. Through the analysis of the clip and the book ‘The Gift’ I have established that a gift plays four important roles, of a present; of poison; as a special ability and of a bond and I verify that there indeed exist no free gifts or as Mary Douglas states, “There are no free gifts; gift cycles engage persons in permanent commitments that articulate the dominant institutions”

    Read More

  • Corporate Culture

    1722 Words  | 4 Pages

    Corporate culture is the shared values and meanings that members hold in common and that are practiced by an organization’s leaders. Corporate culture is a powerful force that affects individuals in very real ways. In this paper I will explain the concept of corporate culture, apply the concept towards my employer, and analyze the validity of this concept. Research As Sackmann's Iceberg model demonstrates, culture is a series of visible and invisible characteristics that influence the behavior of members of organizations. Organizational and corporate cultures are formal and informal. They can be studied by observation, by listening and interacting with people in the culture, by reading what the company says about its own culture, by understanding career path progressions, and by observing stories about the company. As R. Solomon stated, “Corporate culture is related to ethics through the values and leadership styles that the leaders practice; the company model, the rituals and symbols that organizations value, and the way organizational executives and members communicate among themselves and with stakeholders. As a culture, the corporation defines not only jobs and roles; it also sets goals and establishes what counts as success” (Solomon, 1997, p.138). Corporate values are used to define corporate culture and drive operations found in “strong” corporate cultures. Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Bonar Group, the engineering firm I work for, all exemplify “strong” cultures. They all have a shared philosophy, they value the importance of people, they all have heroes that symbolize the success of the company, and they celebrate rituals, which provide opportunities for caring and sharing, for developing a spiri...

    Read More

  • Theory Of Organizational Culture

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    The concept of organizational culture is one of the most debated topics for researchers and theorists. There is no one accepted definition of culture. People even said that it is hard to define culture and even more change it. It is considered a complex part of an organization although many have believed that culture influences employee behavior and organizational effectiveness (Kilmann, Saxton, & Serpa 1985; Marcoulides & Heck, 1993; Schein, 1985a, 1990).

    Read More

  • Substance Of Organisational Culture Essay

    2275 Words  | 5 Pages

    Frost, P. J., Moore, L. F., Louis, M. R., Lundberg, C. C. & Martin, J. (1991). Reframing Organizational Culture. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Read More

  • Whack A Mole: Organizational Culture Analysis

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    In January of 1986 the NASA space shuttle Challenger exploded during takeoff resulting in the tragic deaths of seven crew members. Almost twenty years later, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry to Earth. In both disasters, an investigation reveals that for both accidents, Organizational culture was a culprit in the tragic accidents.

    Read More

  • Culture, Power & Politics in the Workplace

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    As far back as history can be told mankind has struggled between balancing culture, power and politics. Many wars have been fought and many people have placed their lives on the line in order to stand up for what they believe in. The combinations of culture, power and politics have spilled over into the workplace. In today’s business environment individuals have much more to worry about than just completing their assigned tasks. Organizational culture, power and office politics influence day to day operations as well as govern the atmosphere within the organization. The amount of impact that power and politics have in the workplace, directly reflect the organization’s culture formally as well as informally.

    Read More

More about Behavior and Organizational Culture: It’s My Party and I’ll Do What I Want

Open Document